i resently sold a computer with core 2 quad q9650 cpu, creative audigy 5/rx sound card, 16 gb ram dual channel ddr3 1333 mhz, high performance SSD, and Nvidia Quadro 2000 video card working in compute mode. it was made in q1 o 2008 but a beast nevertheless. I was able to work with 24bits/192 khz FLAC files as smooth as silk faster than real time and not care about it. hope this config give you ideas how to proceed.
@@Creator_Veeto_PAEACP (in case you didn't already know) you can get "uninterruptible power supplies" (UPC) that basically keep your system on long enough for you to shut it down in case of a power outage. If you get a lot of power outages, might be worth looking into.
Depends, there were some people with Mac Minis throwing external GPUs into the mix and seeing huge performance increases, specifically in certain DAWs - having any amount of dedicated VRAM seems to help in addition to just a separate processor handling graphics. Don't need to blow a wad of cash on a gaming card, but any low or mid range GPU should do the trick. Just need to offload what little graphics processing is being done from the CPU.
@@soundtrackacad which cpu you recommend right now? ? Is 10700k better? I chosed it for intel's compatability with vst plugins but a bit upset about not having an amd and 10700k heating enough :(
This was super helpful just to hear the insight, thank you. I work on a macbook pro that's about 2013-ish or so, but I upgraded the drive to a hybrid one, but as I get more involved in music production (I started producing music at home about a year ago, especially more regularly since COVID) I'm starting to understand more and more how important storage and a good budget can be to truly make the music I want to make. I'm thinking of investing in a Mac Mini and getting some more external drives. Thanks again for these thoughts!
Glad it helped! I know quite a few people that happily work on the Mac Mini (I'm excited to see how the new ones with the M1 chips develop over the next few years!)
I've been doing a lot of research for which to make my first computer for music production and your video has summed up everything I've been learning about, thank you
I'm so happy for discovering your channel. Most of music production channels on TH-cam only talk about general type of music such as rock, pop, electro, etc. Few channels talk about orchestral music and even fewer talk about cinematographic music such as soundtracks. I am a musician who loves composing but I don't have an appropriate PC for it. The next year I am going to buy a computer for that. This video helped me a lot. Thank you so much. I'll follow your advice. I am a subscriber now :)
Thank you very much for this video. After hours of research this one has finally explained everything I need in words that I can understand. I like the way you sort out the priorities (specs). In most of the videos out there they just focus on having more RAM.
I have an i3 @2.5Ghz, 8 GB ram, and 222Gb SSD and a 1tb HDD, Windows 10 and it's pretty good I use fl studio and it's pretty light and more stable then Ableton I can use all the heavy plugin with very little to almost no issues and YOU DONT NEED A POWERFULL PC TO MAKE MUSIC if your cpu is rising just consolidate and use smart switch for all plugins for all plugins in fl studio (under macros)
One thing that most people forget is your Computer in the long run. As time progresses, the demand for higher fidelity music is inevitable, and as such, to achieve high fidelity, you will need more CPU, RAM, and Storage to compensate for plugins becoming evermore CPU, RAM, and Storage intensive. So make sure your PC is not just geared to atleast reach minimum spec for music production, gear it to have an upgrade path. So that in three to four years time, you won't be finding yourself spending a fortune replacing an entire system when you could just buy better parts at a fraction of the cost. And remember: Your PC can be more than just a music production and gaming suite. So treat it like such.
Yeah that's so true - that's why I so often tell people to prioritise getting a stronger processor first, since RAM is (usually) easily upgraded, but the processor is (usually) much more difficult to upgrade. "Minimum requirements" are definitely not benchmarks 😆 I think Logic recommends 4GB minimum...that's not going to get you very far for long!
Thank you very much for this video! It’s now two years later and as you said, the i9 is pretty relevant. I must say though I‘m still using my i7 1st gen quad core, which does its job, and 8 GB of RAM on Win10 - until I work with bigger files or more tracks. I still can’t get my head around this: My DAW tells me there is a high CPU load, but the task manager doesn’t.
Good video for getting started. I’m looking around for more advanced information as I am one of those “techies”. For people who are just starting out this is a fantastic guide. Bear in mind many DAWs and sample libraries can be free or very cheap when you are just starting out. I bought and built my system slowly overtime as I had funds for it. Don’t feel like you need to drop $2000 from the get go just to get started. I have found it is important to understand the tools you currently have before going out and buying new ones/upgrading.
Interesting. How about naming a number of desk tops that fit the bill so we can look up prices and think about purchase? I've got to invest in a new machine now but don't know what to buy. Thanks.
As someone who builds high end custom water cooled PC's I still prefer Mac for music production. It definitely "just works" when it comes to hardware and it's almost magical when it comes to midi devices just working out of the box. Plus, I prefer Logic Pro X compared to any other DAW which isn't even available for Windows. One minor correction though, more cores isn't always better than a single core at a higher clock. Not all applications are multi-threaded and in that case it's always better to have a faster single core. It comes down to what applications are YOU running, if they're not multi-threaded it will be better for you to get a quad core at a higher clock than say an 8 or 12 core at a lower clock. It's pretty rare to find single core CPU's in machines nowadays anyway.
WRONG: IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL MORE CORES ARE VITAL, YOU CAN USE MORE PLUGINS AND TRACKS. THE AMD RYZEN 9 3950X HAS 16 CORE AND 24 THREADS. IT KILLS THE MAC PRO $15,000 AUSTRALIAN AND A LOT CHEAPER. YOU CAN ALSO TURN IT INTO A HACKINTOSH AND RUN LOGIC PRO X
It's definitely a balance between cores and clock speed, for sure! I'm fairly certain most, if not all, of the major DAWs are now multi-threaded though - but, as far as I understand it, generally individual tracks would still utilise only one core...hence the need for a decent clock speed so that you don't max out one core with a single track!
@@soundtrackacad yes! Most processes in DAWs are serial and some plugins can use multithreading as far as I know. I am mixing and recording audio and it would not help me to get more cores to record 20 chanels for a drumset and playbacking tracks for a guitarist atthe same time e.g. If you are a remixing or not really a recording person than it might be different. I do not know. Think about what stresses your cpu the most and decide then. I would chose a higher single core speed over more cores with less single core speed. More cores are obviously a cool thing anyway.
@@maeguk1 I'm with you on that. My Acer i3 is running Native instruments, 7 year old computer, I only get clicks and pops when playing the keyboard while watching You Tube. My next computer will be the i7 another Acer, three Acers back to back. Very quiet no hum no fan cooler making noise. They are in my opinion the best desktop computers you can buy for music. Runs as quick as the day I bought it.
This is still one of the best videos in 2021. I really like your thought process. One can easily translate that to the latest technology available today. Thank you! :)
Cool brother. Thanks for breaking it down in simple language that the non-tech people, like me, can understand. I had an overpriced, oversized Sweetwater Creation Station PC that lasted about 7 years before it died. Shopping for a new PC now.
best single core performance cpu is most relevant for audio workflow since its serial and not parallel processed. multi cores are great for all other needs, but that single core ability holds all the real muscle.
It depends on what your audio workflow is. The confusion often arises as INDIVIDUAL TRACKS or plugins can only use one core at a time, but multiple tracks and multiple plugins are perfectly capable of being spread across different cores. All of the popular DAWs now fully support multiple cores: Logic Pro X: support.apple.com/en-us/HT201838 Cubase: th-cam.com/video/PmCEyLg5bpU/w-d-xo.html & www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=250&t=122853 Ableton: th-cam.com/video/LbQ1c-Z2_fo/w-d-xo.html & help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209067649-Multi-core-CPU-handling-FAQ FL Studio: support.image-line.com/action/knowledgebase?ans=476 So if you're using loads of plugins on single tracks, then you'll want good single core power. But if you're hoping to run lots of separate tracks, you'll want a decent number of cores to spread the load. It's a balance!
