Computers that can handle the modern electronic musician?

[KrisM]

chances are that i5 is more powerful than the AMD A6 you just bought Can't say for certain without knowing model specifics, of course.

When was the last time you cracked open the laptop and blew the dust out?

[slick easy]

I would say get the best performance for price in terms of components. There's good benchmarking sites that can.calculate that for you. So you wont have to buy again for a few years.

If you want highest possible performance at the time, get a desktop.

If you want stability in the long term while not having to learn abunch of extra shit then get an apple.

[marcgood]

Sounds like you are consuming all available memory. I suggest off loading effects and generally as much as you can to external sources if your machine can't handle it. Ultimately it sounds like you need something more powerful-Mac, Linux, Windows....whatever you choose.

Or you can try to rebuild the OS in the most stripped down form possible, only loading what is required to run the music software and plugins. Tossing everything else. I forget the program but there are some out there that will allow you to create a REALLY lightweight version of your Windows OS, which will free up disk, memory, and cpu and greatly improve stability.

Honestly though, this is why I dropped Windows. You can spend more time playing technician than actually creating.

Memory consumption is not a uniquely Windows problem though.

If you can't do the above prescribed steps, simply run less stuff. Limits your vision but at least you finish something.

[Alex Aliferis]

If you end up needing more power for USB devices, Macally's 7-port model is excellent and handles both MIDI timing and electrical power for all kinds of devices without issue.

If portability was not essential, for Windows-based studio use a self-assembled desktop machine will always win-out on cost and performance. There are also countless people online who would be happy to assist with component selection and installation instructions if needed. In fact, you may wish to consider this route if the machine you just purchased can still be returned, etc.

[marcgood]

Originally Posted by Alex Aliferis

If you end up needing more power for USB devices, Macally's 7-port model is excellent and handles both MIDI timing and electrical power for all kinds of devices without issue.

If portability was not essential, for Windows-based studio use a self-assembled desktop machine will always win-out on cost and performance. There are also countless people online who would be happy to assist with component selection and installation instructions if needed. In fact, you may wish to consider this route if the machine you just purchased can still be returned, etc.

If he's going to build his own he should consider a Linux as a main or complementary machine. Far smaller OS footprint and consumer of resources while giving better performance and superior security and stability. Plenty of free music tools for it as well, including DAWs.

[Rimwolf]

The single best computer hardware investment is more memory. These days 6GB is marginal: load up your machine with as much memory as it will take. It's cheap.

[shadowfac]

I guess it will depend on a case-per-case basis. If you are 100% ITB and use the latest plugins, you will definitely need a powerhorse. Maybe an 8-core machine with 8 to 16 Gb in RAM, two or 3 harddisks (one SSD for the OS and software, one for projects, and one for samples), 24" to 27" dual screens, 64-bit OS, etc.

Others, like me, can do with a computer that can be used to sequence external synths (via MIDI), record audio tracks, do some basic processing (EQ, dynamics, effects), and mastering. Maybe an occasional softsynth or two. My current DAW is a quite outdated 8-year old PC with a 2.2GHz Athlon64X2, 2 Gb RAM, a 80 Gb system drive, and a 300 Gb audio/data drive, but it does what I need and does it fast, so there's no reason to upgrade.

[foodeater]

Use multiple computers and network them. Plus then you can have stuff like audio interface hooked up to a desktop and then take your laptop to use on the go.

I think apple makes this way easier to accomplish, grab some server Mac minis and a MacBook Air or something, but I'm sure it's possible on windows too. The new Iconnect MIDI + line might help.

No software appears all that great at multicore support, I think it's probably something we'll have to wait for at the OS level, so even with multiple slower computers you can likely get better performance overall.

[Plaeground]

I'm on a quad core xenon Mac from 2007ish with 4 gigs ram and no problems. I'm using mad softsynths and pushing 40-60 tracks.

[Alex Aliferis]

Originally Posted by Plaeground

I'm on a quad core xenon Mac from 2007ish with 4 gigs ram and no problems. I'm using mad softsynths and pushing 40-60 tracks.

I'm in a similar situation here, running a 2011 MacBookPro with quad-core i7. I haven't overloaded once and am using large amounts of synths and effects, but I think OP is discussing a different price point.

[ecologie]

I'd hate to be the one to say it, but yeah, you had an HP. I see alot of issues of BSOD's with them and overheating and the like.
Sorry...

so what's the new model, you never specified. It would also benefit you in PC land to slim down startup items so its not eating more resources that are necessary.

[Yoozer]

Every off-the-shelf laptop or desktop is loaded with crapware. Run CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download

Wireless networking tends to mess things up awfully as well.

