Will this computer work well for Cubase or Digi001???

[martinbarringer]

Hi All!
Im considering purchasing a used system for. I have not made a software selection yet but Im certain to choose either cubase or digi001. The price is right but is the system? I'm looking for a computer that will allow me to handle 24 tracks of audio with maybe a couple softsynths as well as midi. MOST of what I do is midi so the digital audio will primarily be recording the synth parts to burn to cd. So I do expect to use plugg-in's of course however I suspect It might be less than If I were recording allot of acoustic stuff.(?) Ofcourse I guess I should never underestimate the need for plug in's.

 

[Opus2000]

The system sounds fine except for one thing..the integrated audio card on the motherboard. That can cause some issues with the system IRQ's and possibly any other audio card you install into the machine. If you can find a motherboard with NO on board audio or video you are truly golden. The PIII 1Ghz should handle what you need very effeciently indeed especially with 512MB of RAM. If you are at all serious about getting good sound then get yourself a better sound card. Echo makes some great interfaces, MOTU, Aardvark, MidiMan, and RME as well. Yes MIDI doesnt need audio in or out but you will want to eventually add real audio tracks and with that I would get a sound card for. The built in one may not have the dynamic headroom needed to get decent levels and bit depth.
Also get a second hard drive so that the audio data isnt being bogged down by the OS and application being used on the same drive. This will help in the long run when using close to 24 tracks and more especially with plugins and VST instruments. stay with AGP video cards as well
Opus

 

[EdWray]

The onboard sound can be disabled in the BIOS setup. After that an IRQ is no longer assigned to the device.

 

[Opus2000]

Yes Ed..that is correct...but it also depends on what BIOS you have! Some wont allow you to fully disable it...other times it looks as though it's disabled but it still causes issues with the system. My reccomendation is to completely stay away from onboard devices!
Opus

 

[martinbarringer]

Thanks for the help guys!

Now lets say I get a Echo gina or layla or something, does that meen I DON'T need a seperate sound card too?

Also you suggest to have two HDs. Does this meen to install cubase on the non OS HD?

Thank You!
Martin

 

[Opus2000]

What do you want the Layla or Gina card to do for you that soundblaster or the like there of cant? If you have WinME or Win2K you can set the CD player to play thru the Echo cards with no problem...
you should install all apps on the OS drive..keep the second drive to data and data only..simple as that...you're very welcome for the help here any time man
Peace
Opus

 

[martinbarringer]

What do you want the Layla or Gina card to do for you that soundblaster or the like there of cant? If you have WinME or Win2K you can set the CD player to play thru the Echo cards with no problem...

That's were Im a little uncertain right now. I know that I need to record audio and have it also playback,while recording, like 24 tracks of DA. I have 4 synths and I'm a little lazy, so if I can get more than one stereo pair into the computer at one time that would be great. Money is also an issue though so something like a new Layla is out of my price range, I have been looking on ebay and even used ones are still a little high. So maybe I have to settle for only two audio in's for now? I own a Roland VS880-ex and was thinking if I can plug its' digital out to a cards' digital in then maybe I could use the roland as a sub-mixer? What recomendations do you have?
Thank YOu!
Martin