Best laptop for DJing – September 2024
I’ve been DJing for the biggest part of my life, but I’m also a software engineer by trade and worked at a computer store for years.
I’ve consulted my former boss before writing this article for the latest and greatest.
Table of Contents
- Difference producer & DJ laptops
- Top 5 best laptops for DJing
- Best DJ laptop on a budget – under $500
- Macs for DJing
- Best laptop for Rekordbox
- Best laptop for Serato
- Best laptop for Virtual DJ
- Related guides
Difference producer & DJ laptops
Music producers and DJs need vastly different laptops, because the software is different.
If you are not sure about the difference, check out my article on the difference between DJ and producer.
A music producer needs a faster computer than a DJ.
All music producer laptops can cope with DJ software, but not all DJ laptops with Music Production software, because they might be too slow.
Top 5 best laptops for DJing
I have assembled a list of 5 laptops that inspired by my recommended specs from by DJ laptop buying guide.
The specs of the laptops below are recommended for the 4 most popular DJ software: Rekordbox, Serato, Virtual DJ and Traktor.
The links to webshops are affiliate links.
#1
A HP laptop that has everything you need: a decent processor, enough memory for Serato and video.
2x USB-A and 1x USB-C port.
Overall a good laptop.
| Brand | HP |
| Model | 6M0Z7UA |
| Screen size | 15.6″ |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| CPU model | i5 11th gen, 4.2 Ghz, 4 cores |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Graphics card | integrated, Intel Xe |
| USB | 2x USB-A and 1x USB-C port. |
| Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Check on Amazon |
#2
Great laptop under $600, it has everything you need!
A i5 Intel processor, so you can use video with your DJ app.
It has a metal chassis, so the laptop is more durable than your average laptop.
It has a backlit keyboard and a fingerprint sensor.
I would recommend an upgrade to Windows 11.
| Brand | Asus Vivobook s15 |
| Model | S533EA-DH51-WH |
| Screen size | 15.6″ |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD |
| CPU model | i5 11th gen, 4.7 Ghz, 4 cores |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| OS | Windows 10 Home |
| Graphics card | integrated, Intel Xe |
| USB | USB-A and USB-C port (4 ports in total) |
| Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Check on Amazon |
Best DJ laptop on a budget – under $500
#1 HP
A lot of bang for your buck.
Plenty of storage for your whole music library and then some.
Also with 32GB you’ll have plenty of memory for the future.
The things that I’m less enthousiastic about is the processor: i3 11th gen.
But also the resolution of the monitor.
This will suffice for DJing with Virtual DJ, but you will run into trouble with Serato and Rekordbox,
It’s also not suited for video or for heavy apps like video editing and music production.
| Brand | HP |
| Model | TPN-Q222 |
| Screen size | 15.6″ |
| Screen resolution | 1366×768 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| CPU model | i3 11th gen, 3 Ghz, 2 cores |
| RAM | 32 GB |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Graphics card | integrated, Intel UHD |
| USB | |
| Rating | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Check on Amazon |
#2 Asus
Great laptop with a 15″ monitor for well under $400.
Asus has always great products.
Backlit keyboard , so you can see what you are doing.
It even has a fingerprint reader.
The laptop has Windows 10 (not 11) in S-mode.
In order to install your DJ app, you have to disable S-Mode.
I would recommend an upgrade to Windows 11.
| Brand | Asus (vivobook 15) |
| Model | F512JA-AS34 |
| Screen size | 15.6″ |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Storage | 128 GB SSD |
| CPU model | i3 10th gen, 3.4 Ghz |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| OS | Windows 10 S |
| Graphics card | integrated, Intel Xe |
| USB | USB A + USB C |
| Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | Check on Amazon |
Macs for DJing
If you are looking for a Mac for DJing, read my article on the best Macbook.
Best laptop for Rekordbox
From my extensive DJ software comparison I found that Rekordbox is pretty heavy on system resources.
It can be laggy, sluggish and sometimes unresponsive.
When you only use Rekordbox for preparing and have some patience, almost every mid-level of the last 5 years will suffice.
But if you use Rekordbox for performing, you need a pretty heavy computer.
The computer with which I tested Rekordbox is a pretty heavy music production and video editing beast, which far exceeds the recommend system specs.
DJ software is generally pretty easy on a computer, but with Rekordbox (no other DJ software) I experience audio frame drops, which result in crackles in the audio.
To combat the sluggishness you need a fast CPU and a lot of memory to make up for the lack of performance.
Official Rekordbox system requirements
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core 5, 7, 9 Ryzen 5,7, 9 Apple M |
| Memory | 4GB RAM 8GB RAM (video) |
| Storage | Hard disk/ SSD (recommended) |
| Monitor | 1920×1080 resolution |
My Rekordbox recommendation
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core 7, 9 Ryzen 7, 9 Apple M |
| Memory | 16GB RAM |
| Storage | SSD |
| Monitor | 1920×1080 resolution |
Best laptop for Serato
From my extensive DJ software comparison I found that both Rekordbox and Serato are pretty heavy on system resources.
Although Rekordbox is sluggish, Serato seems to be much more performant.
But it takes up much more system resources in idle state.
When Serato says it needs
Official Serato system requirements
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core 5, 7, 9 (6th gen or more, 8th gen preferred) Ryzen 5 3000 or better Apple M1 or higher |
| Memory | 8GB RAM, 16GB preferred |
| Storage | 15GB Hard disk/ SSD (recommended) |
| GPU | 2GB |
| Monitor | 1280×720 |
| Misc | Internet connection |
My Serato recommendation
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core 7, 9 (8th gen at least) Ryzen 7 Apple M1 or higher |
| Memory | 16GB |
| Storage | 15GB SSD |
| GPU | 2GB |
| Monitor | 1920×1080 |
Best laptop for Virtual DJ
From my DJ software comparison I found that Virtual DJ is the software that is the easiest on your laptop of all DJ software.
There is no software on the market that is so fast and responsive as Virtual DJ.
Pretty all mid-tier laptops of the 5 years will suffice.
The only thing that Virtual DJ needs more system resources for is auto stem separation (it isn’t very good, so I wouldn’t use it), video and audio visualisation.
Official Virtual DJ system requirements
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core i5, i7, i9 Ryzen 7, 9 Apple M |
| GPU | AMD or NVidia (for video) |
| Memory | 8GB RAM or more |
| Storage | 1GB Hard disk/ SSD (recommended) |
| Monitor | 1920×1080 resolution |
My Virtual DJ recommendation
I agree with their minimum system requirements.
For video, stems and visualisation I would recommend:
| OS | Windows, Mac |
| CPU | Intel Core i7, i9 Ryzen 7, 9 Apple M |
| GPU | AMD or NVidia (for video) |
| Memory | 16GB RAM or more |
| Storage | SSD |
| Monitor | 1920×1080 resolution |
Related guides
- How much RAM you need for DJing + performance tests
- Best Processor for DJing + performance tests
- DJ laptop buying guide
- Best DJ software (voted by DJs)
- Optimize your computer for DJing
