Rain Solstice Computer and Reason 7.0 - Anyone else have one?

derekp

Member
I bought a Rain Solstice back in 2008...Rain Recording Solstice PC

The company has since gone out of business, but when I needed technical support, they were reliable.

Anyway, I've since upgraded my Reason program from 4.0 to 7.0 and have had issues. I had to upgrade to Windows 7 in order to run 7.0, and since the upgrade I've noticed it lags in terms of loading samples, changing patterns, etc, and shuts down if a lot of files are running (when using Reason that is).

Considering the money I put into this computer, I'd hate to replace it, but wondering what some of your thoughts are. I've changed the power supply once, upgraded the graphics card for around $35 and put in a soundcard years ago. Other than that, haven't spent much on the computer in terms of upgrades.
 
How much RAM is installed in your machine? I wouldn't try to run Win7 with less than 4 GB of RAM. Is this a 64 bit version of Win7, or 32 bit?
 
The graphics card and soundcard wouldn't help at all. The PSU upgrade might be beneficial for the future. Like Tadpui said, the amount of RAM is important here. 4GB is sufficient, but more would be better. Also, what is your CPU?
 
why did you change the power supply? for example you won't need a 1500W PSU on a system that only ever uses no more than 150W, I see this all the time, inexperienced builders putting in ridiculously high wattage PSU's and then wondering why it doesn't work, so that's one thing to note. Have you checked your C:// for errors? sounds like a failing HDD to me, adding to that RAM is very important, CPU and clock speed is also important, would love to know more specs.
 
I only mentioned graphics card and soundcard to talk about the little investment I've put into the computer. I currently have 4 GB of RAM. It's an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ 3.01 Ghz.
 
Power supply died.

I wouldn't suspect there are errors. I've read about a lot of Reason users having lagging troubles with upgrades. Everything was gravy with 4.0, but I wanted the upgrade because they finally started allowing audio recording through the program.

I'm thinking of adding to the RAM, maybe swapping out 2 of my 1 GB memory sticks with 2 GB memory sticks, bringing me up to 6 GB of RAM. Is there anything I have to consider before doing so?
 
I'm thinking of adding to the RAM, maybe swapping out 2 of my 1 GB memory sticks with 2 GB memory sticks, bringing me up to 6 GB of RAM. Is there anything I have to consider before doing so?

Hi there,
Yes. You have to consider the max amount of ram that the particular machine will take, and the type.
Also, you'll have to look into how fussy it is. Does it want all RAM matched, or is it happy enough with matched pairs?

Can you give a specific model for the computer or, better yet, the motherboard?
Your CPU is roughly equivalent the core2duo range (I'm just more familiar with intel), so there's a good chance 4GB is the max you can have...

I helped a friend with computer upgrading recently. IIRC he bagged a core2quad q9550 machine with 8gb ram for around £100.
 
Hi there,
Yes. You have to consider the max amount of ram that the particular machine will take, and the type.
Also, you'll have to look into how fussy it is. Does it want all RAM matched, or is it happy enough with matched pairs?

Can you give a specific model for the computer or, better yet, the motherboard?
Your CPU is roughly equivalent the core2duo range (I'm just more familiar with intel), so there's a good chance 4GB is the max you can have...

I helped a friend with computer upgrading recently. IIRC he bagged a core2quad q9550 machine with 8gb ram for around £100.

This is about all I have - Rain Recording Solstice Quad Core Desktop Audio Computer

And this is what I'm looking to get in terms of an upgrade - Computer upgrades scan results for Giga-Byte Giga-Byte Motherboards GA-MA69GM-S2H (rev. 1.0) from Crucial

4GB kit (2GBx2) DDR2 PC2-5300 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.8V 256Meg x 64
 
I would buy nothing until you can be certain.
You say you have an AMX X2 dual core, but the link leads to an X4 quad core machine.

Hmm..If you can't find any more specific info, pop the case sides off (with the machine turned off) and get a makers mark from the motherboard.
If you can find the name a model number, we can find out how much ram it will take for you. :)

There's a good chance it's a GA‑MA78GM‑S2H, in which case the machine will take 16GB, but whether it'll take 1066 or not is down to the CPU choice.

I think those Althon chips only support up to 800. You'd could jump to 1066 if you went with a cpu upgrade as well.
This is all speculation though....Tell us for sure what the mobo is. :)
 
My mistake, sorry. I went to my system information:

System manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co
System model: GA-MA69GM-S2H

I also see on system information the following:

Total physical memory - 4 GB
Available physical memory - 2.38 GB
Total virtual memory - 8 GB
Available virtual - 5.69 GB
 
Ok, I was close.

