Although Ableton is one of the best digital studio workstations, it does require certain system requirements to work properly.

There are about 11 versions of Ableton Live that have been released as yet. Different versions of Ableton have different system requirements, so we shall be talking about these Ableton system requirements and which laptops best support them.

So, if you’re a music producer that wants to know about the best laptops for Ableton, then buckle up, because the ride is about to begin!

Here are some of the best laptops that are compatible with Ableton.

Best Laptops For Ableton COMPARISON TABLE 2022

For your convenience we made a comparison table of the best laptops with possible specs for Ableton:

IMAGE	PRODUCT	Rating	PRICE
	ACER PREDATOR HELIOS 300	9.5	Check on Amazon
	MSI GS65 STEALTH-002 15.6”	8.7	Check on Amazon
	MICROSOFT SURFACE BOOK 2	9.5	Check on Amazon
	2020 APPLE MACBOOK AIR WITH APPLE M1 CHIP	8.7	Check on Amazon
	Dell Inspiron 17 3793 2020 Premium	9.5	Check on Amazon
	ASUS VIVO BOOK 15	8.7	Check on Amazon
	RAZER BLADE 15	9.5	Check on Amazon
	LENOVO LEGION 5	9.5	Check on Amazon
	ROG ZEPHYRUS G15	8.7	Check on Amazon
	HP 15-CE198WM 15.6″ FHD	9.5	Check on Amazon
	ASUS ZENBOOK 14	8.7	Check on Amazon
	ACER SWIFT 3	8.7	Check on Amazon

REVIEW OF LAPTOPS AND HOW THEY FULFIL ABLETON SYSTEM REQUIREMENT:

1-ACER PREDATOR HELIOS 300 – HIGH-END LAPTOP FOR ABLETON

Acer is known as a great gaming laptop, and atop of that it also checks most of the Ableton system requirements. You can run the latestversions of Ableton (Live 10, Live 11) on this pretty easily.

It contains all the required hardware components for smoothly running Ableton. With an active and efficient processor i7, Windows 10 Home, 8GB minimum SSD, 16GB RAM, and Nvidia graphics 1060, it is a highly suitable laptop for Ableton.

Let us discuss some of its specs down below:

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel i7-10750H	Color	Black
Operating System	Windows 10 Home	GPU	RTX 2060
Speed (ram and storage)	16GB DDR4 RAM 512GB NVMe SSD	Display	15.6” 1920 x 1080

POWERFUL PROCESSOR

With an Intel i7-10750 H processor, Acer Predator Helios 300 surpasses the minimum requirement of the processor required for Ableton live, that is i5. It is powerful and efficient, with 2.6Ghz clock speed processing abilities. It perfectly fits the Ableton system requirements when it comes to this.

SCREEN RESOLUTION AND DISPLAY

Acer Predator Helios 300 gives you an amazing display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, whereas the minimum for running Live 11 is 1366 x 768. This is perfect for displaying the musical notes clearly onto the screen.

It also has a 15.6” full HD screen that has an IPS display. This will help you in using Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for recording, producing, and editing audio files.

Pros

• Loads of power
• Refresh rate of 144Hz
• Reasonable price

Cons

• Loud and noisy fans
• insufficient battery life
• mediocre speakers and sound quality

 Buy on Amazon

Final Verdict

A great laptop in the market with all the recommended specs for the Ableton system. But due to insufficient battery life, its value goes down.

2-MSI GS65 STEALTH-002 15.6” – GREAT DISPLAY WITH HD QUALITY

This laptop by MSI also comes with many great features and is climbing its way up to the top. Its screen-to-body ratio of about 82% will give you the full HD experience that you desire. It also has a powerful processor and great display that makes everything very clear. Along with that, a 512GB NVMe SSD helps everything run swiftly and smoothly. It opens up everything pretty quickly and has you face no delays.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU	Intel Core i7-8750H 8th Gen	Color	Matte Black
Operating System	Windows 10 Home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070
Speed (ram and storage)	32GB DDR4 RAM 512GB NVMe SSD	Display	15.6” 144Hz 3ms IPS display

RAM and storage

With 32GB RAM, 8GB VRAM, and the graphic card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, this laptop will perfectly and display all the music notes. It will have a high speed to give you a pleasant Ableton Live experience.

