Garpocalypse Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm trying to figure out what I need to put some money into to get a little bit more from my music making. I've also been getting some pretty random errors from Sonar saying that system resources are low and various (newer)synths couldn't be loaded. Yet, if I reload everything it tends to work. Here's my setup Soundcard DMX 6fire 24/96 (discontinued) http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/terratec-dmx-6fire-24,410-2.html Windows XP Quad Core 2.60(not sure exactly but around there) 4GB Ram Sonar 6 Producer (looking to update, still researching different DAWs) Roland A-37 Midi Controller 76 keys http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=276 M-audio AV-40 Speakers http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Speakers-Previous/dp/B000MUXJCO Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones http://www.sennheiserusa.com/professional-dj-headphones-HD-280-PRO_004974 Kind of the minimum needed to get going I know, there's so many different types of gear out there now that I have no idea what to check out first. Thanks for any suggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 What brand is your processor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Windows XP Yes, yes you are. Using a Tracker? Yes, yes you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noTuX Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Well, your setup is definitely better than mine as far as the PC and equipment goes. You might be having a problem with your system settings that is causing the error messages. There might be some sort of compatibility issue. I'm afraid I don't have any experience with Sonar, though, but I do suggest making sure that all of your audio and equipment drivers are up to date. My PC is old as shit: Windows 7 Dual-Core 1.86 (i think) 4GB Ram FL Studio 9 XXL. Sound Blaster Audigy 4 I have the same headphones. BTW, I've noticed that the headphones seem to boost lower-end frequencies a little bit. So, be on the lookout for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicThHedgog Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Yes, yes you are.Using a Tracker? Yes, yes you are. Do you need to update OS? I think not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshaggyfreak Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 If you don't feel that your current set up limits you in your work, then you're not out dated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 If you want to get the latest software, then yeah, Windows XP isn't gonna take you very far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Experience is more important than the number of cores your processor has or which version of windows you're running. There's someone out there who can take a PC from 15 years ago and create music that'll be better than anything you or I can offer. Always remember that all the gear that the users on this site have mostly exists for the purpose of trying to live up to music created by using basic ASM machine code and limited monophonic tracking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Experience is more important than the number of cores your processor has or which version of windows you're running. There's someone out there who can take a PC from 15 years ago and create music that'll be better than anything you or I can offer. This, damn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteo Xavier Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah but if you're starting fresh today, you need the accurate tools and the processors for what today offers. That person probably also has the music software that was compatible with a 15 year old PC in addition to 15 years of experience that you can't make up without 15 years invested. I just wanted to clarify that bit there as I felt the core message was "Processor Shmocessor" without giving a lot of additional context to the point. If you're starting this year or relatively new, you need a good computer and technology moves fast enough to the point where you really need to wonder sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah but a quad core machine is very good for anything out today, 4gb ram is the standard and someone just starting out is not going to have the money or conviction to spend $500 on a new Windows 7 DAW, $300 on a Win7 geared mega sampler like Kontakt, $1000 worth of random guitar sims, drum libraries, softsynths. Someone just starting out is going to bootleg all that stuff via torrents, and if that's the case then just download Cubase 3 isntead of Cubase 6, Kontakt 2 isntead of Kontakt 5, BFD1 instead of BFD2 etc etc. Either that or they'll be smart and start small on lite versions that are always backwards compatible to XP and require only a fraction of the PC resources (and these days the "lite" versions are more capable than the professional high end versions of 5 years ago, so there's no excuse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion303 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 If you want to get the latest software, then yeah, Windows XP isn't gonna take you very far. What music software requires Win7? If you're going to stick with older equipment, especially the soundcard, you'd better stick with an OS you know is well-supported with drivers. Otherwise you'll end up with a broken M-Audio piece of shit like I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 [........] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yes you are out of date, get Windows 7. only if you need the 4 gb ram or if your programs for some reason require win7. what are those newer synths you use? there are synths nowadays that can max quadcores with a couple instances. be aware of the alternatives. 1 polyphonic instance of Massive or Alchemy or whatever you use will take as much cpu as maybe 10 Synth1 patches playing at once. no question, the newer shit offers more possibilities, but how often are you going to use these? a lot of times, a 10 year old free vsti will do the same job in a mix. just collect some older vsts that are light on cpu and learn what they can do. i've learned to refrain from filling a project with cpu hogs from the start. 1 minute of song done, cpu sitting at 60% with some annoying spikes...forget about adding more instruments. the only solution at some point is to bounce everything to audio, and that's even more annoying. try maxing out your machine with just synth1...it's not possible unless you do a 60 minute piece with 100 instances or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 What music software requires Win7? The entire Komplete collection. Or maybe they just say it's required but it actually isn't. So put it this way: anything 64 bit? But think about it. How much longer is XP going to last before it's dead? Microsoft dropped support for SP2. Not long before software devs are going to move on. (64-bit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid wind Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 you'll need to upgrade if you want new software but whether or not new software is a necessity is highly questionable, there's a lot of great music on this site made with some extremely "outdated" software. skill is most important as snappleman said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 you'll need to upgrade if you want new software but whether or not new software is a necessity is highly questionable, there's a lot of great music on this site made with some extremely "outdated" software. skill is most important as snappleman said. That's why I said "if you want the latest software" not "yes you are get windows 7". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 [........] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Like it's hard to get Win 7 anyway.. It costs money. Money that can be put elsewhere for more immediate gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 [........] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 It costs money. It costs absolutely jack shit per day, because you're going to have it installed on your computer for the next 2-3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteo Xavier Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 $120 for Windows 7 120 / 730 is 0.164383562 120 / 1095 is 0.109589041 So between $0.10 to $0.16 a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 [........] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteo Xavier Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Dude, no. Don't trust that shit to pirates and don't trust people who suggest it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nabeel Ansari Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 the piratebay way 0.00$ a year Do you think the OP's mentally retarded? Of course you can pirate any software. That's not the point of this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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