Just hovering over the buy button on a full music build and this really eased my mind.. Thankyou! Still have a thousand questions but I'm gunna go for it :D
Good video. Thanks. A few points: 3rd point of PC is not true. I have ran old dell optiplex machines as my core music workstation for years. The machines are cheap... a few hundred dollars, and powerful enough.. i7 3770s with ddr3 - till recently running osx, now running widows 11... the beast just keeps going! I have 2.... They are so cheap and you can specs up the RAM as far as the machine will take. And because it's older RAM, it's also cheaper. Btw 16gb ram is min, even for an office machine. Forget about clock speeds or core count.... Passmark helps with understanding CPU performance: Anything above 6000 passmark is fine. But DO NOT compromise RAM over CPU performance - get as much ram as you can. Finally, drive points in video are good. Sample libraries and os should run from SSD.... Just remember that when RAM is full, the swap files go to your the OS drive, so don't go too small.... Also Archived projects and your personal files should be stored in the cheaper harddrives... And think about a raid box so your files are protected. Cheers
Thank you for the informative video. You’re very concise with your words. As a PC enthusiast, I appreciate the way you explain the functions of individual parts for the everyday user. I have 2 questions. You didn’t recommend any Ryzen CPU’s. Why? Also, what is the reason for recommending offloading sample libraries to an external drive? Why not a second internal?
Thanks for the comment and questions Prometheus! Answers: 1) It's just a REALLY bad habit I've picked up, since I'm primarily a Mac user, and therefore limited to Intel options. From what I've heard, whatever the equivalent Ryzen's are are equally as good :) 2) Also poor wording on my part. A second internal drive would work even better than an external drive thanks to faster read/write speeds. As long as it's a separate drive to your system and project drive
Just want to add something about graphic cards that everyone should be aware of!!!! I’m just learning this myself but if your motherboard runs on “integrated gpu” as opposed to a dedicated graphics card, then it automatically locks away half your ram to go towards gpu! Meaning if you have 8gb…you now have 4gb to use, 16gb ram, you have 8. Obviously the more ram you have, the more is locked away for gpu so it would be VERY beneficial to grasp even a cheap used gpu of 2-4gb at least to free up that locked up ram! I’ve seen a lot of used 4gb sticks that go for $50-$100 used.
@@soundtrackacad Hello mate, that was very helpful. I only have 1 question. If I buy an i7 will it make a huge difference if it is an older gen, like gen 2 or 3 for example? Regards Paul.
So informative. Thank you. I have an 8 gig Dell laptop now, and once I have my guitar plug-in opened and open Chrome and play TH-cam for backtracks it just becomes static out of the interface and the TH-cam video doesn't play (just spins). Recommendations? Is my 8gigs enough for just recording my guitar with a plug-in?
TO BUILD A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, YOU NEED AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK CPU COOLER, OR BETTER. 128GB 3600Mhz CL16 MEMORY. GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER MOTHERBOARD, IT HAS 32 BIT 192KHZ DAC. RTX 2060 SUPER OR HIGHER GRAPHIC GARD. 2TB M.2 NVMe, WD ULTRASTAR 10TB. MINIMUM 2K MONITOR, AOC Q3279VWFD8 QHD 75HZ FREESYNC IPS 32IN 2K MONITOR. 750W 80 PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY. DEEPCOOL KENDERMAN ATX MID TOWER CASE OR BETTER. EQUIVALENT TO $15,000 MAC PRO, AUSTRALIAN
They’re great, I already saw a few people reporting that they perform really good on a heavy workload session with many plugins. They have many cores and they‘re pretty fast as well. On top of that the 3700x or 3900x are not so expensive options but are very good even in comparison to Intel i-7 9900k.
Great video with concise information. I would say there isn't a whole lot of noticeable difference between a 6 core and 8 core processor. The clock speed is usually quite similar for both with 6 being a little higher. If you have 100+ tracks in your project then you will benefit from 8 core, or even more, but if you're using power hungry VSTs and plugins then 6 core would be more beneficial because of the higher single clock speed. Either one should be fine for most people though.
How do I avoid DPC Latency. (Deferred Procedure Call) the operation that Windows uses to assign a priority to processes/drivers that run at the same time in the same system. I bought a fast Windows system, lot's of ram, high spec cpu etc etc.. However "Latencymon" which measures this in realtime, spikes all the time and I sometimes hear a crackle or stutter in my audio. This all, on a brand new computer. Please tell me how to avoid this, as now I have to buy a new computer. No one has been able to stop this from happening. Thanks
Good information. I am a beginner but not a beginner, went from analog to digital. Need more information on the setup, and monitoring recording. For example, best USB interface and best DAW for Windows.
There certainly is a lot to learn! Everyone will give you different answers, because really there is no one "correct" or "best" option - everything has its pros and cons. Personally, I think the FocusRite audio interfaces are great value for those starting out, and most people would say Cubase is the best DAW for Windows. For more info, I have an article on that subject here: soundtrack.academy/best-daw-for-film-scoring/
This is so helpful! For music production on the Ableton DAW, with a mix of audio tracks (guitar, bass, synth eventually & a bit of VSTs and plug ins, not alot though), do you think it would be best to go with an i7 if possible, or an i5 but with quad core and a turbo boost for speed that goes up to 3,9?
Here are the two choices that I am considering currently. I like the Pro's quadcore option but unsure if it could actually have an impact. Although the greater the CPU, the less the RAM could matter for now, right? MacBook Air A1466, Intel Core i7-5650U 2.20GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD OR MacBook Pro 128 GB, Intel Core i5 8th Gen, 1,4 to 3.9 GHz with TurboBoost, 8GB 125 SSD
I actually have that model MacBook Air. It was god enough for simple stuff when it was new, but now that's it's 8 years old it's struggling... So personally I'd be leaning more towards the MacBook Pro - even with the slower processor. Unless you're using really processor-intensive plugins (like Omnisphere or something) you should have plenty of power with it. That's based more on my thoughts/opinion than on any direct experience with both machines though - and I haven't looked up any of the benchmarking or anything either. So don't take my word as gospel! You might find some other TH-cam videos comparing the two machines side-by-side. Might be worth a look!
Hi, the turbo boost is not useful for audio production because the boost is available for very short periods of time so just take into account the other clock speed. Also at least for my Daw (Studio One) the audio processing is a sequential task that can not be done in parallel so the number of cores is not relevant, 4 cores is enough and just look for the higher clock.
You could make it work, but you'd struggle with larger projects. My advice: if that's what you've got, then just start creating! Figure out how to work around the technical limitations as you go, and if you want to step it up later on, THEN you can look into upgrading :)
Honestly, I haven't experimented with or read much into how different brands compare, so I don't feel I know enough to give an informed opinion. Personally, if I were buying a new PC, I'd either: 1) find a builder who knows what they're doing or 2) stick with known brands whose customer support has a good reputation :)
You're right, a sound card or audio interface is definitely an important part of your setup. I don't mention in the video because personally I'd always recommend using a dedicated external audio interface, and not a built-in sound card, so I don't consider the audio interface to be a part of the core "computer" but rather a dedicated external piece of equipment.
Great video and excellent explanation! I have one little question: what exactly happens when you use any DAW with a lower CPU like the i5 or even the i3? Thanks in advance!
Yeah good specs to get started. If you're wanting to do tracks using a lot of sample libraries (like film scores or trailer music), you might want to upgrade to 32GB of RAM. As Pedro said too, if you have a lot of libraries then you'll soon run out of storage space, but it's often better to run sample libraries off external drives anyway :)
2023 Music Production System Parts First time choosing the parts myself, so trying to find out if i picked wisely. The builder on the page gives no warnings, so figure it whould run, But are there points i could improve ? Thanks in advance for the advise. cpu-Processor Intel® Core i9-13900K, 3,0 GHz (5,8 GHz Turbo Boost) socket 1700 processor mainboard ASUS PRIME H770-PLUS D4 socket 1700 cpufan Noctua NH-U12A chromax black cpu-koeler ram Kingston FURY 64 GB DDR4-3600 Kit (2x 32 GB) graphicscard On cpu harddisk SAMSUNG 990 PRO, 2 TB SSD Lexar NM790 4 TB SSD Seagate Exos X20 20 TB SATA pccase be quiet! PURE Base 500 FX midi tower Case-fan be quiet! Light Wings PWM 140 mm high-speed case fan [Top of case] powersupply be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W 2.007,58 14th gen just got released so waiting a month as then price should drop a bit. And i saved out a dvd reader external then, lol, as i do not have that yet.
