If you are a beginner or semi-pro DJ, you need to have a powerful laptop with good-quality components and enough resources.
A powerful DJing laptop is crucial for studio or live performances. You will need the power to load your DAW and different VST plugins without any issues or software crashes.
So, if you don’t want your live show to fail because of a bad laptop, then you will need the best laptop for DJing.
What’s The Best Laptop For DJing?
Here is the list of laptops with great resources and enough power to handle any DJ work and will be great laptops to record or use in live shows.
1. Apple MacBook Pro
The best all-in-one solution for DJs and EDM artists.
People may debate about which is the best laptop for creators but I can say that Apple MacBook Pro is the best laptop for DJing. It’s made for creators and comes with great quality and resources to handle any task. The one I chose is the 16″ version with an M1 chip. Yes, it’s a bit expensive laptop but it’s worth every cent.
This particular model comes with power enough to do any task a DJ will need such as using DAWs, inserting plugins, recording music, or using it in live shows. Also, the reason I chose a 16″ version is that I love big screens for music production because it allows me to see more on the screen. And it comes with enough I/O to connect different devices such as an audio interface, headphones, etc.
2. Dell XPS 17
Amazing and slick laptop to use on live shows.
Now let’s take a look at the best DJ laptop for Windows users and that’s Dell XPS 17 in my opinion. It’s one of the coolest-looking laptops that has amazing capabilities and is a great music production machine. I always loved Dell products and owned many PCs and laptops from Dell and they are great for any task.
XPS series comes switch different configurations but one with the 12th Gen Intel processor with 16GB of RAM is one I’m talking about. This is enough for recording, mixing, mastering, and using life as your main device. And these laptops come with NVMe hard drives which are very fast. The size is optional but 512GB would be enough for most musicians.
3. Asus ProArt StudioBook
Great DJ laptop for semi-pros and home recording.
Asus ProArt StudioBook is another amazing laptop for DJing with great power and features. A 16″ OLED monitor, powerful Intel processor, configurable hard drive and RAM size, and USB-C options, makes it a great choice for EDM artists or producers. Also, it’s a very beautiful laptop with a slick and modern design. A ProArt laptop and a good DJ controller would be a great upgrade to a better workstation.
You have options to choose between i7 or i9 Intel processors, 16GB or 32GB of RAM, and various hard drive sizes. Additionally, it comes with a 12GB GDDR6 graphics card which is not necessary for music production or DJing but is a great option to have if you do some graphics or other types of design.
4. Acer Aspire 5
Affordable powerhouse for EDM music production.
Acer Aspire 5 costs a little less and comes with 8 core processor and is the best laptop for DJing if you are on a budget. has various options such as cooling control, great display, various connectivities, and is very configurable. However, for EDM musicians and producers I recommend 16GB of RAM and at least 512GB of SSD.
I would use it in the studio to record and mix my tracks but I think this laptop is good for live performances to control your gear and tracks. It comes with different screen sizes but I recommend a 17″ one. Also, if you want to save some money, instead of choosing an advanced graphics card, choose default UHD graphics since it’s not mandatory for music production.
5. Lenovo ThinkPad 15
The best laptop for beginner DJs and EDM musicians.
Lenovo ThinkPad is a great entry-level laptop for aspiring DJs however it can be sued for recording too. You can find this laptop with different configurations but I recommend Gen 4 with 8GB of RAM and a 4-core AMD Ryzen processor. It’s a very affordable DJ laptop and will work seamlessly with any modern DAW or plugins.
A 15″ laptop is enough for DJing. I had this type of laptop for many years and it was my main recording machine and worked great. AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors are great and a little cheaper than Intel processors and 8GB of RAM is enough for DJing but if you find one with 16GB in the same price range, of course, that would be better.
6. HP Envy 17
One of the best DJ laptops with amazing performance.
If you want a DJ laptop with a slick design and very powerful performance, then the HP Envy series of laptops would be a great choice. This particular model I chose is Envy 17 with a 12th generation Intel processor and 64GB of RAM. However, you can find different configurations of Envy laptops if you don’t need that much power.
The reason why I think this is a great laptop for DJing or music production, in general, is the fast processor and RAM that will make sure that your DAW and plugins run smoothly. Also, it’s a very thin laptop and will be a great option if you play live.
Conclusion
A laptop for DJs and EDM artists is crucial to get great results and avoid unwanted problems. So, this list will help you to choose the best laptop for DJing that would work in the studio and on the stage. You have the freedom to change the configuration and make it custom but the listed laptops will do the job perfectly.