Newbee help needed - Computer recommendations?

R

RichyRihc

New member
The “quick” question is…
Narrowed it down to 3 computers for home recording.
For personal (hobby) use; Cubase 10, Focusrite 18i8; Music genre – Light rock (Wild Feathers, Matchbox 20); Budget $2800-ish;

iMac – 27” monitor, i7, 16GB, 2TB Fusion drive.
MacBook Pro – specs (?) to be determined
Lenovo Thinkpad – Probably P52 – specs (?) to be determined

The bigger story, if interested, or if more info helps...
Complete amateur with a lot to learn. I recorded very little about 15 years ago but never stopped playing drums, and some guitar, etc. Worked with Cubase 5. Now I am 47 and want to re-visit for hobby, hopefully for life, and have some $$ to work with – Already settled on going with Cubase 10 and Focusrite 18i8.

Read TONS of recommendations on preferred computers – Too many. I want to make recording quality stuff as easy as possible. I am not familiar with Mac’s but figured I could learn it enough for recording, and I’m intuitive enough to look stuff up and figure it out. Saw the 27 inch iMac and fell in love with it. Read tons of stuff to figured out what specs I needed/ wanted – Even details regarding Fusion drives versus SSD’s, etc.

Then I can’t decide between the iMac but then MacBook Pro. I’m iffy (and unfamiliar) about Mac’s but their suppporters are quite passionate – I’m considering making the jump. I’ve had about 5 laptops and they all pretty much have annoyed me… But had a Lenovo (Yoga) before and loved it! Best computer I’ve ever had. I was ready to make a move on the iMac, then considered the MacBook Pro… Then I read a lot of articles praising the Lenovo which made it a little more complicated. The ThinkPad (P52) is quite impressive. I simply can’t decide between these three. PLEASE ADVISE. And if you think MacBook Pro or Lenovo Thinkpad - What specs would you get with $2700-2800 to work with? THANKS!
 
Welcome to the site.

I really really hope you do not plan on spending $2800 on a computer for music. In all honesty, most any computer these days will do the job admirably. Macs are way more expensive than PCs and do not offer any performance benefit. They are easier to use and to interface with peripherals, but on a PC, once you spend the 30 minutes getting everything loaded and running, then that advantage is lost. The i7 is good, 16GB of memory. 2 drives (one SSD, the other HDD). I like 2 monitors. Spread stuff out.

If you plan to use a lot of virtual synths, then a better than average computer is recommended. If you're recording mostly audio, like vocals, guitars, bass, etc. then an average computer is fine. I have an old Dell Precision, circa 2009 and it hums along nicely. I do mostly audio, but will have at least one virtual instrument running (drums) and a few plug-ins.

Cubase is a great program. I've been using it for a long time. Just recently upgraded to Cubase Artist 10. For a one-man band recording, Elements offers plenty of functionality at a good price. Cubase does have its drawbacks. The learning curve is immense, so stick with it. Once you're over the hump, you can focus on being creative. And there are a lot of people here who know Cubase well. The little other problem is connectivity with your interface. With Cubase, it is not very intuitive. But, again, lots of help here for ya.

Where would be a good place to spend $2800? Audio monitors and room treatment. Microphones. Headphones. Some nice plug-ins. The Focusrite 18i8 is a good choice too.

If you want drums, but don't want to learn how to record a drum kit, look at virtual drums like EZ Drummer or Steve Slate drums.

Cool you're getting back into it. Lots to learn. It's all fun.

cheers,
 
How do I "not" spend $2500-2800? Everywhere, all of my research says to get i5 minimum with at least a quad core, 16 GB RAM, 500 SSD minimum... Every time I look up those specs the computer gets up to $2500. I've ran a budget computer on this stuff back in the day and it was torture to record. When I've read posts on the recommended lower-budget computers with specs that meet the minimum I run into many computer (brands) that have let me down in the past and I don't want to invest in something that I won't love. I've had too many computers that I don't care for. Not thrilled about the iMac (or MacBook Pro) idea but it seems that most people push me in that direction and the reliability is undeniable. Then when I saw the Lenovo (P52) I finally found a way away from the Mac but they are expensive with the right specs. I think that the three that I've mentioned are reasonable. I have everything else that I need - monitors, nice headphones, etc.... Just need to finalize the computer part. I'm actually struggling to decide. Greatly appreciated the reply but what computer would you consider? of my 3 choices? or something else?
 
I'm a Mac convert, of sorts, so I'll just toss out that you look into the new Mac Mini, since your consideration of the iMac means that portability is not critical. On paper, at least, it looks to be a big improvement over the Minis that Apple had been putting out for several years. I just checked, a new i5 quad w 16/512GB prices out at $1500 (and yes, you'll spend a few hundred more for keyboard, mouse and monitor) - spendy yes, but this will pale in comparison to everything else you spend money on if you stick with this hobby, trust me...