I would have a question. So you suggest to have a secondary drive for storing the sample libraries and the audio files. Alright, so basically I should install the Kontakt, the DAW to the SSD. And Majestica and Lacrimosa from 8DIO to the secondary HDD right? Wouldn't that cause latency while they get loaded?
Depends on speed. And depends on your workflow. Get a SSD instead of HDD for any drive that needs real time read/write for smooth playback, and recording. If you use a lot of plugins and FX that makes your CPU choke, sometimes it’s because the speed of the drive isn’t fast enough to load real time. If you use a lot of long samples, or Kontakt libraries, putting it in a different drive will make everything faster and your CPU will need to do less work. I suggest, SSD, and be careful about connection speed. Put it directly to a PCIE connection or at least 10Gbps or Thunderbolt connection. Don’t use your sample drive via USB 3.0. It’s too slow to make use of your investment.
@@StephenOrion wonderful idea putting the different libraries to different drives, thanks, I certainly will utilize that. Another thing, have been checking Ryzen 9 3900X because of the 12C/24T and heavy base freq but I see everywhere that AMDs have high memory latency. How would that affect music production?
There's a detailed "boring" video on TH-cam a few years ago explaining real time processing. Search Real Time Audio processing on youtube. You'll easily find the video. It explains why CPU processing low latency is important in audio production than in any other cases, and how it operates. The gist is that compared to sth like video rendering, which doesn't require much real time processing, audio requires very very quick processing repeatedly for as long as we're working. So, every hardware needs to have a low latency, hence that's why speed matters in everything audio production. The video explains better than me.
I know this video is kind of old that's why I have a question about the cpu I am going to use in my new pc. can you share your thought about i5 13600k ? it's been said this is one of the best mid-range single thread performance cpus out there. this is the one I can afford.
thank you so much, it helped me a lot! just a ques, if I use heavy vst and more tracks simultaneously, then which processor will be good, specifically how many cores will be enough and what clock speed will be good!? please help, thank you ❤
Nice Video clip! Forgive me for chiming in, I would appreciate your initial thoughts. Have you tried - Riddleagan Beating Sonorousness Remedy (just google it)? It is a smashing one off guide for getting professional music production software without the hard work. Ive heard some super things about it and my BF got cool results with it.
I think you are wrong about multiple cores and clock frequency. DAW's don't work well in parallel processing, and hence you should opt for higher single core clock frequency than prioritise multiple cores. I.e. 4Ghz 4 core is better than 3Ghz 14 core for music production.
From my understanding, it depends a lot on the DAW and types of plugins you're using. Most modern DAWs handle multithreading well by spreading plugins and samples across the cores. BUT, more cores have been found to be less efficient individually, and BIG individual plugins can quickly max out an individual core. So most DAW companies recommend getting the highest clock speed AND the highest core count that you can. So it's a fine balance really - looking into benchmark tests for the specific processor you're looking at, and also reading into how your DAW utilises multiple cores is the only way to know for sure! That's why I say "loosely speaking" 😅
I literally just watched a video where they said the opposite of what you said about CPU's. Apparently the clock speed and the quality of the cores are more important than how many cores you actually have. This is due to music production software works on more linear processing instead of spreading the load across different cores. That's what they said anyway.
Thanks for your comment Miles. As far as I understand it, it depends a lot on the TYPE of music production you do. A lot of people say that music software uses linear processing, but nearly every DAWs support multiple cores. The confusion is that individual TRACKS can only use one core at a time. So if you tend to use processor-heavy synths and a lot of plugins on individual channel strips, then a more powerful processor is needed. But if you tend to use a lot of separate tracks (like in big trailer music productions), and less plugins on each of those tracks, then multiple cores will be better for you. It really is a balance of both though! But like I say, I'm admittedly not a tech-expert, this is just how I've come to understand things :)
Would 3.0Ghz 6-core i5 8th gen. imac 2019 be buttery smooth for music production? Can anyone help me please? Only thing holding me back from getting it. Thank you!
The i7 would be a little more "future proof" but the i5 is great too - you'll want to make sure you have a decent amount of RAM (aim for 16GB), but you can upgrade that yourself in most iMacs (eshop.macsales.com/ have good quality, well-priced RAM). So...GO FOR IT! :D I'd say the only time it wouldn't be "buttery smooth" is if you're doing those MASSIVE trailer style tracks with hundreds of sample instrument tracks. But for most stuff it'll be plain sailing :)
It's usually about finding balance. More cores is useful if you'll be creating projects with lots of tracks, but strong single core power is better if you're using processor-intensive plugins/synths.
Thank you. Finally, someone did this. I am in the market for a new 'puter for my music production. Question, if I purchased a mac mini with these specs: 3.2ghz 6 core 8th generation intel core i7 (turbo boost up to 4.6ghz) 8gb 2666mhz ddr4 intel UHD graphics 630 512gb SSD storage Would I reasonably be able to add the necessary ram after the fact? Say up to 32 gb? RE:CHEAPER
Possibly - but it depends on the exact model of the MacMini, and your technical ability! Here's someone that shows you how : th-cam.com/video/gQq4hLKv1Cc/w-d-xo.html
@@deussery just what you need to remember, the turbo boost is a nonsense when it comes to music production. You might be able to get that turbo peak from CPU when opening a webpage f.e., but for music you need continuous performance and that is your base clock freq.
So I have an Asus x556u with intel core i7-7500, 8gb memory and ssd 512gb. 4 year old. Recently my computer is behaving slow and laggig. Often its because im using Diva or serum. But samples can struggle also. What should I do?
I have a Dell 9020 i7 8gbram and looking to buy an audio interface as my edirol ua25 is incompatible with windows 10. I plan to plug my guitar direct without any amp and record a clean sound with a touch of reverb and beef up the sound a bit. Could you recommend a audio interface which eould give me a warm sound with low latency? Many thanks - you are good at explaining.
There's such a massive range of audio interfaces, and it depends on what you're willing to spend. I've always felt that a good "budget" option is anything from the Scarlett range by FocusRite. If you've more to spend, then the Apollo by Universal Audio often comes highly recommended. I don't know for sure if they're compatible with your system though, so be sure to check!
For more choices, here's a great article (from a trusted site) www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/2019/5/30/what-are-the-best-desktop-audio-interfaces-you-can-buy-today
im planning on using my ASUS deskmini h470w running windows with i7 10400 16gb 2600 mhz ram 1tb nvme ssd 1tb sata 3 ssd. I understand that the components may be enough for music production. However, I'm not able to attach a GPU to my motherboard (lack of full size PCIe lane), unless I use some kind of attachment through a M.2 slot. Will this be some kind of a limiting factor for my music prod? should I be looking to upgrade to a motherboard that supports a GPU?. Awesome content!
As far as I understand it, DAWs use VERY little power when it comes to GPU, so the basic built in GPU on most systems is sufficient. Just check the minimum requirements for whichever DAW you're planning to use :)
Hi guys im new to music production, don’t understand the lingo....are these specs suitable? MacBook Pro 15" (2017) - QWERTY - Touch Bar - Retina - Core i7 - 3.1 GHz - SSD 512 GB - RAM 16GB
Specs for today DAW varies a lot like gamers depend on wich resolution and how many games they want to play. So music production with virtual instruments and effects eat resources by quantities and size. A mid range PC these days can handle lot of audio tracks with effects and some virtual instruments. Editing and mixing a combination of 8 to 16 tracks with 8 gb ram and 3rd gen i5/i7 is not a problem. If you cant find good i7 3rd gen or XEON from 2012, the most basic recent i5 or Ryzen is going to be plenty room for production, and remember to save for a good 2 channel interface and your preferred music program. Cubase is the best for me but some people prefer Protools or some free software..
@APU KHAN if cost is the same i5 10400 is better in some situations but you need all new components. If you do heavy production including 4K go Ryzen 7 or above
@APU KHAN Beginner or experienced user dont always need 100 tracks for a project, so we plan things to be more realistic like 24 tracks at most. But if you want that amount any super pc will struggle with 100 tracks and many effects.
