CPU and Sound Quality

M

MisterP

New member
My buddy is taking a little "course" with a studio nearby, and one of the requirements was to get a GOOD computer. He got one, lots of RAM, somethin like 3 GHZ processor, blah blah blah.. Right now, as far as his own tools, all he uses is a EMU 0202 USB and a freakin Sony kareoke mic.. He uses presets on Cool Edit to compress and does absolutely no EQ.

I have a M-Audio Profire converting into SPDIF in a EMU 0404 PCI (long story..), an Avalon 737sp, an AT4040.. however, I have a E-Machine with a 1.5 GHZ processor and 221mb of available RAM.. And I'm having difficulty (even using the same presets he uses, let alone actually ENGINEERING) getting the desired vocal presence with such ease that he seems to get.

Obviously, I'm thinking I need a better computer. But the guy at the music shop I bought all this stuff from told me that a very average computer like mine is definitely enough to get the full potential of my tools.

So does a better computer than what I have really bring out better performance from sound equipment? I can afford to get a much better one, as I already have a nice monitor and everything else, would just need to pick up a new tower.
 
I would argue that the power of the computer really has nothing to do with the sound quality you can achieve. However, if your computer can't handle the track count or the plugin count you feel you need to achieve quality, yes, that's a problem.

To answer your question: "So does a better computer than what I have really bring out better performance from sound equipment?"

NO.
 
The title of your question is a bit confusing.

I agree with the others. A new machine will allow you to increase the workload, but not necessarily the sound quality. The CPU speed and amount of memory have nothing to do with sound quality.

What exactly are you having trouble with? Is your machine crashing, running slow, or something?
 
The others are right. The specifications of the computer have little effect on the quality of recording. In fact, I spent many years running Logic on a computer with similar characteristics.

However, the advantage of a faster CPU is that you can do a lot more tasks on your recordings (more plug-ins and so on). And I will say that 221mb of RAM is not much. If part of your problem is getting things to run effectively, then consider at least getting more RAM.
 
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