Computers For Your Digital Home Recording Studio
Here I will talk to you about computers for your digital home recording studio.
You will also find the requirements needed to run the lastest versions of Steinberg's Cubase SX, Protools LE, Calkwalk Sonar, and Apple Logic Pro which I talk about on the Digital Recording Software page.
Most of these helpful tips are from my own personal experience with building my own digital home recording studio.
The Advance Of Technology
Computers have come a long way in being able to handle the intense requirements needed to process audio files, run real-time effects, and all the other things it needs to do.
With prices on computers becoming more affordable and with the advancement of technology, it has allowed the average home recording enthusiast to start doing their own professional quality digital home recordings.
Things To Consider Before Buying For Your
Digital Home Recording Studio
A question you need to ask yourself when purchasing a computer for your digital home recording studio is....What are the requirements needed to run the digital recording software that I have chosen?
The four mentioned on the Digital Recording Software page all have different minimum and recommended requirements that need to be looked at before buying a computer for your digital home recording studio.
Some standard requirements that a computer for your digital home recording studio must have are...
- A fast CPU (2GHz or higher processor)
- Plenty of RAM (at minimum 512Mb of the DDR-RAM type)
- A fairly big hard-drive (120 GB is lots) Needed because audio files take up a lot of hard-drive space. I recommend getting an SCSI hard-drive because of their faster speed, better performance and reliablility.
- CD/DVD reader/writer (48X or higher read speed, and 24X or higher write speed)
- A soundcard (either internal or external)
The soundcard is probably one of the most important peices of equipment to consider for you digital home recording studio. Learn more about soundcards.
Tip! Make sure that the hard-drive has a speed of 7200R.P.M. or greater as well. Anything slower and you might get pops and clicks in your recordings.
Tip! You won't be doing yourself any favors by purchasing a computer with just the minimum requirements, and you definitely won't get the best performance out of your software. If you are the kind of person that likes running lots of real-time effects, along with being able to playback as many tracks as the software is capable of, then you will want to meet your software's recommended requirements so that things stay running smoothly.
Recommended Computers For Your Digital Home Recording Studio
Apple G5 PowerMac
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For Mac users that need something that can handle the job with no problems at all, let me recommend the Apple G5 PowerMac. Talk about power, this puppy can pretty much take what ever you throw at it.
It can run all the top digital recording platforms that are available, provided that the software is compatible with a Mac system.
It's an excellent choice for anyone that is running Apple Logic Pro or the Mac versions of Cubase SX and Protools LE. Go ahead and check out the stats on the Apple G5 PowerMac, it's pretty sweet.
Rain Element T2
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For Windows users, take a look at the Rain Element T2. With this sweet rig there are no limits on your creative possibilities.
It already comes with free copies of Cakewalk SONAR LE, Tascam GigaStudio Solo, PCDJ professional DJ mixing and NERO CD/DVD burning software to get you recording as soon as you get it. For someone who wants to get recording right away, this is a great package to consider.
The Rain Element T2 is also a excellent choice if you prefer to run Protools LE or Steinberg's Cubase SX. Won't even break a sweat.
Software Requirements
Steinberg's Cubase SX
Protools and Cubase are compatible with Windows and Mac systems. Both being excellent choices for your digital home recording studio.
