Desktop for recording and nothing else

dainbramage

dainbramage

New member
I figured I want a computer to use for recording music and nothing else. No internet, no nothing except Reaper, audio interface drivers and plugins. If I need something I guess I could just download it on the main computer and transfer it on a USB stick. Will probably get an external hard drive (I heard they're cheap) as well. Do you guys have a computer solely for recording purposes?

So I found a very cheap desktop (on the used market) with screen, mouse and keyboard included. It's almost 2 years old, AMD-something 2,3Ghz, 4GB RAM. First of all, will this do?

Does anyone have any tips on how to optimize it for recording? I would want to get rid of as much audio-related stuff I can. Drivers, programs, hidden functions etc.
 
I built a computer I use only for recording. Though I do have it connected to net when need for Ilok updates.

What do you plan on recording? VSTi's in quantity? You can get by with minimal system if you do not plan to run a bunch of things that tax your processor, like VSTi's and a bunch of effects.

Get complete details of the PC you are looking at. Motherboard, Processor, OS...

Go HERE for PC setup. There are steps for W8 as well, though I would stay away from Windows 8 myself.
 
dainbramage said:
I figured I want a computer to use for recording music and nothing else. No internet, no nothing except Reaper, audio interface drivers and plugins. If I need something I guess I could just download it on the main computer and transfer it on a USB stick.
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That's exactly what I do. I don't want anything but audio on my DAW. I found I needed 8G ram and a Quad core, I can run 24 tracks audio and 3-4 VSTi's no problem. I also have 3 drives, an SSD for Win7, a 7200 for my projects and a 7200 for all my VSTi and plugin info and back up. I think you'll be ok with two drives and you can get a 7200 internal drive cheap. Optimizing makes a big difference, my system runs very smooth no problems. Sweetwater has a great optimization guide. Good Luck !
 
jimmys69 said:
I built a computer I use only for recording. Though I do have it connected to net when need for Ilok updates.

What do you plan on recording? VSTi's in quantity? You can get by with minimal system if you do not plan to run a bunch of things that tax your processor, like VSTi's and a bunch of effects.

Get complete details of the PC you are looking at. Motherboard, Processor, OS...

Go HERE for PC setup. There are steps for W8 as well, though I would stay away from Windows 8 myself.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jimmy.

I will run at least Addictive Drums as I can't mic my drum set due to neighbors. Guitar amps will be miced, so no plugins on them. I might run a few plugs on vocals but if that doesn't work out I'll use the verb, comp and EQ that is built into my new interface. So at least one VST will be needed. Probably a couple for the bass too. I will probably not have more than 8-10 tracks on each project.

PDP said:
That's exactly what I do. I don't want anything but audio on my DAW. I found I needed 8G ram and a Quad core, I can run 24 tracks audio and 3-4 VSTi's no problem. I also have 3 drives, an SSD for Win7, a 7200 for my projects and a 7200 for all my VSTi and plugin info and back up. I think you'll be ok with two drives and you can get a 7200 internal drive cheap. Optimizing makes a big difference, my system runs very smooth no problems. Sweetwater has a great optimization guide. Good Luck !
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
Do you know how many cores your AMD has? I ask as I have an AMD with 6 cores and it is a couple of years old. I have nothing but audio on my system and run all the VST's I desire. Sometimes I have to pay attention to what I am running, but it is rare. Other than some items I've turned off, I ave not really had to tweak much.

You should be fine for the most part. Start looking for RAM if the OS is 64 bit.
 
DM60 said:
Do you know how many cores your AMD has? I ask as I have an AMD with 6 cores and it is a couple of years old. I have nothing but audio on my system and run all the VST's I desire. Sometimes I have to pay attention to what I am running, but it is rare. Other than some items I've turned off, I ave not really had to tweak much.

You should be fine for the most part. Start looking for RAM if the OS is 64 bit.
Click to expand...

I haven't got the computer yet, it's on the way in the mail. The info is gone from the used ad, but I seem to remember it was only dual core. Operating system is Windows 7. Is this too slow you think?

Anyway I guess I'll find out.
 
dainbramage said:
I haven't got the computer yet, it's on the way in the mail. The info is gone from the used ad, but I seem to remember it was only dual core. Operating system is Windows 7. Is this too slow you think?

Anyway I guess I'll find out.
Click to expand...

Kind of hard to say these days. I think the technology peaked about 4 years ago. I like 4+ but, people have done more with less. I think making a recording focused computer will make the biggest difference. For audio, we know you can have mass quantities of tracks with little problem.

If you run into problems with VSTs, just use the function of freezing, or bounce the track that has the VSTs you are trying to reduce and bring it back in and turn the other track off (this is what freezing does, but easier).

I think you will find a dedicated computer will be better overall just because it will feel like your "studio".
 
Cool, thanks. The computer I'm at now, which I use for everything including recording, is a laptop, AMD quad-core 1.8Ghz. It does have 8GB RAM but I am on a 32 bit OS so only 4 of them can be used. I never knew that a 32 bit OS limited the amount of available RAM usage until reading about it after your post. This one seems more than good enough for recording, but it is quad core.
 
