Sonar 4 is on its way!

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drathbun

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My Sonar 4 should be here next week. In preparation, I'm thinking of getting all my audio stuff off of this notebook (HP Pavilion ze4400 AMD Athlon XP 2200+ with 512MB Ram) and getting a desktop box instead.

I'll still use my M-Audio Audiophile USB external sound card but I'm interested in hearing what would be a better trade-off - processor speed or RAM? I'm looking at getting a P4 2.6 with 512 MB of RAM and an 80GB HD. I could get more processing power with less RAM or more RAM with less processing power.

My first instinct is to get as much processor as I can and add RAM later, but having had 512MB, going down to 256MB even with a fast processor might it not bog down a bit?
 
You definitely want 512 of ram.Xp itself uses quite a bit of ram.
 
You defintely don't want to go less than 512 on RAM - in fact, I would recommend thinking about going to 1 gb (however, don't go for a cheaper processor, the 512 is probably adequate and you can add more later).

Also, you want to seriously think about a second hard drive as well. That will also have a major impact on performance.
 
Thanks for your advice.

What about a large hard drive that is partitioned? Would there be a performance boost there or just the same because it is still the same drive?

And if the second drive is a 7200rpm does it matter how big it is?
 
You can run with one hard drive,but you will hit a wall faster than with two.
The size of the hard drive is up to you,just use the larger one for audio,the smaller one for your OS and programs.With external drives and backups,size is more of a convenience thing.
I'm no expert but motherboards have limited amounts of memory slots,so if you do go with less ram make sure you go with the appropriate size stick to leave room for an upgrade,otherwise you may have to trash your existing RAM to upgrade.
BTW I have a gig-o-ram in my rig.
One more thing,definitely get a DVD drive.
 
drathbun said:
What about a large hard drive that is partitioned? Would there be a performance boost there or just the same because it is still the same drive?
Click to expand...
Partitioning a single drive is not the answer. You need to use two physical drives. Make sure the one for your audio is at least 7200 rpm. Size will not impact performance. That simply is a function of how much stuff you need to store.

If you do go for a DVD drive, I would strongly recommend a DVD burner, which can then be used for backup of you projects. I just picked up a DVD burner for around $60.00. Of course, this is also something you can always add later on.
 
Newer MOBOS usually have raid controllers screw IDE, go SATA and use a RAID 0 configuration(performance enhancing config) and every month get out your old IDE's connect them and back up your raid config. Thats how I do it.

FYI inorder for the raid you'll need 2 SATA HD's
 
Okay... I've just purchased this computer (best balance of stuff for my money):

P4 1.6GHz 512MB Ram
80GB HD (partitioned 37.2/31.2/6 - boot/backup/recover)
40X CDRW
DVD ROM
3.5 Floppy
Nvidia GeoForce2 MX 460 Video card
4 - USB 2.0
Extra drive bay

to this I'm attaching my:

M-Audio Audiophile USB sound card
20" Dell monitor

The two memory slots are full (2x256MB) so when I upgrade I'll put in one 1GB chip. I've got a Seagate 6.4GB 7200 rpm HD in another computer that I could add to this computer as a slave. As long as I keep an eye on how many projects I am doing and how full the 6.4GB was getting would this be an okay setup? It is already much better than my notebook computer.
 
6.4 gigs,not really worth the hassle is it?

Depending on how you record,you're going to need to be skillful in using your resources but still should be able to get good results with that machine...save up and get another decent size hard drive,then you'll be cooking.
 
I got it for $400 at the Computer Exchange. So I took what it came with. I can always replace the DVD with a DVD/RW at some point. The larger slave drive will come first, then memory.

I have to do things incrementally - I'm supporting a whole family that have computer needs. I have a network of three desktops and two laptops for my wife, daughter, son and myself! :0
 
About Sonar 4

Hi there!
I'm interested about the price for Sonar 4.Also interested how much serious buyers pay for Sonar 4 copy on 3 cds.Thanks!
 
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