What should I be looking for in a computer for music production? I've asked on /mu/ before but I figure you guys can give me some more technical insight.
mac
you'll get laughed out if you don't use a macbook for live performances
>>52006998
An Apple logo
For home use? Either a mac or a hackintosh with a shitton of ram
>>52007020
>>52007024
I'm a bedroom hobbyist producer so social acceptance isn't important. Do I really need i7? Do I need 4 cores?
https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/1003432315
>looking at this at the moment, my budget isn't great
Home audio production isn't about the computer. You need about 3 sqft of eggcarton foam awkwardly placed around the computer to perfect your tracks.
>>52006998
Audio production doesn't really require a computer with crazy hardware. Just get an iMac.
>>52007020
I've played a bunch of festivals and no one has ever said anything about the fact that I'm using a Samsung or an HP.
>>52007321
this is why nobody has ever heard of you
go ahead
what's your artist name?
let's see if I've ever heard of you.
>>52007341
That's not very nice anon :c
>>52006998
Nothing too strong.
A Mac is usually the way to go, but something like a cheap i5 build, 4GBs of RAM and a fast and large Hard drive should do.
>>52007466
So is having i5/i7 the main thing? I keep seeing computers that look good but they're AMD which I've heard isn't ideal
>>52007497
As you said you're a hobbyist, so I don't see the reason to go big. Start small, only get AMD if your budget demands a cheaper CPU. Don't get a APU.
What DAW are you using?
>>52007497
do you have any source for why AMD wouldn't be that good?
>>52007497
AMD is usually chosen because it's cheaper, but you can build a pretty powerful PC on a budget if you choose top of the like AMD 8-core CPUs.
Prebuilts usually don't have these. Building your own rig becomes important here if you want to save money.
Otherwise, just get the mac.
>>52007497
i5. An i7 is unnecessary for what you're doing. Get an SSD, Decent Ram. GPU doesn't matter.
iMac is nice, if you've got money you can get one of the 27' 5k ones. If not there are cheaper models ($999?)
If you're tight on money you can probably get away with a $500 custom build. I've heard that some motherboards have issues with audio so you might want to research sound cards.
>>52007560
*top of the line
>>52007535
Fl studio like a pleb. Currently just use my computer I've had for years (4gb ram, 3.4ghz dhal core) but it can't dual screen and can't connect to the internet as its in my sleep out (living that 18 year old semi neet life). Starting a full time job and have some spare cash so looking to upgrade and move my old one inside for getting samples, vsts, whatever off the internet.
>>52007536
I've just heard that most daws don't get along as well with AMD, someone feel free to correct me if that's false
>>52007577
audio interfaces are a must for production, so that would cover it.
>>52006998
You want the highest clocked desktop i7 you can get. Lots of programs get crippled by single threaded performance, which is where intel cpu's excel. You won't really need one of the workstation cpu's, just a normal i7 will be fine. 8gb of memory is totally fine unless you want to have multiple DAW's and Adobe's stuff open all at the same time. In all honesty, if you bus everything efficiently you could produce on a pentium, but if you ever choose to use discrete component analog emulators with polyphony you can easily max one out.
any tips for someone making the switch from Ableton Live to Logic Pro X?
so far, not really liking it. liking the Alchemy synth a whole lot though
just follow tad's advice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdjzJunoieQ
>>52007020
>live performance
If you're doing anything live, the only answer is Linux compiled with real-time support and JACK for absolute minimum latency.
Ok, so as it stands my two best options are:
https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/1003432315
Or
https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/1000353329
I'll probably just upgrade again once I have more money but any input on these two is appreciated
>>52008300
The non-amd one.
>>52008265
I love linux but linux audio sucks and the latency really sucks.
On the other hand it's predictable at least (unless your sound card has buggy drivers)
>>52008265
If you were actually doing an important live show, you would have two physical machines running and be in a VM with instant rollover between the two of them.
>>52007020
>for live performances
But I use real instruments anon
>>52008495
>linux audio sucks and the latency really sucks.
Are you living in the 2000s? Linux audio is fine, and Linux is the only major OS that has realtime support, i.e., it can GUARANTEE latency below some threshold.
>>52007341
Wow I'm honoured to have the Official Music Abiter in my presence.
>>52007128
Get shittons of ram, a good processor, and some external HDs (more cost effective than getting inbuilt HD upgrade).
>>52006998
Ic your good with computers it would be wise to build a desktop (good ram, decent cpu) as it would be A LOT cheaper. Boot up ubuntu or hackintosh and you'll be gold.
Strapped on cash? Pickup some samsung laptop. But if you dont have the any computer knowledge and a good amount of cash just get an iMac.
>>52008265
LMAO
>suggesting Linux is ever used in a professional creative environment
Nice spastic-tier bait.
But yeah OP, get a Mac or you'll look like a lamer.
>>52013631
Lamer?
>>52013649
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lamer
>1. Someone who cluelessly (or in some cases pridefully) does things to piss off an established community, usually on the internet.
>2. Someone with little to no netiquet.
>3. A complete ****ing idiot who refuses to get the picture they aren't wanted somewhere. Again usually on the internet.
>Lamer: NE1 LIKE LINKIN PARK? I THINK CHESTER IZ HAWT!
>Poster-A: This is the metal board. Linkin Park isn't metal, they are pop-rock.
