The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

Well, Sonar 7 PE installed. M-audio set up. Some minor stuff attempted, but snap, crackle and pop have invaded the studio, um, I mean unfinished basement.

I know I'm waaaaay under powered, but was hoping for a miracle...um, nope.

So I ask you this, what are you running???

I've been leaning towards the following:

Intel Duo 2 Core, 2.8
3MB L2 Cache
3GB Ram
500GB Harddisk

Nothing external as far as storage just yet, just pretty much buying the box. Right around $500usd. Not really upgradeable, but do I really need that as it'll just be a PC for recording to. I may need more storage at some point, but that's all I can really think of. Anyway, some folks who, well, know a shit ton more than I say don't bother with the extra $$ for a quad processor...I'll never need it. However, they don't record music.

Any of you guys running anything near this that can voice an opinion or two??? Greatly appreciated, as usual.

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"And the Argus has practiced compassion. With an eye on you, as one is on me"

I've run similar software on waaaay less than you're describing. Sound processing is not nearly as demanding as video. The use of many effects etc might change this a bit, but still... I think your PC is more than adequate.

Do you have a lot of other software installed? Try disabling the virus checker/firewall things? Do a defrag, check for viruses, adware... or better yet, make a complete fresh install (and make an image of that once you're satisfied so you can put that back whenever you like).

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

sound card drivers can make a massive difference too, and it's worth hunting through various forums to see what other users of your sound hardware recommend drivers-wise

there's a universal ASIO driver called asio4all for normal windows (wdm) sound cards that might be worth your time to install too (it's free and doesn't mess with your existing drivers; it works alongside them)

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Wanted to buy: one Right Word Clock, in good condition.

Howdy BH,

Your processor is more than adequate. I run an Intel P4 2.8 and if I don't run too many plugins, I can get 25-30 tracks without a problem. Learn how to use the "freeze" function in Sonar, it will become your best friend in terms of saving CPU.

You are good on cache RAM.

3 GB of system RAM is excellent for XP, not sure about Vista....most things I've read say 4 GB plus for music.

Hard drive size is fine. I have a 250 internal and a 500 external. What is the drive spin speed? 5400 or 7200. 7200 is the suggested spin for music. Actual speed statistics are important as well.

Make sure you do a google search and optimize the machine for music. There are a ton of "fixes" to eliminate resource hogging processes that are unnecessary for music PC and will help eliminate the "clicks" and "pops" you are encountering. BTW....I'd mess with the buffer size. Buffer settings impact both the "click" / "pop" factor AND latency. It can take a bit of experimentation to find the right balance.

Good luck!

Gary