STORAGE

Its high storage capacity of 512GB SSD will give you an uninterrupted and smooth experience of the Ableton software. The response rate of the laptop is much faster than the others and this results in a swift performance. 

Pros

• Processor is powerful
• Light in weight
• Great battery life
• Topnotch design with thin bezel-like display
• Fastest interface Thunderbolt 3
• Beyond adequate storage space

Cons

• Little pricey
• Fans are loud

 Buy on Amazon

FINAL VERDICT

With the fastest processor in its construction, it helps you to load heavy files quickly without any delay. for purchasing the best laptop for Ableton consider this.

3-MICROSOFT SURFACE BOOK 2 – BEST CHOICE FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION

Microsoft Surface Book 2 is most certainly putting up some fight against the MacBook Pros and Macs. They are versatile, reliable, and powerful enough that a DAW could be run on them. With a 1000GB (1TB) memory, high resolution, 17 hours battery life, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, this is more than perfect to run Ableton on it.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU	Intel Core i7	Color	Silver
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro	GPU	NIVIDIA GeForce GTX1050
Speed (ram and storage)	16GB LPDDR3 1000GB (1TB)	Display and resolution	13.5” 3240 x 2160 pixels IPS LCD

HIGH-RESOLUTION DISPLAY

When it comes to software such as Ableton, a good display can be beneficial, as it can properly lay out all the different dockers that run within the workstation. With how many different components there are to the software, a high resolution of 3240 x 2160 pixels would most certainly make it easy to view everything.

ABUNDANT STORAGE SPACE

As you would need to save heavy files once you’re done creating them, you would require a lot of storage space for this. Well, Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the perfect option for that!

It has a storage space of 1000GB (1TB) and 16GB RAM that are both compatible with Ableton Live.

Pros

• High-resolution display
• Long-lasting battery life
• Elegant and convertible design
• Type-C USB port

Cons

• Heavy
• Doesn’t have Thunderbolt 3

 Buy on Amazon

FINAL VERDICT

With the 1TB storage, this laptop is the best option for gaming as well as for music production. With this laptop, it is easier to manage live events with heavy audio files efficiently.

4- 2020 APPLE MACBOOK AIR WITH APPLE M1 CHIP – 18 HOURS BATTERY LIFE

There is no denying the fact that Apple brings out amazing products. Although MacBook Pros have been adored more than MacBook Airs in the past, now that MacBook Air has the M1 Chip, is it suitable for Ableton?

An additional step that you might want to take with Apple products is to install Rosetta 2. Rosetta 2 helps you run applications designed for PowerPC processors on Apple Inc. Once you have downloaded this, you are pretty much good to use Ableton Live.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU	Apple	Color	Gold
Operating System	Mac OS	GPU	Apple 8-core
Speed (ram and storage)	8GB 256GB SSD	Display and resolution	13” LED-backlit display 2560 x 1600 pixels

SSD STORAGE

Since the SSD storage for Apple MacBook Air is 512GB, it is suitable for Ableton, as it gets the work done faster. It opens up files and launches all the apps in an instant.

LONG-LASTING BATTERY LIFE

The average time that its battery is supposed to last is 18 hours, which will let you produce music for as long as you want to. It will give you an uninterrupted chance of producing to your heart’s content.

Its battery also drains very slowly, so you can easily spend hours and hours without having to worry about the laptop shutting down.

M1 CHIPS

Ableton is currently not advised to run on M1 chips since there is no ARM built for Ableton Live. Originally M1 is much faster than any Intel hardware currently available. Once they start manufacturing ARM then M1 would be the best choice. Although M1 chip isn’t recommended to run Ableton Live today, there certainly is hope for the future.

Pros

• Costs the same as an Intel laptop, but much faster
• Amazing battery life
• Compatible with non-native applications

Cons

• Limited Input/Output
• Allows only one monitor to be connected
• Some apps may not work
• Lack of 4G or 5G option

 Buy on Amazon

FINAL VERDICT

With 18 hours of battery life, Apple made a breakthrough in the world. Pretty much expensive but worth buying.