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dainbramage said:
Cool, thanks. The computer I'm at now, which I use for everything including recording, is a laptop, AMD quad-core 1.8Ghz. It does have 8GB RAM but I am on a 32 bit OS so only 4 of them can be used. I never knew that a 32 bit OS limited the amount of available RAM usage until reading about it after your post. This one seems more than good enough for recording, but it is quad core.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest, I have never researched why 32 bits has a limit, but all 32 bit OSes seem to have this limit. 64 bit processing has its advantages, but I have mainly seen applications taking advantage of the increased memory. But that really only improves your buffering and reduces your I/O for HD reads/writes. I would think, with a good SSD drive, the increased RAM in performance improvement would be reduced as I/O from the SSD is much better.

Over all, based on what I know and some can dispute it, for majority of applications, I/O performance (which has always been the weak link in the computing chain) is what should be the primary focus. Get that resolved and CPU issues these past few years (notice the trend these days has been focused on tablets as processing power has leveled off on desk/laptops?) are just not a major concern. If it is 64 bit, get some RAM, if not, look into an SSD as your scratch disk (I don't agree with it being the OS disk as it just mainly boots up faster, most of the OS gets loaded in RAM and requires little calls afterwards), that should really kick up your performance.

Do research or hear what others have to say on the subject matter, but in general a computer that is 2-4 years old should serve 99% of us here on the board.
 
dainbramage said:
Thanks Jimmy.

I will run at least Addictive Drums as I can't mic my drum set due to neighbors. Guitar amps will be miced, so no plugins on them. I might run a few plugs on vocals but if that doesn't work out I'll use the verb, comp and EQ that is built into my new interface. So at least one VST will be needed. Probably a couple for the bass too. I will probably not have more than 8-10 tracks on each project.



Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have more or less the same requirements on most of my projects. 8-10 tracks and 4-5 plugins. 4 GB RAM coupled with a mid-level AMD Quad-core processor works fine for me. I run 64-bit Win 7 and haven't faced any issues with plugins. The requirements also depends on the plugins I guess. I use AD usually on one track and throw in this Ableton plugin called 'crunchy drums' that I really like. Apart from that I have guitar rig loaded on 2-3 tracks. I also eq using Ableton's EQ 8 plugin on all guitar tracks. Haven't faced any issues with my setup (i've had it for around 6 months now).

One thing I would strongly advise is installing Win7 on a solid state drive. It really makes your computer superfast !
 
dainbramage said:
Do you guys have a computer solely for recording purposes?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have two, and everyone should have at least one dedicated... if they're serious.

So I found a very cheap desktop (on the used market) with screen, mouse and keyboard included. It's almost 2 years old, AMD-something 2,3Ghz, 4GB RAM. First of all, will this do?
Click to expand...

Probably. One of mine is built on a 10-year-old Pentium III (Asus P3B-F MOBO) and optimized for audio there's nothing it cannot do. It was way ahead of its time though.

You can manage with much less computer if optimized for a purpose rather than compromised for many purposes.
 
Steenamaroo said:
The 'something' is the important bit. ;)
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I just hooked it up and it seems to work fine despite very risking packaging. It was all basically just put in a cardboard box with a small towel and some paper, so I guess I was lucky this time.

When I click properties it says it's an "AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 250" and it says 3Ghz. I am fairly certain the ad said 2.2Ghz. What's up with that?

It doesn't seem to have been formatted as there are a bunch of pics and shit on it. So my main question right now is can I format it without having the Windows 7 CD? (or are those DVDs now? anyway..) Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) is installed on it but there's no CD. The serial/registration key is available in "properties" too. Will this be enough?
 
That CPU falls in to the performance range of the higher end core2duo chips which makes it capable, but certainly not high end.

Do you think you could get the appropriate install CD from someone?
If it's anything like XP you have to get the exact version or it wont accept your code. (home/corporate/professional etc)

Unless the previous user has mutilated the OS and bogged it down with crap (installed crap rather than stored crap), I wouldn't bother.
Maybe there's a recovery partition that you could boot and reinstall from, if you're keen?

As far as I know the product key should be in the following format.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
If that's what you see in properties, it should be cool.
 
dainbramage said:
I just hooked it up and it seems to work fine despite very risking packaging. It was all basically just put in a cardboard box with a small towel and some paper, so I guess I was lucky this time.

When I click properties it says it's an "AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 250" and it says 3Ghz. I am fairly certain the ad said 2.2Ghz. What's up with that?

It doesn't seem to have been formatted as there are a bunch of pics and shit on it. So my main question right now is can I format it without having the Windows 7 CD? (or are those DVDs now? anyway..) Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) is installed on it but there's no CD. The serial/registration key is available in "properties" too. Will this be enough?
Click to expand...


Check to see if there is a recovery disk storage area. Many of those system builders didn't ship the CD/DVD but provided a recovery software to create it. If it has that, you could possible reinstall as a factory reset. The serial number may be on the case, but many times, if you use the recovery program, you don't even need the serial number. If it does have the recovery program, it will reformat to factory as a part of the install.

I wouldn't reformat at this point until you have everything set. If you have to, clean it off, uninstall, maybe get a registery cleaner. Once you have that working, do a back up disk, then start installing your stuff.
 
You can download the windows install cd from Microsoft and burn it to DVD or make a bootable USB stick (instructions for either method are easily googled). Keep a note of the license key for the new install.
 
Do you have a Win XP CD around? IMO XP is still the ultimate DAW OS. Win 7 is more of a resource hog. It’s a somewhat improved Vista but still doesn’t fly as well as XP for audio/video. Win 7 can be trimmed down, but not as effectively as XP can. I run XP SP2 for DAWs. I won’t even install SP3, but that’s a long story for another thread.
 
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