When I had my full production studio running 32 I/O ADDA... it was on W7 Pro. I've never tested W10 in the same way so I can say for sure. I think W7 pro is better (less bloat) but is it more compatible with newer versions of Pro X, I doubt it.
That's the trade off with all these DAW platforms. I feel strongly that most DAW's run well, coded for that OS they were released on. Once you start upgrading the OS with older DAW versions.... shit start happening.

Samplitude Pro x3 is excellent. Does it run well on W7 not sure. If it does, I would prefer older OS to the crap apps we are having to sift through today.

To your question on W10 Home... Get Pro for whatever version of DAW you go with because Pro has less forced upon bloat.

I suspect pcrecord has the best insight into all the Windows version. Enterprise seems to be the best of them all.

DonnyThompson, post: 456824, member: 46114 wrote: I guess I'm asking, does W10 Pro make a noticeable difference over W10 Home edition, in terms of efficiency and productivity for audio?

audiokid, post: 456830, member: 1 wrote: I suspect pcrecord has the best insight into all the Windows version.

The enterprise version gave me some problems with adobe products (premiere and after effect) which didn't recognised the Version of the OS.
So I'm now using Win10 PRO. I know I praised Enterprises version in the past but it is more because that's what I had access in my day job. More remote controle and management.
But for a small network and home studio windows Pro is the right version to own.
The difference with the home version is that there is a lot less guizmo created for home entertainement and games needs.
I have the home premium version on my home laptop and I learned very fast that Pro has less frequent and less drastic updates. By default there is less processes in memory and deal better with multitask applications(althought this last thing is an impression).
Also I was able to deactivate Cortana and I don't know if it can be done on the family version.

Pro is easier to put in network (domain or workgroups) with other units and also easier to create folder shares.
You should avoid to create an home network, it's very hard to manage and secure.

You need to be cleaver to not link the Home version to your microsoft live account. This is a pain because your outlook/hotmail email and windows login are linked if you do. If you change your password, both will be changed and sometime hard to reset or retrieve.
Pro, let's you create a local account by default. (just one less small thing to worry about)

One thing the last updates did on both version is to engage a memory shutdown which will open all apps that was opened when shutting down.
They made this change to have a faster bootup but when I start I want to start fresh.
This can be disabled on both versions.

Hope this help..
This is a recurrent topic and I wish I could find more scientific proof or reasons to go from a version to the other.. but I didn't find any.

Very helpful Marco.
Thanks, pal. :)

fwiw D, ive not been able to crash SPX3, in 6 months, on a 250$ HP/AMD dual core latop, with a $50 PNY 120gb ssd. ive maxed it out, but its been rock solid, as far as glithces and crashes. i started the drive from scratch, which includes W10 pro, and SPX3, as well as avid, and adobe. i'm even able to run adobe audition 3, and the old CS, which was XP coded. that old stuff runs CS works fine, with a couple small things, like prompts. audition seems to run flawlessly. i dont bring this up to try and say what chris was suggesting isnt good practice or true, rather to say that on this machine, which was bought purposefully for downloading and testing compatibility and performance, on the most base level computer hardware that will run it. Samplitude even ran on a 60$ w10 tablet, that struggled with pandora. i agree that the less software per computer, the better. nothing like first couple uses of a fresh computer where it almost reads your mind. then the decline begins lol....

i havent tried my protools M-powered yet, but i can say that im happy enough w W10 not to complain, and astounded by spx3's reliability.

if you get w10, dont get the OEM version. get the RETAIL version. OEM, ties it to your motherboard, so it makes upgrading hardware more difficult or impossible. the retail version doesnt exhibit this. i have a fresh install in a folder on my dropbox, in case i need it. the retail version will be like $20 more, but is not even a question.

my only gripe with w10 was the updates, which i thought i had finally shut off (via ctr+alt+del > services), and i did get an update the other day (it had been 4 or 5 months). That said i had a bunch of stuff on my keyboard, and random buttons got pressed. so im not sure what caused it, but i thin k it was the random button mashing. i followed a couple of optimization guides, but it seems like the updates services need to be shut off in two places, or perhaps got reset.

