I’m looking for advice on a Windows laptop primarily for music production in FL Studio, including live piano MIDI recording. Eventually, I’d like to experiment with video editing and simple animation (Miku Miku Dance, basic video cuts), but my main focus is music.
Runs FL Studio okay, but sometimes crashes during export or long sessions. RAM usage hits 18–20 GB, and CPU is stressed with VST-heavy projects.
Performance needs:
Multiple tracks, VSTs like Keyscape and Serum, real-time MIDI input, and large sample libraries.
CPU and RAM are my main bottlenecks.
Requirements for new laptop:
RAM: Preferably upgradeable to 64–128 GB.
Storage: Fast SSDs (Gen 5 for apps, Gen 4 for libraries is fine), ideally enough for tens of TBs with internal + external options.
Display: Around 16 inches, IPS preferred. Avoid OLED due to burn-in concerns. Mini-LED is nice but expensive and rare.
Ports: Stable, high-quality USB ports for audio interfaces and controllers.
Build: Medium-to-large, not overly bulky.
Budget: Flexible, willing to invest in a laptop that lasts and can act as a desktop replacement if needed.
Alternatives I’ve considered:
Legion 7i Pro (Gen 10): Excellent specs and price-to-performance ratio, but OLED is a dealbreaker.
ASUS ROG Scar series (2025): Mini-LED is nice, but SSD speed seems slower (Gen 4 RAID config) compared to Legion.
MSI: Historically concerns about build quality and hinges, though recent models reportedly improved.
IPS versions tend to feel “last-gen,” are hard to find, or are overpriced/underpowered in my region.
My question:
For CPU-heavy music production and future video/animation work, what laptops or configurations would you recommend that balance performance, upgradeability, and display safety (no OLED burn-in)? I’d appreciate recommendations for both specific models and configurations.
There is the XMG Neo 16 / Eluktronics Hydroc 16 (that has Mini-LED as an option). It is a bit on the heavier side as it is a gaming laptop first, but everything else it fits on, including upgradable RAM, the screen, it has Thunderbolt 4 (as long as you get the Intel model), two SSD slots (one gen 5, one gen 4), and an HX CPU.
It also sometimes has no lid logo (as the US reseller Eluktronics doesn’t add their logo to their Tongfang laptops) and it has what I think is good build quality (not MacBook or Lenovo build quality, but good to very good for a gaming laptop).
Unforuantely, it seems professional reviews of the 2025 model won’t be happening from anybody reputable afaik. From my experience as a user of it, apart from the weight, I can’t complain about it.
I suppose I should prioritise the oled burn in risk primarily before considering other factors right? Do you know if ASUS ROG STRIX Scar lineup is customizable? There isn’t much info or other alternative other than 2tb 2tb setup? And is the max cap for ram 64gb? Quite limited info and customization options based on Malaysian Website for Asus, I suppose I need to contact them privately for customizations?
I appreciate your opinion and experience on the XMG, unfortunately I think they don’t supply it to my region nor is it reputable and available to be purchased with my local supplier in Malaysia. Thanks for your input, hopefully its being offered here, I’ll ask around my supplier
Oh great, can you tell me how it’s mitigated now for laptops? I know smartphones nowadays use OLED or AMOLED, but since they shift pixels constantly it’s much more manageable.
For laptops though, they only started rolling out OLED displays more recently, right? I only learned about them when I began looking for a new laptop, so I haven’t studied the history that much. Just curious how burn-in is handled on laptop panels compared to phones.
OLED burn-in was a problem of the past. The new pannels are not prone to burn-in easily. Burn-in happens when your screen shows static content( coding, excel sheet, etc) on a very bright screen ( 70-80% of brightness) for a long duration of time(6-8 hours continuously).
Now, as a normal user, you won’t be keeping your brightness on 70%, nor would you look at static content for 6 hours straight. Moreover Lenovo is aggressively using OLED pannels in thier laptops, even in their gaming line-ups. I do not think they would have done this unless the OLED pannels they use are not easily prone to Burn-in.
If you are planning to use this laptop for 6-7 years then the chances for your laptop to burn-in is exponentialy increased. I haven’t heard mass complains of OLED burn-in (post 2021). Maybe <0.01% people must have faced it, but the probability of you getting it would be really slim.
Although a macbook Pro is deemed as the gold standard for Music production and editing for a while now, but since you are intrested in windows let’s talk about that-
Lenovo legion 7i is a performance beast, although I have no idea of RAM transfer speeds in it. If it’s more than 6000-7000 MT/sec then it’s fine.