5- Dell Inspiron 17 3793 2020 Premium – Amazing processor

An amazing machine that runs smoothly and quickly. It gives you great features for a reasonable price. The CPU installed in this is more than what it costs, yet you can get this fast processor (i5-1035G1), at an affordable price. Along with that, you get 16GB RAM that helps you in multitasking and great storage space through which you can access data much faster. The OS can easily run Ableton Live 10 and 11 on it as well.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU	Intel Core i5-1035G1	Color	BLACK
Operating System	Windows 10	GPU	Intel Graphics
Speed (ram and storage)	16GB 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD	Display	17.3” 1920 X 1080

FAST PROCESSOR

Dell Inspiron has a core i5 processor of 10^th generation which makes the processing speed much faster. This amazing feature can easily help you run Ableton without any fuss or delay.

DISPLAY

This version includes a High Definition resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels which gives your Ableton experience a boost. However, that isn’t all there is to it!

Along with HD resolution, they have also added the anti-glare LED-backlit display that saves you from eye strain.

Pros

• Temperature develops slowly
• Speakers are pretty decent
• Energy-efficient and swift processor
• Maintenance is easy

Cons

• Heavy
• Not enough USB ports

 Buy on Amazon

FINAL VERDICT

With the amazing processor and 16GB ram, this laptop can assist you in multitasking magnificently. Heat is dissipated as the temperature goes up slowly. For Ableton live, this one is a good option.

6- ASUS VIVO BOOK 15 – THIN & LIGHT LAPTOP

ASUS Vivo Book 15, with 8GB RAM, can run Ableton Live 9 and below on it easily. Since it is a pretty compact laptop, you can carry it around with you without it being a hassle. Since Ableton Live also runs on AMD processors, this will very easily fit the Ableton system requirements.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU	AMD Quad Core R7-3700U	Color	Black
Operating System	Windows 10 Home	GPU	AMD Radeon Vega 10
Speed (ram and storage)	8GB DDR4 RAM 512GB PCle NVMe SSD	Display and resolution	15.6 “ 1920 x 1080 pixels

RAM AND STORAGE

A RAM of 8GB (4GB X 4GB) might not be enough to run Ableton 10 or 11, but for Ableton Live 9, this is the perfect option!

However, the storage on this one is fairly high which will make things run pretty smoothly, so you can finally create music with no delays.

COMPATIBLE OPERATING SYSTEM

Although it may not have the most suitable RAM for the latest versions of Ableton, it most definitely has a compatible OS.

Since Ableton 9 can run on Windows 7, 8, and 10, this won’t be creating a problem here.

If one equips their laptop to increase storage then this would even support Ableton 10 and 11.

Pros

• Light in weight
• RAM and SSD are upgradeable
• Price is reasonable

Cons

• Dim screen
• Not enough battery life
• Not enough memory to run the latest versions of Ableton

 Buy on Amazon

FINAL VERDICT

A good option for the people who are thinking to install the previous version of Ableton like live 9. Because with the least possible specs of this laptop, smooth working of the latest versions is not possible.

7- RAZER BLADE 15 – THE SMALLEST ALL-ROUNDER LAPTOP

Razer Blade 15 is a well-designed gaming laptop popular among gamers because of its impressive specifications. The laptop has a long-lasting battery and can be used for Ableton perfectly. With a 15.6 inch display while having speakers with the best audio output perfect for listening Ableton music.

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel core i7	Color	white
Operating system	Windows 10 Home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070
Speed(ram & storage)	16 GB & 256GB to 2TB	Display and resolution	15.6”                1920 x 1080

PERFORMANCE

This version of the razer blade is performing well. As we call it an all-rounder can work well under a heavy workload.  Perform well while maintaining live events during Ableton live.

 Most of the buyers these days adore this laptop because of its excellent performance. As it has a 16GB ram with 256GB to 2TB HDD storage that is more than enough for music production using Ableton software.

