Minimum requirements for REAPER on a lap top?

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John Smiff

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Hi

My desk top died and I'm looking for a lap top to replace it. I'm not rich, so I'm trying to do this as much on the cheap as possible, while still being able to handle multiple tracks, etc....

The most I would be recording at one time would be drums, which is 4 mics for now, maybe up to 8 later on. My tunes end up having anywhere from 16 to 24 tracks, with effects, etc.....

A few of the lap tops I'm looking at have 4G RAM. Is that enough, generally speaking? I know more RAM is always better, but is anyone here recording in REAPER with 4G RAM and not having stuttering/latency problems?

Thanx in advance, and if there's anything else I should looking for besides the amount of RAM, please let me know.
 
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Reaper doesn't require much in itself, but, as you add VSTs for processing, that is where the problems come in. There are some here running Reaper on old 98 machines. So, that is not the issue of what Reaper will run on, what will you further do with it is the issue you have to deal with.

Question, where are you located? I have seen in the US some nice laptops with quad core AMD chips for about $500 (WalMart), TigerDirect has a hell of a HP laptop with 12GB RAM and i7 Chip for $649 (refurbished), that should run just about anything you could throw at it.

So, if you could provide some information, we could probably help more.
 
I'd be more worried about the processor generation than anything else.
You can get an intel celeron system with 4gb ram, but you can get an i7 rig with 4gb ram. Without the padding around it, the number 4gb isn't really all that meaningful.

That aside, DM60 is right. The biggest modern drain on resources is virtual instruments.
If that's not something you're getting ion then you should be able to do a lot on a relatively humble system.

My i5 MBP had 4gb ram. Now I did upgrade to 16gb because it was cheap and what's the harm, but I can't say it changed my world.
The SSD hard drive, on the other hand, absolutely did!
 
Steenamaroo said:
I'd be more worried about the processor generation than anything else.
You can get an intel celeron system with 4gb ram, but you can get an i7 rig with 4gb ram. Without the padding around it, the number 4gb isn't really all that meaningful.

That aside, DM60 is right. The biggest modern drain on resources is virtual instruments.
If that's not something you're getting ion then you should be able to do a lot on a relatively humble system.

My i5 MBP had 4gb ram. Now I did upgrade to 16gb because it was cheap and what's the harm, but I can't say it changed my world.
The SSD hard drive, on the other hand, absolutely did!
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I would even say, since SSD removes the I/O lag from the hard drive, I would worry less about RAM with an SSD drive (as RAM buffers more to reduce HD/CPU I/O) as SSD seek times and fetch times are so low, RAM is less of a concern.

Not sure if that was too much geek talk, but in summary, SSD drives are so fast in regards to retrieving information, RAM is less important. (Probably not much better).
 
DM60 said:
I would even say, since SSD removes the I/O lag from the hard drive, I would worry less about RAM with an SSD drive (as RAM buffers more to reduce HD/CPU I/O) as SSD seek times and fetch times are so low, RAM is less of a concern.

Not sure if that was too much geek talk, but in summary, SSD drives are so fast in regards to retrieving information, RAM is less important. (Probably not much better).
Click to expand...

I threw one in a core2duo linux box a few weeks back.
For day to day use you wouldn't know it from an i7. It's lightening fast.

Ok, the wheels come off once you start into heavy audio/video, but for an office computer it's mental.

Spinning disc? Forget about it!
 
Hey thanx guys.

Some of the talk was a little too geeky for me, but I got the jist of what you're saying. :)

I don't use virtual instruments, but I'd be using what most people use: reverbs, compressors,etc.....

Here's one I'm looking at. Scroll down for the description. In the heading, it says 4gig Ram, but below in the description, it says something about 8gig Ram, so I'm not sure what's going on there. Let me know what you think of this for recording:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=c607e7c8f8076107b7c886565a68a9c6en02

Thanx again.
 
I run as many as 24 tracks on Reaper using an i5 dual core with 4GB............7200 rpm HDD. At times I have a fair amount of effects running. No problems at all. I think you can find something like that fairly around $500 or so. Just my 2 cents.
 
Mickster said:
I run as many as 24 tracks on Reaper using an i5 dual core with 4GB............7200 rpm HDD. At times I have a fair amount of effects running. No problems at all. I think you can find something like that fairly around $500 or so. Just my 2 cents.
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Thanx, that's great to know. The lap top I posted above is less than $400, that's why I'm wondering if I'm missing something. It seems to have more than enough Ram and everything else. Should I grab it?
 
OK, so we get the lingo correct, VST usually references to the effects, reverb, compressor, etc. VSTi's refer to the instruments. Reverb is CPU intensive.

Your laptop you spec'd will work, for a few dollars more, you can do better. But it will work.
 
Something like that should be perfectly capable.
I checked around and that chip seems comparable to the Intel Core 2 Duo T7600, apparently.

I had a similar chip in a laptop about 3 years ago.
Like I say, it should do the job, but don't be deceived into thinking that new laptop means cutting edge technology. ;)

Does it have to be a laptop?
You could get a much beefier desktop for much less.(local ads?)

