I got into a discussion regarding the recent expansion of Dr. Dre’s speaker line expanding into Laptops. I was quite surprised to hear, and later read, the claims being made about this new laptop’s sound capabilities. I have never owned a laptop that even comes close to producing anything considered quality sound. Ever try listening to bass-heavy music or watch a movie on a laptop? The experience is very depressing when compared to even the most budget-friendly desktop speaker.


This limited edition Beats by Dr Dre laptop boasts a quad-core processor and Dre’s proprietary sound software that will supposedly revolutionize the sound coming from a laptop computer. I am skeptical of anyone who claims to make a laptop produce great sound, simply because the limitations are not software related, but are hardware – there simply isn’t enough space in a laptop to place large enough speakers to produce the kind of sound quality I crave.

There are dual SSD’s that increase speed and reliability. The SSDs will ideally offset the massive power consumption of a quad core processor so that there is at least some battery life leftover to listen to music when you aren’t in proximity to a power outlet. I have read several posts that are claiming this laptop will be comparable to a Macbook Pro… but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

This laptop comes at a steep price as well – nearly $2300, but they are throwing in a free pair of Dre’s headphones as well so that takes a little bit of sting out of the price. On a positive note, the headphone jack on this laptop is on the side of the machine, which I absolutely love! One of my biggest pet peeves lately is that manufacturers are placing laptop headphone jacks in the front, thus making it very difficult to use when on your lap!


Tech Specs:

  • Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz)
  • Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • 15.6″ Diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1920×1080)
  • ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4830 with up to 3835MB total graphics memory with 1GB dedicated
  • 6144MB DDR3 System Memory (3 Dimm)
  • 500GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)

[tags]dr dre, beats by dr dre, hp, headphones, laptop, macbook, sound quality[/tags]