Best Computer for Recording Software

judaskiss · July 2009

Okay, so here's the deal--My wife and I sold our home and wanted to reward ourselves by buying a gift for ourselves($500 each). The guitar I really want is about $3K--Van Halens Frankenstein--so, I thought um, it would be great if I had a Home Computer dedicated just for recording. So, that brings me to my question:What is the best computer to buy for recording?? I currently use Sonar LE and Sonar 6 LE, and of course GNX4 with my Edirol interface. I am currently using a Dell Vostro 1000 Laptop with 2GB memory. I want something thats not going to have any problem with software ie, dropouts etc. Thanks for any input anybody has.

gtaus · July 2009

So here is my opinion on this subject. The best computer for recording music is a computer that works and is only used for your music recording. When I got my GNX4 package, I dedicated my old WinXP Dell laptop only for the GNX4/PTP recording. Once I had everything setup and running good, I left it alone. I don't use that computer for Internet surfing, loading up game programs, or doing my taxes. It is only used for recording. It's not nearly as fast as your computer, but since I only use the computer for recording, I don't have suffer problems with dropouts, etc... I turn it on and it works every time.

I don't know what the hardware requirements are for your software packages, but I think the concept of buying a good computer and just dedicating that for recording only still is the best approach. Most people I know expect their one computer to do everything for their entire family, from gamming, to Internet surfing, to tracking all your bank accounts, etc.... Then they complain that their software \"used\" to work but now it does not. Well, I decided to that if I want my computer to work for recording eveytime I turn it on, that I was going to dedicate it for that one major function. 3+ years on the same computer with no problems. Best wishes.

shredd · July 2009

I'm with 'taus on this...and I'm as anti-computer-recording as they get. I've had my worst days in music EVER, trying to do computer recording. :evil:
That said...what he said is right on. The puter you use MUST be a dedicated machine, preferably running XP and not Vista. Another important step is to look up the websites that tell how to optimize a computer for music use; it'll tell you how to shut down unneeded services and processes and programs that'll make your recording s/ware stumble.
I'd also recommend - no, INSIST (for your own good) - that you don't even consider using an \"on-board\" sound card. You MUST have an outboard soundcard, or better yet, a dedicated interface.
And, of course, do all the optimizing of the s/ware...

Warpfield · July 2009

I built my own computer back in 2005, mainly to support online gaming, (wife & I play WoW). I got everything from www.newegg.com and, if I were to buy a comparable machine from Alienware or whatever, it would likely cost twice as much. Here is what I ended up with:

AMD Athlon Manchester 2.0GHz Dual-Core Processor
ABIT Fatal1ty AN8-SLI 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
CHAINTECH SE6600/256 GeForce 6600 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UK Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
COOLER MASTER Real Power RS-450-ACLY 450W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply
gigaram 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 X 2
Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5\" Hard Drive X 2 running in a Raid 0 configuration

I have since replaced the two hard drives with a single 500 GB hard drive, upgraded to memory to 2 Gb and the video board to BMG nVidia 8600.

I use this machine for gaming, software development, productivity with Microsoft Office, (is that an oxymoron?), web surfing and recording. I have zero lag issues when recording and there is still a vast amount of space left on my hard drive.

I highly recommend building your own machine. It really isn't as difficult as you think. Everything is color coded and the instructions are pretty good.

BTW, I fully \"LOATHE ENTIRELY\" the MS Vista operating system. I run XP Pro on all my machines.

shredd · July 2009

\Warpfield\ wrote:

BTW, I fully \"LOATHE ENTIRELY\" the MS Vista operating system. I run XP Pro on all my machines.

Ugh. Using Vista to run your computer is like eating soup with a fork. :? Wrong tool for the job.

Warpfield · July 2009

\shredd\ wrote:

\Warpfield\ wrote:

BTW, I fully \"LOATHE ENTIRELY\" the MS Vista operating system. I run XP Pro on all my machines.

Ugh. Using Vista to run your computer is like eating soup with a fork. :? Wrong tool for the job.

I made the mistake of installing Vista on my machine. My World of WarCraft framerates literally went from 60-80 to around 10-12 in the major cities in the game. My machine would take forever to boot up and OMG the added security in Vista was driving me nuts.

One of my Raid 0 hard drives finally crashed and I ended up installing a single 500 GB drive, installed XP Pro and my framerates magically returned to 60+.

gtaus · July 2009

Unless you know what parts you are buying and for what purpose, it would be very easy to spend more on building a computer than buying a package deal. You don't need an extremely fast computer with high end graphics to run PTP, for example. Last year's computer bought on clearance should be more than adequate. To put it in perspective, I have a 6 year old Dell laptop running PTP and it works just fine for recording with the GNX4. I could buy a faster computer with better video and more memory, but it still would not record any better (with PTP) than what I currently have. Of course, other software packages may require more computer power and that is where you should look to make sure you are covered.

