I need a new computer, for recording reasons. My ancient iMac (it will turn 10 years old this spring) is on its way out. I'm sure a lot has happened in Computing since I last bought one, so maybe you guys can help me figure out what's best for me to get. I'm used to Macs and so tend to prefer them, but I'm totally willing to consider a PC; whatever does the job, you know? I use Reason and Reaper.
Money is a big issue for me, so I'm looking to get the most machine I can on a budget. Is buying used a thing people do? Is it worth the discount? What are the things to look out for there?
I've only ever used desktop computers, never a laptop. Should I consider a laptop? My main concern is wear and tear from traveling use, and also the small screen. As you can see, I keep computers as long as I possibly can so maximizing its lifespan is important to me.
As a mac user myself; BEWARE! I've heard the new macs are not upgradable (RAM wise). So if your looking for anything, 16Gigs is the minimum to do any recording.
I have a 2012 Mac Mini with 16gigs of RAM. I purchased a GAEMS LCD game system case and use it to make my mac mini portable to record at a friends studio.
Side note: My previous computer was a mac g5 tower.
Since like me you buy a computer and use it until it's dead, stick with new.
16GB RAM! Haha my machine is running 2GB. I guess it really is an arcane relic from dark catacombs. My computer before this iMac was a Mac Mini, I loved that little guy. i'm looking at Apple's prices and that actually seems like it would be the most cost-effective option for my needs, at least among their current products.
I do fine with i7 cup and 8gb of ram of the mid range 2012 MacBook Pro, running Logic X and 30 minutes long projects that have 30+ tracks with plenty of plug-ins. I keep my latency at the smallest setting and pretty much never need to freeze a track
Might upgrade for an SSD for the sake of it. That's the only new feature of newer MBPs I'm interested in.
Disarm D'arcy wrote:I do fine with i7 cup and 8gb of ram of the mid range 2012 MacBook Pro, running Logic X and 30 minutes long projects that have 30+ tracks with plenty of plug-ins. I keep my latency at the smallest setting and pretty much never need to freeze a track
Might upgrade for an SSD for the sake of it. That's the only new feature of newer MBPs I'm interested in.
The smart thing is to run everything of external drives anyways. By allowing your main drive to focus solely on the operating system and the programs running, you can allow a fast external drive to handle all the audio. If you are using samples, run that off another drive if possible.
Kinda skeptical... I put this together on 8gigs of RAM and took me a week to find a way to successfully synchronize the video and audio. Once I upgraded to 16gigs, I had no problems with video creation (aside from lack of talent...)
No sweat, I replaced my interface relatively recently--2012 I think--with a Zoom R16, which I use as a mobile 16 track as well. And you can mount it as an SD Card reader so dumping recordings to hard disk is pretty painless. Good little unit imo.
Budget: I don't think I can exceed $1,000 USD. I'm forever broke with scattered employment, so even this limit is like, shit how am I going to scrape this together. But I don't want to buy a brick that's going to need replacement in 3 years so I'm willing to sell off some gear and pull strings to make it happen.
Needs: something that can handle lots of uncompressed audio, moderately complex multitracking, multiple instances of hungry plugins like reverb, reliable and quick-ish copying to a cloud, occasional sync to video for soundtracking. My computer shits its pants when I open Gmail so my expectations are not grandiose.
Assuming you've got a monitor that still works (and even if not), should be easy in the PC realm.
Your needs are genuinely pretty simple versus the amount of horsepower in that range. Big one will be the "mac or pc" choice - I have no idea if what you're wanting is feasible in the Apple ecosystem. They're consistently a LOT more expensive for the same hardware.
Also check that whatever interface has drivers available for what you're wanting to do - even a 2012 device may not have them for the operating system or version you end up with.
Realistically at this point can get a decent little (not top end) i7 system for that I'd guess in the PC realm, or a very high end i5 processor.
Given the financial situation you're describing, could also cut some one-shot expense if you can build it or get someone to build it in the PC realm that you know. It's stupid easy and you then get everything you want (and can upgrade later).
Unless you specifically need a laptop, I'd avoid them simply because there's no real expansion/upgrade possible and you're not going to find a great one in your budget.
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My pedalboard costs approximately 191 Metal Zones.
Thanks man. Good call, I did not think about drivers. Zoom still offers the unit and seems to update its drivers (although I can't see when they last updated them), so maybe I'm safe... for now? Also good that I can take laptops out of the equation.
I actually do have a basic PC monitor kicking around from when I was hooking it up with my Mac Mini. I don't know much (re: anything) about processors; how does one weigh the value of a basic i7 against a high end i5? Where do I start looking?
friendship wrote:..I don't know much (re: anything) about processors; how does one weigh the value of a basic i7 against a high end i5? Where do I start looking?
If your not that familiar; stick with what you can afford on a mac; though try to wind up with 16gigs.
A friend of mine once told me, you can do music on a PC if your fairly tech savvy to sort through the drivers if your not you need to stay with macs.
Sometimes I wish I had the smarts and inclination to do what I do on a PC; but I just don't....
