Building a new computer

[Alakhai]

I'm thinking about a new pc built only for music purpose...Actually I'm running Cubase 5 and Reaper, RP Predator & Albino, EW Symphonic Choirs & Symphonic Orchestra, Kontakt 3 and some more random vst, with some more fx. And of course our beloved Virus TI. [all vst are 32bit versions]

I can afford to spend around 1000€, no need for a huge audio interface, a good 2in-2out will be enough...I can use headphones instead of monitors (I will buy them in the future)

Any hints? I was thinking of a top-class desktop, but if you say that a good laptop can be enough, well its even better

[Atziluth]

@ Alakhai

A Laptop is nice but actually not the ultimate maschine. You have to invest a lot to get a music-laptop (e.g for a big screen, power.....)

Take a desktop costs less and you can add HD's, better soundcards and so on, it's more flexible to get a music PC. And not to forget a big screen for you softsynths. You can get a good desktop for EUR 1000.-

If I were you I would upgrade to 64-bit, it's the future. Just check that all your softsynths can be updated.

Have a look at ACER M5810 this one should be powerfull enough.

Cheers

[PaPi]

Originally Posted by Alakhai

I'm thinking about a new pc built only for music purpose...Actually I'm running Cubase 5 and Reaper, RP Predator & Albino, EW Symphonic Choirs & Symphonic Orchestra, Kontakt 3 and some more random vst, with some more fx. And of course our beloved Virus TI. [all vst are 32bit versions]

I can afford to spend around 1000€, no need for a huge audio interface, a good 2in-2out will be enough...I can use headphones instead of monitors (I will buy them in the future)

Any hints? I was thinking of a top-class desktop, but if you say that a good laptop can be enough, well its even better

Forget laptops, unless you really need your computer to be movable. There are way too many advantages with a desktop. Let me give you a brief sum up:

1. The price. Here in the US, you can get an i7-class desktop for about $800. You'd need twice as much for a decent i7-based laptop. As far as I know, computers in Europe are about 50% more expensive (partly due to your currency being high at this moment.) Remember, DAW computers need to be as powerful as possible. Don't settle for anything less than an i7 processor.

2. Motherboard choice and Firewire issues. You definitely want to use a FW audio interface over a USB one (too many advantages to list) but not all MB's have "audio-friendly" FW. You *MUST* have the TI chip on your MB, not many laptops have that. Typically only the more expensive ones.

3. Screens. DAW's are great when you use multiple screens, and LED flat-screens are cheap nowadays. I have a 30" main screen and two 24" satellites on the sides. I'm so used to this setup, I would really feel cramped if I had to go back to a single 18" or smaller screen (which is what you get with a laptop.) In order to run a setup like this efficiently, you definitely need a beefy graphic card, which cannot be fitted inside a laptop.

4. Hard disks. The most efficient way to run a DAW is to keep its audio files and VSTi sample files on separate fast disks, which means SATA/eSATA and *not* USB. Not to mention that you might also want to keep USB hard disks for backup. Times two if you need the safety of disk arrays. Wouldn't you rather have everything inside one tower neatly tucked under your desk?

5. RAM. The future is here. Modern DAW's are finally optimized for 64-bit OS's and you can use as much RAM as your computer can hold. Again, a modern desktop can hold a virtually limitless amount of RAM in conventional (read: cheap) SIMM's. A laptop, on the other hand, can only be fitted with a limited amount of dedicated (read: expensive) RAM.

6. Optical drives. I copy data DVD's all the time. I have two optical drives in my tower and the *direct* copy is really fast. Not so if you have a single drive and you have to go through your HD every time. Not to mention installing multiple-DVD products like those from EastWest, VSL etc. also becomes faster and less painful, loading two discs at a time and therefore cutting disk swaps in half. Yeah, you could use an external DVD drive on a laptop but, once again, it would take space (doesn't that always come at a premium in every studio? ) and cost you more than an internal drive.

7. Power supply. All of the above draws a lot of AC. Once again, wouldn't you rather have a beefy 750W~1Kw PSU inside your tower rather than a large collection of adapters and power strips on the floor?

[feedingear]

Good response. I need to get a laptop for uni for doing music composition work and I am really in the dark as to what to do - I currently run an XP system with Cubase 5 on my tower at home, using a MOTU Ultralite MK3 for firewire sound, so compatability is pretty important. Any hints, tips, or specs to look at for getting a lappy?

[PaPi]

Originally Posted by feedingear

Good response. I need to get a laptop for uni for doing music composition work and I am really in the dark as to what to do - I currently run an XP system with Cubase 5 on my tower at home, using a MOTU Ultralite MK3 for firewire sound, so compatability is pretty important. Any hints, tips, or specs to look at for getting a lappy?

This would be an excellent choice (i7-based, very reliable), but it's going to cost you more than a no-name laptop:

http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/qosmio

Street price in the US about $1,500 (for the i7 model.) But you definitely want to increase the RAM to take advantage of its 64-bit OS, and that may not be cheap.

This one comes with the i7 and 6 gigs of RAM at $1,899.99 retail.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=460942

[feedingear]

Alrighty thanks - having a look now and will see what deals I can scrounge up. I'm in Aus so prices will be a bit steeper.