help!! how much of a computer upgrading would be needed for...?

  • Thread starter Thread starter saruin
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saruin

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hi,

sorry it's quite a long message, but please bear with me.

today, i finally ordered delta66/omni-studio audio card and akg k240df monitoring headphones after several more months of saving...

i'm trying to do the hard recording using cakewalk sonar and soft-synths that came with sonar xl, that is, for now. i'm also thinking of doing some micings for guitar and vocal. after mixing down, i'll probably want to make them into cds. i know i need some computer upgrading to do these all - especially using soft-synths without having too much problem. what i want to know is HOW MUCH of an upgrading will be needed.

for your information, my operating system is win2000 pro. i have a dell computer with pentium III, 550 MHz. 128 MB ram. 13 GB hard drive 5400 rpm (which i'm gonna use exclusively for storage after getting a new hard drive). and i don't have a cdr drive.

what i can think of so far that i need now are
1. a new processor over 1 GHz. pentium III over 1 GHz maybe?
2. a new motherboard that could handle the new processor
3. more ram. 512 MB enough?
4. cdr drive. thinking of getting a plextor but don't know exactly which. and how about scsi drive or IDE? do i need one?
5. a new hard drive (for operating systems including windows and cakewalk). 20 GB, 7200 rpm sounds good?

do you have any suggestion or insight you can share? am i missing anything? any recommendation regarding specific makers, models, etc?

i'm kinda feeling lost here. too much technical stuff to handle... if anyone can give any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
 
A PIII 550 isn't that bad a system.

I'd try it out first before even thinking of upgrading. How many tracks, how many plugin's, what type of music?

Soft synths can be a killer, but usually because they just are buggy to begin with, not so much a system parameter.

Do you need to upgrade?

Another hard drive for sure, but outside of that, your current MB and MPU might do the job fine.
 
hi emeric.

in fact, i've been using cakewalk sonar for a while now, and when i use dxi synths and real time effects, i find it buggy from time to time. so i knew i needed an upgrade. i didn't know my 5400 rpm hard drive could be the sole reason for the problem though.

maybe i should just get a new hard drive and nothing else, and see what happens, right?

i try to make rock/pop songs with several number of tracks. i'd say at most 10. i haven't fully explored all the plug-ins that came with sonar xl, but i'm sure i'm gonna take a full advantage out of everything i have sooner or later.

thanks for your reply.
 
what i can think of so far that i need now are
1. a new processor over 1 GHz. pentium III over 1 GHz maybe?
2. a new motherboard that could handle the new processor
3. more ram. 512 MB enough?
4. cdr drive. thinking of getting a plextor but don't know exactly which. and how about scsi drive or IDE? do i need one?
5. a new hard drive (for operating systems including windows and cakewalk). 20 GB, 7200 rpm sounds good?
Click to expand...
For the price you'll spend to obtain all of that you'd come out cheaper buying a refurbished computer. :D

I'm with Emeric, you should just get another HD (7200rpm's), because the system you have is not bad. :)

?Maybe some RAM? .... even if you do happen to pick up some more RAM you shouldn't need more that 256mb (but... if you do get more than that, you should read this...).

http://www.techadvice.com/specs/answer.asp?aid=182

peace

spin
 
If you wanna use softsynths, youll need a fast processor and some extra ram wouldnt help....
 
hi gidge, thanks for your reply.

i see...

well then.
how does pentium III 1.0 GHz sound to you? or should i go with something else like pentium IV or athlon?

i know some ppl who prefer pentium III over IV, and that's why i'm thinking towards III. and i'm a little worried if there is any compatibility problem with athlon. but again, what do i know about processors anyway.

maybe i should do some researching involving cpu first.

anyhow, i think i'm gonna get the hard drive and a little more ram tomorrow and see what happens...
 
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