No matter what you do, I'd go for 4 x new modules, all the same. It just makes sense and old ram is so cheap these days.

There are a few different socket versions of that board available but, since you have the x2 6000 chip, you must have the AM2 version.(looking at their support cpu lists.)
That means there are no 1066/quad core chips available which makes things easier.

4x4gb, or 4x2gb, ddr2 800mhz 1.8v would be the thing to get, as far as I can see.

Needless to say, satisfy yourself of that before you buy anything. ;)
The GB support pages are surprisingly good.
 
OK, great. So
4GB kit (2GBx2) DDR2 PC2-8500 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.8V 256Meg x 64
seems to be the ticket? I can the 4 I need for $150. Sound reasonable?
 
OK, great. So
4GB kit (2GBx2) DDR2 PC2-8500 Unbuffered NON-ECC 1.8V 256Meg x 64
seems to be the ticket? I can the 4 I need for $150. Sound reasonable?

You'd buy 2 x that kit? Ie. four modules of 2gb?
Sounds good. :)

Might be a little pricey...I'm not sure. Shop around for best results. ;)
 
I'd still recommend a better CPU as well. It's equivalent to the lowest of the low Core 2 Duos. RAM will help the application crashes from lack of memory, but you need a good enough CPU to run the actual application.
 
Something else to consider is the huge difference in overhead from Reason 4.0 to 5.0 to 6.0 to 6.5 to 7.0 and you probably got the free upgrade to 7.1...
There was a LOT of function added going from the 14x2 mixer to the SSL 9000, from midi only to audio, from Thor to four different synths, Master Class effects, etc. etc. etc.
I've noticed that the upgrade from 7.1 to 8.0 to 8.1 had the same problem. Things got just a little slower. The more they add, the more it pulls.

Basically all of the advice above is sound. You will gain very little from a graphics card upgrade. You don't need more than the 450W power supply that came with it, get 500 for the sake of argument. More memory will give you less crash and allow faster computations i.e. faster render and lower latency. Faster CPU (and more cores) will get you more tracks and REs without problem. One other thing I didn't see mentioned, installing an SSD to hold your samples will speed up your sample loads.
 
My 1st PC ran W95 with 8Meg of RAM. Now I have a W7 that requires 5Gig of RAM.
It looks better, runs faster and has lots of unused &/or annoying bellls'n'whistles.
Hardly worth the effort & RAM - though RAM is cheap.
MUCH more about sales.
You also need to set up your system for audio. XP was well known & tweaking tips were everywhere (I still run XP for recording downstairs) perhaps there's something available for W7 that'll help as well.
You COULD wind back and reinstall Reason 4!
 
So I ended up upgrading to 6.0 GB of RAM (Bought two 2 GB RAM sticks due to money constraints). So far, I'm not really seeing a difference in the performance of Reason 7.

I've definitely considered just winding back to Reason 4 for the sake of my creative urges...it's not like I lose out on Reason 7, after all, I'm registered.
As far as a CPU upgrade, I wouldn't know where to start or even how to install, and I'm leaning towards eventually buying a new computer instead of investing more money into this one. Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
If you are not DIY inclined, you are very definitely better going with a new machine. Several reasons come to mind: Old equipment has higher fail rates (a fan going out can be catastrophic); old power supplies can damage equipment (as they eventually become unstable); etc.
BUT, if you can replace the few things necessary to ensure a good, fresh machine (PS, MB and CPU) will save you a bit of $$$, and fans (even the nice quiet ones) are cheap. None of these swaps is rocket science and a 20 minute search/watch on YouTube can get you the info you need to do the job.
Be careful when you order a new machine. I went through a problem with a computer company (not going to name names) as I ordered a "quiet" machine in a dedicated "quiet" case and the thing was NOISY. Fought with them for over a month about the custom build not being guaranteed "to meet my needs" even though I had specified that it was for a home recording studio in my initial e-mail. Had to return it to them three times over the course of a month and a half to fix problems, and each time I asked them to fix the noise problems. Each time it came back making all the noises. Asked them to return the machine and was told I'd had it 45 days and that was their return policy. Told them I'd had it exactly three days and it had never worked correctly, but they insisted that all the time the machine spent in transit was on me. Got up with my credit card company, and they refunded my money, at which point the mfg wanted their machine shipped back to them...lost a lot in shipping, but in the end I got rid of their lemon, that initial e-mail order was my salvation, they couldn't argue that the machine was supposed to be quiet...oops, rambling again. :facepalm:
 
Back
Top