New computer question

Hi Greg,

I think those specs should be fine for 20-30 tracks.

Ty!!

Just for quick clarification, I meant 20-30 of the eastwest sample tracks. Total project may get closer to 50 (with some tracks using recorded guitar with neural dsp amp emulation, and vocals using the grallion autotune vst plugins. Is that potentially excessive?

Generally, it should be fine. You didn't mention what DAW you are using. Also, a lot of effects may slow things down. You can always freeze tracks after they sound the way you want to save on CPU. Also, it is always best to have a drive that is separate from your main (C drive for your samples.

I do vocals, and sometimes will have up to 20 tracks between doubles, harmonies, verse, chorus, bridge, other, etc.... Adding plugings on all of them can overwhelm my 12th gen i7, depending on the plugin. The i9 should take more, but freezing tracks or bouncing to track and disabling the original helps a lot. Don't delete original tracks, just disable. I will go back a lot and change things to match changes I make to other tracks. Bouncing to track takes minimal time, and you can always delete the bounced tracks if you get too many.

That's great info about freezing them. I like that idea. My DAW is presonus studio one, which I love. I have a 2tb ssd that I'm gonna connect the the computers usb c port.

When you saying "disable," in studio one would that just involve selecting the mute button?

Thank you for your help!!

I haven't used Studio One in a while. Usually you right click on the track name and one of the options is to disable track. So you bounce it to audio, then disable the original track. It will still be there but greyed out.

You can then right click to enable it if you need to. Eventually, I bounce all my tracks to audio and do the final mix from that. Move all the disabled tracks to the bottom or remove them from the track listing. Never delete though. I am sure there is a way to do it in Studio One. In ProTools, there is a track listing on the side and you can click on tracks to remove them from the main screen. They are still there, but don't show on the main edit screen.

Ok. I'll give it a try. If I have an issue finding it, I will follow up. I'm very excited.

Thank you again.

i have a slightly lower spec pc, but still an I9 with 64GB ram.
in my latest project i loaded IK modo drums, several IK multimedia amplitube (maybe 5 or 6), several plugins, not so much vocals audio track, some kontakt instruments and 5-6 instances of OPUS (not all full of instruments): i got a brass section with 5 instruments, 4 different male symphonic choirs with wordbuilder (i had short phrases but it was more convenient to load them separately), 1 fantasy orchestra with 4-5 instruments and 3 instruments from forbidden planet.
i still had about 30GB of memory left

Wow. Yeah, looks like I should be in good shape! Do u have ddr4 or ddr5?

Choosing computer specs is such a dif process than it used to be for me. It used to be "just get the one with the highest numbers." Now, it feels like there are always trade offs. Processor speed will be more powerful, but less ram. More ram, lower processor speed. Same for ram type. Then they get into cores, and there is a similar push and pull when it comes to specs. This whole "pick one" process has really been stressing me. If I had more money I'd prob get one custom built. From what you're doing with yours, though, sounds like I'll be in good shape.

bosone said:

i have a slightly lower spec pc, but still an I9 with 64GB ram.
in my latest project i loaded IK modo drums, several IK multimedia amplitube (maybe 5 or 6), several plugins, not so much vocals audio track, some kontakt instruments and 5-6 instances of OPUS (not all full of instruments): i got a brass section with 5 instruments, 4 different male symphonic choirs with wordbuilder (i had short phrases but it was more convenient to load them separately), 1 fantasy orchestra with 4-5 instruments and 3 instruments from forbidden planet.
i still had about 30GB of memory left

Click to expand...

One of the main culprits for needing more RAM is microphones. I don’t have HOOPUS but the only VIs that gave me trouble when I was using 64 GB were Berlin Strings. I generally used only one microphone position, however or a mix that came with the VI to reduce RAM use. (Every microphone uses the same amount of RAM, so going from one mic to two mics in use will double your RAM requirement, and three mics will triple it.

In any case my point here is that other than Berlin Strings all my other VIs sat together comfortably in 64GB with one mic. Berlin Strings did as well but I had to be very judicious about what instruments were added to it in a way I did not for other string libraries.

