CPU Power For 20 Tracks

[brandondrury]

This was sent to me vai PM:

So far I've recorded one song, and had trouble with my midi tracks playing simultaneously because of lack of CPU power and probably RAM. So because macs are not cheap and you really improve its performance, I decided to build a recording PC.

So if my budget is $600 can I build a powerful enough PC computer to handle lets say at least 20 tracks playing at once? Eventually I would like to record my band but for now I need something for me to record myself and learn a Sequencer program, which I seem to be leaning towards Ableton Live. Thanks for any suggestions as far as where to start on parts and whatever else you can share!!!

So because macs are not cheap and you really improve its performance, I decided to build a recording PC.

To anyone on a budget who is willing and able, I think this is a good move.

So if my budget is $600 can I build a powerful enough PC computer to handle lets say at least 20 tracks playing at once?

I hate to burst your bubble. 20 tracks could be played simulateous fairly easy on a Pentium 3 from 10 years ago.

The problem is the CPU demands being placed on your rig from synths, samples, and plugins. Unfortunately, it's impossible for me to know how much you are using.

With that said, $600 could get you a

$100 motherboard
$100 processor
$150 hard drive(s)
$150 ram
$50 video card
$40 power supply
$20 case

You'd still need a dvd burner.

This would give you a computer that is quite a bit faster than what I use to record. It won't be top of the line, but it woud have been top of the line 2 years ago, give or take.

Never in my life have I spent more than $100 on the motherboard or the processor.

I recommend getting your parts at Newegg.com

Brandon

[proteus]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

This was sent to me vai PM:
I hate to burst your bubble. 20 tracks could be played simulateous fairly easy on a Pentium 3 from 10 years ago.
Brandon

Well Logic had a hard time playing 7 tracks simultaneously on a mac mini G4 1.4 Ghz 1gig ram.

Thanks, I will taly up some prices , though today browsing Best Buy's site I found a pretty powerful Dell PC for 599.99 I think it was an AMD 2.0ghtz 3gig ram machine. Not bad i thought.

Thanks!!

[brandondrury]

Well Logic had a hard time playing 7 tracks simultaneously on a mac mini G4 1.4 Ghz 1gig ram.

Were these wave files? The simple playback of wav files is almost nothing for any computer that still works. If I fire up 20 tracks of wav files with no plugins, no synths, and no samples the CPU usage meter in Cubase barely even moves.

Thanks, I will taly up some prices , though today browsing Best Buy's site I found a pretty powerful Dell PC for 599.99 I think it was an AMD 2.0ghtz 3gig ram machine. Not bad i thought.

1- Avoid Vista. It'll call use intense nightmares.
2- No matter what the operating system, if it's from a name brand manufacturer, it'll be covered in junk that slows it down. I would immediately format with a clean install of Windows.
3 - You could snag the Dell, leave the operating system how it is, and then simply install XP as a dual boot. It's really easy. That would work well too.

What audio interface are you using?

Brandon

[proteus]

I've got a firepod, that so far is working good. Soundcard and audio interface are the same thing right? So I were to build a computer and I have the Firepod, would I also need to get a great soundcard?

[DT Chris]

And if you do use plugins, many music software will allow you to 'lock' or apply the plugin effects to the track before playback - effectively creating a temporary mixed down track to save CPU and resources.

Firepod has it's own soundcard, specifically built for recording and playback of music.

You need to post your current PC model and specs, including hard-drive size/space, RAM, CPU, etc

[brandondrury]

Soundcard and audio interface are the same thing right?

Correct.

So I were to build a computer and I have the Firepod, would I also need to get a great soundcard?

The Firepod is your great soundcard.

[357mag]

Yeah reformat and reinstall Windows. Do not install any unnecessary programs and bloatware. I keep my machine extremely lean. I only install like about 5 programs and I'm done.

[String7th]

Originally Posted by proteus

I've got a firepod, that so far is working good. Soundcard and audio interface are the same thing right? So I were to build a computer and I have the Firepod, would I also need to get a great soundcard?

Since Firepods are so cheap right now, grab another and daisy-chain them for a total of 16 track recording. If you get a pre-amp or Pod with SPDIF outputs, you get up to 4 more. When recording a lot of tracks, turn all plug ins off to make sure it runs smoothly, I had a big problem when I only had 1 gig of memory. When I upgraded to 3, I was able to get super-low latency and all 16 tracks.