You can go for the creator line up of laptops from ASUS. Like the ProArt16 you can get upto 16GB ram DDR5X I guess.
I’m sorry I cannot suggest you any laptops since I got no idea in this field. But the OLED burn-in is not a big issue now in 2025 laptops. Also check RAM speeds before choosing a laptop.
I think the Tongfang/Uniwell reseller in Australia and parts of Asia is Aftershock. The latter I’m not 100% sure of. There probably is one, you may have to search for which one it is (sorry I don’t know much about that).
Also, there is the problem of PWM flickering on OLED screens; on OLEDs, it is often at a rate that can give sensitive users headaches after extended viewing sessions, while on Mini-LED, there is also PWM, but not at a rate that even sensitive users can notice or feel discomfort looking at. (For example, most OLEDs use PWM at around 300 - 500 hz, which can give sensitive users headaches and eyestrain, while the Mini-LED on my laptop is around 9000 hz, whereas PWM is generally not noticeable even to sensitive users at above 1000 hz.)
Unfortunately, the only work around for that right now appears to be OLED DC dimming, which has its own issues with OLEDs, like color reproduction changing with brightness levels.
Thanks for your input! I get that OLED burn-in isn’t much of a concern these days, especially with how aggressively brands like Lenovo, Acer, Asus and other major laptop brands are using these panels. That definitely eases some worries.
Ideally, I’d like this laptop to last more than 5 years. With a high-end machine like the Legion, I’m expecting at least 5 years with minimal care, and maybe up to 10 if I actually take care of it. My current budget gaming laptop lasted 5 years, so I’m bracing for the next one to eventually “fail” by — either it stop getting security updates or become too slow for my workflow. That said, with a high-end laptop, I’m hoping it can still handle my needs even 10 years down the line. As im dropping a premium now to not swap devices anytime soon as its a hassle to transfer stuff around and wrecking my workflow.
Thanks for your advice and subtle note to check ram speeds appreciate that, is that a major factor? I suppose faster speeds means it can process really fast but still bottlenecked by the cpu right?
Aftershock is indeed. Available in my region Malaysia, however not really reputable as i haven’t seen them in most states in Malaysia, I appreciate your suggestion though.
For reputable and established vendors in Malaysia would be PC IMAGE, BRIGHTSTAR, THUNDERMATCH and most other laptop retailers in Plaza Low Yat (West Malaysia), as an East Malaysian they are also established here but have yet to seen XMG laptops, only seen Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, MSI, HP, Gigabyte (very rarely), Dell Laptops. I dont know if there’s more, probably Huawei but irrelevant.
I haven’t used an OLED laptop yet, but I do have an iPad Pro 6th Gen with Mini-LED and haven’t noticed any PWM flicker.
I also asked some consultants at a local tech store (Gen Z Experience) and my dad’s contacts in retail tech (10+ years experience). They generally didn’t recommend OLED—only if you’re doing video editing or color-critical work. Otherwise, they pointed out the risk of burn-in, and in their opinion, it’s generally not worth it. That said, their advice was mostly for monitors rather than laptops.
When I asked my dad’s contacts specifically about laptops, they didn’t mind OLED, but were more concerned about price. They just wanted to make sure I’d actually use the device’s full power, which I assured them I would. We didn’t go into much detail about other supporting features due to limited time.
The maximum number of years a windows can last you would be 6-7 years. Anything more than that would be not feasible at all!
Look back at tech 10 years before-
Macbooks are in Intel based, battery life sucks, not a powerful machine at all.
Battery life on a windows is a joke, these laptops weight like 3Kg.
The most expensive i7 cpu from then is 2-3 times slower than a core ultra 7 cpu from now. Ram speeds are tortoise level if we compare it to today’s consumer laptop ram speeds.
Laptops from then ran so hot that you didn’t need to owb a heater in winters.
Long story short, it is unreasonable to expect a laptop to run 10 years from now. Maybe it could run if taken care of really well but it would be really slow, AI would be very advanced and your laptop would feel like a relic from the past. I have a ThinkPad T450 from 2016. It has an i5-5200U. Guess the turbo speed of this? 2.6 Ghz…. That’s like lower than the base clock speeds of today’s i5. Its still usable, but very slow and windows 11 doesn’t even work on it. That’s why I had to buy a new one in 2021.
Realistically just expect the laptop you buy to last you 6-7 years.
I see, no not yet I have not, is it reputable? I personally never thought about buying from manufacturer outside of my region due to warranty concern, but I suppose pongo laptop is reputable right?