I don't do Vista, either. WinXP worked for me and I never had any desire to change. By the time MS gets Vista working, it will already be an orphen - like MS Millenium. Let's hope the next MS OS will actually work when sold. And yet, Vista has its fans. Just not me.

As far as the best computer, no matter what you buy the computer will become outdated in less than a year. So just make the best purchase you can for what you need now, and don't look back. If the computer is dedicated for your music, like mine, you can get years of service out of it if you stay with the same software. It's new software and new OS that will force you into buying a new computer.

Antony · July 2009

For what it's worth, I'm running a vista laptop with 3 gigs of ram with relatively no problems. I use Sonar to record and of course I get the occasional crash-sometimes multiple times, and then I can go a week without a crash.
It is reccommended to have a dedicated recording computer, but I don't, and usually have at least two windows open, anti virus and spam software running, and it's (knock on wood) been ok so far. Oh, sure, I hate vista, but I bought this laptop a year and a half ago and that's what was coming with new computers.

judaskiss · July 2009

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I've been packing and moving, so I haven't been on the computer in a while--or played in a month(my fingers are getting anxious).

In my my move I did discover that I had a desktop that I had forgotten about when my son got his laptop couple years ago. It was purchased in 2004. It has windows xp home(thank you)with a pendium 4 processor, 1G RAM.

I have a tech friend that said it should be enouh to run Sonar and PTP. He said he could help me get all the BS out of it that I won't need. I acually saw a Geek Squad commercial that was funny after he told me this. Geek Squad rep was reaching in the computer and pulling out boxes labled \"software you don't need\", \"trial software\"etc...you had to be there.

Thanks again everyone, I'll let you know how it turns out--might be a while though, everthing is in storage and we can't move in until Aug 6th. In the mean time I'm playing uplugged

guitar3456 · July 2009

Upgrade the Ram to 2GB for starters. Should be cheap considering it's an '04 system. The hardware you have is plenty for an audio recording platform just be sure the HDD is large enough and or use another HDD to store your audio files. Those wav files can eat up hdd space fast.

Go into the sys and disable all the garb you don't need.

Start> Run> type>> msconfig

disable non essential services
disable garbage in the start up tab

THEN.. install the Daw Software.

judaskiss · July 2009

Thanks 3456, sounds easy enough. I do have external hard drive I store all my music on, so I should be good there. I was told that memory is very cheap. Prcessor was my main concern, but was told if I did that I should buy a new computer-a bit costly. My tec friend told me pendium 4 processor will be fine. Tnaks again. Take care

guitar3456 · July 2009

YMMV on external hard drives for audio. I'd recommend an internal hdd for that purpose. Depending on the size of the existing drive, you might be okay. That also depends on how many recordings you make, how many tracks are on the recording. As the data stacks up, you can eat up hdd space fast. Most choose an extra but internal HDD for file storage only. External drives have been known to hinder and produce errors on some software DAW systems.

judaskiss · July 2009

Thats good to know, thanks.

gtaus · July 2009

\guitar3456\ wrote:

....External drives have been known to hinder and produce errors on some software DAW systems.

I just got Cubase LE with my new multi-track recorder. I have a few books on Cubase and they recommend using external USB HDDs. That was a surprise to me. But maybe Cubase caches things locally on the internal HDD and saves to the external in that case. I don't know. But the books did recommend using the external drives over the local internal drive.

Manitou · July 2009

Bottom line... :? \"puters suck. (translation... GAH arrg!)

0Dannyboy · July 2009

8) I record in Protools 7.3 LE on a XP machine. with twin xeons they recomend an dedicated hard drive to place the software on. just get a fast internal HD. Not USB. usb2 is the new standard and its alot faster so it may work too.

I have a IMac at home as well ...what do the pros use ...Apple ...alot. expecially if you want mobility like in a laptop. wouldnt use a windows laptop but mac laptops are way cool for that too.

Antony · July 2009

\gtaus\ wrote:

\guitar3456\ wrote:

....External drives have been known to hinder and produce errors on some software DAW systems.

I just got Cubase LE with my new multi-track recorder. I have a few books on Cubase and they recommend using external USB HDDs. That was a surprise to me. But maybe Cubase caches things locally on the internal HDD and saves to the external in that case. I don't know. But the books did recommend using the external drives over the local internal drive.

I think that's because if you get an external 7200 rmp chances are it's going to be faster than your internal, which is probably 5400.

0Dannyboy · July 2009

No matter how fast that disk is, its how fast the connection is between the disk and whatever format you use to connect it to the computer with. Firewire was the fastest awhile back but the new usb is pretty darn close if not superior in some ways.
I have watched movies between the two disk so I bet a new usb 2.0 HD would work fine.

Best Computer for Recording Software

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