whos running a weak computer

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T-RAVE

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I just took the plunge and bought Sonar XL 2. I have not installed it yet but i am very excited. I will be getting a computer upgrade soon but here is what I am running currently. Athlon Classic 550 with 128 meg with a maxtor 7200 rpm hardrive and a wavecenter pci card with wdm drivers. The computer performs well on the sonar demo, n-track, acid, cool edit, fruityloops , soundforge, nuendo , etc. i was wondering if anyone is getting good sonar results using a similar machine. this machine has been stable as hell and I hate working with a new system . I also run win2000 and love it.
 
I run HS2002 with a PII-400 and XP. That is just adequate for what I do. I plan to upgrade sometime this year.

Realistically, I wouldn't run Sonar 2 with anything less than a P4 1Ghz CPU.
 
Realistically a lot depends on what you plan to do with it.

I run Sonar on a PIII 733 MHz machine - and it runs quite well thank you. Using a Delta 1010 I am able to record 6 simultaneous tracks (I haven't tried 8 yet, since I haven't had the need). I can also playback ~15 tracks with quite a lot of plugins on them (reverbs, delays, compression, eq). It might playback even more, but, again, I haven't had the need to try.

However, I don't use Input Monitoring or work with DXi synths. So I don't need super low latencies which can tax your system quite a bit.

My advice is to try it out. It won't cost you anything. If you are doing mainly audio recording with a reasonable track count, it will probably run OK. You're likely, though, to need more memory if you start using any plugins extensively.

And, obviously, it won't run as well as it would on a better machine.
 
Celery 566
256 RAM
SONAR

Works fine, as long as I stay away from lots of plug-ins
 
T-RAVE said:
I just took the plunge and bought Sonar XL 2. I have not installed it yet but i am very excited. I will be getting a computer upgrade soon but here is what I am running currently. Athlon Classic 550 with 128 meg with a maxtor 7200 rpm hardrive and a wavecenter pci card with wdm drivers..... I also run win2000 and love it.
Click to expand...

I have Sonar 1.3 on my wife's machine, an AMD K6-400. I echo the sentiment that if you limit your plugins you'll get a pretty good track count. I imported 8 drum tracks and the file runs fine. I started adding reverbs, eq's and compressors. All of a sudden my CPU is up to 70%.

I have a 24 track project on my 1Ghz Intel with at least a dozen plugs and CPU is at 48% (I have 256Mb ram). 7200rpm dedicated audio drive is at 3-4%.

Two tidbits: The guy who runs the Boston area Sonar user group told me-
1. Cakewalk has some kind of partnership going with Intel.
2. The Frontier stuff has kickass drivers.

I use Win2k also. If you haven't done so, download service pack 2 for Windows 2000. It made a difference in my system's performance.
 
You're right, ChuckU, Cakewalk always got better on Intel's proc. BTW, using cakewalk on Win 98SE is better as my experience. Believe me, the only reason for running it on NT, Win 2000, or XP is they have better stabillity. Saver for your work when you experience Windows problem such like hang or Blue screen of death... For better permormance yet, I suggest add more memory, and put some P4... but it'll be depended on your work need. :)
 
well, I hate to divulge information like this, cuz it tends to make me sound like a wannabe, but I run Sonar on a Pentium 233 MMX, with a factory Aztec Audio 2320 sound card, which supports WDM, and believe it or not, I really don't have any problems. Granted, I don't use soft synths, or input monitoring, and I do use a good bit of MIDI in my stuff. I also rarely have more than 10 tracks at a pop, and I found a few workarounds. I can a do few tracks in Sonar, but once I start adding effects, things get a little shaky. So I use Cool Edit Pro to do a lot of my editing, where I can apply the effects I want then import the audio into Sonar. It doesn't mind playing back several tracks at once. There you have it. Good ol' Ed, bringing up the rear with an ancient 233, and having a ball in the process. I came to a conclusion: instead of moping around waiting for the money for the latest-greatest machine to fall into my lap, I'm gonna have fun and make music with the stuff I have. Let's face it; it's impossible for most people to stay updated all the time, and any computer stuff I get is just hand-me-downs when the family puter gets an overhaul. So, hey, use what ya got and have a good time doin' it!
ed
 
How often do you have to change the pencil lead in your printer guitar ed? Hehehe. I couldn't resist. It's cool that you have no problems with your setup though. Keep recording!

Dick
 
yeah, yeah, yeah! I knew I was opening myself up to this kind of thing! Keep 'em comin', though. Hey, like I said; I record on a 233, so I've developed a real thick skin! I do have 128 megs of RAM, though, and I run Win2000, so you'd be surprised at what I can get away with. As far as the printer.....what's a printer? Haha. Rock on, guys!
ed
 
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