Flipped on using old laptops for music production after trying a stripped down Linux OS

I always thought vintage laptops were too slow for recording, but I put Ubuntu Studio on a ThinkPad from 2006 and it runs Ardour with zero lag. That 2GB of RAM actually handles 8 tracks without a hiccup. Has anyone else gotten modern audio software to run on ancient hardware?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan6584d ago

Well, @allen.iris is probably right that it'll die mid session, but that's just part of the adventure. I figure if my 2006 ThinkPad crashes, at least I'll have a good excuse for why my track sounds like a dying cat.

john_fisher4d ago

Man, I feel this in my bones. I had a 2005 Toshiba that I tried to run Reaper on for about a month, and every time I hit record I just prayed it wouldn't blue screen mid take. There's something special about that old hardware though, like you're fighting against the machine itself to make something cool. I get what you're saying about having an excuse too, sometimes the crash is almost more interesting than the track. The risk of losing everything is real, but it kind of forces you to commit and not overthink things. I dunno, maybe I'm just nostalgic for the struggle.

allen.iris5d ago

Stop trying to make old laptops work for music production. I tried Ubuntu Studio on a 2007 Dell and the latency was awful even with a lightweight kernel. Plus that old hardware is going to die on you mid session one day and you'll lose everything. Spend the $200 on a used Mac Mini from 2015 instead, it'll run circles around that ThinkPad and actually be reliable.