GAMING EXPERIENCE

This gaming laptop can provide you enjoyable gaming experience from your comfort zone. It can run almost all the best Pc games like Fortnite, GTA V, and PUBG with the best display quality. Great hardware that combines with the sleek design of a modern laptop is perfect for all types of well-known games.

BATTERY LIFE

Razer Blade 15’s battery life is as stunning as it should be. It drains faster than the average high-end gaming laptops. It can last up to 3 hours and 12 minutes only.

FINAL VERDICT

A premium quality gaming laptop has magnificent storage capacity, perfect for multi-tasking. Heat is also dissipated but leaves the laptop a little bit warm. But it’s still a good choice for Ableton live music. In short, this laptop is good for investing a penny in it.

Pros

• Good storage capacity
• Attractive keyboard layout.
• Provide you enjoyable gaming experience.
• Poor webcam quality

Cons

• Heat is not dissipated completely.
• A little bit pricy.
• Battery timing is not good.

 Buy on Amazon

8- LENOVO LEGION 5 – BEST FOR ABLETON MUSIC

To run Ableton software on the favorite laptop, there are some minimum and recommended requirements for the Ableton system to work smoothly. However, Lenovo Legion 5 is made from the Octa-core AMD processor that keeps them cool during processing. 

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Core i7	Color	Phantom black or grey
Operating system	Windows 10 home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce  RTX 2060
Speed(ram & storage)	16GB & 512GB	Display and resolution	15.6”                 1920 x 1080

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Lenovo legion 5 laptops are made from plastic with grey color. Its outer body is quite solid with an attractive outlook. For the lid, they also use a kind of plastic with a rubbery coating. You will notice dents and scratches in just a few days.

Lenovo a famous brand in the market is getting benefits from the latest technology by optimizing current techniques in their products. Lenovo Legion 5 is composed of core i7 and generation 10 technology. For Ableton software, the combination of core i7 and 10^th generation will work well together.

SPEAKERS

Lenovo legion 5 is available at an affordable price in the market. A laptop is delivering its job quite well. The sound quality is not nicer as the sound you receive as an output is a bit louder. But by adjusting and updating the laptop it gets clearer.

BATTERY LIFE

With a decent price, one more advantage of purchasing this laptop is that battery can be optimized for long hours. It can last for at least 8 hours.

FINAL VERDICT

Lenovo legion 5 is a durable affordable laptop with the minimum specs needed for Ableton software to work efficiently. A high-end gaming laptop can be used for gaming as well.

Pros

• Well-designed with grey color.
• Long-lasting battery.
• Work well under heavy loads.
• Storage capacity is impressive.

Cons

• The plastic cover on the lid can be scratched.
• The speaker is not impressive.

 Buy on Amazon

9- ROG ZEPHYRUS G15 – ULTRA SLIM HIGH-END GAMING LAPTOP

A high-end gaming laptop launched by ASUS is an excellent choice for gamers and as well as for music producers. Having an AMD microprocessor that works well under heavy load. The audio output is just impressive. The incredible speakers of ROG Zephyrus G15 are perfect to listen to any kind of music. The Ableton system can go well on it.

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel core i7	Color	black
Operating system	Windows 10 home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
Speed(ram & storage)	16GB & 1TB SSD	Display & Resolution	15.6”       1920×1080

DESIGN

The attractive premium quality ROG Zephyrus G15 laptop is available in grey or white color. The slim and lightweight laptop is easy to be carried anywhere. When you open the lid, the keyboard area is made very smoothly having mixed elements of magnesium and aluminum.

CONNECTIVITY

The best laptop should provide all the possible ports on both sides for convenience. Fortunately, ROG Zephyrus G15 comes with a micro SD, USB, power supply, and HDMI connectivity for the best experience. External devices for music production can be easily attached to them. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support is also provided in ROG Zephyrus G15.

The only disadvantage we notice in ROG Zephyrus G15 is that it doesn’t provide a webcam facility. That’s why it is not rated as the number one laptop despite having all the qualities of classy deluxe laptops.