As for your second purchase: I think it shows hotheaded decisions aren't necessarily good ones. The laptop form factor means always that you're paying more for the same specs because it has to fit in a smaller box, so you always end up paying more for the same. For the same money you could've had a desktop with a SSD + regular HD setup, way faster, way better cooling.

Put your storage in another place; get a NAS for the "slow" stuff. Get a tablet for the internet. Get a PS4 or XBOX for the games. Keep your DAW as single-minded as possible.

[Rimwolf]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Every off-the-shelf laptop or desktop is loaded with crapware.

Not Macs.

[owensands]

Dont buy a PC laptop ever again. They are terrible for the most part. Macbooks all the way. Now for desktop thats a different story. Im willing to bet my desktop will destroy any imac thats availible atm.

The ivy bridge i5 overclocked are a beast of a machine. I personally would never buy amd. If its too late to return it, get the I5 ivy bridge with 16gigs of ram. You wont ever have DAW issues with that combo and a decent ASIO driver audio interface.

Oh and hand pick your parts and build it yourself.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Rimwolf

Not Macs.

That's the joke.

edit: I swear, that was the joke

Seriously though, OEM builders bend over and sell themselves out at every bloody turn and the amount of stickers is just sickening, even if it reduces the price with $50 or so.

[solipsynth]

Originally Posted by Schwarzwald

I impulse bought a computer yesterday. First of all, right now, I have a 2 yearold HP laptop with an i5 2.8ghz processor, and 6GBs of RAM. I thought it was GOOD, but I can say it only really worked for 3-6 months MAX.

This indicates two possibilities to me: 1) Crapware build-up, and/or 2) hard drive failure (very common with laptops which are moved around constantly). Crapware can be cleaned, but a damaged hard drive will probably have to be replaced (ideally with an SSD). Try defragmenting and check how many damaged sectors it has. Otherwise the specs on your original laptop are more than good enough--I'm guessing your hard drive needs to be replaced that's all.

[Schwarzwald]

Originally Posted by KrisM

chances are that i5 is more powerful than the AMD A6 you just bought Can't say for certain without knowing model specifics, of course.

When was the last time you cracked open the laptop and blew the dust out?

Dude you are totally right.
This is completely my fault as I totally did this with minimum research on specs. I did research rather well on the stability/troubleshooting problems most people were having, but totally forgot to check out benchmarks for the CPU and GPU.

Ugh, emotion betrays me.

In any case, I cleaned the laptop not too long ago, maybe a month or two. It didn't help, however i didn't take it apart and dust off the heat sink, instead I tried to dust through the vents/use compressed air. I was alittle afraid I was going to harm it as I couldn't find a youtube video with my exact model to dust it off with. I've taken computers apart before, but to very inconsistent results.

It should also be noted my laptop is on a stand with a cooling pad. I also keep a humidifier in my room and try to keep the temperature in here at 68 Fahrenheit.

Originally Posted by marcgood

Sounds like you are consuming all available memory. I suggest off loading effects and generally as much as you can to external sources if your machine can't handle it. Ultimately it sounds like you need something more powerful-Mac, Linux, Windows....whatever you choose.

Or you can try to rebuild the OS in the most stripped down form possible, only loading what is required to run the music software and plugins. Tossing everything else. I forget the program but there are some out there that will allow you to create a REALLY lightweight version of your Windows OS, which will free up disk, memory, and cpu and greatly improve stability.

Honestly though, this is why I dropped Windows. You can spend more time playing technician than actually creating.

Memory consumption is not a uniquely Windows problem though.

If you can't do the above prescribed steps, simply run less stuff. Limits your vision but at least you finish something.

I completely understand the technician more than creating thing. I swear to you guys, I haven't had an error-free session in years. Do you know how that feels? Like no joke, it's painful.

The Laptop is already in a selective startup with minimal drivers and no start-up apps if thats what you are saying. I also clean my registry/drivers often.

Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by Alex Aliferis

If you end up needing more power for USB devices, Macally's 7-port model is excellent and handles both MIDI timing and electrical power for all kinds of devices without issue.

If portability was not essential, for Windows-based studio use a self-assembled desktop machine will always win-out on cost and performance. There are also countless people online who would be happy to assist with component selection and installation instructions if needed. In fact, you may wish to consider this route if the machine you just purchased can still be returned, etc.

My friend REALLY tried to talk me about of buying to build my own machine, but I was too impatient. I feel really eaten up about it, I'll see how I like this machine, if it so much as burps I'll take this advice immediately.

I'm actually running two powered usb hubs for all my hardware. The actual laptop only has 1 usb port taken up, which is for one of the hubs. Is there any different between the macally and a powered hub?

Originally Posted by foodeater

Use multiple computers and network them. Plus then you can have stuff like audio interface hooked up to a desktop and then take your laptop to use on the go.