@APU KHAN NO OLD LAPTOP IS RECOMMENDED for anything. MUSIC TODAY used DESKTOP system around $300 i5/i7 3rd gen or above. For newer system around that $500 budget Ryzen 5 2400g or i5 10400. Both 8gb to start. No graphic card needed for those systems.
I personally don't have any recommendations (not my area at all), but you might find some options here: www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/gcgbay/best_budget_gpu_for_ryzen_5_3600/
My bottleneck is the cpu clock speed when using vst that calculate and are not based on samples. I totally wreck the cpu (i7 1.7 ghz 16 gb ram) with arturia v !!!!! But nowadays its hard to find anything over 2,4 ghz
That's so true - CPUs are so focused on the amount of cores now, often at the expense of single core clock speed. It'd be helpful if someone could figure out how to let audio processing use all of those cores. That'd give some serious improvements!
@@soundtrackacad well you can theorically "force" windows to use all cores with msconfig, but I doubt its as efficient as for exemple a 3.3 Ghz single core.
UPDATE: TO BUILD A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, YOU NEED AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK CPU COOLER, 128GB 3600Mhz CL16 MEMORY. GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER MOTHERBOARD, IT HAS 32 BIT 192KHZ DAC. RTX 2070 SUPER OR HIGHER GRAPHIC GARD. 2TB M.2 NVMe, WD ULTRASTAR 10TB. MINIMUM 2K MONITOR, AOC Q3279VWFD8 QHD 75HZ FREESYNC IPS 32IN 2K MONITOR. 750W 80 PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY. DEEPCOOL KENDERMAN ATX MID TOWER CASE OR BETTER. BETTER THAN A $15,000 MAC PRO, AUSTRALIAN. BETTER THAN A THREADRIPPER 2950X Premiere Pro has long supported Nvidia’s CUDA cores for accelerating video effects and even improving export times, but this new update optimizes the app to use the separate hardware encoder on Nvidia’s GPUs. It will improve export times for H.264 or H.265 / HEVC codecs. “These improvements are the result of years of collaboration between Nvidia and Adobe to deliver high-quality applications and tools to creators,” says Manish Kulkarni, senior engineering manager at Adobe. “With new support for NVIDIA GPUs on Windows, exports are hardware accelerated leveraging the power of the GPU to make Premiere Pro more powerful and keep video creators productive and nimble.” YOU A NEED RTX 2070 SUPER MINIMUM. I AM BUILDING A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, USING AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. IT KILLS THE I9 WHICH HAS 18 CORES IN MULTITASKING. THE AMD RYZEN 9 3950X IN ONE TEST WAS 24 PERCENT FASTER. WITH THE PROPER VIDEO CARD YOU CAN DO 8K VIDEO EDITING
I have a 2019 MacBook Pro and has these features 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory 512GB SSD storage¹ The Ram is what I’m considered about and I’m planning to buy Omnisphere and Keyscape. Do you think 16gb is enough to run both ?
I'd say "just about" - if you look at their minimum requirements, they both say 8GB absolute minimum, and 16GB is better for Omnisphere. So, in theory, if you were running them both at the same time you'd be right on the edge of your system capability. Of course, there are ways of being more efficient with how you use RAM (like freezing tracks or bouncing sections to audio), which you'd likely need to look into. Hope that helps!
Hi. You say more cores is more important than more Ghz speed. What if my DAW is 32 bits on Windows 10 64bit ? Is it the same recommendation ? Somewhere I read that a 32bit DAW cant take advantage of dual ram cards. Is it the same for multiple cores ?
I'm not 100% sure on this. There's a lot of misinformation about DAWs not being able to use multiple cores (they actually CAN), but I'm not sure if there's a difference between 32Bit and 64Bit versions.
Yeah those specs look good! If you're wanting to use big sample libraries, the RAM might be a limitation (so you might want to check if it's possible to upgrade it later, just in case you find that it's maxing out), but for general music production it should be good!
It's all overkill today with thousands of plugins most of which just repackage what's already in most DAWs, as for audio interface its ideal but not actually necessary as you can just download Asio for all driver.
What do you think about the MacBook Pro 16’ , Intel Core I9 2.3, 32 GB RAM and 1tb SSD? Is it enough for Cubase 11 projects with 20-30 midi tracks and Izotope Plugins? Thank you
The clearest and most concise explanation I’ve viewed, thank you
This is the video I’ve been looking for for the past 3 hours, thanks!
Glad it helped!
I have my pc bout 10 years now its holding on for dear life.
If you're careful with upgrades and things, they can last a long time, but I feel your pain!
i resently sold a computer with core 2 quad q9650 cpu, creative audigy 5/rx sound card, 16 gb ram dual channel ddr3 1333 mhz, high performance SSD, and Nvidia Quadro 2000 video card working in compute mode. it was made in q1 o 2008 but a beast nevertheless. I was able to work with 24bits/192 khz FLAC files as smooth as silk faster than real time and not care about it. hope this config give you ideas how to proceed.
Mine died last night due to power outage (12 years old) . Now it says it has a fatal flaw in the memory xD
Came here for a budget build
@@Creator_Veeto_PAEACP (in case you didn't already know) you can get "uninterruptible power supplies" (UPC) that basically keep your system on long enough for you to shut it down in case of a power outage. If you get a lot of power outages, might be worth looking into.
When it comes to the graphics card, you really only need something that can drive the displays you're attaching.
Yes! Thanks for the addition.
Depends, there were some people with Mac Minis throwing external GPUs into the mix and seeing huge performance increases, specifically in certain DAWs - having any amount of dedicated VRAM seems to help in addition to just a separate processor handling graphics. Don't need to blow a wad of cash on a gaming card, but any low or mid range GPU should do the trick. Just need to offload what little graphics processing is being done from the CPU.
@@tylerwmbass That's a great explanation :)
@@soundtrackacad which cpu you recommend right now? ? Is 10700k better? I chosed it for intel's compatability with vst plugins but a bit upset about not having an amd and 10700k heating enough :(
This was super helpful just to hear the insight, thank you. I work on a macbook pro that's about 2013-ish or so, but I upgraded the drive to a hybrid one, but as I get more involved in music production (I started producing music at home about a year ago, especially more regularly since COVID) I'm starting to understand more and more how important storage and a good budget can be to truly make the music I want to make. I'm thinking of investing in a Mac Mini and getting some more external drives. Thanks again for these thoughts!
Glad it helped! I know quite a few people that happily work on the Mac Mini (I'm excited to see how the new ones with the M1 chips develop over the next few years!)
I've been doing a lot of research for which to make my first computer for music production and your video has summed up everything I've been learning about, thank you
Great! Good luck with your purchase/build :)
I'm so happy for discovering your channel. Most of music production channels on TH-cam only talk about general type of music such as rock, pop, electro, etc. Few channels talk about orchestral music and even fewer talk about cinematographic music such as soundtracks.
I am a musician who loves composing but I don't have an appropriate PC for it. The next year I am going to buy a computer for that. This video helped me a lot. Thank you so much. I'll follow your advice. I am a subscriber now :)
So glad it helped and that you're enjoying the channel! Thanks Isaac.
I've got pretty much no knowledge of specs of computers and this video helped a lot since it is all put in so simply, great video
Glad it helped!
Me too
Thank you very much for this video. After hours of research this one has finally explained everything I need in words that I can understand. I like the way you sort out the priorities (specs). In most of the videos out there they just focus on having more RAM.
You're welcome! Glad it helped :)
Video starts at 5:47
Yeah, that's where the technical stuff kicks in - before that it's mostly considerations :) I do need to add timestamps to the video too...
I have watched so many videos and this explained everything so well. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome! Thanks for your comment!
I have an i3 @2.5Ghz, 8 GB ram, and 222Gb SSD and a 1tb HDD, Windows 10 and it's pretty good I use fl studio and it's pretty light and more stable then Ableton I can use all the heavy plugin with very little to almost no issues and YOU DONT NEED A POWERFULL PC TO MAKE MUSIC if your cpu is rising just consolidate and use smart switch for all plugins for all plugins in fl studio (under macros)
That example with the water glas
Nice👌🏼
Not "scientific" but it makes sense to me! 😅
THIS TUTORIAL REALLY WORKS I AM FROM PHILIPPINES! THIS MAN DESERVES A SUBSCRIPTION!
