Computer "for recording only"

[Reilley]

I'd like to know the reasons for not using a recording PC for general use. The security/hacking/data-loss thing I can see, but what are the other concerns?
Could someone please explain, or provide a link?

What about downloading effects and all the media you need for recording? USB transfer cable from your general computer to your recording computer?

Does anyone here use their general computer for recording?

Thanks very much.

 

[DavidK]

Does anyone here use their general computer for recording?

Thanks very much.

I do. I made a CD on it and am making the second. I use it for everything.

Other than viruses, I dont see why not. Modern computers have the memory and space resources.

 

[wheelema]

Well............

In my experience the more you load up your PC with apps, say you have Office, a couple of heavy duty games, your recording package, a drafting package, etc. you increase the potential for your PC to act whacky (that's a technical term). Furthermore if your PC is on the internet and you need a firewall, virus checker, etc. it just gets worse... of course, if you don't have a firewall, etc., then it REALLY gets worse.

Fortunately there is a cheap solution.

You can pop in a removable drive carrier, two removable trays, and pop a HDD into each tray. As long as your copy of Windows XP (Pro hopefully) is a full retail copy you can install it on each drive.

Then you keep all your other stuff on one drive and your recording setup on the other.

Just don't forget to kill the router if you are going to be recording.

 

[studiomaster]

What do you mean by router? internet router?

 

[ez_willis]

I use the same computer for recording and internet use and have never had any pro

 

[surfmaster]

when i built my daw i used it soley for recording for about a month. then i got curious about what it could handle so i got some games for it. then i thought it would be handy to get it hooked up to the internet. all in all, it was so much faster than my old, old toshiba laptap for internet that i just use the daw as my main computer now. i've never had any virus problems and i dont have any anti-viral software. but my router does have a firewall so that could be the explaination.

 

[wheelema]

I use the same computer for recording and internet use and have never had any pro

Quite frankly, so do I, I and I too have never had a prolliz j09f78()8 MOI&()*&080987 988&^*&ouoiuJLNN,*7(*7)*080(&98757%&

oops!!!

 

[Reilley]

Well, she was helpful while she lasted.

 

[Bulls Hit]

I have my daw lan'd to my internet gateway so the internet is not directly accessible but if I need to DL stuff, authorisations etc, I can just copy them across the lan from the gateway

 

[TimOBrien]

The old "PC for Recording Only" is from the old days when you needed to squeezed every last gasp out of a 500Mhz machine on Windows98SE.

All of my audio and video DAWs are general machines with only a few performance tweaks from musicxp.net. Of course I keep NortonGhost backups of the setups in case they have a problem (never had to redo one yet) and I'm protected by firewall and antivirus scans. Otherwise, I'm running music production, video production, 3D software, graphics software, OpenOffice, etc. etc. etc.

Never had a problem.

 

[brzilian]

Does anyone here use their general computer for recording?

Thanks very much.

Yep, being doing that since day one. I use the same computer for 3D work, Photoshop and video editing as well.

 

[Reilley]

Thanks for those. I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people said "Yes." I think I'll try it. I can always go "exclusive" later if need be.

 

[IdentitySeven]

Thanks for those. I'm pleasantly surprised that so many people said "Yes." I think I'll try it. I can always go "exclusive" later if need be.

Add me to the list

 

[Reilley]

While I'm at it - if this isn't hijacking my own thread - do any of you use brand name computers? Most of them won't take a 2nd and 3rd drive, and there are other objections, which I can't remember for the life of me. :<)

 

[surfmaster]

While I'm at it - if this isn't hijacking my own thread - do any of you use brand name computers? Most of them won't take a 2nd and 3rd drive, and there are other objections, which I can't remember for the life of me. :<)

my daw is my families old emachine i tore the thing apart after an entire line of capacitors blew on the mobo. i just used the case and replaced everything else in it. it has two drive bays and thats all i really needed. i dont think i would ever use a stock computer for recording just because i'm such a tinkerer i would have to have changed something around before i start to really like using it for recording.

 

[Reilley]

From what I've read, it seems that the only thing lacking in a brand name like a Compaq or similar, from a DAW point of view, is the lack of room for a second drive, and maybe the lack of support for two monitors with the onboard video. Yes?

 

[Cyrokk]

I had my pc custom built because if I have to install components, I don't have to be a contortionist to do so. Plus, the people who customized it didn't put any proprietary software on it, which makes booting up a very clean and fast process. Without the internet, I know what goes into the machine and on its drives, and I don't foresee any situation where I will have to reformat the machine because of some stupid spyware that bypassed the firewall, adware or spybot and crippled my registry.

My DAW is the only one of the four in our house that has not required some sort of reformatting or repair due to faulty components. It is a pain at times to upload mixes or download mp3s for online collaborations, but at least I know that my DAW and its components are stable.

 

[Mindset]

From what I've read, it seems that the only thing lacking in a brand name like a Compaq or similar, from a DAW point of view, is the lack of room for a second drive, and maybe the lack of support for two monitors with the onboard video. Yes?

Also high performance RAM, a really good motherboard, other than the drives & video that you mentioned. That's why I choose to build my own. If I knew how to build a car from scratch fast, why drive civic.

 

[Bondo]

Well............

In my experience the more you load up your PC with apps, say you have Office, a couple of heavy duty games, your recording package, a drafting package, etc. you increase the potential for your PC to act whacky (that's a technical term). Furthermore if your PC is on the internet and you need a firewall, virus checker, etc. it just gets worse... of course, if you don't have a firewall, etc., then it REALLY gets worse.

Fortunately there is a cheap solution.

You can pop in a removable drive carrier, two removable trays, and pop a HDD into each tray. As long as your copy of Windows XP (Pro hopefully) is a full retail copy you can install it on each drive.

Then you keep all your other stuff on one drive and your recording setup on the other.

Just don't forget to kill the router if you are going to be recording.

This is an excellent solution, and would be less than 200bucks prolly.

 

[Monkey Allen]

As long as your PC is pretty powerful, then there's no reason you can't make it a good recording machine, as well as the many other functions it's capable of....it is a computer after all!