What should i be looking for in a good pc?

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TMXXX

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Aug 5, 2009
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Australia
I currently use an acer and i notice when running 8 drum tracks all with vsts on them and then 3 or 4 guitar tracks, two bass tracks and whatever vocals on top, that im getting some stutters and my cpu meter on cubase goes up to above half. I want a better computer because this one is atleast three years old but Im not too sure what I should be looking for? I don't want to go for the cheapest option, im willing to spend a decent amount as its an important factor in my home studio but im just not too sure on what to look for? I live in australia, is there a shop i should be looking at or am i best to get it custom built at a computer shop? Im not real good with computers myself so i think assembling it on my own wouldnt be a wise idea. I would really like to be able to run all my effects whilst tracking and whatnot. What level of latency should i be looking at?

I run a pre sonus firepod as my interface and use revalver, svx and ap trigga among other vsts.

What price would i be looking at in AUD? Anyone have any recommendations?

Any help would be appreciated guys thanks, i have already learnt a lot from this forum!
 
I would go for a quad core or i7 and at least 4GB of RAM. Definitely try to have it custom built if you can. That usually results in better quality.
 
just keep your hands away from cheap noname stuff and
think about how long the new coputer should "last" (regarding to performance)

getting a custom built PC from a LOCAL computer shop is an good idea!
i had a few bad experiences with online stores so i'd prefer a local store.

cheers
S.
 
What are the specs of your current computer? 'An acer' isn't very specific :)
You may be able to improve your performance with a few tweaks rather than getting a whole new computer. I also heard Aldi sells decent computers for like $600. But I don't know how good they really are, and they may not have all the necessary parts for audio (ie. firewire).


With my 2ghz duo, 2gb ram laptop I can usually run 3 amp sims max at once for realtime tracking. An amp sim will use up HEAPS more CPU than an EQ or something. I could use hundreds of EQs easily but 3 or 4 amp sims running at once will grind the computer to a halt.
 
Acers suck :D,generally crap components/build quality and crap heat disipation . If you want raw power, go for a gaming PC without the graphics card. A semi-decent dual core (2.7Ghz with a high freq FSB), with 4gb of ram and a solid state drive would go down nicely for recording. Cooling is also an issue, you'll get more out of your components so a good case(Aluminium?) and a couple of Decent fans. FIREWIREFIREWIREFIREWIRE!
 
Morgoe said:
What are the specs of your current computer? 'An acer' isn't very specific :)
You may be able to improve your performance with a few tweaks rather than getting a whole new computer. I also heard Aldi sells decent computers for like $600. But I don't know how good they really are, and they may not have all the necessary parts for audio (ie. firewire).
Click to expand...

If the mobo has a spare PCI slot (it should) he can get a few firewire ports for $20-$30. 800 and/or 400. Just adding a little to the price.

Like the guy above said, get a gaming PC without the graphics card, but be sure to that the motherboard has a VGA port, or whatever you'll use to connect to your monitor, if you're not getting a dedicated graphics card. I'd suggest asking the guys in this site/thread: link about computers, since they really know their shit.
 
quad cores are practically useless when it comes to running just about any program, since most programs only utilize dual core, so don't wast your money. The two large factors in a recording computer are RAM and CPU power. A 2.8+ GHz Dual Core and 2 GB of RAM (for 32-bit) or 4GB+ (for 64-bit) will do you nicely for a cheap price. And for your presonus a TI firewire card

My recommendation, build your own. A full or mid tower ATX case will give you great circulation and an ATX mobo will give you more power and more options. They are what are used in gamin mobos so like all gaming mobos, you have to use an aftermarket Graphics card becuase ATX does not come with onboard graphics.

If you are looking for the best bang for your buck I would recommend

AMD AM2+/AM3 CPU (the quads are not that much more than the duals)
OCZ 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM (OCZ makes cheap but solid RAM, the platinum revision is about as good as it gets)
ATI 4670 Graphics should just get the job done, could even tackle low end games
Asus Mobo (AM3 socket, be sure to have 2 PCIe slots)
TI Firewire PCIe card
Seagate or Western Digital HDD
Ultra 500w PSU (Ultra has a lifetime warranty for registered items and they are dirt cheap)
get whatever accessories that you want but remember you can salvage some parts from your old computer as well, like the CD and DVD drive and the card reader.
Windows Vista 64 bit (windows 7 should be coming out soon and if you buy Vista from now on you get a Win7 upgrade for $10)

Should set you back around 800 or so, so it won't absolutely kill your wallet, but you always have to remember for a little over a grand more you could have a pretty bitching Mac Pro.
 
Any computer built for a purpose and used solely for that purpose will perform it quite dandy for a long time, PC, Mac, Linux, whatever. Where you run into trouble is where you have one computer doing every job under the sun, and connected to the internet to boot. Believe me, the Macs at my university are just as sketchy as the PCs for that very reason.

So if you're serious about recording stuff, build a modest general purpose PC and a good recording PC.
 
Build your own computer dude!! Hmm.. its not that tricky and plus if you go to a local shop im sure they will charge you when u can do the work.

and yea dude look into Intel Quadcore... Fuck AMD haha
Mobo: Gygabyte with p45 chipset (Not that expensive and easy to overclock)
Ram: 4gb if your gonna run xp32 bit
heatsink: Make sure you get some sort of cooling for cpu
new hard drive if you need one.

and use your cd-rom from ur old pc and your set!!

I just build my custom computer this summer...( Intel Q9550 quad, 4gb, gygabyte mobo) and all I can say that i run A LOT of plugins and i just get half of CPU meter on cubase full.... no problems what so ever.. nice cool and FAST!
 
1) Intel ftw, they are leaving amd a long way behind now, get a core 2 quad or I7.
2) No more than 4gb of ram if you are on 32 bit windows.
3) TI (texas instruments) firewire cards are a must.
4) get a fanless GPU no matter what.
5) Don't get a cheap low power power supply because it won't last and will make your pc unstable if it is underpowered.
6) Buy a motherboard from asus or intel, because they seem to have the best record for stability.

Joe
 
you Intel lovers forget that their prices are ridiculous. Hence why AMD has gained such popularity over the past year. I personally can't seem to get over the massive bottleneck in the Intel designs and the price of an i7 can get you half an AMD build computer for a very small power sacrifice. Other than that AMD's are much more stable and run a hell of a lot cooler. Of course each brand has its pros and cons, AMD does somethings better and so does intel but as of today you still can't get the bang for your buck that AMD provides.

Without making this a huge Intel vs AMD war, the truth is Intel is all out powerful AMD it cheaper and more stable, not as powerful. I built a PC with the cheapest AMD dual core, its like 30 or 40 dollars now and it smokes my old Intel P4 which cost over double what I paid to build my AMD machine.
 
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