One thing that most people forget is your Computer in the long run.
As time progresses, the demand for higher fidelity music is inevitable, and as such, to achieve high fidelity, you will need more CPU, RAM, and Storage to compensate for plugins becoming evermore CPU, RAM, and Storage intensive.
So make sure your PC is not just geared to atleast reach minimum spec for music production, gear it to have an upgrade path. So that in three to four years time, you won't be finding yourself spending a fortune replacing an entire system when you could just buy better parts at a fraction of the cost.
And remember: Your PC can be more than just a music production and gaming suite. So treat it like such.
Yeah that's so true - that's why I so often tell people to prioritise getting a stronger processor first, since RAM is (usually) easily upgraded, but the processor is (usually) much more difficult to upgrade. "Minimum requirements" are definitely not benchmarks 😆 I think Logic recommends 4GB minimum...that's not going to get you very far for long!
Thank you very much for this video! It’s now two years later and as you said, the i9 is pretty relevant. I must say though I‘m still using my i7 1st gen quad core, which does its job, and 8 GB of RAM on Win10 - until I work with bigger files or more tracks. I still can’t get my head around this: My DAW tells me there is a high CPU load, but the task manager doesn’t.
That's strange :/
What a great video. Clear, concise and succinct. Thank you.
Thanks Tyson!
Good video for getting started. I’m looking around for more advanced information as I am one of those “techies”. For people who are just starting out this is a fantastic guide.
Bear in mind many DAWs and sample libraries can be free or very cheap when you are just starting out. I bought and built my system slowly overtime as I had funds for it. Don’t feel like you need to drop $2000 from the get go just to get started.
I have found it is important to understand the tools you currently have before going out and buying new ones/upgrading.
1000000% agree - work with what you've got, and only expand as needed :)
Interesting. How about naming a number of desk tops that fit the bill so we can look up prices and think about purchase? I've got to invest in a new machine now but don't know what to buy. Thanks.
I was trying to find a video to get my friends recording and music production started and this video was a very helpful tool
Great! Glad it helped :)
As someone who builds high end custom water cooled PC's I still prefer Mac for music production. It definitely "just works" when it comes to hardware and it's almost magical when it comes to midi devices just working out of the box. Plus, I prefer Logic Pro X compared to any other DAW which isn't even available for Windows.
One minor correction though, more cores isn't always better than a single core at a higher clock. Not all applications are multi-threaded and in that case it's always better to have a faster single core. It comes down to what applications are YOU running, if they're not multi-threaded it will be better for you to get a quad core at a higher clock than say an 8 or 12 core at a lower clock. It's pretty rare to find single core CPU's in machines nowadays anyway.
WRONG: IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL MORE CORES ARE VITAL, YOU CAN USE MORE PLUGINS AND TRACKS. THE AMD RYZEN 9 3950X HAS 16 CORE AND 24 THREADS. IT KILLS THE MAC PRO $15,000 AUSTRALIAN AND A LOT CHEAPER. YOU CAN ALSO TURN IT INTO A HACKINTOSH AND RUN LOGIC PRO X
It's definitely a balance between cores and clock speed, for sure! I'm fairly certain most, if not all, of the major DAWs are now multi-threaded though - but, as far as I understand it, generally individual tracks would still utilise only one core...hence the need for a decent clock speed so that you don't max out one core with a single track!
I would never buy a Mac...
@@soundtrackacad yes! Most processes in DAWs are serial and some plugins can use multithreading as far as I know. I am mixing and recording audio and it would not help me to get more cores to record 20 chanels for a drumset and playbacking tracks for a guitarist atthe same time e.g. If you are a remixing or not really a recording person than it might be different. I do not know. Think about what stresses your cpu the most and decide then. I would chose a higher single core speed over more cores with less single core speed. More cores are obviously a cool thing anyway.
@@maeguk1 I'm with you on that. My Acer i3 is running Native instruments, 7 year old computer, I only get clicks and pops when playing the keyboard while watching You Tube. My next computer will be the i7 another Acer, three Acers back to back. Very quiet no hum no fan cooler making noise. They are in my opinion the best desktop computers you can buy for music. Runs as quick as the day I bought it.
This is still one of the best videos in 2021. I really like your thought process. One can easily translate that to the latest technology available today. Thank you! :)
Thanks Sahil!
Until the Macbook Pro M1 dropped
@@nicovo9237 I just bought one :D
Cool brother. Thanks for breaking it down in simple language that the non-tech people, like me, can understand. I had an overpriced, oversized Sweetwater Creation Station PC that lasted about 7 years before it died. Shopping for a new PC now.
best single core performance cpu is most relevant for audio workflow since its serial and not parallel processed. multi cores are great for all other needs, but that single core ability holds all the real muscle.
It depends on what your audio workflow is. The confusion often arises as INDIVIDUAL TRACKS or plugins can only use one core at a time, but multiple tracks and multiple plugins are perfectly capable of being spread across different cores.
All of the popular DAWs now fully support multiple cores:
Logic Pro X: support.apple.com/en-us/HT201838
Cubase: th-cam.com/video/PmCEyLg5bpU/w-d-xo.html & www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=250&t=122853
Ableton: th-cam.com/video/LbQ1c-Z2_fo/w-d-xo.html & help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209067649-Multi-core-CPU-handling-FAQ
FL Studio: support.image-line.com/action/knowledgebase?ans=476
So if you're using loads of plugins on single tracks, then you'll want good single core power. But if you're hoping to run lots of separate tracks, you'll want a decent number of cores to spread the load. It's a balance!
Hello sir,
Is there a machine out there other than apple macs, with no latency and issues whatsoever?
Expecting replies.
Thanks brother! This video is still relevant in 2022
Just hovering over the buy button on a full music build and this really eased my mind.. Thankyou! Still have a thousand questions but I'm gunna go for it :D
Exciting day! Enjoy your new system :)
Good video. Thanks. A few points: 3rd point of PC is not true. I have ran old dell optiplex machines as my core music workstation for years. The machines are cheap... a few hundred dollars, and powerful enough.. i7 3770s with ddr3 - till recently running osx, now running widows 11... the beast just keeps going! I have 2.... They are so cheap and you can specs up the RAM as far as the machine will take. And because it's older RAM, it's also cheaper. Btw 16gb ram is min, even for an office machine.
Forget about clock speeds or core count.... Passmark helps with understanding CPU performance: Anything above 6000 passmark is fine. But DO NOT compromise RAM over CPU performance - get as much ram as you can.
Finally, drive points in video are good. Sample libraries and os should run from SSD.... Just remember that when RAM is full, the swap files go to your the OS drive, so don't go too small.... Also Archived projects and your personal files should be stored in the cheaper harddrives... And think about a raid box so your files are protected. Cheers
Thank you for the informative video. You’re very concise with your words. As a PC enthusiast, I appreciate the way you explain the functions of individual parts for the everyday user.
I have 2 questions.
You didn’t recommend any Ryzen CPU’s. Why?
Also, what is the reason for recommending offloading sample libraries to an external drive? Why not a second internal?
Thanks for the comment and questions Prometheus!
Answers:
1) It's just a REALLY bad habit I've picked up, since I'm primarily a Mac user, and therefore limited to Intel options. From what I've heard, whatever the equivalent Ryzen's are are equally as good :)
2) Also poor wording on my part. A second internal drive would work even better than an external drive thanks to faster read/write speeds. As long as it's a separate drive to your system and project drive
good question... Why ! I mean I use a laptop with a Ryzen 7 (8Cores). It works perfectly !!!
Great advice!
Just want to add something about graphic cards that everyone should be aware of!!!! I’m just learning this myself but if your motherboard runs on “integrated gpu” as opposed to a dedicated graphics card, then it automatically locks away half your ram to go towards gpu! Meaning if you have 8gb…you now have 4gb to use, 16gb ram, you have 8. Obviously the more ram you have, the more is locked away for gpu so it would be VERY beneficial to grasp even a cheap used gpu of 2-4gb at least to free up that locked up ram! I’ve seen a lot of used 4gb sticks that go for $50-$100 used.
