Well time for me to contribute. I have seen a few questions regarding what’s good for music recording in a computer. Sorry MAC folks I’m a PC, so this post is entirely PC related. It’s been a while since I have shopped for computer components and if someone more knowledgeable comes across this it’s my hope they will add some information and correct any wrong assertions. Ultimately I am no one, with no specific credentials. I’m just sharing the criteria I use when making a music PC or buying a laptop. So get second opinions and spend some time researching reviews, before dropping big money on your new computer.
If you are planning to use a laptop, then chances are you will get the best sound from an external DSP (digital sound processor), in other words a “sound card”, that stands alone and plugs into the computer with a chord. So if going the laptop route with an external DSP decide whether you want USB2 or firewire. Firewire comes in two different speeds 400 and 800. At the time of this post, most are 400. Which puts it close to the same transfer rate as USB2. The big difference being the USB2 uses slightly more CPU resources then firewire. So if big productions with a lot of tracks, say forty or more at higher resolutions above 44100Hz, then you may be better off going the extra few bucks for the firewire.
When using firewire several problems can occur from compatibility. The firewire chipset that is most recommended for audio applications is “Texas Instruments”. Some Sony VAIO models have the Texas Instrument chipset built in for their firewire.
There are some distributors out there that make custom music production laptops. If you want the best available in a laptop and budget is of secondary concern, this would probably be a good route to consider, since internal modifications on a laptop are usually limited to memory and hard drives. If your desktop has a generic chipset like for instance “VIA” and you run into problems you can always add a dedicated firewire card after. I have a VIA chipset in mine and had no real issues, but I decided to get a dedicated card with the T.I. chipset to avoid any possible problems beforehand, after reading through enough complaints. Typical price is around $20.00 Amazon, Newegg, Tiger direct etc.
You will want at least four gigs of memory and quite simply the fastest multi core processor you can afford. In order of importance catered to audio: Firewire chip set type (If using firewire of course), CPU speed, RAM (memory, past the basic requirements of your DAW), hard drive (RPMs and size), then graphics.
For Sonar 8.5, two gigs of RAM can get you by on an XP machine and if it's a choice between four Gigs of RAM or the next higher CPU speed, I'd go with the CPU speed. But for Vista and Win 7, you’ll want four GIGs (a gig is short for one thousand, million bytes of memory). Graphics are generally not that important, but the size of the screen is, if you plan on doing very detailed editing. So something advertised as a “gaming” machine would not necessarily be the best choice, since a good part of what you would be paying for is high end graphics and could be spent on sound capability instead.
If you plan on hours of editing at a time, a laptop cooling base is highly recommended. Heat and abuse will eventually get the best of the shiny new device, but a few dollars spent on additional cooling from the beginning, will make the initial investment last longer. For desktops if you want it to be silent, consider liquid cooling. Mine runs at 32 degrees Celsius, but takes six fans to keep it there. Next time I clean it, I’ll probably find a cat or two that got sucked in there.
Hard drive space: If you are going to be storing a lot of wave files at higher resolution, you will want plenty of disks space. A single (track) four minute wave audio file can run up to around 160 megs at 88200Hz. So with just six tracks, that’s a gig of drive space right there. USB thumb drives can help with the archiving of your material as well.
Hard Drive RPM: The faster the hard drive spins, typically the faster read and writing occurs. Usually this becomes most obvious when recording, bouncing tracks (taking the sum of what is selected and mixing it together) or “freezing” synths (applying the synth and associated effects and replacing it with an actual audio sample). The act of running the program, synths, VSTs etc. is based upon the CPU and memory. Quick note for Sonar users: They suggest setting the process scheduling to “background services” and not “programs”, which I found surprising.
When you first buy your computer or any other expensive electronic device, the first thing you want to do is turn it on and let it run for at least twenty four hours. This is called the burn in period. The actual moving parts are limited and the breakdown in most modern electronics can be attributed directly to heat. If there is something inherently wrong with the machine, it’s best to find that out as soon as possible and within the thirty day return. You’ll will have to turn off the power saving features for the test and MAKE SURE the screen saver is enabled. This is a “stress test”, so run as many programs you can get by with, before it begins to slow down. If you’re DAW (Digital Audio Workstation/software) has sample tracks, running a project or two looped for continuos playing can help in this test. After the burn in, the opposite applies and it’s very wise to take every effort to keep the machine cool as possible.
