Hardware Purchase Donts and Dos

[Marc]

Don't:

- Buy a Celeron or its AMD equivalent. Using VST instruments (samples) and virtual effects processor require in some cases a lot of CPU cumputation. A CPU needs more than 128K cache to perform well as a virtual music studio.

- Buy a motherboard with less than 4 memory slots. If you're using large samples, you need memory. My old board has only two slots, both occupied by 256MB chips. To expand, I have to discard one of them and replace it by a 512MB one.

- Buy a hard drive less than 120GB. Large samples need it. It's prudent also to buy a DVD recorder to backup your work. A CD recorder, with its limitied capacity, makes you have to burn several CDs of a single collection. Why do that when it can fit on a single DVD?

- Settle for old, limited and limiting technology when you have the means. Your inspiration will have a better voice to manifest itself.

[john]

Do:

If you can, try before you buy.

Plan your set up. Work out all the connections and compatabilities.

Work out useage scenarios: recording, mixdown, real instruments, sequencing and sampling, editing and mastering.

Work out alternatives

Work out dependencies. For example, by using a particular item of gear, if I replaced it later on, would it be easy to re-create an existing mix.

Plan an upgrade path.

Cheers

John

[Nightwolf]

Good advice guys

[Guest]

I suppose this makes my 10gb Celeron processor-driven laptop look a bit ridiculous then?  

[Steve]

I suppose this makes my 10gb Celeron processor-driven laptop look a bit ridiculous then?  

Yeah... Dump it and get an Atari....

[Guest]

...or a Sinclair 486