Thank you for getting straight to the main points in what to look for . Earned yourself a sub forsure keep up the good work
Thanks Adam!
thank you sooo much 💜💜 hopefully will be doing this at nottingham trent next year 😃✨
Best of luck!
thank you! 🍀
@@soundtrackacad Hello mate, that was very helpful. I only have 1 question. If I buy an i7 will it make a huge difference if it is an older gen, like gen 2 or 3 for example?
Regards
Paul.
So informative. Thank you. I have an 8 gig Dell laptop now, and once I have my guitar plug-in opened and open Chrome and play TH-cam for backtracks it just becomes static out of the interface and the TH-cam video doesn't play (just spins). Recommendations? Is my 8gigs enough for just recording my guitar with a plug-in?
Which computer/ laptop is good .
Name that computer
@@MINUTESCRAFT-qb2xw There are just too many variables!
TO BUILD A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, YOU NEED AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK CPU COOLER, OR BETTER. 128GB 3600Mhz CL16 MEMORY. GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER MOTHERBOARD, IT HAS 32 BIT 192KHZ DAC. RTX 2060 SUPER OR HIGHER GRAPHIC GARD. 2TB M.2 NVMe, WD ULTRASTAR 10TB. MINIMUM 2K MONITOR, AOC Q3279VWFD8 QHD 75HZ FREESYNC IPS 32IN 2K MONITOR. 750W 80 PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY. DEEPCOOL KENDERMAN ATX MID TOWER CASE OR BETTER.
EQUIVALENT TO $15,000 MAC PRO, AUSTRALIAN
😂
Extremely clear and straight forward. No games. Great job!!!
what is with AMG processors ? if you would be nice to give us your opinion .. Thank you in advance .. and really helped with your video :))
Thanks Fran! Honestly, I don't know much about AMD/Ryzen processors, but I know a lot of people love them.
They’re great, I already saw a few people reporting that they perform really good on a heavy workload session with many plugins. They have many cores and they‘re pretty fast as well. On top of that the 3700x or 3900x are not so expensive options but are very good even in comparison to Intel i-7 9900k.
@@ohadshabi4318 Thanks for your input! :)
I just invested in a Dell XPS laptop with an i9 processor, 64 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of hard disk space. Hope this works for my music production!
Great video with concise information. I would say there isn't a whole lot of noticeable difference between a 6 core and 8 core processor. The clock speed is usually quite similar for both with 6 being a little higher. If you have 100+ tracks in your project then you will benefit from 8 core, or even more, but if you're using power hungry VSTs and plugins then 6 core would be more beneficial because of the higher single clock speed. Either one should be fine for most people though.
Agree 100%! Thanks for the valuable comment :)
How do I avoid DPC Latency. (Deferred Procedure Call) the operation that Windows uses to assign a priority to processes/drivers that run at the same time in the same system. I bought a fast Windows system, lot's of ram, high spec cpu etc etc.. However "Latencymon" which measures this in realtime, spikes all the time and I sometimes hear a crackle or stutter in my audio. This all, on a brand new computer. Please tell me how to avoid this, as now I have to buy a new computer. No one has been able to stop this from happening. Thanks
Great video, it helped me understand this very well!
Glad it helped!
Good information. I am a beginner but not a beginner, went from analog to digital. Need more information on the setup, and monitoring recording. For example, best USB interface and best DAW for Windows.
There certainly is a lot to learn! Everyone will give you different answers, because really there is no one "correct" or "best" option - everything has its pros and cons.
Personally, I think the FocusRite audio interfaces are great value for those starting out, and most people would say Cubase is the best DAW for Windows. For more info, I have an article on that subject here: soundtrack.academy/best-daw-for-film-scoring/
@@soundtrackacad Thank you
This gives me a very good understanding at what I need, I understand now what kind of specs I should be going for now great vid
I'm glad! Thanks for your comment :)
This is so helpful!
For music production on the Ableton DAW, with a mix of audio tracks (guitar, bass, synth eventually & a bit of VSTs and plug ins, not alot though), do you think it would be best to go with an i7 if possible, or an i5 but with quad core and a turbo boost for speed that goes up to 3,9?
Here are the two choices that I am considering currently. I like the Pro's quadcore option but unsure if it could actually have an impact. Although the greater the CPU, the less the RAM could matter for now, right?
MacBook Air A1466, Intel Core i7-5650U 2.20GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
OR
MacBook Pro 128 GB, Intel Core i5 8th Gen, 1,4 to 3.9 GHz with TurboBoost, 8GB 125 SSD
I actually have that model MacBook Air. It was god enough for simple stuff when it was new, but now that's it's 8 years old it's struggling...
So personally I'd be leaning more towards the MacBook Pro - even with the slower processor. Unless you're using really processor-intensive plugins (like Omnisphere or something) you should have plenty of power with it.
That's based more on my thoughts/opinion than on any direct experience with both machines though - and I haven't looked up any of the benchmarking or anything either. So don't take my word as gospel!
You might find some other TH-cam videos comparing the two machines side-by-side. Might be worth a look!
Hi, the turbo boost is not useful for audio production because the boost is available for very short periods of time so just take into account the other clock speed. Also at least for my Daw (Studio One) the audio processing is a sequential task that can not be done in parallel so the number of cores is not relevant, 4 cores is enough and just look for the higher clock.
I am having a 4 core 1.6 ghz CPU and 16 gb ddr3 ram is this enough for music production?
You could make it work, but you'd struggle with larger projects. My advice: if that's what you've got, then just start creating! Figure out how to work around the technical limitations as you go, and if you want to step it up later on, THEN you can look into upgrading :)
Great explanation. Thank you so much
Does the brand of a desktop matter? Dell? Lenovo? Asus? HP?
Honestly, I haven't experimented with or read much into how different brands compare, so I don't feel I know enough to give an informed opinion. Personally, if I were buying a new PC, I'd either: 1) find a builder who knows what they're doing or 2) stick with known brands whose customer support has a good reputation :)
Nice One Thanks for the Book... Have nice Day...
Thanks! Hope you find it interesting and helpful :)
i just wanna know if my i7 dual core 3.0 do the job with music production
I cant believe a sound card is not part of the video, also if you want low noise floor use insulated cables and 6 layer pcbs on motherboards
You're right, a sound card or audio interface is definitely an important part of your setup. I don't mention in the video because personally I'd always recommend using a dedicated external audio interface, and not a built-in sound card, so I don't consider the audio interface to be a part of the core "computer" but rather a dedicated external piece of equipment.
I started making beats with a simple hp laptop tht was meant for school work and it was always freezing. Now i am in a Asus laptop core i 7
Freezing computers can drive you crazy - but it's a great way to learn about resource management! I'll bet you're *much* happier with your i7!
a very crisp and clear video. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Hitesh!
Great video and excellent explanation! I have one little question: what exactly happens when you use any DAW with a lower CPU like the i5 or even the i3? Thanks in advance!
Sometimes the DAW won't even open. but more often it will just keep crashing or freezing whenever you try to do anything that maxes out the CPU.
The ever best explanation that I have heard yet
Great!
4:31 *i didn't know that Macs stay fresher longer than a PC, hmm i learnt something new about how computers actually work*
How about these configurations for a beginner: AMD Ryzen 7 3700u, 16gb of ram, 512 SSD for Pro Tools and Ableton Live.
Thanks
Very good, but I would upgrade to 1TB for long time music production, but 512GB is fine for a beginner
@@Pedro-kb4cx Thanks
Yeah good specs to get started. If you're wanting to do tracks using a lot of sample libraries (like film scores or trailer music), you might want to upgrade to 32GB of RAM. As Pedro said too, if you have a lot of libraries then you'll soon run out of storage space, but it's often better to run sample libraries off external drives anyway :)
@@soundtrackacad Thank you, Appreciated.
At 7:40 was he referring to cache?
Yep!
