[Sonic-r]

A question specifically related to computers used for recording. I noticed new PCs are using Intel's new i5 and i7 chips. I've read on a couple of forums that in some cases a single i7 is outperforming multi core systems.

My question is about choosing a computer with an i7 or trying to find a quad core system. If it's a PC running something like Sonar, or a new Mac running Logic will a quad core system outperform a single i7. (I know some software doesn't always utilise multi core processors.) All the recording I do is midi; there's no external hardware and rarely use audio files in a mix. My Mac Mini is having an increasingly torrid time keeping up and it's a 1.83Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. I think it's time to upgrade.

Or am I talking garbage!

Chris

[James Nighthawk]

The main thing that makes me question your concern over processors is that midi is very processor light. Do you mean you record in midi tracks that then trigger synth/virtual instruments/samplers? They can be much more processor heavy, and it may simply be a cause of bouncing down instruments to audio, and then freezing them to Free up CPU...

Unfortunately I can't help you with regards to apple macs. pc man here

[Sonic-r]

Yeah. It's all VSTs using midi. I know it's a processor intensive way of doing things which is why I'm quivering at the thought of making a mistake if I come to upgrade. I've done everything to try and help the processor, but I'm at the limit of what this machine will do and want to make sure I know what I'm buying next time will cope.

[James Nighthawk]

My advice... Buy from a vendor that knows the tech

I personally swear by Digital Village. I have bought three computer from them in the last decade and the service is brilliant. They strip down the operating system to free up ram. they sell computer designed for music usage only.

Www.dv247.com (or co.uk I forget)

And no I don't work for them! Just a happy customer passing on word of mouth

Best in store I recon. If you can get to a branch. They actually listen to your needs and design a computer for you.

[Ramshackles]

midi is light but VST's are very heavy. Be wary of multiple cores. Many VST's can only take advantage of a single core. So if you have a VST that is particularly heavy, it might not matter how many cores you have, but the performance of a single one. (in that case a single 3GHz thread would be better than 3 2GHz threads :S)
But whatever way you go, often what is as important, if not more important than CPU is the latency of your soundcard/interface and how much RAM (and its speed) you have. Low latency soundcards can accomodate higher buffering with relatively small delays. The more RAM you have the more you can 'preload'...i.e. if you CPU is failing (your song starts to go jittery etc), increase the buffering (or number of samples or whatever it is called in your soundcard) so that more of the song is loaded into RAM to start with...the higher the buffering the larger the delay in actually hearing the music, but if you are mixing/just using VST's (i.e. not recording) it doesnt matter.

Typically, when recording I'll set the buffering to as low as possible so I can get things in time (because if there is a delay in what I'm hearing, everything I record will be consequently delayed :S), then, when mixing and using CPU heavy plugins etc, I'll shove up the buffering as far as necessary (typically 512 or 1024 samples) which introduces a delay of around 10ms. Doesnt matter when mixing though as everything is delayed the same amount

And do what James says if you buy - go for a 'stripped down' computer.

[Schavuitje]

I built my own computer so that it was ideal for music. I do have a quad core processor and 8 gig of ram but I still have to mess about with
buffering sometimes. Sometimes when I have many tracks recorded and the amount of work my pc is having to do is great, I keep the buffring so that I get
minimum latency, even though the sound my be crakled at times. Because later when mixing I can make the buffering much bigger because like Ram says,
than the delay doesn't matter. It sounds shit sometimes when you are recording but later when you up the buffering, the noise goes away because it wasn't recorded noise.
I also got a custom housing/casing for my pc which is uber quiet (vital for recording) and the fans inside are all uber quiet too and all sit on rubber cushions and washers
so that there is no vobration noise. My pc is very silent. Something not to overlook I think.

[Ramshackles]

I built my own computer so that it was ideal for music. I do have a quad core processor and 8 gig of ram but I still have to mess about with
buffering sometimes. Sometimes when I have many tracks recorded and the amount of work my pc is having to do is great, I keep the buffring so that I get
minimum latency, even though the sound my be crakled at times. Because later when mixing I can make the buffering much bigger because like Ram says,
than the delay doesn't matter. It sounds shit sometimes when you are recording but later when you up the buffering, the noise goes away because it wasn't recorded noise.
I also got a custom housing/casing for my pc which is uber quiet (vital for recording) and the fans inside are all uber quiet too and all sit on rubber cushions and washers
so that there is no vobration noise. My pc is very silent. Something not to overlook I think.

Yup, making your pc silent is an annoying and vital task when recording in the same room.
Aside from any possibly subjective arguements about whether it sounds better; being able to forget about latency (to a extent) and increased routing options is probably one of the main reasons why consoles and hardware effects are still as alive as they ever were...

[Sonic-r]

Thanks for all the good advice.

The Mac Mini has Logic (and the VSTs) and nothing else except the operating system and the default cack that comes with it, but even then Logic is having to share with a myriad of processes running in the background. So the advice to try Digital Village and a stripped down custom machine is one I'll check out.

RAM is an issue. The Mini will only upgrade to 2Gb which isn't enough in the modern age. Latency, not such as issue as I don't record externally, but the problem seems to have got worse since I installed Native Instruments VSTs. I did consider building my own dedicated machine (I did that a few years ago for graphic design), but that would probably mean going down the PC path and moving away from Logic and I'm comfortable with that software now.

Plenty to think about, but I feel a lot more informed now. Thanks again.

Chris