What is the best Processor( CPU ) for recording?

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BSharp810

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My main computer was recently stolen out of my studio...I wont vent about that...and the low life Scum that took it...

Long story Short, I need a new computer, so what are some of the specs I should be looking for?
 
like anything on this forum. the only solid answer is "it depends"


what do you do?
use a lot of synths? heavy on the vsts and effects? or is everything outboard?
large track count?

are you building a computer yourself or buying one?


personally i'm running core2quad q9550 w 8gb ddr1066.

I haven't found it's limit yet so i see no need for i3/5/7 yet.

i do plan to throw an SSD hard drive in there though.
i treated my laptop to one and pretty much doubled its performance.
 
Any computer at Best Buy will work. $399 is buying what $2000 bought 5 years ago. I use a cheapo Dell D630 and it works fine.
 
Mainly I will be using Cubase as my DAW, and quite a few VSTs.I will be running Reason as well, and playing Synths through Midi. The only outboard equipment i have is a pre amp.
 
i wouldn't wanna cheap out too much, but ido's right.

you can't really go wrong with a high spec core2duo or better.

i had an e6600 before my q9550, and although i definitely see a difference, the e6600 never really 'let me down'.
 
Two points. First, some software is optimised for Intel over AMD processors. I've used AMD with no problem but have heard others having some problems.

Second, although absolute speed isn't such an issue anymore, it's worth making sure whichever one you choose has a maths co-processor to aid in the handling of floating point sampling.

Bob
 
Get a quad core 64-bit with 4-8 gigs of ram - I have had the best luck with HP desktops - you don't need the top of the line (as was already mentioned) but the more CPU you got the more tracks and VST's you can run

Personally this is my favorite processor:

food-processors.jpg

:laughings::laughings::laughings::laughings::laughings:
 
Any off the shelf Dell computer can handle your home studios production needs. Try to get an Intel over an AMD processor as according to most music pc companies like ADK Intel still beats AMD out in Audio/video performance.
 
Actually, I've heard a lot of negative things about Dell for audio work. I've never tried one myself but the various software-specific forums I go to seem to have an inordinate number of queries about driver conflicts on Dells because Dell has it's own way of implementing Windows and sometimes it's own system-specific hardware.

As I say, I have no personal knowledge/experience but I've seen a lot of complaints.

Bob
 
IME they've been a pretty good deal and have worked well for myself. Especially for off the shelf PCs. The only company I'd stay away from is HP. Owned two and they both gave me endless headaches.
 
IK Obi said:
IME they've been a pretty good deal and have worked well for myself. Especially for off the shelf PCs. The only company I'd stay away from is HP. Owned two and they both gave me endless headaches.
Click to expand...

I've got a HP desktop. 64bit Win. 7, 6gb RAM, and other goodies including a 20" beauty of a monitor. I got it for my gaming needs, but will be switching to using software to record now.
It runs Firefox, W.O.W, Diablo II, and Runescape at the same time very well :laughings:.
I've got Cubase 5 LE, Reaper, and Audacity on it and they were too easy to set-up. (though I havent recorded with them yet, i messed around with editing some random wav. files :p).
AND I got it for a steal of a deal brand new for a little over $300 around last labor day from office depot.

I've been thinking about hitting up some Amplitube too :p. I heard Butch Vig loves it :D
 
I also have a 64 bit quad-core HP but its running Vista SP 1 - it works awesome with Cubase and tons of VST effects - records 16 tracks no problem - i think it has 4 gigs of ram
 
Yeah, my HP slimline works perfectly with Cubase on projects over 60 channels with a huge number of plugs. I would not count out an HP because of someones bad experience. Any computer can have issues.
 
It deffinatly depends on your needs, but. . . . I would tell you to buy the best you can afford, the fastest CPU, the most RAM and the fastest/biggest hard drive. because its better to have too much than too little. technology moves forward so fast it is better to buy something that is at the top of the game now (if it's in budget) because it will be low spec in a couple of years.
 
BSharp810 said:
My main computer was recently stolen out of my studio...I wont vent about that...and the low life Scum that took it...

Long story Short, I need a new computer, so what are some of the specs I should be looking for?
Click to expand...

I see what everyone means by it not mattering as long as youve got processing power etc but I built my computer for the purposes I needed and wanted it to outlive the modern recording softwares: Unlike other softwares a lot of recording software is getting even more bloated. I built mine with a 6 core amd processor. The only trouble I've had is installing protools and its not because of my processor. Lots of processing power is good. I also still use pci though which shows devices are important. I wanted pci while others want usb or firewire. That is something I wouldnt be able to change with a laptop
 
I bought my mother an HP desktop works fine for what she needs, my own experience with HP has been with their laptops.
 
BSharp81O said:
You need to stop asking such god damn stiupid questions here.
Click to expand...

Are you talking to yourself? You may now finally be over the anger stage of your loss and moving into the next stage of blaming yourself for what happened. You should look into counseling. LOL!

Nice...:D
 
I'm new to recording, but a very advanced PC user. If you have some basic skills, take a look at the barebones offerings from Tiger Direct. You can get a great basic computer that will grow with you if you can build your own (which isn't difficult). You won't save a ton doing it this way, but you can focus on your specific needs and avoid a lot of the proprietary hardware conflicts and general crapola. For myself, I built a quad core Intel machine with lots of disc storage space and no sound card (onboard sound on the motherboard can be used), as I use an interface for recording. I also added a PCI USB card (to avoid the front-of-the-computer USB hub) and have Firewire on the motherboard. I run Windows 7 64-bit and 64-bit Reaper.
 
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