New Computer

[bschrock82]

Hello! I'm new to the forum, but have been playing around with Mixcraft for about a year. I"m about to upgrade to 7 and will also be getting a new computer to finally get my home studio really going.

I'm somewhat of a budget here, and I am considering the Dell Inspirion model I3847-2310BK.

From what I can tell, it meets all the requirements and should be okay for what I intend to do with it.

I have a DI box and plan to basically record tracks of guitars, bass, keys, and some midi instruments.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, suggestions!

Thanks,
Brian

[jhart]

Hi Brian,
I use an Inspiron 3847 (12 GB of RAM) with Mixcraft Studio Pro 7 and find that it works very well. I compose and record vocals and guitar and keyboards thru a M-Audio box with a Shure SM58 microphone and also do direct midi inputs from my Yamaha PSR-S910 keyboard. Typically, I don't get much beyond eight tracks, but I've never encountered latency or overload problems.
jthart

[Ianpb]

It depends upon what kind of productions you intend to do. If you intend to use plenty of plugins and tracks then unfortunately, the dual processor Pentium processor won't hack it. For that you should at least get something with at a four-core CPU. If you don't intend to play modern games on it, you can sacrifice graphics card power for CPU power.

[bschrock82]

I do plan on having quite a few tracks and likely a lot of plug ins. I've looked around some more based on comments and think I'll be okay with this:

HP 110-243wb Desktop PC with AMD A4-5000 Quad-Core Processor, 8GB Memory, 21.5" Monitor, 1TB Hard Drive and Windows 8.1


This computer will be dedicated to mixcraft and recording, so I think I'll be okay here?

[Ianpb]

I do plan on having quite a few tracks and likely a lot of plug ins. I've looked around some more based on comments and think I'll be okay with this:

HP 110-243wb Desktop PC with AMD A4-5000 Quad-Core Processor, 8GB Memory, 21.5" Monitor, 1TB Hard Drive and Windows 8.1


This computer will be dedicated to mixcraft and recording, so I think I'll be okay here?

You need to be aware that is a very basic 4-core PC, and according to the HP website, it is not possible to upgrade the CPU on the very small (customized uATX) mainboard of this model. The spec. also says 'One PCI Express half-length mini card socket' (whatever that is!), although there are no standard expansion slots on the board, so upgrading will not really be an option if you ever want to upgrade the video and/or audio at some time in the future:
http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04108287

You might also want to see what it looks like on this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA9sooxxHaI

Personally, I would not recommend it. It's the kind of thing that's sold to people for basic computer functions such as internet and word processing. I suspect you may end up cursing yourself in due course for buying it, but it's your choice.

[outteh]

Find a good sale on a computer designed for gaming. These usually have enhanced motherboards and good cpu power. ASUS is a good buy.

[Ianpb]

Alternatively, if you feel confident, build your own. I spent around 880 GBP (US$ 1300) on the parts for my high-spec PC, and I'm seeing ready-built computers of a similar specification retailing at around double the price and more.

[bschrock82]

Well now I'm back to square one....

Can I just get some good reccomendations for a PC that won't set me back more than $450?

[outteh]

Sorry for all the extra information. I think folks are just trying to make sure you end up with a good experience. For your price range, you will probably have to compromise in some areas in recording, and number of tracks, effects in use at one time. This can all be done but most folks are disappointed with the results. Your initial Inspiron or HP will work with Mixcraft, but you may eventually experience some performance issues.

[J Gretch]

go here

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... sp?CatId=6

you can narrow your search for price range,processor,memory etc...

[J Gretch]

ps..... an i5 processor with at least 8 gig of ram will get the job done.Someone else may want to chime in on AMD processors.

[Ianpb]

Or perhaps a refurbished Dell with Xeon quad core:

http://www.amazon.com/PRECISION-FEATURI ... 07&sr=1-49

[outteh]

Or perhaps a refurbished Dell with Xeon quad core:

http://www.amazon.com/PRECISION-FEATURI ... 07&sr=1-49

Now that looks promising and in the price range!

[outteh]

go here

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... sp?CatId=6

you can narrow your search for price range,processor,memory etc...

8 gaming models under $500.00! Good stuff!

[Rolling Estonian]

You want at least 8gb ram, at least, more if you can afford it. Keep in mind that memory isn't that expensive so I'd make sure the computer could be upgraded. I just went from 8gb to 12gb and it definitely makes a difference.

Good luck!

M