FWIW, I used my 2010 MacBook Pro (refurb from Apple store acquired in 2011), with a Core 2 Duo processor, upgraded to 8GB RAM, before moving to a used 2012 Mini (i3 processor with 16GB). I've updated both systems to SSDs, and I use the Mini just for audio and a little bit of video dabbling. The MBP is still capable of audio recording, though it will get bogged down in mixing if I use a lot of plugins. I've recorded a dozen tracks simultaneously with it though to an external drive. The Mini is fine for my small projects, though I do find that freezing tracks or using Low-Latency mode (in Logic Pro X - my DAW) on occasion is necessary.

I've found that a key performance problem is system disk activity, and so very early started using external drives for the audio projects. It makes a huge difference, so (IMO/IME) anything you get should be done with the plan to separate your applications and operating system from the audio project storage, and some folks move VSTs off the system disk as well. So, figure on a few hundred more for external drives for both your projects and backup for your system and projects both.

In the end, the specific computer, OS and even DAW don't matter, but you have to spend time learning the ins/outs of the whole "ecosystem" and deal with some frustrations along the way. Places like this forum are where to come when you're ready to tell the garbage truck to just back up to the house so you don't have to carry all your stuff out to the curb :).
 
The Lenovo P52 is a workstation-class laptop. No wonder it is so expensive. You don't need all that computing power to do audio. Now, if you wanted to do video as well, then that laptop will be good, but overkill for your stated purposes.

But a regular ol' i7 desktop computer is much cheaper and more than capable of handling the task of recording audio.

When I first started with computer based recording, a typical project would have 16 - 20 audio tracks, one VSTi, and several plugs on each track. My PC at the time was a Pentium 4 homebuilt with 4 GB of ram and WinXP.

You really want to spend your money where you need it. Good monitors and a well treated listening room. Acoustic treatment doesn't have to be expensive, but it is money well spent. You want to be able to hear your mixes accurately to make proper adjustments. Therefore your mixing environment needs to be good. That includes you audio monitors and the room you are in.
 
For what it's worth I go with large spinning disks (with backups) for big/long term storage, and smaller SSDs for the main system disk.
I've never used fusion but I'm not sure the idea appeals to me.

For mac vs pc you can find endless debates, preferences, and opinions but, whatever side you fall on, I'd suggest researching your chosen DAW against your chosen OS.
I use Mac OS but I've no idea how it gets on with Cubase, for example.
 
Steenamaroo said:
For what it's worth I go with large spinning disks (with backups) for big/long term storage, and smaller SSDs for the main system disk.
I've never used fusion but I'm not sure the idea appeals to me.
Click to expand...

+1 to that. The frequent writes and rewrites of tracking can destroy an SSD much faster than you'd anticipate, and HDD storage is WAY cheaper for the huge piles of large files you'll get recording.
 
Laptops have limited lifespans, they just burnout. Buy a desktop cheaper for music use, and if you need a laptop, buy that for separate use.

I run Reaper on a Win 7 HP Pavillion with 6G RAM, 1T hard drive, 2.2GHz AMD 64 bit processor. Didn't buy it for music use, it's what I had. I have no issues running EZ Drummer + half a dozen or more virtual instruments at the same time, multiple reverbs, etc. It won't handle HD video processing well - but does, albeit slowly with older software.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
+1 to that. The frequent writes and rewrites of tracking can destroy an SSD much faster than you'd anticipate, and HDD storage is WAY cheaper for the huge piles of large files you'll get recording.
Click to expand...
Make that +2. I also like having my external drives on a different bus. USB 3.0 for the drives (there it makes a difference!) and USB 2.0 (or FW in my case) for the interface.
 
mjbphotos said:
Laptops have limited lifespans, they just burnout.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'd agree with that.
Sure, anything can curl up and die, but I'm not aware of laptops having a reputation for it.
I've only ever seen one properly dead laptop, requiring mobo replacement.

Admittedly I wouldn't fancy using a laptop as my sole machine where regular heavy use is likely and, therefore, sustained high temperatures are likely,
but pretty much any laptop off a shelf these days could be the heart of an average home studio.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I'm not sure I'd agree with that.
Sure, anything can curl up and die, but I'm not aware of laptops having a reputation for it.
I've only ever seen one properly dead laptop, requiring mobo replacement.

Admittedly I wouldn't fancy using a laptop as my sole machine where regular heavy use is likely and, therefore, sustained high temperatures are likely,
but pretty much any laptop off a shelf these days could be the heart of an average home studio.
Click to expand...

The one difference re: death that laptops have from desktops is that since they're a lot less modular, it's a lot harder to fix single components that fail. (e.g. where do you track down a replacement mobo 5 years later?)
 
VomitHatSteve said:
The one difference re: death that laptops have from desktops is that since they're a lot less modular, it's a lot harder to fix single components that fail. (e.g. where do you track down a replacement mobo 5 years later?)
Click to expand...