>Lamer: THEY R METAL THEY ARE ON MTV N U R JELLYIS!
>Person-A: Will a mod please ban this LAMER?
>>52013649
I think you might be too young to have experienced these OG internet slurs.
Actual producer here,
Get a tower with the fastest CPU you can afford and 8Gb or more of RAM. Store your sample libraries on an external USB 3.0 hard drive and throw an SSD in the tower. Buy a decent motherboard from Asus that has a solid USB controller or you'll end up with noise in the recordings. Quiet fans are a must - go passive where possible. Integrated graphics are absolutely fine.
>>52013807
So basically max out everything and move extra data to an external drive like any normal human being would?
>>52013840
I don't know why you're trying to score cheap points with me, but it's really autistic behavior. The only thing that needs "maxing out" is the CPU. Everything ends can be just average quality stuff.
>>52013807
>tfw working on a 250€ laptop and a 50€ USB interface
I'd rather spent my money on audio equipement than a high end PC.
>>52013892
>I don't know why you're trying to score cheap points with me, but it's really autistic behavior.
An autistic person wouldn't reply at all.
>The only thing that needs "maxing out" is the CPU.
>Everything ends can be just average quality stuff.
See, that's where you're wrong and also the reason why I'm making fun of you.
Get a K CPU (ideally an i5 6600k) and overclock it like crazy if you need more performance. Music software loves high clocks, I did it on my 2500k and when using ableton plus some heavy vsts feels like a new pc. I've not tested a ram overclock yet but I think that also a good ram with high speeds and low latency helps. But don't waste a lot of money on this, even my 2500k and 8gb 1600mhz ram is way more than enough that a producer may need, even a messy one like me that keeps 134774 channels full of vsts active without bouncing them. Sorry for the shitty English but it is not my first language and I'm in a hurry
>>52013903
You're producing music at a low-end level if all you need is a 250 buck laptop.
>>52013807
>>52014008
>>52006998
Good advice. It's all about CPU, Drive Speed and RAM, in that order. That is all that matters. Period. Invest in a great CPU. The CPU usage on some stuff out there is really insane.
>>52013903
Try running an instance of U-he Diva, see how that goes
An android smartphone with good ram with WiFi. Sunvox, caustic, a wav editor, and edjing pro or other apps installed to allow you to mangle the music and samples you downloaded off of YouTube. There are so many producers doing the same shit so just take theirs and edit it a little and call it yours. Do some live shows and bam, get more pussy than a rock star because djs are cooler.
If you want to produce music you'll need 3 24" 1080p monitors to work most efficiently
>>52006998
you will need:
>external sound card to cut down on CPU load and latency/lag when playing your midi controller
>big multicore from AMD to handle the load from Ableton or whatever DAW you will be using
>at least 8GB DDR3 ECC RAM
>and at least 1TB HDD for your samples,plugins and so on the space magically vanishes as you get more into production.
Good luck op,I hope we will hear from you soon.
How come not a single person in this thread mentioned add on cards for Firewire 400/800?
I understand USB is up and coming but Firewire still stands tall for the better/best equipment, and also in latency.
>>52013807
>Store your sample libraries on an external USB 3.0 hard drive
Terrible advice t.b.h.
The only time you should use such a drive is if you need to carry it around or use it for backups.
>>52016263
Firewire is dead.
USB is the solution for bedroom musicians nowadays.
PCIe and Thunderbolt are the best if you care about performance.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/vcYp7P ???
>>52013631
What do you think runs all those liveshow displays? It's sure not a macbook.
>>52014374
You don't know how to use your software if a $250 laptop can't cope
>>52016386
>>52016263
Firewire's more versatile than USB for recording.
Only meme's think that a USB interface is better. I'm not saying it doesn't work, it does...just not as well.
>>52006998
an mpc 4000 or roland mv 8800.
gentoo studio
>>52006998
A quiet windows PC with at least a quad core CPU. That's about it.
>>52006998
The computer doesn't matter so much, but the monitor does.
You need a lot of screen space to be able to use most of the good audio software efficiently. I recommend at least a 24" monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 at a minimum.
A matte coating on the monitor will also help will long sessions since it is easier on the eyes. 144hz may help with some eye strain, or so I have read.
>>52014374
no, *you* make shitty electronic music that needs 18 filters in order to sound interesting
you can record punk and rock on a real shitbox as long as you mix down your tracks in several stages and don't get bitten by the "compress everything" bug
t. steve albini
in a perfect world, the most expensive CPU you can afford. if you're doing a lot of things digitally, things like reverb modeling will really start to eat into your CPU really quickly. the way the really good VST's do reverb modeling is completely computationally -- they mathematically model the actual behavior of how sound waves bounce off of objects. needless to say, that gets expensive quickly.
everything you do digitally at runtime needs to be translated to the machine and executed by the CPU, so all those little dinky horn lines will all need to be executed in real-time when you are just playing your song, every layer requiring a little bit more of your CPU. and you still need a little bit leftover for mixdown, which also factors in.
4GB of ram should be more than enough for anything you'd ever do, and obviously GPU is pretty irrelevant. if you're not using an external soundboard, a high-quality sound card is also a must.
https://www.youtube.com/user/junkiexlofficial/videos
>>52007341
REKT. This made me laugh in an audible manner.
>>52007321
Whats your preforming name? Lets her part of a set?
