what should i buy?

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when i was at college i would sometimes run session of 30-40 tracks give or take on a Pc only 2GB of Ram with plugins, auto tune and amplitude. Was minor delay when starting play other than that no problems.

By the way, I think you are misunderstanding what latency(delay) is. In my description, it is the amount of delay from a live instrument, while monitoring through a DAW. A slow CPU will not allow this type of monitoring. Too much delay (latency) to allow playing.
 
no i wasn't arguing, I do appreciate the advice i only brung it up because i was surprised that the PC could handel it. Was using Windows XP and Pro tool 8 not sure about anything else though im sure it didnt even compare to your system.
 
no i know what delay is i just thought it might be worth a mention. I was just getting slightly of topic
 
ok so i've been briefly looking around at computers and would something like this work well provided i fit it with that external HDD
I think it's pretty decent for money and my needs. what do you think?

19" TFT Monitor+P4 HT 2x 3.0GHz 4GB 120GB CDRW/DVD Gaming Computer Desktop PC | eBay

For now i think im going to try and see how my laptop manages, i think i might buy a M audio fast track maybe one up from that which i've seen going for like £30 i think thats about $60 your money. like you said its the mixing thats the issues so i'll see what happens
http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/85479_l.jpg
posted pic because i think theres multiple ones with same name and different specs.
 
If you want to look to the future, I would suggest moving on to Windows 7. Some software companies have already stopped supporting XP. Your budget/future plans with determine what you want to do, but that is just my opinion. Use what you have now, and upgrade when you have reason to.
 
I will add, that a couple G's of ram is also minimum. It really depends on what your PC is used for other that recording, and how you have it setup. 4GB is a minimum in my opinion. I have 16 now, though 8 would be sufficient. Unless you have 64-bit OS, you can't even use the memory anyway. My last PC I used for recording (used to access internet and business purposes now) had a dual Athlon CPU/32-bit W7. It worked fine until I needed the an ability to run 30+tracks, with a huge amount of VST's. It just did not have the ability to do what I needed with reasonable amounts of latency. With the i7 I have now, I can record vocals on a fully processed mix, with less than 10ms of delay, monitoring through Cubase. That to me, is worth every bit of $1000. Your needs may not be as much a of yet, but keep in mind, that you may need this in the future. Resale of an inadequate computer is pretty much nil.


I'm looking into upgrading mine (Win.7 64) as I type in other tabs.
I've got 6gb ram now, but apparently I can get up to 16 gb.
I haven't got too much into searching for ram upgrades yet. I'm at the processor right now. It's a athlon ii x4 635. I'm not sure if it's necessary for me to upgrade both the ram and the processor. Or if it's even necessary to upgrade either.

Whenever you do decide to look.
I suggest spending a while searching any and everywhere before you dive into anything. Last year at a local office depot I found this for $400 with a monitor!!!

crazy deals will always show up.
 
Use what you have. Buy what you think you need. Ask for advice along the way, but realize, we could be here just to throw you off course, so that you don't take away from our popularity as the 'ones that give free advice based on our own personal experience'. LOL!

Wish you the best man. Maybe check your PM inbox too.

Jimmy :)
 
If you want to look to the future, I would suggest moving on to Windows 7. Some software companies have already stopped supporting XP. Your budget/future plans with determine what you want to do, but that is just my opinion. Use what you have now, and upgrade when you have reason to.


I agree, though AFA which OS to use will depend on needs and apps, and in some cases a more current OS will be needed as you pointed out, but in many cases, an older OS could be fine and maybe even more stable.

I still run a W2K DAW setup...and could potentially stay with that for another 10+ years and never miss anything "new". :)
Mind you, my DAW is just that...a DAW. It's not my "personal" computer for various crap. It's just my DAW.
Heck, my DAW is not even on any network.
I've not had to do any upgrades since the the day I got it...no anti-virus, no endless security updates that bog down a system, (knock on wood) it runs smooth and fast. I stripped it down to bare bones, disabled all the BS services, etc....

If you need an "do-it-all" computer...then you probably should go for a more current setup...I'm just saying that older computers and OS options can still work very well in a specialized environment.
 
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