Best Laptop for Traktor Pro 3

Traktor Pro 3 is a professional DJ software used by artists and record labels the world over. From rock to hip-hop, from jazz to electronica, from pop to drum and bass – with Traktor Pro 3 you can find any song and scratch it into a masterpiece. While Traktor Pro 3 has a built-in scratch recorder, I prefer to use a dedicated device for this. Nothing else has the power of a Pioneer DDJ-SB3 – with its excellent jog wheels and robust library management features. You can connect it with your laptop using USB or the MIDI ports. A sound card is also necessary for best experience, but since there are tons of cheaper options out there – let’s keep things simple.

The hardware recommendations are out of scope of this article, but don’t forget that you should always get something that can withstand years of heavy use – whether that’s road-ready controllers or custom headphones. When it comes to picking your ideal PC for Traktor Pro 3, there are plenty of laptops out there to choose from. And I’ve done my research – best sellers, latest releases, reviews, benchmarks, you name it. I’ve covered the best options in the three categories below – best bang for buck, best speed/performance/cooling/mobility/reliability options and the best laptops for Traktor Pro 3. To get an idea about what’s available on the market right now just have a look at the table below or click on any laptop’s name to read its full review. By the end of this article you should know exactly which machine will suit your needs best.

Requirements for a Traktor Pro 3 laptop

Major Processor for Traktor Pro 3

There are many factors that contribute to the performance of a laptop, but nothing is more important than the processor. A higher-end CPU means that the rest of the hardware will be able to take advantage of all its resources, which will result in better overall performance.

Requirements

One of the most popular brands for laptops is Intel. For their latest generation of processors, Intel has released two series: Coffee Lake and Whiskey Lake. These two series differ in their core counts and price points. For Traktor Pro 3, Coffee Lake is the best option due to its higher single-core performance. The Whiskey Lake series offers more cores at a lower price point but does not perform as well on single-core tasks.

Recommendations

For an Intel processor, I recommend anything above i5-1135G7 as long as it’s from the Coffee Lake series. This way you’ll be able to have a smoother experience with Traktor Pro 3. If you’re looking for a cheaper option, then I recommend anything from the i5-10300H line as long as it’s from the Whiskey Lake series.

Major Picking a good graphics card

In the past, the best option for laptops with less than $1000 was to go with integrated graphics. However, as laptops have become more powerful and cheaper, it’s now possible to get a laptop with a GTX 1650 card for under $1000. It’s still not perfect – there are many instances where integrated graphics will be enough. But if you’re using Traktor Pro 3 or work in audio production – you’ll need a GPU that supports OpenGL 2.1 or higher.

Dedicated vs. integrated graphics

There are two main options: use an integrated graphics chip (included on all new laptops) or use a dedicated GPU (such as GTX 1650). You’ll need to trade off your budget against performance – do you want your computer to work on audio processing smoothly, or do you want it to play games smoothly?

If you’re looking for the best of both worlds – go for RTX A5000/A6000 cards. They’re pricey but offer the best performance out of any consumer-grade card on the market.

Major The right memory

Minimum (8 GB)

8 GB RAM is the standard starting point for laptops. If you’re not too demanding, it should be enough for Traktor Pro 3. But don’t fool yourself – you’ll need more if you want to take your DJ skills to the next level.

Recommended (16 GB)

If you’re looking for a good balance between price and performance, then 16 GB should be your sweet spot. I’ve noticed that there’s been a slowdown in the continuous climb of RAM capacities in laptops, so there’s no need to sweat about getting 16 GB.

Best (32 GB)

If you’re going over $2000, where 32 GB laptops are ubiquitous, then 32 GB is the way to go. You can’t go wrong with future-proofing your laptop. And if you’re a hobbyist who only needs a few tracks – then 8GB is fine as well. But I wouldn’t recommend going below 8GB if you plan on running Traktor Pro 3 as a professional DJ, as this would most likely cause issues with latency and poor performance due to insufficient RAM resources.

Optional requirements for a Traktor Pro 3 laptop

Optional Picking a good storage

Choosing the right storage device

We’ll break down the choices by capacity, since that’s where the difference lies. Here are the most common capacities found in laptops today:

256 GB SSD – this is the bare minimum for professionals that are doing nothing but DJing with Traktor Pro 3. That’s also plenty of space for other applications, but you’ll need to be mindful of how much space is being used.

512 GB SSD – this is an excellent amount of storage space, if not the most optimal. You should have more than enough room for everything you need, but there’s always room for improvement. If you have an extra $200 or so, upgrading to a 1 TB SSD will offer significant benefits to your workflow.

1 TB SSD – these are the best laptops for Traktor Pro 3 DJs. If you can afford it, I highly recommend getting a laptop with a 1 TB SSD – these are rarer and often more expensive, but they’re worth it. And if you’re willing to pay even more money (or if you don’t mind waiting), 2 TB or 4 TB laptops might be your perfect fit!

2 TB SSD – the newest laptops come with this size by default, but they’re usually pricey and less practical than other options unless you know what you’re doing.

4 TB SSD – this size of storage is only really practical for studios that use specialized software or need to archive uncompressed audio files or video footage.

Optional How to choose the right display for playing Traktor Pro 3?

A laptop’s display is one of the most important things to consider when purchasing a laptop. However, for Traktor Pro 3, the display is not the main thing.

Display type

TN panels are very affordable and make for an excellent budget display. The only thing they lack is viewing angles. If you’re looking for something more professional-grade, then look for IPS panels.

If you want to go all out, OLED screens are now available in top-of-the-line laptops. I would avoid them though, as their prices are exorbitant.

Screen size

Laptops come in different sizes and resolutions – this means that you’ll have to pick one that’s appropriate for your needs. The two main options are 15″ and 17″. For music production, you might need a 17″ screen so that you can see waveform transients better – or maybe you want to work on images too? In that case, go with a 15″ laptop with Full HD resolution. But beware – higher resolutions mean more battery drain, so if you need to squeeze every last minute of battery life out of your laptop – then just stick with a FHD panel and get a smaller device.

6 Best Laptops for Traktor Pro 3