SPEAKERS

The pleasant news is that the speakers are up to the mark according to the price. Which means they are powerful and can produce the sound quality of your choice.

FINAL VERDICT

The ROG Zephyrus G15 is the best gaming laptop and cab be optimized for music production as well. having a 16GB ram with 1TB internal storage is perfect. These requirements are more than enough to run the Ableton music system. So, we can say that this laptop is best for optimizing Ableton on it.

Pros

• Long hours battery life.
• Elegant design with a combination of white.
• Amazing audio output.
• Powerful microprocessor.

Cons

• A little bit noisy.
• Doesn’t has a webcam.

 Buy on Amazon

10- HP 15-CE198WM 15.6″ FHD – WITH DUAL SPEAKERS

HP 15-CE198WM 15.6″ FHD is a newly launched laptop with the best possible specs for Ableton music production. This laptop is also popular among gamers for its specs and prime video quality.

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel Core i7	Color	Black
Operating system	Windows 10 Home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
Speed(ram & storage)	16GB & 1TB SSD	Display & Resolution	15.6”                1920 x 1080

TECHNOLOGY

HP 15-CE198WM 15.6″ FHD is comprised of a core i7 processor having an 8^th generation technology in its construction. The laptop decent display with a solid cover having a comfortable touchpad and keyboard for best performance.

CONNECTIVITY

The laptop can provide all the best possible connectivity options like a USB port for external devices and slots for a microphone jack.

MEMORY

16 GB ram is enough for running Ableton music software for music production. From the memory point of view, this laptop is best for managing live events and while multiple projects at the same time.

SOUND QUALITY

The laptop has dual speakers through which it can produce good sound quality for music and games. A best choice Ableton users.

FINAL VERDICT

Despite all the qualities, this laptop still lacks to provide best battery timing while performing live Ableton music. Users have experienced terrible battery timing on this laptop.

Pros

• Multiple connectivity options.
• Good storage capacity.
• Display is quite bright and colorful
• Good sound quality.

Cons

• Poor battery life.
• Excessive heat production.

 Buy on Amazon

11- ASUS ZENBOOK 14 – TRAVEL FRIENDLY

A small-size budget-friendly laptop has a smooth and glossy surface that is perfectly designed. Its 14-inch display is perfect for working and allows you to watch movies and videos in HD quality.  excellent storage capacity to run an Ableton live and recording beats.

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel core i7	Color	Royal Blue
Operating system	Windows 10 home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce MX350
Speed(ram & storage)	16GB & 512GB	Display & resolution	14”                   1920 x1080

MEMORY

The laptop is perfectly designed and specially made for gamers. Having a faster ram of 16GB allows you to run multiple apps at the same time. But by testing, we configure that the competitors of this laptop in the market are much better in speed as compared to this. But still, this laptop can be good for working from home.

While talking about the storage capacity, with 512GB SSD you are going to rock with this laptop. Best for storing all your data and files in a single place.

BATTERY LIFE

The battery life of this laptop is incredibly good. It can survive for long hours. As we didn’t any premium laptop working too long as this one does. Moreover, fast processing and other specs made it highly compatible to install the latest version of Ableton software.

PORTS

It comes with multiple connectivity options. USB ports on both sides of the laptop increase its demand in the market. HDMI connectivity is also available. communication is also possible with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi facilities. External slots to attach a microphone can assist you while recording or making new audio files for your event.

FINAL VERDICT

ASUS ZenBook 14 comes with all the possible specs required to run the latest version of ableton. However, the laptop is economical and if you are looking for high-end laptops in affordable price then this one is woth considering.

Pros

• Affordable.
• Glossy and shiny outlook.
• Good in performance.
• Excellent battery life.

Cons

• Noise production while working is annoying.
• The speaker quality is not good.

 Buy on Amazon

12- ACER SWIFT 3 – WEIGHTLESS LAPTOP

Acer Swift 3 is an affordable thin laptop with a 14-inch display and other impressive specs. A lightweight thin laptop can be a perfect partner for your working from home. Having a fast processor from AMD makes it overall well.

