Alienware M18x or MacBook Pro? Or something else... I know, I know.

[acousticdj]

Btw, looking at getting a used 17 inch - since apparently they don't make new ones anymore. Tell me again Apple markets to Digital DJs. We're probably the users who are farthest away from their screens for the longest continuous periods of time but who cares about lowly DJs on the foodchain right? lol And to answer the other question, I pan on only using my MBP for DJing. I have other PCs for everything I do. I own Traktor Scratch and an old M-Audio Xponent. Other than that I may add some other USB Novation gear eventually. Maybe Abelton down the road. Sounds like MPB can handle this no problem. What's the minimum RAM I would need to run this stuff? Will 2GB get me by for a while?

[acousticdj]

I also don't get the "anti-18 inch" screen thing. I'm a big guy so I don't mind carrying a big laptop around. Plus I don't like squinting ;-)

[Sigma]

I don't get the anti-18" thing either. A friend of mine uses a 17" laptop for DJing with Ableton and it's not heavy at all. If I was carrying a laptop round with me all day, every day, then yeah - I'd want something as light as possible really - but it's not like you're walking miles to a gig carrying all your gear. You walk to a car, drive to the gig, walk from there to the venue. Sometimes it's better to have a bigger screen at the expense of a bit of extra weight.

[Phil Noize]

I might add the disclaimer that my ThinkPad has been through both a beer spill and coffee spill directly on the keyboard which left the keyboard less than 100%. I'm typing using an external keyboard at the moment for just that reason.

Most laptops would have completely died after after that.

If you want your keyboard working properly again, just take it out of the laptop and wash it in soapy water. Make sure you rinse it afterwards, and let it dry thoroughly before refitting it to the laptop. This worked for my ThinkPad after I spilled wine on it.

[M!TCH]

Btw, looking at getting a used 17 inch - since apparently they don't make new ones anymore. Tell me again Apple markets to Digital DJs. We're probably the users who are farthest away from their screens for the longest continuous periods of time but who cares about lowly DJs on the foodchain right? lol And to answer the other question, I pan on only using my MBP for DJing. I have other PCs for everything I do. I own Traktor Scratch and an old M-Audio Xponent. Other than that I may add some other USB Novation gear eventually. Maybe Abelton down the road. Sounds like MPB can handle this no problem. What's the minimum RAM I would need to run this stuff? Will 2GB get me by for a while?

Yeah, it is a bummer they do not make them anymore. However, you can easily customize your 17" no problem. Increase RAM, throw an SSD in there and you're running solid. I run Ableton* and Reason on here and it runs superbly.

I don't get the anti-18" thing either. A friend of mine uses a 17" laptop for DJing with Ableton and it's not heavy at all. If I was carrying a laptop round with me all day, every day, then yeah - I'd want something as light as possible really - but it's not like you're walking miles to a gig carrying all your gear. You walk to a car, drive to the gig, walk from there to the venue. Sometimes it's better to have a bigger screen at the expense of a bit of extra weight.

I do carry my 17" around all day in my backpack and I easily walk 3-5 miles a day with it on. It's really not that heavy.

[light-o-matic]

Dunno.. I guess everyone's got their preference.. but personally I dunno how anyone could want such a big laptop for DJing.. I work on MANY parties and space is always in short supply in the booth. And no, there's not always a way to fit a laptop stand in there. As a sound engineer, DJs who want to move everything around to fit their oversized shit in there are a huge problem for me. As a DJ, I don't need the next DJ spending the last 15 minutes of my set in my face, pushing things around, reaching over the decks, reaching over the mixer. And the first 5 minutes of my set.. when I'm feeling the most pressure to get those first couple of tracks just perfect and set the mood.. they're again moving shit around getting their stuff out.

Do yourself and everyone else a favor.. get a small-normal sized laptop for djing.. between 12 and 14 inches. And leave the laptop stand out of it.