PC advice

[jrm1]

I'm looking into buying a powerful desktop PC and wondered if anyone had any recommendations / warnings about various setups. Any system is only as fast as its slowest part, so on that basis, what is the priority: SSD, processor speed, core numbers, RAM. Is there an answer, a balance I wonder.

No point in spending money where it's not noticed in performance...

The Dell Precision T7600?

I need a PC to run 3D software, which is part of the reason for considering a PC instead of my Mac Pro. Another is perhaps Mac is pulling away from the high-end market. But perhaps the most relevant reason is that I could use the PC as a slave for my VSL setup.

Question: is there a difference in performance depending on master and slave order (Mac or PC as the slave)? 

Any advice gratefully received!

[noldar12]

A few thoughts:

The processor of the basic Precision T7600 is nowhere near fast enough.  Depending on the specifics of what you are doing, total memory, processor speed, and number of cores could all matter.  For loading samples, memory is quite important (using SSDs will lessen that a bit as VSL allows control over sample buffers with SSDs).  Processor speed is also important - for samples, more so than number of cores.  However, for effects, like MIR Pro, or other plugins, the number of cores becoms important.  For heavy VSL users, it is very common to have 32 gigs of memory.  Note that for streaming samples traditional hard drives will work fine, though initial loading times will be far slower.  SSDs are far better, budget permitting. 

Most users don't need a xeon - a high end i7, such as the 3930k is often enough.  If you are going with just a single processor, there is no advantage to a xeon, and they are far more expensive.  IMO, the only reason to consider a xeon would be if you need to run two processors.

Mure than anything though, given the money you are intending to spend, I would strongly suggest getting in touch with a professional DAW builder.  First, they will build a system designed for your purposes, using parts that are known to "play nice" with each other.  You will also generally get lifetime technical support - something a company like Dell or HP won't give you - tech support of those companies are generally clueless about DAWs.  The VSL website will have a list of recommended builders.  I am not located in the UK, but am vaguely aware of a couple DAW PC builders that have been suggested from time to time.  Scan is one - and my builder in the US (ADK) also has suggested people in the UK check them out.

[Dietz]

 Here are some links to builders of VSL-certified DAWs: -> http://www.vsl.co.at/en/65/75/1748/1384.vsl

HTH,

[Dietz]

Private sidenote: .... this is my personal favorite company for this task, but I don't know if they will deliver to the UK, too:

-> http://www.pomtec.at/daw.html

[Cyril Blanc]

THe ideal is a double Xeon, 3Ghz, 32 GB, SATA III and SSD

[jrm1]

Many thanks for all of the above. 

A slight spanner in the works I've found out that my audio interface (Apogee) doesn't support Windows.

[jrm1]

So this forces me to consider a workaround. It cost thousands for the Apogee gear, so I'd rather not have to replace it with another converter. As an aside I find it wholly repulsive of Apple to force Apogee (and eMagic for that matter) to ditch any support for Windows and force loyalty to their brand rather than encourage it. Anyway, I don't want this thread to go off in a Mac vs PC argument, so lets not let that happen...

If I can use the Mac as my front end, so to speak, my 'interface', the master, and a Windows driven PC doing lots of the audio processing, that might do the trick, correct? Can you have a network where the PC is the slave and the Mac is the master? Are there any disadvantages, even if that is possible?

Could another way be to have a more powerful PC at the front and the Mac as the slave, or would that make routing audio through a Mac-dependent Apogee system impossible?

I feel like a heretic slagging off Apple, but the way things are going it doesn't look like they give much of a damn about its pro users and perhaps Windows isn't such a bad thing. 

If I had to run Windows as my OS, I would also have to dump Logic and learn and buy a new software, which obviously I'd rather not have to. All the above does take me and anyone else in similar shoes away from the most important activity, namely making music!!! 

I would welcome any advice from the very helpful VSL community.

[DG]

I ahve made sure that all my hardware and software has drivers for both Windows and OSX, precisely so that I don't find myself in your position. Not that this is of much use to you now, but for future purchases it might be worth considering. for example, I am now dumping Altiverb because there is no guarantee that Windows will be supported in the future.

As to you current situation, have you looked into VE Pro? Not only does it not matter that you are working on a Mac with a PC slave, but you don't even need an audio interface on the PC. There is a demo that you can try out, to see if it suits your needs.

DG

[Cyril Blanc]

You can have your DAW and your Apogee running on your MAC and have a slave PC running VSL

But be carefull you need a very powerfull PC tu run VSL, specially if you are thinking to use MIR, and again specially if you are in 5.1 or 7.1

[jrm1]

@DG said:

I ahve made sure that all my hardware and software has drivers for both Windows and OSX, precisely so that I don't find myself in your position. Not that this is of much use to you now, but for future purchases it might be worth considering. for example, I am now dumping Altiverb because there is no guarantee that Windows will be supported in the future.

As to you current situation, have you looked into VE Pro? Not only does it not matter that you are working on a Mac with a PC slave, but you don't even need an audio interface on the PC. There is a demo that you can try out, to see if it suits your needs.

DG

Windows used to support the Rosetta and X Symphony. I imagine Apple's deal with Apogee was an excercise in monogamy. I run VE Pro in the Mac that I have at the moment, yes. Good news that I won't need an audio interface on a slave PC.