I think apple makes this way easier to accomplish, grab some server Mac minis and a MacBook Air or something, but I'm sure it's possible on windows too. The new Iconnect MIDI + line might help.

No software appears all that great at multicore support, I think it's probably something we'll have to wait for at the OS level, so even with multiple slower computers you can likely get better performance overall.

This is a great idea. Would multiple hard drives not work on a PC rig? I'm legit curious.

Originally Posted by ecologie

I'd hate to be the one to say it, but yeah, you had an HP. I see alot of issues of BSOD's with them and overheating and the like.
Sorry...

so what's the new model, you never specified. It would also benefit you in PC land to slim down startup items so its not eating more resources that are necessary.

It's another HP
A HP Pavilion p6-2330

I've tried to have some loyalty with HP, as my first PC was an old HP back in 2000, and that thing lasted me something like 8 years. It was SLOW and I put it through HELL, and we had a few complete HD failures, but with a few tweaks everytime, it would start up and it would WORK.

After we finally decided to upgrade in like 2008 I got 2 Acer notebooks and they were terrible and didn't have anything near the stability or hardiness of the HP, which is why I'm TRYING to have faith in them despite the fact that this laptop has been a pain. (It's performance hasn't been a problem, it's not slow whatsoever, the damn thing just overheats and BSOD whenever it feels like it.)

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Every off-the-shelf laptop or desktop is loaded with crapware. Run CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download

Wireless networking tends to mess things up awfully as well.

As for your second purchase: I think it shows hotheaded decisions aren't necessarily good ones. The laptop form factor means always that you're paying more for the same specs because it has to fit in a smaller box, so you always end up paying more for the same. For the same money you could've had a desktop with a SSD + regular HD setup, way faster, way better cooling.

Put your storage in another place; get a NAS for the "slow" stuff. Get a tablet for the internet. Get a PS4 or XBOX for the games. Keep your DAW as single-minded as possible.

I think you might be right. I also use my computer for gaming, might be time to stop that. I might just use this laptop I have for the internet. The only problem is it's so terrible that it overheats when it videos play. UGH. Might just sell it for another lappy to do all my browsing and video watching.

The gaming system is a good idea, I'll be heartbroken that all my steam games will be moot, but that should come second to finshing atleast one damn song before the apocalypse hits.

Originally Posted by owensands

Dont buy a PC laptop ever again. They are terrible for the most part. Macbooks all the way. Now for desktop thats a different story. Im willing to bet my desktop will destroy any imac thats availible atm.

The ivy bridge i5 overclocked are a beast of a machine. I personally would never buy amd. If its too late to return it, get the I5 ivy bridge with 16gigs of ram. You wont ever have DAW issues with that combo and a decent ASIO driver audio interface.

Oh and hand pick your parts and build it yourself.

I'm usually an intel guy, but I made this decision very stupidly and under the duress of my angry evil twin.

[Headz51230]

Yeah amd sort of shut it down after the phenoms, I think they're getting out of high end cpus altogether, they just don't have the r&d to keep on.

[Mcnulty]

All you really need is something i7 with 8-16gig of ram and not have heaps of shit running in the back ground, i swear everyone that has a computer has heaps of shit like toolbars, two-four virus protections and lots of other shit, if you want a pc for music, only use it for that. Hell even an i3 with 4gig ram would be fine if it was a deticated computer also macs suck just as bad, its just that pc is more open to have shit running in the back ground as so much shit is available for it. theres nothing that can run on a mac for it slow it down

[Reptil]

moved to "music computers"

[Dorian Yates]

I would never buy a laptop from anyone other than Apple. I prefer the OS to some degree by the main thing is that with laptops, there isn't a whole lot of room for air to travel. I've had windows laptops that would clog up after being used for a couple of months. My 2007 MacBook pro barely had any dust when I opened it in 2012. The entire casing of the MacBook pro is aluminium which acts as a heat sink to disperse all the heat generated by the CPU.

For desktops, you have more options to choose from as far as manufacturers go.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

[slick easy]

^ I concur

[Schwarzwald]

Just wanted to post an update to everyone.

I got my system today, the set up was a breeze. Besides having to order an e-Licenser to transfer my Arturia licenses, and having to pay IK Multimedia some weird fee to reactivate my download links, everything went smoothly.

At any rate, I'm extremely happy with my purchase, and while I'm sure you all are right when it comes to building up a desktop bottom up, this one seems easily modifiable, and has ample power for me.

I did my first project with my new setup, and my first project EVER where I was able to do everything in real time (NO MOUSE YOU GUYS!) without worry (or rather acknowledgement) that my computer was going to fail.