RE: 4/8gb ram. That description does seem to contradict itself.
The specs list says 4, though, so I'm inclined to go with that.

One of the big limitations with laptops is the 5400 speed hard drive.
Personally I would definitely pop an SSD in there, but that comes at a cost.
 
DM60 said:
OK, so we get the lingo correct, VST usually references to the effects, reverb, compressor, etc. VSTi's refer to the instruments. Reverb is CPU intensive.

Your laptop you spec'd will work, for a few dollars more, you can do better. But it will work.
Click to expand...

Thanx DM60. Yes, I'm not too savvy on computer talk, but I know about VST's, etc....:)

If I were to get something "better" than what I posted, what should I be looking for more of? In other words, if the 4G Ram isn't the problem, is it the hard drive speed or size that I can improve on? I'm just not sure what to look for to make it more than just "it will work". "It will work" sounds like "yeah, it will do, but......" if I'm reading that correctly.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'd hate to make a wrong decision just because I asked the wrong questions or didn't ask enough questions. I'd rather ask you guys than a salesman. :)
 
John Smiff said:
Thanx DM60. Yes, I'm not too savvy on computer talk, but I know about VST's, etc....:)

If I were to get something "better" than what I posted, what should I be looking for more of? In other words, if the 4G Ram isn't the problem, is it the hard drive speed or size that I can improve on? I'm just not sure what to look for to make it more than just "it will work". "It will work" sounds like "yeah, it will do, but......" if I'm reading that correctly.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'd hate to make a wrong decision just because I asked the wrong questions or didn't ask enough questions. I'd rather ask you guys than a salesman. :)
Click to expand...

You probably won't see SSD hard drives from stock without spending stupid money on cutting edge machines.
It's either a make-do or diy upgrade.


A good thing to do is note the cpu model number and check with with cpubenchmark.com. (Annoyingly the e2 3800 isn't in there).
You can get old chips that beat new ones and vice versa, so I always check that list and look for familiar landmarks.

I suppose setting something like the e6600 as your lower limit comparison would be sensible enough.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Something like that should be perfectly capable.
I checked around and that chip seems comparable to the Intel Core 2 Duo T7600, apparently.

I had a similar chip in a laptop about 3 years ago.
Like I say, it should do the job, but don't be deceived into thinking that new laptop means cutting edge technology. ;)

Does it have to be a laptop?
You could get a much beefier desktop for much less.(local ads?)

RE: 4/8gb ram. That description does seem to contradict itself.
The specs list says 4, though, so I'm inclined to go with that.

One of the big limitations with laptops is the 5400 speed hard drive.
Personally I would definitely pop an SSD in there, but that comes at a cost.
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Actually, good point. I sort of convinced myself I want a lap top, but the fact is, I have a perfectly-working mouse, keyboard and 19" screen. So, I can definitely go desk top if that's better.

I originally was looking at this desk top. Seems to have more memory, but I don't know if it's better than the lap top for recording: HP 110-017c Deskstop PC (AMD E1-2500 / 1TB HDD / 4GB RAM / Windows 8) : Everyday Computing - Best Buy Canada
 
Looked up the CPU on this, unfortunately this is a low end processor. I want to make sure you get enough CPU to not have to upgrade for a few years.

Here is one that should fit: Lenovo H535 Desktop PC - AMD A8-5500 3.20GHz, 8GB Memory, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 8.1 64-bit - 57323781 at TigerDirect.com

I have ordered from tiger for many years, so they are a trusted source.

Here is another good one I saw on the advertisement: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat..._content=Active+Plus&utm_campaign=retargeting
 
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DM60 said:
Looked up the CPU on this, unfortunately this is a low end processor. I want to make sure you get enough CPU to not have to upgrade for a few years.

Here is one that should fit: Lenovo H535 Desktop PC - AMD A8-5500 3.20GHz, 8GB Memory, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 8.1 64-bit - 57323781 at TigerDirect.com

I have ordered from tiger for many years, so they are a trusted source.
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Oh, that looks interesting. Yes, I looked up, to the best of my ability, about the desk top I posted, and it looks like the laptop I posted would be a better choice.

I live in Montreal, Canada, so I wonder if your link would deliver here and how much more it would cost me. I'll look into that.

Thanx a lot, guys. You're a lot of help and I really appreciate it.
 
John Smiff said:
Oh, that looks interesting. Yes, I looked up, to the best of my ability, about the desk top I posted, and it looks like the laptop I posted would be a better choice.

I live in Montreal, Canada, so I wonder if your link would deliver here and how much more it would cost me. I'll look into that.

Thanx a lot, guys. You're a lot of help and I really appreciate it.
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Not from a hardware perspective, this is twice the computer as the Laptop. Tiger probably delivers to Canada, but not a 100% sure.
 
DM60 said:
Not from a hardware perspective, this is twice the computer as the Laptop.
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Yeah, no I meant that the laptop I posted would be better than the desktop I posted. I wasn't comparing it to the desktop you posted. That looks like the best choice of the 3.
 
Main point here, is you are better informed and have a good idea. One thing to note, do not forget about an interface, as on any of these machines, the integrated sound will not yield the results I am sure you expect. For single person recording, nice little two channel will work.
 
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