Time to upgrade my computer. Current PC DAW companies?

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dap9

New member
I currently have a PC from ADK Pro Audio that’s 10 years old. It still works fine, but doesn’t support thunderbolt and I’m seriously considering one of the UAD Apollo interfaces that require Thunderbolt. Also, upgrading will be a fun project.

I see that ADK left and came back, Slick Audio pops up a lot… who else is out there that y’all trust?

As far as my needs…. I mainly record by myself using Guitar Rig and Addictive Drums with some various vst/plugins. I also use a Torpedo Live but am thinking of swapping it with a UAD OX Amp Top Box. I’d like to do more live recording. I’d like a system that’s flexible and I don’t mind paying for extra oomph. I’ve been out of the computer game a lone time and dont really know a lot about the components. When I’ve priced out specs on Slick and ADK, I land somewhere in the $2,500-$3,500 USD range so consider that my budget (give or take).

We can get into specs as the thread goes on. Right now I’m curious about the builders. Thanks!
 
Any modern PC/Mac can do audio far better than a 10 year old system. You don't have to build something like that, IMO.

Apple is the only company that builds system with current Thunderbolt ports. The Studio systems with Apple silicon (M2) are more than adequate for any audio processing you'd want to do. If you want or need to stay in the Wintel world, USB-C is what you probably want.

You could even use a new Macbook Pro for live recording, though, depending on how many inputs you want to use, I think something like a field recorder (e.g. Zoom F8n/F6) is easier to work with to just capture the audio. Then you can mix the tracks on your home system, with a 27" monitor, et al. My 2¢.
 
Keep in mind that the ADK and Slick are just parts compiled to make a decent computer for audio - their expertise is in picking motherboards, CPUs, memory and other parts that they know perform. Computers are not like other studio hardware - where picking a Roland this, or Yamaha that, and other hardware from established audio companies makes sense.

Computers are just piles of bits. You pay for their knowledge that while the XYZ graphics card is brilliant, it won't let you fit the ABC card you need to get a particular interconnect because the connectors inside are in the same space. They know that certain drives might have a performance limitation in a mode the graphics card prefers to run in - stuff like that. Me? I tend to buy piles of bits and hope they all talk to each other.

I really lile a Presonus interface I have - a fire pod, and I have a firewire card specifically to work with it. What a pain it was because two I bought simply did not physically fit as the graphics card required an extra connection that got in the way!
 
I would also discourage from buying anything labeled as a prefab "intended for music" computer. As previously explained well, they're a niche product intended to separate money from buyer.

Any top of the line computer (Intel/Windows or Apple/Mac) will do anything you need. Interfaces can be added, so even if there's not the right kind or enough ports you can always add more (especially true for most Intel/Windows builds). If you want a warranty, buy a HP or Dell and you'll probably come in at nearly half the price of the niche resellers. Then spend that money in a targeted manner at whatever DAW and audio interface you want.

If you can achieve anything close to self reliance with the computing side of home recording you'll save yourself a boatload of money, time, and provide yourself a nearly unlimited degree of flexibility. Otherwise you'll continue to be locked into whatever 'they' sell you and tell you, and that's never at a reasonable price point. It also constrains you to 'their' solutions, not necessarily the best solutions.
 
Agree with the above...It is not like it was in the "olden days" :LOL:

I built my first PC for music in 1996 many more after that...processing and ram were so tiny then...These days a iPhone is more powerful.
Any good brand name PC with the ports you require will do you just fine...we've come a long way baby.
 
In the UK we did have a specialist computer music firm called carrilon. Their skill was making decent computers with pre installed software. So if you wanted protools or logic or Cubase with loads of extra packages of samples and other stuff, they would do all the installing and tweaking, you got a fully working and authorised computer. The cases were amazing 19” rack cases with steel and great looking front panels. Weighed a ton! They went bust and I bought 6 empty boxes I still use. They’ve restarted again which is nice.

the thing with music and video editing computers is that we have slightly weird needs. Music users want fast sample loading and the ability to use many different interfaces, internal or external. Music users don’t need fancy video drivers, but the video folk do. A dealer who understands the difference is vital. I’m told gaming specialists have the same niche, with different skills again. If you want to run Reason with a huge sampler package, you need to know what bottlenecks are likely. Are they the same as Cubase which I use? I don’t know, so a specialist dealer would. You pay for this service, that’s what they’re for.

I understand memory and I understand storage, but frankly processor choice for me has always been about sticking a pin in a list.
 
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There are Windows PC systems available with Thunderbolt 4 support. They aren't commonplace, but you can find them, or build your own system. A good 12th or 13th Gen Core I7 system with a Z690 or Z790 chipset should have Thunderbolt 4 support. Just about any of them will absolutely smoke a 10 year old system. The direction you take will largely be determined by choosing what software you want to run, then how much you can spend. $1500 should build a pretty rock solid system with TBolt 4.

Or you can go with a Mac Mini or Studio, figure a Mini with 16GB for about $1300, or a Studio for $2000.

Note that older Thunderbolt 1 and 2 devices are not compatible with Thunderbolt 4. However, if you are looking at going with a new interface, like a current Apollo, you should have no problem with compatibility.
 
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