System
Requirements
Macintosh
Required: Power Mac G4 867 MHz
384 MB RAM
OS X Version 10.3.3 or higher
Display resolution 1024 x 768 pixels
DVD-ROM drive
USB component port for copy protection key
Recommended: Power Mac G5 Dual 1.8 GHz or faster
512 MB RAM
Display resolution 1152 x 864 pixels, dual monitor setup
Windows
Required: Pentium or Athlon 800 MHz
384 MB RAM
Windows XP Home and XP Professional
Display resolution 1024 x 768 pixels
DVD-ROM drive
USB component port for copy protection key
Recommended: Pentium or Athlon 2.8 GHz or faster
512 MB RAM
Display resolution 1152 x 864 pixels, dual monitor setup
Digidesign's Protools LE
System Requirements
For Mac
Mac OS 10.2.6 Required
Total System RAM:
minimum: 384 MB
recommended: 512 or higher
More RAM increases overall system and Pro Tools performance
512 MB RAM or higher suggested for sessions with high edit density,
extensive use of plug-ins, or simultaneous use with MIDI sequencers
DigiTranslator 2.0 will also require additional RAM
2 GB RAM requires Pro Tools LE 6.1 or higher with Digi 002 systems
OS X does not require minimum or preferred RAM settings for Pro Tools as RAM
is dynamically allocated
Color monitor required with a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
Apple QuickTime 6.1 or higher required
Mac OS X Requirements with Pro Tools 6.1 Systems
Approved Mac OS X Operating System — Mac OS 10.2.6 Required
Pro Tools Does Not Support Energy Saver. In the Macintosh System
Preferences, launch Energy Saver, click the Sleep tab, and disable all Sleep
features. Set "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive" to Never. Do
not manually put your computer to sleep when running Pro Tools.
QuickTime 6.0.2 or higher required. QuickTime downloads are available from
www.apple.com/quicktime
QuickTime Pro 6.0.2 or higher is also supported
For Windows
System Software:
Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
Service Pack 1 or 2 Required
Windows XP Settings & Requirements
Pro Tools LE 6.1 can NOT be installed or used on systems running Windows 98,
Me, 2000, NT, 95, or 3.1
Total System RAM:
minimum: 384 MB
highly recommended: 512 MB (or higher)
Additional RAM may be required for for:
High edit density sessions
Sample rates above 48 KHz
DAE buffer setting larger than the default
Extensive use of plug-ins
Simultaneous use of MIDI sequencers or software options such as
DigiTranslator
Additional RAM is recommended for better video playback performance
Monitor, color required, minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
Apple QuickTime 6.0.2 or Higher Recommended
Required only on systems using video
AGP graphics card with 16 MB or more video RAM required for movie playback
Cakewalk Sonar
Cakewalk Sonar 5 on the other hand can only be used with Windows operating systems, preferably Windows XP. It is also a great choice for a digital home recording studio.
System Requirements
For Windows
Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP
Processor Speed: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 Ghz/AMD Athlon XP 1500+
RAM: 128 MB
Hard Disk Space: 100 MB
Hard Disk Type: Any
Graphics: 1024 X 768, 16-bit color
MIDI Interface**: Windows compatible
Sound Card***: Windows compatible
Recommended Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP/x64*
Processor Speed: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz+/AMD Athlon 64 2800+
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Disk Space: Multiple GBs
Hard Disk Type: EIDI/Ultra DMA (7200 RPM) or SCSI Hard Drive
Graphics: 1280 X 960, 24-bit color or higher
MIDI Interface**: Windows compatible
Sound Card***: WDM or ASIO compatible
* Required to run native 64-bit version of SONAR 5
** Required to connect to external MIDI devices
*** Required for audio playback
Please Note:
SONAR 5 does not support Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, or 2000.
DVD-ROM required to install SONAR 5 Producer Edition.
QuickTime support requires QuickTime 6 or higher.
Apple Logic Pro
Apple Logic Pro is strictly for use with Mac operating systems. As well, this also can be a great choice for your digital home recording studio.
System Requirements For Mac
System Requirements
Macintosh computer with PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo; Intel Core
Duo, PowerPC G5, or dual PowerPC G4 processor recommended
Logic Node applications require PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo and Gigabit
Ethernet connectivity
512MB of RAM
Mac OS X v10.4.3 or later for PowerPC-based systems; Mac OS X v10.4.4 or later
for Intel-based systems
QuickTime 7.0.3 or later
8GB of available hard drive space
DVD drive for software installation
Available USB port for XS Key (copy protection)
Low-latency multi-I/O audio hardware and MIDI interface recommended
Hope that this information on computers for your digital home recording studio has helped.
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