Going for a new computer - please, some help will be cool

[garyb]

ok, go 64bit.
win7 will be closest to XP, as far as the gui goes.

[Nestor]

Z97 is really good and SSDs everywhere are cheap.
But I suggest a hybrid storage device with SSD speed and HDD writes and erases without penalty of garbage colloction and limited writes.

SSDs are awesome for streaming but the less you write and more you read the better things will be in terms of longevity and performance.
Unless of course you get an NVMe device....

Well, I would use an SSD only for "C", so I would get a 240GB, for instance. I don't really know which is the real advantage in use, because people tell and speak so many things out there that you get confused. I dson't have any first hand experience with this SSD, so tell me what do you like it for and why, if you don't mind. Cheers.

[garyb]

SSDs are really fast.

[Nestor]

Guys... I have a good idea to make my mind about the amount of ram to be used in the new system:

How much can you load in terms of samples, vst plugins, etc., in a system with win 7 64 bits and 16gb of ram? this would give me a very good vision of what i can do and expect form it. Cheers

[garyb]

i would say, "plenty".
if you can't make that work, you should give up.
there's no harmin more ram, though. if you can afford it, more would probably be better than less.

that should be ridiculously huge library piano and strings, and a couple of others to boot.

[Nestor]

I will make it work, yes.

Well, I guess my only way to search and find information, can only be made through a comparison between my present system and the imaginary future system. I don’t know how to objectively compare, what I can do now, with what I could do then, when I have the new system. I don’t have a clue.

My present system is a dual core with 3.5 gb of ddr2 ram, (it has 4, but you know, win xp), versus a quad core at 4.4, running at 64 bits with 16 gb of ddr3 fast ram, in the new one.

Well, what can I do with my present system? Quite a lot, but I am forced to be very careful when using plugins at mix, I would bounce (at 32 bit float), to be able to use new plugins in new tracks. This is somehow annoying, I am already used to it, but it is annoying, as you have to be very careful about what you do, or be saving several instances of the song, with different loads. The difficult thing is to remember exactly how something sounds, while you load a project to compare one with another.

I cannot deny that it is exiting to think that I could load everything at once, and forget about bouncing altogether. More tracks, more plugins, all running in a single indivisible arrangement, which is not always the case in what I do.

The most demanding load in my projects, are, of course, samples… they can be very exigent in many ways, and you rather soon reach a threshold.

I guess you could easily load many instruments and still having a reliable system in 64 bits and 16 gb ddr3.

In the other hand, if 16 gbs are a good fair amount of ram for me, I could instate of buying two sticks of 8 gb each expecting to add another 16 later, simply get four sticks of 4gb each, it is cheaper and exactly the same.

[garyb]

a new i5 or i7 will be a substantial upgrade. really.

[Nestor]

I preffer going i7 for that matter.

[garyb]

the i7 only has an advantage over the comparable i5 in off-line video rendering....

[Nestor]

It doesn’t look to be such a simple choice when you read about the different experiences in audio production coming from different people and their main software uses like Cubase, Cakewalk, Nuendo, Fruity, etc., and many plugins, which is a dream in fact, to be able to use. Like a heavy EQ per every channel. Synths, for instance, do benefit with an i7 and have more room for more processing power than with an i5, this what people explain over and over again in many forums.

My final conclusion is that an i7 it is better for audio than an i5 because of the hypertheading you get behind the cores. The more threads you get, the better audio software is going to work, as long as they support hyperthreading technology. As far as I know, most important software platforms today for audio, support hypertheading.

In the other hand, I have finally investigated and understood clearly that I don’t need and will probably never need more than 16GB of RAM. Having 32GB would be overkill, but not a need, just the joy to know you have it. Well, I can handle not having it and it’s joy, because there is yet another joy, and it is keeping the extra money you would spend for no reason.

If you compare the i7 I want to get, with a similar i5 to substitute it, there is a mere difference of 70 USD! It is not worth the cut when building a new computer to work. I think I will use it fully in my multimedia projects, when rendering video, working wih huge HD graphics, etc., something I do eventually in my job.

So far, so god…, I like the idea of an i7 and 16GB of DDR3 1866Mhz.

[petal]

You propably don't wont to have hyperthreading enabled:

http://sonic-core.net/joomla.soniccore/ ... 56&lang=us

[Nestor]

Whaaaa? I need hypertheading for most other works..., well, I guess I will have to allow and stop it in the bios, depending on projects

[Nestor]

I am right now into this period of confusion that always comes, like darkness, just before light spreads and everything is clear..., but for the moment, the more I read and listen to people, the more ideas come to consideration and study before getting the components.

[ronnie]

With an I5 or I7 I wouldn't worry about hyperthreading. Leave it alone unless there is a problem. For audio on these processors the HT issues are more theoretical than practical.

[tlaskows]

HT did not cause an issue when I had it enabled. It's disabled now just to be safe. No need for it.

-Tom

[garyb]

hyperthreading only helps with offline processes, anyway. turn it off.

in realtime activities, hyperthreading actually can slow the processor down.

[Nestor]

That’s very interesting Gary, I see… Well, if I process video I will enable it, and when I do music, I disable it. I guess it could be that simple.

[Nestor]

Here's the MOBO:

[tlaskows]

Asus boards are solid. Mine is running strong. I had an older one that I spilled water on and the computer was resetting randomly. They replaced it without any question. Good warranty. 5 years I believe.

-Tom

[Nestor]

I have used Asus for many years, not now anyway, I am in GB right now, but all Asus gave me very, very good results and stability.