EDITED: Allrighty then, this article has a little more info on the subject of buying laptops for audio:http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Laptop-Computer-for-Audio-Recording
Well if you’re in the market for a new music computer hopefully some of this information can come in handy when considering your purchase.
If you are planning to use a laptop, then chances are you will get the best sound from an external DSP (digital sound processor), in other words a “sound card”, that stands alone and plugs into the computer with a chord. So if going the laptop route with an external DSP decide whether you want USB2 or firewire. Firewire comes in two different speeds 400 and 800. At the time of this post, most are 400. Which puts it close to the same transfer rate as USB2. The big difference being the USB2 uses slightly more CPU resources then firewire. So if big productions with a lot of tracks, say forty or more at higher resolutions above 44100Hz, then you may be better off going the extra few bucks for the firewire.
When using firewire several problems can occur from compatibility. The firewire chipset that is most recommended for audio applications is “Texas Instruments”. Some Sony VAIO models have the Texas Instrument chipset built in for their firewire.
There are some distributors out there that make custom music production laptops. If you want the best available in a laptop and budget is of secondary concern, this would probably be a good route to consider, since internal modifications on a laptop are usually limited to memory and hard drives. If your desktop has a generic chipset like for instance “VIA” and you run into problems you can always add a dedicated firewire card after. I have a VIA chipset in mine and had no real issues, but I decided to get a dedicated card with the T.I. chipset to avoid any possible problems beforehand, after reading through enough complaints. Typical price is around $20.00 Amazon, Newegg, Tiger direct etc.
You will want at least four gigs of memory and quite simply the fastest multi core processor you can afford. In order of importance catered to audio: Firewire chip set type (If using firewire of course), CPU speed, RAM (memory, past the basic requirements of your DAW), hard drive (RPMs and size), then graphics.
For Sonar 8.5, two gigs of RAM can get you by on an XP machine and if it's a choice between four Gigs of RAM or the next higher CPU speed, I'd go with the CPU speed. But for Vista and Win 7, you’ll want four GIGs (a gig is short for one thousand, million bytes of memory). Graphics are generally not that important, but the size of the screen is, if you plan on doing very detailed editing. So something advertised as a “gaming” machine would not necessarily be the best choice, since a good part of what you would be paying for is high end graphics and could be spent on sound capability instead.
If you plan on hours of editing at a time, a laptop cooling base is highly recommended. Heat and abuse will eventually get the best of the shiny new device, but a few dollars spent on additional cooling from the beginning, will make the initial investment last longer. For desktops if you want it to be silent, consider liquid cooling. Mine runs at 32 degrees Celsius, but takes six fans to keep it there. Next time I clean it, I’ll probably find a cat or two that got sucked in there.
Hard drive space: If you are going to be storing a lot of wave files at higher resolution, you will want plenty of disks space. A single (track) four minute wave audio file can run up to around 160 megs at 88200Hz. So with just six tracks, that’s a gig of drive space right there. USB thumb drives can help with the archiving of your material as well.
Hard Drive RPM: The faster the hard drive spins, typically the faster read and writing occurs. Usually this becomes most obvious when recording, bouncing tracks (taking the sum of what is selected and mixing it together) or “freezing” synths (applying the synth and associated effects and replacing it with an actual audio sample). The act of running the program, synths, VSTs etc. is based upon the CPU and memory. Quick note for Sonar users: They suggest setting the process scheduling to “background services” and not “programs”, which I found surprising.
When you first buy your computer or any other expensive electronic device, the first thing you want to do is turn it on and let it run for at least twenty four hours. This is called the burn in period. The actual moving parts are limited and the breakdown in most modern electronics can be attributed directly to heat. If there is something inherently wrong with the machine, it’s best to find that out as soon as possible and within the thirty day return. You’ll will have to turn off the power saving features for the test and MAKE SURE the screen saver is enabled. This is a “stress test”, so run as many programs you can get by with, before it begins to slow down. If you’re DAW (Digital Audio Workstation/software) has sample tracks, running a project or two looped for continuos playing can help in this test. After the burn in, the opposite applies and it’s very wise to take every effort to keep the machine cool as possible.
EDITED: Allrighty then, this article has a little more info on the subject of buying laptops for audio:http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Laptop-Computer-for-Audio-Recording
Well if you’re in the market for a new music computer hopefully some of this information can come in handy when considering your purchase.
http://www.soundclick.com/musicaldeviate
http://www.soundclick.com/lalong
http://www.soundclick.com/lalong
