Upgrading my studio PC. Advice needed...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Derlis
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Derlis

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Hello everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and now I finally decided to register and take advantage of all of your knowledge. I need some advice as to how to upgrade my small studio.

Currently I have these:

- Dell Inspiron 1501 Laptop.
*AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 1.8GHz
*4GB of RAM
*Vista Home Premium SP2 32-bit

- M-Audio Fast Track Pro
- BX5a Deluxe monitors
- Axiom 61 midi controller.

I don't know very much yet about many technical aspects of home recording and I've been learning as I buy new stuff for my studio. I use Sonar as my DAW and have a couple of virtual instruments as well, EWQLSO Gold and Symphobia.

Now, as I was learning how to produce music, I would only work on small projects with 4 or 5 tracks. No live recording, everything done with samples.

Now I would like to start experimenting with bigger ensembles, and obviously my little laptop can't handle more than 7 or 8 tracks of virtual instruments. So I want to upgrade.

I was thinking of perhaps buying a new PC, just a new, more powerful tower and have that linked to my laptop. I could load more of the VSTi's there and run my DAW on the laptop.

The problem is that I don't know exactly how it works to connect two computers to work in that way. Would I need to buy an extra sound card? Or would the Fast Track pro that I already have be enough for the two computers? Will I need extra hardware to do that? I know that doing this is possible, but I have no idea how it's actually set up. I've looked around for info but couldn't find any.

The question would then be, what would be the most effective way of upgrading my PC? Should I get an extra PC and have the two that I have now linked, or would it be easier to just invest in a powerful new PC and use only that one for composing?

Oh, and when I say that I'd like to experiment with "larger ensembles" I mean, big, film scoring-type of templates :)

Thank you very much in advance for your help. If you need more info I'll be glad to provide it.
 
Derlis said:
Hello everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and now I finally decided to register and take advantage of all of your knowledge. I need some advice as to how to upgrade my small studio.

Currently I have these:

- Dell Inspiron 1501 Laptop.
*AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 1.8GHz
*4GB of RAM
*Vista Home Premium SP2 32-bit

- M-Audio Fast Track Pro
- BX5a Deluxe monitors
- Axiom 61 midi controller.

I don't know very much yet about many technical aspects of home recording and I've been learning as I buy new stuff for my studio. I use Sonar as my DAW and have a couple of virtual instruments as well, EWQLSO Gold and Symphobia.

Now, as I was learning how to produce music, I would only work on small projects with 4 or 5 tracks. No live recording, everything done with samples.

Now I would like to start experimenting with bigger ensembles, and obviously my little laptop can't handle more than 7 or 8 tracks of virtual instruments. So I want to upgrade.

I was thinking of perhaps buying a new PC, just a new, more powerful tower and have that linked to my laptop. I could load more of the VSTi's there and run my DAW on the laptop.

The problem is that I don't know exactly how it works to connect two computers to work in that way. Would I need to buy an extra sound card? Or would the Fast Track pro that I already have be enough for the two computers? Will I need extra hardware to do that? I know that doing this is possible, but I have no idea how it's actually set up. I've looked around for info but couldn't find any.

The question would then be, what would be the most effective way of upgrading my PC? Should I get an extra PC and have the two that I have now linked, or would it be easier to just invest in a powerful new PC and use only that one for composing?

Oh, and when I say that I'd like to experiment with "larger ensembles" I mean, big, film scoring-type of templates :)

Thank you very much in advance for your help. If you need more info I'll be glad to provide it.
Click to expand...

what do you mean by "linking" the two computers together?
you could network them together and be able to share files between them using a network hub... but you wont be able to run a virtual instrument on your new pc using your laptops processor.
 
Is your computer struggling to keep up with what you're doing now? Your specs aren't really that bad, especially with as much ram as you have...
 
Just build a new box. Lotsa ram. Fastest mobo and proc you can afford. Raptor (10,000 RPM) drive. XP or W7. Bigger drive for storage. Nothing but tracking/mastering software.

You can export the stuff you've already recorded to new box via USB. Don't over-think or over-complicate.
 
Jeff_D said:
Is your computer struggling to keep up with what you're doing now? Your specs aren't really that bad, especially with as much ram as you have...
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff_D,

Yes, as soon as I try to load more than 6 or 7 instruments at a time sonar crashes... so I'm assuming that the problem is my processor...

Kingofpain678,

That's what I meant, network them together. I thought you could do that, have some of the virtual instruments loaded divided between the two computers in order to use less processing power... again, I'm not sure exactly how that's done, but I know you can do it...

Isn't that what people with more than two computers in their studio would do? have their samples loaded in various computers instead of just in one?

Thanks again for the help :)
 
why not just save the money you'd spend on a new computer and process each track individually with your vsti and save it as a wav until you've compiled all of your tracks as .wav files and mix from there?

thats what i do with superior drummer and my computer which is only half as fast as yours. you can always eq, compress, gate and whatever else your tracks after they've been saved as wavs too.

you could spend the money you'd save on new gear or something. or maybe you just want to buy new computer for other things as well :confused::confused:

idk, just a thought...
 
if you want to be able to crank with VI's especially the super-heavy duty stuff like EWQL or VSL, you need massive amounts of ram (and obviously processing power). my suggestion, if you have the money, is to look at a new mobo with a quad (i7's are a better bang for your buck than core2's). i have a 2.6GHz i7 at stock clock sped and just did a mix session with 60 tracks, 9 automation lanes and 107 plugins (EQs, comps, VIs, pitch correction, tape sim, delays, verbs, etc.). my CPU load was 15-25% at any given time which is about as high as you really wanna go to avoid sporadic crashes.

however, i'm running a 32 bit operating system which means i can't use more than roughly 3.5 gigs of ram and that's something to factor in. if you want to upgrade your ram, you HAVE to run a 64 bit OS. there is no way around it. and ram is pivotal when we're talking about samplers.

if you have any questions, i can give you a little more detail. you can probably use the parts you have and save yourself a grip of cash on a new desktop buildout.
 
and king of pain is correct... you're not gonna link your computers and share processing. the best you can do is network for file sharing capabilities
 
Hi Jeff_D,

Yes, as soon as I try to load more than 6 or 7 instruments at a time sonar crashes... so I'm assuming that the problem is my processor...
Click to expand...

You're doing well if you can get 6 or 7 instruments to play at all with your set up.
Vista is a power drag.
The Fast Track Pro is excellent but will cause pops and crackles when pushed.
Midi is just one more drag on the system.
I'd suggest first, trying to dedicate just one CPU to your soundcard.
Mixcraft for instance, has a "Force Single CPU" button in its preferences.
This allows you to work with away while Vista wanders around scanning Dis 'n Dat for no apparent reason.
The other thing I'd do is fore go spending a huge amount on a new PC and invest some money in a better soundcard. .
My Compaq C can handle all of the above and more using the Echo Mona as a soundcard.
The Fast Track Pro is a great wee unit but you've moved beyond that now.
Moved beyond USB/Firewire altogether, I think.
There are lots of interfaces to choose from.
MOTU has some good looking PCI units eg.
Just a thought.
 
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