I would say that anything you have should contain 512 mb of memory, and a sound blaster card, which ever one you prefer. You will also want plenty of hard drive space for file storage. and as fast a processor as you can get away with. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Alfaro" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'PC audio discussion list. '" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 9:57 AM Subject: Specs required for a decent DAW
> Well, little by little I am dipping my toes into the very complicated and > confusing world of recording and editing music on a computer. My first > step > was to order an audio recording device with a midi interface as well as > the > necessary inputs for a decent mic and keyboard if necessary. I am now > toying with the idea of possibly having a dedicated machine just for audio > stuff. I haven't decided yet whether it will be a very hefty laptop, or a > very small desktop, but I would like to gather opinions on what the > minimum > specs should be for a decent DAW. Keep in mind that I said decent, and > not > spectacular. I don't have a lot of money to plunk down on this, so it > will > either be a used laptop, or perhaps I'll have my Son build me a small > footprint desktop. I am not an audio engineer by any stretch nor do I > play > professionally, so the scope of any projects would be usually quite > simple. > > I would never be recording more than 1 audio track at once, but there > could > conceivably be a few audio tracks as part of the entire project, for > example, a vocal track with a couple of other vocal tracks doing harmony > parts. The rest would be all midi, using either my keyboards as sound > sources, or controllers for any soft synths I might try using. > > What would be the minimum I would need in terms of memory, and cpu speed? > I > know the HD is also an issue and this is one thing that concerns me when > considering a laptop since they usually use 5400rpm IDE drives. Would a > laptop cut it if it had a reasonably fast cpu? > > Regarding the audio/midi interface I ordered, for now, it is going to be > USB > 2.0. I do understand and agree with the fact that FireWire would have > been > much better, but the problem I ran into was that I had to spend quite a > bit > more money to get the features I needed in a comparable device using > FireWire. Since I am just getting started with this stuff, I didn't want > to > spend quite that much just yet. If I find that I can actually get > somewhere > with all this, I certainly don't mind upgrading to something better in the > future that uses FireWire and has a few other nice features as well. The > Tascam US122L that I purchased was only $149 and can accommodate anything > I > would use for now, and it is very simple to use, or at least that's the > way > it seems. When looking for something comparable but with Firewire, the > only > stuff that appealed to me was at least $300. If things go well, I won't > have a problem ditching the US122L and going for something with the I/O I > want and perhaps a control surface as well, using FireWire. > > So, what do you guys think? What are the bare bone specs I need to be > reasonably happy? Thanks in advance for any ideas. BTW, my ballpark > budget > for this machine would be about $800. I think with that amount, I can > easily find a good used laptop, or purchase what I need to build > something. > > > > --Warmest regards, > > --Rick Alfaro > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > _______________________________________________ > PC-Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... > http://www.pc-audio.org > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > This list is a service of MosenExplosion.com. To see what other lists we > offer, visit us on the web at http://www.MosenExplosion.com > _______________________________________________ PC-Audio List Help, Guidelines, Archives and more... http://www.pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This list is a service of MosenExplosion.com. To see what other lists we offer, visit us on the web at http://www.MosenExplosion.com