At 128 GB I rarely encounter issues. I still mostly use mixes that come with the VIs but I rarely go above 100 GB even with a full orchestra loaded, including several different string sections many of which are using multiple mics. Even so I opted for 192GB of RAM for my new computer…

Thanks for the info. 192 is a LOT. Hell, I thought 64 was a lot. It's crazy to me that the max in a computer at my local bestbuy was 32. And they charge more than the one I got with 64

Hi @Open Lane

While you can do great things with the computer you have described, if there is any limitation it's most likely going to be RAM. I am not saying you should start right off with 128 GB but if possible I'd try to buy RAM modules in such a way that, should you need to add more later, you don't have to discard the ones you already have.

So, in other words, if your computer can take, say, four RAM modules, instead of buying 4 modules each with 16 GB to get to 64, consider buying instead 2 modules each with 32 GB, thus leaving 2 slots available for later, just in case. It probably would cost more but it would allow you later to expand if you feel the need.

Again, this is not some kind of "requirement," just a suggestion.

Keep having fun with it!

John

jbuhler said:

One of the main culprits for needing more RAM is microphones. I don’t have HOOPUS but the only VIs that gave me trouble when I was using 64 GB were Berlin Strings. I generally used only one microphone position, however or a mix that came with the VI to reduce RAM use. (Every microphone uses the same amount of RAM, so going from one mic to two mics in use will double your RAM requirement, and three mics will triple it.

In any case my point here is that other than Berlin Strings all my other VIs sat together comfortably in 64GB with one mic. Berlin Strings did as well but I had to be very judicious about what instruments were added to it in a way I did not for other string libraries.

At 128 GB I rarely encounter issues. I still mostly use mixes that come with the VIs but I rarely go above 100 GB even with a full orchestra loaded, including several different string sections many of which are using multiple mics. Even so I opted for 192GB of RAM for my new computer…

Click to expand...

another issue not considered by the OP is the drive to store the samples.
I have EW content on a m.2 drive. An SSD could be "too slow" to handle complex stuff!

If I get in the habbit of "freezing" the wav I create after applying the vi's/effects, will that reduce the possibility of needing to upgrade my ram?

bosone said:

another issue not considered by the OP is the drive to store the samples.
I have EW content on a m.2 drive. An SSD could be "too slow" to handle complex stuff!

Click to expand...

My computer comes with a "2TB NVMe SSD" do you think I'm better off putting my samples on there or my 2tb external sdd?

bosone said:

another issue not considered by the OP is the drive to store the samples.
I have EW content on a m.2 drive. An SSD could be "too slow" to handle complex stuff!

Click to expand...

No, I don’t think so. I still run everything on old SATA SSDs. It’s not a problem other than being somewhat slower to load at start up. But I’ve never had an issue with streaming samples from them except when I’ve tried to access more than two SSDs on the same USB3 hub.

Open Lane said:

My computer comes with a "2TB NVMe SSD" do you think I'm better off putting my samples on there or my 2tb external sdd?

Click to expand...

I would definitely install the most demanding libraries on NVMe drive. OPUS has an option to define the drive type: i suppose that the fastest the drive, the less RAM memory is needed to function properly and you can load more samples/instances.

regarding freezing: If I get in the habbit of "freezing" the wav I create after applying the vi's/effects, will that reduce the possibility of needing to upgrade my ram?: I think so! freezing could be a good habit, especially in bigger projects!

OK. Awesome. Thanks guys. I am probably not upgrading to the Hollywood Orchestra library until a year or so. I just got symphonic orchestra platinum on my mini pc when it was on sale last week. Still having fun with it, and it is less demanding than the HO set, that's a bonus. I ran the Symphonic orchestra from my ssd and it is fine. I am prob gonna try the the HO on the ssd first and see if I have any probs. Waiting til next year's sale (this year's sale ends today and I'm currently spent)

Quick question--- I was looking into upgrading to 128gb ram but the store near me only sells 2 x 32gb packs. Can I buy 2 separate packs or do they all need to be part of a 4 part pack (they def don't have any 2x64 packs)