Whnx. I know this things, but just good to listening and see your approach for this : )
Does Mac come with garage band also doesn't pro tools only work with mac?
Yes Garageband is free on Mac. ProTools works on both Mac and Windows 👍
2023 Music Production System Parts
First time choosing the parts myself, so trying to find out if i picked wisely. The builder on the page gives no warnings, so figure it whould run, But are there points i could improve ? Thanks in advance for the advise.
cpu-Processor
Intel® Core i9-13900K, 3,0 GHz (5,8 GHz Turbo Boost) socket 1700 processor
mainboard
ASUS PRIME H770-PLUS D4 socket 1700
cpufan
Noctua NH-U12A chromax black cpu-koeler
ram
Kingston FURY 64 GB DDR4-3600 Kit (2x 32 GB)
graphicscard
On cpu
harddisk
SAMSUNG 990 PRO, 2 TB SSD
Lexar NM790 4 TB SSD
Seagate Exos X20 20 TB SATA
pccase
be quiet! PURE Base 500 FX midi tower
Case-fan
be quiet! Light Wings PWM 140 mm high-speed case fan [Top of case]
powersupply
be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W
2.007,58
14th gen just got released so waiting a month as then price should drop a bit. And i saved out a dvd reader external then, lol, as i do not have that yet.
I would have a question. So you suggest to have a secondary drive for storing the sample libraries and the audio files. Alright, so basically I should install the Kontakt, the DAW to the SSD.
And Majestica and Lacrimosa from 8DIO to the secondary HDD right? Wouldn't that cause latency while they get loaded?
Depends on speed. And depends on your workflow. Get a SSD instead of HDD for any drive that needs real time read/write for smooth playback, and recording. If you use a lot of plugins and FX that makes your CPU choke, sometimes it’s because the speed of the drive isn’t fast enough to load real time. If you use a lot of long samples, or Kontakt libraries, putting it in a different drive will make everything faster and your CPU will need to do less work. I suggest, SSD, and be careful about connection speed. Put it directly to a PCIE connection or at least 10Gbps or Thunderbolt connection. Don’t use your sample drive via USB 3.0. It’s too slow to make use of your investment.
@@StephenOrion wonderful idea putting the different libraries to different drives, thanks, I certainly will utilize that.
Another thing, have been checking Ryzen 9 3900X because of the 12C/24T and heavy base freq but I see everywhere that AMDs have high memory latency. How would that affect music production?
There's a detailed "boring" video on TH-cam a few years ago explaining real time processing. Search Real Time Audio processing on youtube. You'll easily find the video. It explains why CPU processing low latency is important in audio production than in any other cases, and how it operates. The gist is that compared to sth like video rendering, which doesn't require much real time processing, audio requires very very quick processing repeatedly for as long as we're working. So, every hardware needs to have a low latency, hence that's why speed matters in everything audio production. The video explains better than me.
@@StephenOrion you explained enough. I go with intel rather, something like i7-10700K. thanks
Just as Stephen said (thanks Stephen!)
Great video!! You talk so the average human/musician can understand! Thank you!
Thanks B!
I know this video is kind of old that's why I have a question about the cpu I am going to use in my new pc. can you share your thought about i5 13600k ? it's been said this is one of the best mid-range single thread performance cpus out there. this is the one I can afford.
I wanna buy a core i7 processor but can't buy the 12gen. Which one is better 2,3,4,5,6,7 gen?
What do you think about Thinkbook 14 Ryzen 7 5800U / 16gb ram/ 1T ?
thank you so much, it helped me a lot! just a ques, if I use heavy vst and more tracks simultaneously, then which processor will be good, specifically how many cores will be enough and what clock speed will be good!? please help, thank you ❤
8 Cores i7 with 8 to 16gb will be enough for you. Also check out AMDs new offering.
Hey man should i7 4790 good for mixing and producing music?
Youve explained this perfectly 👊 legend
Glad it helped!
Nice Video clip! Forgive me for chiming in, I would appreciate your initial thoughts. Have you tried - Riddleagan Beating Sonorousness Remedy (just google it)? It is a smashing one off guide for getting professional music production software without the hard work. Ive heard some super things about it and my BF got cool results with it.
I think you are wrong about multiple cores and clock frequency. DAW's don't work well in parallel processing, and hence you should opt for higher single core clock frequency than prioritise multiple cores. I.e. 4Ghz 4 core is better than 3Ghz 14 core for music production.
From my understanding, it depends a lot on the DAW and types of plugins you're using.
Most modern DAWs handle multithreading well by spreading plugins and samples across the cores.
BUT, more cores have been found to be less efficient individually, and BIG individual plugins can quickly max out an individual core.
So most DAW companies recommend getting the highest clock speed AND the highest core count that you can.
So it's a fine balance really - looking into benchmark tests for the specific processor you're looking at, and also reading into how your DAW utilises multiple cores is the only way to know for sure!
That's why I say "loosely speaking" 😅
I literally just watched a video where they said the opposite of what you said about CPU's. Apparently the clock speed and the quality of the cores are more important than how many cores you actually have. This is due to music production software works on more linear processing instead of spreading the load across different cores. That's what they said anyway.
Thanks for your comment Miles. As far as I understand it, it depends a lot on the TYPE of music production you do.
A lot of people say that music software uses linear processing, but nearly every DAWs support multiple cores. The confusion is that individual TRACKS can only use one core at a time. So if you tend to use processor-heavy synths and a lot of plugins on individual channel strips, then a more powerful processor is needed. But if you tend to use a lot of separate tracks (like in big trailer music productions), and less plugins on each of those tracks, then multiple cores will be better for you. It really is a balance of both though!
But like I say, I'm admittedly not a tech-expert, this is just how I've come to understand things :)
AWESOME info!!! Thank You~
Ur video is knowledgeable and helpful.
Ur great, keep it up!!!!!!!!
Thank you! Glad it helped :)
Do you overclock the CPU either manually or auto? What is your recommendation?
I'd avoid it where possible
Would 3.0Ghz 6-core i5 8th gen. imac 2019 be buttery smooth for music production? Can anyone help me please? Only thing holding me back from getting it. Thank you!
The i7 would be a little more "future proof" but the i5 is great too - you'll want to make sure you have a decent amount of RAM (aim for 16GB), but you can upgrade that yourself in most iMacs (eshop.macsales.com/ have good quality, well-priced RAM). So...GO FOR IT! :D
I'd say the only time it wouldn't be "buttery smooth" is if you're doing those MASSIVE trailer style tracks with hundreds of sample instrument tracks. But for most stuff it'll be plain sailing :)
Amazing video very comprehensible 🥇👍
Should I get a Quad-core AMD processor or Hexacore AMD processor?
It's usually about finding balance. More cores is useful if you'll be creating projects with lots of tracks, but strong single core power is better if you're using processor-intensive plugins/synths.
Thank you. Finally, someone did this. I am in the market for a new 'puter for my music production.
Question, if I purchased a mac mini with these specs:
3.2ghz 6 core 8th generation intel core i7 (turbo boost up to 4.6ghz)
8gb 2666mhz ddr4
intel UHD graphics 630
512gb SSD storage
Would I reasonably be able to add the necessary ram after the fact? Say up to 32 gb?
RE:CHEAPER
Possibly - but it depends on the exact model of the MacMini, and your technical ability!
Here's someone that shows you how : th-cam.com/video/gQq4hLKv1Cc/w-d-xo.html
soundtrack.academy thank you so much!
@@deussery just what you need to remember, the turbo boost is a nonsense when it comes to music production. You might be able to get that turbo peak from CPU when opening a webpage f.e., but for music you need continuous performance and that is your base clock freq.
Olá! Estou no Brasil sonhando em comprar uma máquina decente para produzir minha canções. Está difícil. Obrigado pelas dicas valiosíssimas.
De nada! :)
So I have an Asus x556u with intel core i7-7500, 8gb memory and ssd 512gb. 4 year old. Recently my computer is behaving slow and laggig. Often its because im using Diva or serum. But samples can struggle also. What should I do?
Hi. Would this be ok for running protools? HP Intel i7 4790 Gaming PC 16GB RAM 240GB SSD 2GB Nvidia GT 1030 Wi-Fi.
