Will my new PC be good enough for recording?

J

Jfw1

New member
I just bought a new PC before deciding to go the interface route and was wondering if the specs are ok for recording? My new PC is a Alienware X51 with a i3 and 6gb ram.. Will this work ok?

Thanks..
 
I am surprised that they even put in an i3 chip in those machines, but since Dell took over the company/brand name, they are using it as a marketing tool for lower end machines. Not a fan of the i3 chip, but it will work. You may some limits on effects (just use them wisely and learn how to use sends so that you are efficient in their use), not reason this won't get the job done, but there will be some limits on processing, but you may never notice.
 
I only purchased it for web browsing and chose the the smallest processor and memory.. Also I chose Windows 7 because I don't like Windows 8 and then two days later I decided to get a interface.. I still have my Tascam portable recorder that I've been happy with if the new PC doesn't perform when recording..
 
Windows 7 isn't a problem. 6 GB is, however, and the i3 is not great. One other factor is the HDD -- slow spindle speed won't help, either.

It all comes down to what you want to do. If you're doing light tracking and mixing, it should be fine. If you're planning on huge multi-track sessions with lots of VSTs then you're not going to be happy at all.
 
PTravel said:
Windows 7 isn't a problem. 6 GB is, however, and the i3 is not great. One other factor is the HDD -- slow spindle speed won't help, either.

It all comes down to what you want to do. If you're doing light tracking and mixing, it should be fine. If you're planning on huge multi-track sessions with lots of VSTs then you're not going to be happy at all.
Click to expand...

Is it to late to exchange the computer?
 
6G of RAM is more than adequate for recording. If using a lot of memory-intensive VSTs (or VSTi's) you may need to render some, but I've had no issues with 6G running EZD VSTi plus a couple of synth VSTi's plus 2 reverbs.
 
Until a month or two ago i was running a P4 with 1gig of ram, even with Addictive Drums and other effects i could do it was working (not very well), I have since upgraded to an i3,with 8 gig of ram and have no issues at all.
One other factor is the HDD -- slow spindle speed won't help, either.
Click to expand...
+1
I wish I had gone with a SS HDD, and will upgrade in the future, but for now, i am having no issues what so ever.
Cheers:drunk:
 
Thanks everyone for the advice.. I decided to go with a Avid Mbox 3 with Pro Tools Express.. Hopefully i will be ok with my new pc since i will only be recording one track at a time.. When the Mbox arrives tomorrow i will update on how my pc performs with it. Thanks again..
 
The i3 series, like most, has a huge range under the one name. "i3" alone tells us very little.
The range spans below and above the high end chips of yesteryear, meaning you could potentially 'upgrade' from core2quad to i3 and actually be taking a downward step.

I found a link to an x51 with Intel® Core™ i3-4130 though, which beats the pants off a q9550, for example.
If that's the chip in your machine, it'll be more than capable.

I used to have a q9550 setup with 8gb ram and never found the upper limit of what it could do in terms of audio.
 
Steenamaroo said:
The i3 series, like most, has a huge range under the one name. "i3" alone tells us very little.
The range spans below and above the high end chips of yesteryear, meaning you could potentially 'upgrade' from core2quad to i3 and actually be taking a downward step.

I found a link to an x51 with Intel® Core™ i3-4130 though, which beats the pants off a q9550, for example.
If that's the chip in your machine, it'll be more than capable.

I used to have a q9550 setup with 8gb ram and never found the upper limit of what it could do in terms of audio.
Click to expand...

Without too much detail of the actual spec, Alienware is Dell's flagship computer brand. When they purchased them several years back, they were making the most screaming Windows based machines out there. Everything was top notch. I would suspect, they probably put a high end i3 chip in the machine. But, that is based on their old reputation, now they are part of the big corporation, they could be living off of their former name, like Fender or a Gibson.

But I am pretty sure it is not the lowest grade of chip. I bet he will be fine.
 
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