# Laptop for Finale or Sibelius?



## Rob (Jul 20, 2019)

Dear fellow finale/sibelius users, can you give me advice on a good laptop configuration/model able to run Finale or Sibelius for copying and proofreading? Is it even possible? I mainly work on full orchestral scores, so a good resolution is needed, and possibly the option to plug a second external monitor. With holidays looming on the horizon I'm thinking of setting up a mobile station if I need to bring homework with me...
Thanks in advance


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## wcreed51 (Jul 20, 2019)

PC or MAC? Just working on scores or is playback important?

I think it would be difficult to find a current laptop that wouldn't meet your needs...


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## Rob (Jul 20, 2019)

PC, primarily for notation. For playback I think Noteperformer (if I can install a second instance) would suffice...


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jul 20, 2019)

Don't know about needs for playback as I never play anything in Finale but I've never had any issues with it on any computer. I think my laptop is a dual core at 2.6GHz and it's never had any issues with it.


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## dzilizzi (Jul 20, 2019)

My Lenovo yoga is touchscreen and comes with a pen. I've thought about trying to do finale on it, but haven't tried it yet. Performance wise it is not a problem as it has an i7 and 16GB RAM and at 15", you can add a second drive to the M.2 that comes with it. You can also use it as a tablet. Hence, the pen.


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## Rob (Jul 20, 2019)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> Don't know about needs for playback as I never play anything in Finale but I've never had any issues with it on any computer. I think my laptop is a dual core at 2.6GHz and it's never had any issues with it.


Thanks Gerhard, I know that Finale isn't too heavy in terms of cpu power, I'm more concerned about the screen... Working on an orchestral score of contemporary classical music, full of symbols and often custom fonts and graphics requires a large, very hi resolution screen and really fast graphic card...


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## Rob (Jul 20, 2019)

dzilizzi said:


> My Lenovo yoga is touchscreen and comes with a pen. I've thought about trying to do finale on it, but haven't tried it yet. Performance wise it is not a problem as it has an i7 and 16GB RAM and at 15", you can add a second drive to the M.2 that comes with it. You can also use it as a tablet. Hence, the pen.


Thank you dzilizzi, this could be a good suggestion... using the Lenovo as a tablet, in portrait mode (guess that can be done) and a pen looks like a cool solution.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jul 20, 2019)

Rob said:


> Thanks Gerhard, I know that Finale isn't too heavy in terms of cpu power, I'm more concerned about the screen... Working on an orchestral score of contemporary classical music, full of symbols and often custom fonts and graphics requires a large, very hi resolution screen and really fast graphic card...


No need for fast graphics card. My screen is a 17" 1080. When I got it, 1080 was rare on laptops and it was a must for me for using DAWs. Going any higher than that on a laptop screen is pointless for this. Any decent laptop with an HDMI out should be able to drive a 4K screen for Finale without any issues.


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## wcreed51 (Jul 20, 2019)

Finale doesn't handle hi DPI will, so you'll want to be sure you can run the scaling at 100%


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## Billy Palmer (Jul 20, 2019)

Noteperformer + Sibelius always ran very happily with orchestral scores on my macbook pro 2012, whilst plugged into a 1080p display. Higher external resolutions made the laptop cry.

I'm currently using a 2015 MBP. This time 15", which is always a nice thing when engraving on the go. The screen's resolution is more than adequate. 
However, my 2015 MBP is still not particularly happy when driving an external 4k display (so I end up using it with an ultrawide 1080p monitor, which it handles fine).

Other than that, when picking a laptop, I guess just think about how it will compliment your current desktop set up!


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## JJP (Jul 20, 2019)

Most of the copyists with whom I work run Finale and Sibelius on a Mac laptop. It's very doable on a current or not-so-current laptop and the ram/processor requirements are not that heavy compared to what we need for audio.

Most, but not all, of them bring another monitor along for reading scores at full size.

A few lug around an iMac because they want the bigger screen and only one item to carry.


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## JT (Jul 21, 2019)

I use Finale & Sibelius on a Macbook Pro with an external monitor, works great. The only issue that will arise with Mac running Finale is the Macbook's lack of a dedicated enter and clear keys. There's are ways around this with Keyboard Maestro.


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## Rob (Jul 21, 2019)

JT said:


> I use Finale & Sibelius on a Macbook Pro with an external monitor, works great. The only issue that will arise with Mac running Finale is the Macbook's lack of a dedicated enter and clear keys. There's are ways around this with Keyboard Maestro.


Good to know, JT... given that I have to stick to Windows I should find a comparable machine...


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