Sounds perfect for it!
oh heal yeahhh
Is Intel Core i7 3770 @ 3.40GHz good ?
I have a Dell 9020 i7 8gbram and looking to buy an audio interface as my edirol ua25 is incompatible with windows 10. I plan to plug my guitar direct without any amp and record a clean sound with a touch of reverb and beef up the sound a bit. Could you recommend a audio interface which eould give me a warm sound with low latency? Many thanks - you are good at explaining.
There's such a massive range of audio interfaces, and it depends on what you're willing to spend. I've always felt that a good "budget" option is anything from the Scarlett range by FocusRite. If you've more to spend, then the Apollo by Universal Audio often comes highly recommended.
I don't know for sure if they're compatible with your system though, so be sure to check!
For more choices, here's a great article (from a trusted site) www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/2019/5/30/what-are-the-best-desktop-audio-interfaces-you-can-buy-today
Many thanks.
Thank you so much! It works really well!
im planning on using my ASUS deskmini h470w running windows with
i7 10400
16gb 2600 mhz ram
1tb nvme ssd
1tb sata 3 ssd.
I understand that the components may be enough for music production. However, I'm not able to attach a GPU to my motherboard (lack of full size PCIe lane), unless I use some kind of attachment through a M.2 slot. Will this be some kind of a limiting factor for my music prod? should I be looking to upgrade to a motherboard that supports a GPU?.
Awesome content!
As far as I understand it, DAWs use VERY little power when it comes to GPU, so the basic built in GPU on most systems is sufficient. Just check the minimum requirements for whichever DAW you're planning to use :)
Exceptional content exactly what I need to know thank you
Glad it helped!
This information was, well put together thanks man I learn a lot from this video keep up the good work man. 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful :)
Hi guys im new to music production, don’t understand the lingo....are these specs suitable? MacBook Pro 15" (2017) - QWERTY -
Touch Bar - Retina - Core i7 - 3.1 GHz - SSD 512 GB - RAM 16GB
Specs for today DAW varies a lot like gamers depend on wich resolution and how many games they want to play. So music production with virtual instruments and effects eat resources by quantities and size. A mid range PC these days can handle lot of audio tracks with effects and some virtual instruments. Editing and mixing a combination of 8 to 16 tracks with 8 gb ram and 3rd gen i5/i7 is not a problem. If you cant find good i7 3rd gen or XEON from 2012, the most basic recent i5 or Ryzen is going to be plenty room for production, and remember to save for a good 2 channel interface and your preferred music program. Cubase is the best for me but some people prefer Protools or some free software..
This is so true! Great summary, and an important reminder to think carefully about what you'll actually *need*
@APU KHAN if cost is the same i5 10400 is better in some situations but you need all new components. If you do heavy production including 4K go Ryzen 7 or above
@APU KHAN Beginner or experienced user dont always need 100 tracks for a project, so we plan things to be more realistic like 24 tracks at most. But if you want that amount any super pc will struggle with 100 tracks and many effects.
@APU KHAN NO OLD LAPTOP IS RECOMMENDED for anything. MUSIC TODAY used DESKTOP system around $300 i5/i7 3rd gen or above. For newer system around that $500 budget Ryzen 5 2400g or i5 10400. Both 8gb to start. No graphic card needed for those systems.
What would be a cheap graphic card for ryzen 5 3600 in order to work properly?
I personally don't have any recommendations (not my area at all), but you might find some options here: www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/gcgbay/best_budget_gpu_for_ryzen_5_3600/
My bottleneck is the cpu clock speed when using vst that calculate and are not based on samples. I totally wreck the cpu (i7 1.7 ghz 16 gb ram) with arturia v !!!!! But nowadays its hard to find anything over 2,4 ghz
That's so true - CPUs are so focused on the amount of cores now, often at the expense of single core clock speed. It'd be helpful if someone could figure out how to let audio processing use all of those cores. That'd give some serious improvements!
@@soundtrackacad well you can theorically "force" windows to use all cores with msconfig, but I doubt its as efficient as for exemple a 3.3 Ghz single core.
@@philipperostin Probably not!
What you think of Acer Aspire 5 for Music production? Btw, you remind me of Thom Yorke aka Jesus. Oct 27. 921pm From 🇵🇷
Bro you a lifesaver
UPDATE: TO BUILD A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, YOU NEED AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK CPU COOLER, 128GB 3600Mhz CL16 MEMORY. GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER MOTHERBOARD, IT HAS 32 BIT 192KHZ DAC. RTX 2070 SUPER OR HIGHER GRAPHIC GARD. 2TB M.2 NVMe, WD ULTRASTAR 10TB. MINIMUM 2K MONITOR, AOC Q3279VWFD8 QHD 75HZ FREESYNC IPS 32IN 2K MONITOR. 750W 80 PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY. DEEPCOOL KENDERMAN ATX MID TOWER CASE OR BETTER. BETTER THAN A $15,000 MAC PRO, AUSTRALIAN. BETTER THAN A THREADRIPPER 2950X
Premiere Pro has long supported Nvidia’s CUDA cores for accelerating video effects and even improving export times, but this new update optimizes the app to use the separate hardware encoder on Nvidia’s GPUs. It will improve export times for H.264 or H.265 / HEVC codecs. “These improvements are the result of years of collaboration between Nvidia and Adobe to deliver high-quality applications and tools to creators,” says Manish Kulkarni, senior engineering manager at Adobe. “With new support for NVIDIA GPUs on Windows, exports are hardware accelerated leveraging the power of the GPU to make Premiere Pro more powerful and keep video creators productive and nimble.”
YOU A NEED RTX 2070 SUPER MINIMUM. I AM BUILDING A MUSIC AND VIDEO WORKSTATION, USING AMD RYZEN 9 3950X WHICH HAS 16 CORES AND 24 THREADS. IT KILLS THE I9 WHICH HAS 18 CORES IN MULTITASKING. THE AMD RYZEN 9 3950X IN ONE TEST WAS 24 PERCENT FASTER. WITH THE PROPER VIDEO CARD YOU CAN DO 8K VIDEO EDITING
Lmao 😂 were not here for a super comp made for high res gaming too.
I have a 2019 MacBook Pro and has these features
2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor
Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory
16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
512GB SSD storage¹
The Ram is what I’m considered about and I’m planning to buy Omnisphere and Keyscape. Do you think 16gb is enough to run both ?
I'd say "just about" - if you look at their minimum requirements, they both say 8GB absolute minimum, and 16GB is better for Omnisphere. So, in theory, if you were running them both at the same time you'd be right on the edge of your system capability.
Of course, there are ways of being more efficient with how you use RAM (like freezing tracks or bouncing sections to audio), which you'd likely need to look into. Hope that helps!
Hi. You say more cores is more important than more Ghz speed. What if my DAW is 32 bits on Windows 10 64bit ? Is it the same recommendation ? Somewhere I read that a 32bit DAW cant take advantage of dual ram cards. Is it the same for multiple cores ?
I'm not 100% sure on this. There's a lot of misinformation about DAWs not being able to use multiple cores (they actually CAN), but I'm not sure if there's a difference between 32Bit and 64Bit versions.
I am thinking about getting the VivoBook 15 X512JA. i7 processor 3,9gz, 16gb ram, ssd. That should do it right?
Yeah those specs look good! If you're wanting to use big sample libraries, the RAM might be a limitation (so you might want to check if it's possible to upgrade it later, just in case you find that it's maxing out), but for general music production it should be good!
@@soundtrackacad alright man i'll keep that in mind. And thanks for the reply!
It's all overkill today with thousands of plugins most of which just repackage what's already in most DAWs, as for audio interface its ideal but not actually necessary as you can just download Asio for all driver.
What do you think about the MacBook Pro 16’ , Intel Core I9 2.3, 32 GB RAM and 1tb SSD? Is it enough for Cubase 11 projects with 20-30 midi tracks and Izotope Plugins?
Thank you
You shouldn't run into many problems with that! :)
Is a 16in MacBook Pro with 32gb of memory, 8 gb GDDR6, and 1 tb work?
Yeah that's a great spec 👍