Oh, sure, but if there's an epidemic of dying laptops it skipped by me.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Oh, sure, but if there's an epidemic of dying laptops it skipped by me.
Click to expand...
I'm working on a friend's Vista system from 2006 I think. The HDD has some bad spots, so I've been wrestling with trying to capture an image of it to put on a bigger drive that I can dual boot to Win7 (he needs a version of iTunes for is iPad and Apple no longer supports Vista). Anyway, it's still chugging along and I've got one that's at least as old, maybe older, that was our son's in high school. Never did anything to it except update to Win7 some years back.

My slightly newer ex-WinTel (thank you Windows 10), 2008 mebbe, system is another story, it's got a fan that has a bad bearing and sticks or rattles incessantly, but it's reserved for linux emergency work like I'm using it for right now... A little noisy but the case is cool and display lovely :).

And there's the 2010 MBP I'm typing on here... Dang things won't quit so I can make my case to swambo that I need a new one!
 
I see it at work all the time. Laptops that are on 8+ hours a day. They're now switching everyone who doesn't need portability over to desktops - half the price, twice the life.
 
Ok, so this sound pretty stupid but I have a gaming laptop that I bought in 2017 to be used for some video editing. Its an Eluktronics. I dropped it outside once on the (concrete) driveway. It still works but I don't love the computer and never used it for video creating/ editing. It works fine but sometimes it'll just freeze up for about 10-20 seconds, restart, and then be okay, without any (open) projects being erased, etc. After it does this it never repeats it. Its only sometimes at initial startup. Well, I decided to check the specs and the specs on it are MUCH better than I could have ever guessed. I'm scratching my head on this one. but here it is (see below). SO... I am going to take it to a repair shop and just have someone run a full diagnostic on it and make sure its okay and use it to get started. Then maybe in a few years get a new one. But I should at least be able to get my feet wet with this one. But now I need to look into a monitor (maybe 27 inch) to go with it. I will post a new thread on recommendations. Thanks for your help everyone. Sucks being so new and amateur at this and I appreciate the help.

Eluktronics P650RS-G
2.60 GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core
32 GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
1TB HHD
8GB GDDR5 VRAM NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 + G-SYNC
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Focusrite 18i8
Cubase 10 Artist
 
RichyRihc said:
Ok, so this sound pretty stupid but I have a gaming laptop that I bought in 2017 to be used for some video editing. Its an Eluktronics. I dropped it outside once on the (concrete) driveway. It still works but I don't love the computer and never used it for video creating/ editing. It works fine but sometimes it'll just freeze up for about 10-20 seconds, restart, and then be okay, without any (open) projects being erased, etc. After it does this it never repeats it. Its only sometimes at initial startup. Well, I decided to check the specs and the specs on it are MUCH better than I could have ever guessed. I'm scratching my head on this one. but here it is (see below). SO... I am going to take it to a repair shop and just have someone run a full diagnostic on it and make sure its okay and use it to get started. Then maybe in a few years get a new one. But I should at least be able to get my feet wet with this one. But now I need to look into a monitor (maybe 27 inch) to go with it. I will post a new thread on recommendations. Thanks for your help everyone. Sucks being so new and amateur at this and I appreciate the help.

Eluktronics P650RS-G
2.60 GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core
32 GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
1TB HHD
8GB GDDR5 VRAM NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 + G-SYNC
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Focusrite 18i8
Cubase 10 Artist
Click to expand...

The most likely cause of the pausing is not the computer itself, but something with Windows or a driver. The next most likely cause is the memory sticks or hard drive. A fresh reload of windows would be the first step and you can do that yourself before spending money on a technician.

Other than that, your PC is more than capable for recording and using VSTi's.

Now, where to spend that $2800??? Oh, I know... audio monitors and room treatment. :D
 
Chili: Yep. Bought a new acoustic today - A Martin. She's a beaut. I needed it.
Also need a external monitor - Probably 27 inch. I put out a different post with my specs to see whats best for my outfit.
Regarding window - Someone on another post mentioned upgrading to windows pro anyways... says it communicates better and I can disable auto-upgrades, etc. So I will check into that a bit. I will have computer services and cleaned up anyways. Its not expensive and a tune up and diagnostic can't hurt. Very excited to get moving w this stuff. Thanks for all the replies.
 
I have close to $1500 in my PC tower. But it has a 512 SSD, 3 internal drives, CPU cooler, big quiet fans and extra USB3 card. Video card to use 3 monitors and I forgot how much ram....

Nobody really needs that unless you are really serious. I went overkill on my build.

If you went that route you would still have $1300 for room treatment and monitors.

If you not recording multiple like bands and do not need a bunch of VST's, then spend the money where it really matters.

Room treatment (not foam) and audio monitors.
 
The guys are right - I put together my own a couple of years back for under $1000 Cdn.

Start small with the DAW and treat your room. Notice everybody's saying the same thing?
 
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