MIDI Only Anyone?

[billy3000]

Hi all. I recently found out from some nice folks here and on the reaper
forum that my cpu is likely not powerful enough for digital audio.

it's one of those 'atom' things in a small net top.

anyway, surely I can record a bunch of midi tracks and have them on
standby for the 'someday' nice PC for digital audio.

is a garden variety soundcard, like the one in this PC capable of midi?

I was asking about buying a USB interface and the point came up about
the cpu.

I have a 'harvested' audiophile 2496 pci card from an organ donor PC
that used to be laying about the place

my thinking is, save for a better PC rather than buying a USB interface
that won't work anyway.

also, best question for last: what is everyones favorite midi software?

thanks for any feedback!

Bill

 

[gecko zzed]

I'd be interested to find out what your CPU is. You can record audio with little effort on even ancient CPUs . . . I used Logic on a 500mhz CPU, with 256mb ram and a 16 gig a decade ago.

Midi requires even less computing power.

 

[TimOBrien]

MIDI was designed on 8Mhz machines with 640K of memory.
A netbook should have little problem.

You can do MIDI in Reaper and I've heard a lot of people like Powertracks from
http://www.pgmusic.com/powertracks.htm
Cheap like Reaper and works down to a Win98 pc with 128k of ram....
(I would check out their forums to see if anyone's using it on a netbook)

 

[billy3000]

Thanks much Tim and gecko!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883109030

that's the beastie there. apparently, or allegedly, it is not so much
the speed of the cpu in relation to recording per se as it is the guts
and oomph of said cpu in relation to using a USB audio interface.

what ya see is what ya get with this puter. no upgrading, no pci
slots, etc...there is USB2.0, but again, what I gathered, is....the
USB2.0 audio interface is in and of itself more a bugaboo than say a
good old full duplex pci sound card with ASIO drivers.

sorry to seem so dumb (could be a reason for seeming thattaway )
does one need ASIO drivers for midi as well as audio?

factory installed soundcard is as basic as basic gets. no ASIO and no
full duplex.

 

[billy3000]

oh, I forgot. there is no midi input and no serial input.

why would I buy such a computer one may well ask? just for bills
and surfing the information traffic jam. and I wanted something
that came with XP and not Vista.

the idea of using it as a DAW was an afterthought, as it IS new and all.


I still have my old compaq I can use for MIDI and likely some really
'light' digital audio.

it's really an old bugger. PIII with 128 megs of 168 pin ram, and Millenium.
so likely, it will be MIDI only.

 

[mikemorgan]

Somebody's yankin' yer chain dude. That 'puter's got enough guts for at least 10-12 tracks of audio.

 

[gecko zzed]

Somebody's yankin' yer chain dude. That 'puter's got enough guts for at least 10-12 tracks of audio.

^^ What he said.

You can do heaps of audio and midi stuff with your Compaq.

If it has USB2, you should have no significant problems.

 

[billy3000]

Much obliged mike and gecko!!

^^ What he said.

You can do heaps of audio and midi stuff with your Compaq.

If it has USB2, you should have no significant problems.

thanks then. do either you or maybe michael use a 2
channel fast track by any chance? I forgot the brand...
haven't bought one yet. it's USB2.0 and about 100 bucks.

thanks fellas!