kmetal
Thanks for taking the time, Kyle. I always like reading your posts.
I think at this point, I'm gonna stick to the version I have, with the goal of getting a new system in the next few months... My current PC is an Athlon 2.6 Quad Core, with the "typical" internal HDD that was used five years ago when I got it...
Tools have changed, software is more powerful, and I don't think my dinosaur of a computer can keep up anymore with what I'm doing, and what I want to do.
When I get closer to pulling the trigger on doing this, maybe I could call you and bounce ideas off you, or have you explain some things to me that I may not quite understand?
I'd be happy to PayPal you a few bucks for your time and knowledge. :)

D, id be happy to assist in any way possible. you get the friends and family discount of 100% free. ill PM you my phone number, since i havent activated my 'official' business number, which id just post here now.

I would suggest, if your looking to get some more life from your current setup, a basic ssd, will increase your performance by a noticeable amount. in the budget catagory PNY is the best, and samsung 850 evo being all around great. you could keep your current setup as is, just add the new OS drive, and get it set at your leisure. then you can finish up the old on the old drive, or migrate the projects. then any new projects, can be started on the new OS drive/system.

to me the pny ssd in particular is worth the cost of entry, because it will give more life/performance from your pc, and will make the transition to the new system seamless, since you just put the pny drive in your new pc as a spare, or for running projects from the precious machine. i like PNY for the price/performance and its warranty. its pretty close in design to the samsung making use of the TLC memory controller, vs MLC. these are SATA3 drives, and a direct fit into any standard HDD drive bay/slot/connector.

that said, if your literally a two months from a new system regardless, it might make sense to hold off on the ssd, since the screaming fast Samsung M.2, NVMe drives are very similarly priced to their samsung SATA3 cousins. unless you plan to use the computer for mixdown or slave purposes. the samsung 'evo' line, is close enough to the 'pro' line in performance, and comes with a longer (5 year) warranty. the samsung Evo tends to be the best 'all around' drive out there right now, with sandisk being competitive, and PNY being the best minimal cost option.

sometime around this year or so is a good time to upgrade a full system i think. the ryzen 2 chips are out, making the first gen ryzen, 8 core/16 thread 3ghz, 200$ instead of 230. intel finally upped there core/thread count on the i-series, which is the first real world improvement since the memory standard changed from ddr3 to ddr4 3 or so years ago.. i started renting a house instead of studio room, and apartment, so i plan on doing a ryzen 8c/16t daw build at the end of the summer. ill start the xeons next year, or when i find a home to fit my loan approval. i actually still have that i5 (skylake) lenovo desktop, and acer (skylake) i5 laptop, still in thew boxes from several years ago. lol they just finally became 'not current', between the slowing of intels production, and the fact that it was the first with the ddr4 ram standard. what makes those computers dated is their inability to boot from the latest drives which are m.2 (connection instead of SATA), and use the NVMe standard. it doesnt make sense to upgrade those with anything more than a pny ssd, since ryzen, and samsung 850 evo drives have come down in price.

anyway, itd be nice to touch base, there's a bunch of technical considerations that took me a while to read about, particularly the SSD types and formats, and tons of options. id be glad to share whatever you can use.

kmetal
Kyle, this is great information!
I'm very intrigued by the SSD as the system drive for a temporary improvement, until we can come up with enough money to get a full new system.
This PC is going to be primarily used in the production of the fundraising/benefit album that Dave Hawk (dvdhawk ) and I have been working on (the OASIS Project), and while I'm putting together a presentation package for corporate donors in order to get a new full system, the notion that we could increase productivity and efficiency with the current PC by simply adding an SSD system drive is cool because it's probably something I could do in the next few weeks.
If we could get even a 30% improvement by just adding an SSD, I'd be really happy.
I don't know if that amount of improvement could happen by just adding the new drive, but if it did I'd be really happy, and if that move could hold us over until funding is available for a new full system, that would be great.
I need to get another gig under my belt in order to buy it...I'll be in touch with you when I have the money to make sure I'm getting the best drive I can.
Thanks SO much, pal. Your suggestions are great. I really appreciate your input on this!
:)
--d.

awsome D, let me know! even the newest computers would be feelin' it if on an HDD for the os. i think you'll be happy.