SPECIFICATIONS:

CPU	Intel core i7	Color	Shiny silver
Operating system	Windows 10 home	GPU	NVIDIA GeForce MX150
Speed(ram & storage)	8GB & 512GB	Display & resolution	15.6”        1920×1080

PERFORMANCE

A budget-friendly weightless laptop is available in the market with 8GB ram and 512GB storage. These specifications are enough for Ableton software. But for working and performing office tasks on this kind of laptop is not recommended. For Gaming, this one is not the best option. with 8GB ram and the cheapest price, we cannot expect anything extraordinary from it.

AUDIO OUTPUT

Speakers are not great enough to provide fine quality sound output. This side freaking because for music production speakers matter a lot.

BATTERY LIFE

While considering this side, as compared to price battery is working well like premium quality laptops. It can go along for 8 hours which is impressive at this price.

FINAL VERDICT

A great inexpensive laptop can be a good option for Ableton while performing or making new audio files. But due to the ram and speakers, it cannot perform an excellent job as the other ones do in our list.

Pros

• Sleek and stylish design.
• The fine performance of the battery.
• Almost weightless.
• Very economical.

Cons

• Performance from a speed point of view is not much impressive.
• The speaker quality is poor.

 Buy on Amazon

BUYER’S GUIDE TO CHOOSE BEST LAPTOP FOR ABLETON

As we already discussed and mentioned the best laptops that support all kinds of the version of Ableton software. But still, if you are confused then here is a buyer’s guide that can assist you further whether you are investing your money in the right gadget or not.

For Ableton, there are some minimum and recommended requirements for a system. As for gaming purposes we often look for a laptop with the best graphic card and large storage capacities but for Ableton software, you have to check the CPU requirements as well as storage capacity to run the latest version of Ableton.

RAM

The minimum requirement of ram for Ableton is 8GB is recommended. As you have to manage large files with a large sample of libraries so having a ram of 8GB on a laptop is mandatory.

16GB Ram for the system is recommended. The above-listed laptops support minimum requirements for music production in Ableton Live. Ableton is ram-dependent so the larger the size of the ram the smooth and efficient working the Ableton will enjoy.

CPU PERFORMANCE

The performance of a computer depends on the CPU. How fast it processes the file shows the output on a screen. For the installation of Ableton, the CPU should belong to the 8^th generation and the processor should be 64-bit intel core i5.

The usage of CPU for Ableton is it improves the buffering. As a result, you use it smoothly without any hindrance. CPU of 9^th generation intel core i7 is the recommended requirement for the Ableton system.

SSD

For the Ableton system, a higher storage capacity is recommended. At the time of installation, it takes 6GB of the total space of the hard disc. Large audio files during events need maximum storage capacity. So, for the smooth running of the Ableton system its prefer to have a minimum of 250 SSD space in your computer.

The recommended specs for the hard disc are 512GB for the more efficient and smooth running of Ableton. If the budget allows you, try to choose the laptop with the recommended requirements.

DISPLAY

For music lovers, Ableton is the best platform that provided them a chance to produce music of their choice. But different Ableton versions have different requirements. The latest version of Ableton is Live 11.

A 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with a resolution of 1920*1080 is recommended. Don’t go for the higher resolution. Otherwise, you will feel inconvenience to read text written in the Ableton software because it gets smaller with higher resolution.

GPU PERFORMANCE

As we described above, different versions of Ableton use different system requirements. Like live 10 versions cannot work well just by depending on a CPU. It requires a GPU card while using live 10.

FAQS?

Which of the Ableton version should I get?

Well, if you’re a beginner then I suggest you use the older versions of it, but if you’re a professional and know your way around the software then go for the latest versions.Q2. Are MacBook Airs suggested over PC?Is 8GB RAM just enough to use Ableton? How do I install Ableton Live’s latest version?

BOTTOM LINE

We have listed the best laptops for Ableton live with all the required specs. For Ableton music production, it is always recommended to go for higher specs. But keep it in your mind to choose the one that suits your budget. Before purchasing any new laptop read the reviews from trusted E-commerce websites like Amazon to get complete info about the selected gadget.