From Mac to PC

[Jerome Williams]

I’m considering changing up my studio from Mac to PC. Some of my plugins are for Mac which is of minor concern. My main concern is this ...
I use 2 external interfaces that are FireWire interfaces. Motu 828 MkII and Digidesign 003 which want to continue using. Any words of knowledge would be helpful please.

 

[Arjan P]

I guess current mother board don't include FireWire anymore, but there should be separate FW cards available I would think?

 

[Jerome Williams]

@Arjan P
I believe from our conversation you’re using a PC.
Is there any specs you would recommend, any brand preferred more for music project production than others. I love the Mac but I know eventually updates won’t be supportive

 

[Shmark]

On PC You have to build Your configuration regarding Your needs, in Your case if You can keep the mac for personal use, You ll just need to keep an eyes on compatibilities just like You are asking for the digidesign. The best will be to see on the digidesign support pages, as for Your Tascam, You can find fw cards, but You ll have to consider her place on Your mother board AND take a card with the good chipset... I have Via but maybe here some users could give a better reference with improved Texas instrument chipset? Guys ? Also some '' rules '' exist as if You choose a pentium processor You'd better take a graphic card with nvidia
...etc

 

[Arjan P]

@Arjan P
I believe from our conversation you’re using a PC.
Is there any specs you would recommend, any brand preferred more for music project production than others.

@Jerome Williams I indeed use a PC - but it was built in 2011 (and still works great) so I'm not current in terms of knowing what hardware is available these days. I've always had my personal preferences (call them superstistions..) which means I always use an Asus motherboard and Intel CPU and chipset. My current setup has FW on the motherboard with a VIA VT6308, which has always worked great with the IF-FWmkII. I selected my graphic card to be without a fan. Also, I keep my system drive C:\ separate from a working files drive D:\ and sample and VST sound drive E:\. These last two can be on the same physical drive but I prefer to keep as much away from the system drive as possible (and it's not always possible).

But again, you'll have to see what is available now and like Shmark says, select the hardware based on your needs.

 

[Jerome Williams]

@Arjan P
Do you know how much it cost back then to build?
Can you tell me what all there is. My son can do it if I know what to get.

 

[-mjk-]

@Jerome Williams PCs used for music production have very specific requirements and, there are many articles about that on the web. I suggest you do some research on Windows PCs that are optimized for audio production, and then take those articles to a custom shop and see what they can build for you.

 

[Shmark]

Same as Arjan my PC s last parts are from 2013... it s only for sound so it '' works on itself '' i have all the programs and plugs i need so i don t search more and need no update ...i m with Windows 7 Just know that if You plan, and i think You should, instal W7, You can only install it as a 1st OS ..i mean if You buy a PC with W10 pré installed i think You won t be able to install w7 later ( we can have 2 systems installe and choose at start wich one to use its a double boot )

First W7 then if You need this You can install W10 as a 2nd alternative OS

 

[Shmark]

You don t need a huge system drive so a SSD disk 250 gigas is largely enough ..even 160 should be ok ...then another for Your VSTs and sound banks, this disk have to be fast because the access to little samples etc needs it ...then You can have normal mechanical drives for longer files like tracks etc ...but if You can have 3 SSD ...why not !! Normal mechanicals HD are cheaper and You can store a lot ...i was recording 24 tracks in 1999 on old mechanical HD's 20 gigas so yes ..they are fast enough ...

Then Your memory RAM 16 gigas at least 32 should be perfect but 16 is what i have and i don t complain

...about the processor You ll have to dig Yourself as i m not aware what is now on the market ..i think they all should run with W7 and i also think a good i5 is enough for music ...no need to go to axpensive i7 if You don t do graphics hard tasks

and about a graphic card, the reason we need to add a specific card for grafics, is because the one build on the mother board will take on Your RAM to work ...You don t want this so ....but You don t need a top shelf card ...watch 950 GE Force Nvidia with enough memory on it and You should be good

About mother board ...Gigabites, MSi seems to be the actual leaders on the quality / price ..Asus took a fall on this question and the rest i don t know

i insist on running on W7 because You own a DM3200, i know You don t have actualy FW connection but i think You plan to have a FW card later ??? and for a begining You don t need to scratch Your head more than needed ...it could work with W10 but let s leave this for later ))

about a DAW ....Samplitude is my choice for mixing ...cubase for composition, we did talk together about Harisson mixbus ...i could leave this one for mixing tasks only ...

 

[-mjk-]

Some light reading:

https://www.learnhowtoproducemusic....ction/best-graphics-card-for-music-production

https://homestudiorecordings.com/music-production-computer-specs/

 

[Arjan P]

@Arjan P
Do you know how much it cost back then to build?
Can you tell me what all there is. My son can do it if I know what to get.

Yeah, it cost around €1600 back then in components, but that also included a 19" housing (€270), an LED monitor (€180) and two monitor arms (€170).

So you'll need:
- A housing, depending on your preference
- Power supply, go for at least 750W
- Main board
- Processor
- RAM
- Hard drives (IMO at least 2)
- Separate video card (I selected with passive cooling)
- OS, I would go for Windows 10
- Optionally a CD/DVD burner/reader
- Optionally a FireWire card
- Monitor(s), keyboard, mouse etc.

EDIT: @Power supply: This https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator still works!

@Processor: it really depends what you and your software will be doing. I use Wavelab for mastering and since that DAW mostly works sequentially, a fast processor yields best/fastest results. OTOH, a multicore processor is very benificial to DAWs that make use of multiple cores (like Cubase in my case). I went for Intel i7 and would do so again - it has served me 9 years now and still is fast enough for both DAWs.

@RAM, I started with 6GB but after a few years increased that to 30GB. That should still be enough for today in a new system.

@Hard drives: don't skim on the size of the system drive. Some software gives you NO choice where to store their sound files and place them on C:\. I have that with Roli sound files for the Seaboard Rise. Also, some software is quite bulky on its own. I'd go for around 500GB.

@OS: I strongly disagree here with Shmark. Windows 7 lost support last January and Windows 10 is not only current and therefor (much) safer but also on the market for 5 years (Windows 7 was released in 2009 and in 2012 succeeded by 8). For a new PC it just doesn't make sense to start with an old unsupported OS - also unsupported by many hardware, software and plugin suppliers. I run my DM3200 and lots of other old hardware without any problem (even an old MIDIsport from 2005).

@FireWire card: I'd try to find a suitable one while you're at it, since the technology is getting obsolete, so you may not have much choice if you'd want one in 3 years time. And it shouldn't be that expensive anyway.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jerome Williams]

@Arjan P
I really appreciate all the input. This seems to be a bit over my head. I was wondering if this would be worth purchasing...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/153471660398

 

[Jerome Williams]

Some light reading:

https://www.learnhowtoproducemusic....ction/best-graphics-card-for-music-production

https://homestudiorecordings.com/music-production-computer-specs/

Both were great reads. I use Logic as well as ProTools and MIXBUS. Now the question... do I want to give up Logic??? I will let you know the outcome

 

[-mjk-]

Jerome, you're going to love Reaper. Watch some tutorials on YouTube.