Despite having Ableton for nearly 2 years now, this is the first time I've ever sequenced in real time out of session mode because my previous laptop simply couldn't handle the load. At any rate, this computer works like a charm, and not only did I never go over 23% CPU (and this was with nothing bounced and Arturia's CPU hungry plugs maxed out) I never heard the damn thing. My laptop purrs like a stabbed rabbit, this thing is completely silent. It's just so refreshing.

Plus, I finally get to run my 2 monitor setup, and I bought a nice monitor for myself, mostly as retail therapy, it's pretty gorgeous.

Now all I need is for all you brave men to test Live 9 until it's bug proof, and for Ableton to stop twiddling their penises and SEND ME A PUSH FOR GOD SAKES.

Here's a grainy little picture for you all.
And the first jam I did, the jam is unmixed, rather long, and boring, but it just felt so good to be able to play with my toys FORREAL after so long.

The Jam Session

[slick easy]

How the hell do you make music in such a cramped place. No room to get funky!

[Schwarzwald]

Haha,
It has actually never crossed my mind what it would be like to have more space. Mostly because before this, I was in an even smaller apartment, and before that, a dorm. :X

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by Schwarzwald

Hey all,

I impulse bought a computer yesterday. First of all, right now, I have a 2 yearold HP laptop with an i5 2.8ghz processor, and 6GBs of RAM. I thought it was GOOD, but I can say it only really worked for 3-6 months MAX. It's been overheating and blue screening for as long as I can remember. In any case, yesterday, after I was trying to test my newly bought Arturia board, and in the middle of a pretty good jam session, it froze.

Maybe I wouldn't have been so angry if it hadn't erased my project as well.

Maybe I wouldn't have been so angry if it hadn't done this in every jam session I'd been trying to do the ENTIRE SPRING BREAK. (I'm on spring break btw, cheers)

Can you imagine this though? You get 1 week to do what you wanna do, supposedly, and the 1 thing you wanna do keeps getting dicked.

So I said NO MORE, and in an angry fit bought a 3.6GHZ AMD A6 with 6GBs of RAM. (I also bought a small 24in LED TV for it, but that was a gift for wilhelm, not really an anger thing )

NOW, this is super after the fact, as most of the purchases are BUT. Do you think this computer will be able to run my setup? WHICH IS THIS...

Here's all the hardware, and all this stuff is connected through the USB and powered by USB except where noted.

2TB Hardrive (not bus powered)
1 15inch VGA Monitor (not bus powered)
1 24inch HDMI Monitor (not bus powered)
Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 (not bus powered)
Maschine
MS-20 Legacy
Alkex's Professor
APC-40
Arturia's The Laboratory

^my laptop had a problem accomodating lots of USB stuff being plugged in, kinda was a downer.

The real kicker here is the software though, with synths like Arturia's, Diva's, and all the post processing effects that electronic music needs, what are the benchmark specs a computer needs to meet to be accomodate these setups?

My Software setup ATM is 9 tracks
Ableton Live 8.34
MS-20 Legacy VST
Arturia the Laboratory VST
Maschine in VST mode
Prophet V

I use 3 sends for my reverbs and delays
and only use native Ableton plugs

Should my new desktop be able to run this?


Anyway, this is a super disjointed post, soo

TL;DRModern synthesizer plugins are becoming very CPU taxing, and the modern electronic music producer requires more post processing and sound design effects than the average musician. With that said, what are the benchmarks specs that a computer needs to meet to accommodate the modern electronic musician?

[bold added]

Recurring BSOD's are signs of hardware setup or hardware failure/intermittency issues. BSOD's [blue screen of death for those who just came onboard in the last little while] are generally a sign of a very sick machine. Sometimes it's as simple as one piece of defective or improperly supported hardware. On occasion, it's a defective part that is integral to the computer itself.

At any rate, while a rare BSOD accompanied by not other apparent troubles may not be cause for deep worry, if one has recurring blue screen failures, it's a sure sign that something is very wrong and must be addressed. (Or you will drive yourself nuts.)

I've been using the same refurbished, underpowered, generic Dell 2.8 GHz P4 (currently maxed out with a whopping 2 GB of RAM ) since mid-2006 and I've only seen two BSOD's the whole time. (I've had other crashes of various kinds, but typically related to known software/hardware issues.)

A BSOD is, for modern computers, like signs of an impending heart attack: best not to ignore.


FWIW, I stay sane and happy on my extremely modest machine by a) keeping it running lean and mean as possible without hobbling my daily activities or impairing security [ie, I finally broke down and turned on Windows Automatic Upating -- but I still don't use background-resident anti-malware that is always running] and b) by liberally using track freeze on bigger DAW projects where I'm using a bunch of CPU-sucking FX and VI's and c) finding something else to do when videos with a lot of edits and FX are rendering.