Computer and Software Upgrade - Is This Acceptable?

[russellnollen]

I'm going to be upgrading my computer. I'm looking at this; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VT ... T185&psc=1
I'm also looking to run the latest version of ProTools. I plan to continue recording acoustic instruments as well as in the box with orchestral samples. Will this suffice? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... e-download
I have worked with an AVID MBox Mini interface & an M-Audio Keyrig. Will that still work with the latest version of ProTools?
I know that bigger is better - I've got a tight budget, though.
Your advice is much appreciated!
Thank you!

[gitanosoy]

I'm going to be upgrading my computer. I'm looking at this; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VT ... T185&psc=1
I'm also looking to run the latest version of ProTools. I plan to continue recording acoustic instruments as well as in the box with orchestral samples. Will this suffice? https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... e-download
I have worked with an AVID MBox Mini interface & an M-Audio Keyrig. Will that still work with the latest version of ProTools?
I know that bigger is better - I've got a tight budget, though.
Your advice is much appreciated!
Thank you!

HI Russell,
You might want to consider Logicpro x as a daw if you want to save money and ease of use..only $200.00 and it's great..I have used a lot of different DAWs in the Ppast but LOGIC rules..IMO. as far as the computer, it's fine if you are doing audio stuff but if you start using /buying plugins and loops in libraries and have more than 6 tracks you might get in trouble..I bought a brand new 2016 i imac in 2018 which I only use for music production and it's great..I use my PC for my personal stuff....and you can also save you files from your daw on an external hard drive and work from there.

I hope this helps,


Andre

[cosmicdolphin]

You might want to consider Logicpro x as a daw if you want to save money and ease of use..only $200.00 and it's great.

I think the OP is looking at PC hardware not Mac.

[cosmicdolphin]

I have worked with an AVID MBox Mini interface. Will that still work with the latest version of ProTools?
I know that bigger is better - I've got a tight budget, though.
Your advice is much appreciated!
Thank you!

According to Avid the Mbox Mini is good with Pro Tools versions 10.3 - 12.5 so I think you are good there.

Tight budget ? A lot of that is being eaten up by having a laptop Vs a desktop PC. You would get a lot more bang for your buck with a tower and more upgrade-ability so I guess go for a regular PC unless you are really stuck for space or need a mobile rig ?

Processor wise the i7 9750h is not particularly great value as the heart of a DAW setup. There is a test round up here showing it's direct predecessor the i7 8750h and it didn't fare perticularly well in the tests if you look at the charts they put together with DAWbench as it's outperformed by most of the others. This is because it's a mobile processor so stuff like battery life is more important for most users than raw power.

http://www.scanproaudio.info/tag/dawbench/

AMD's Ryzen 3000 series have been outperforming Intel's offering since this generation came out. You might want to look into those, I just had a new rig with the 3900x 12 core CPU and I can run my biggest projects at 256 samples on my ASIO buffer. Some tests on that processor range here; https://www.scanproaudio.info/2019/07/1 ... ic-number/

IMO. as far as the computer, it's fine if you are doing audio stuff but if you start using /buying plugins and loops in libraries and have more than 6 tracks you might get in trouble.

Sorry but this is laughable ? 6 tracks ? I don't think you could buy a new machine today that could only cope with 6. Or did you meant to type 60 ?

I was running more than 6 audio tracks on Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 with plugins on back in about 1998

[gitanosoy]

I have worked with an AVID MBox Mini interface. Will that still work with the latest version of ProTools?
I know that bigger is better - I've got a tight budget, though.
Your advice is much appreciated!
Thank you!

According to Avid the Mbox Mini is good with Pro Tools versions 10.3 - 12.5 so I think you are good there.

Tight budget ? A lot of that is being eaten up by having a laptop Vs a desktop PC. You would get a lot more bang for your buck with a tower and more upgrade-ability so I guess go for a regular PC unless you are really stuck for space or need a mobile rig ?

Processor wise the i7 9750h is not particularly great value as the heart of a DAW setup. There is a test round up here showing it's direct predecessor the i7 8750h and it didn't fare perticularly well in the tests if you look at the charts they put together with DAWbench as it's outperformed by most of the others. This is because it's a mobile processor so stuff like battery life is more important for most users than raw power.

http://www.scanproaudio.info/tag/dawbench/

AMD's Ryzen 3000 series have been outperforming Intel's offering since this generation came out. You might want to look into those, I just had a new rig with the 3900x 12 core CPU and I can run my biggest projects at 256 samples on my ASIO buffer. Some tests on that processor range here; https://www.scanproaudio.info/2019/07/1 ... ic-number/

IMO. as far as the computer, it's fine if you are doing audio stuff but if you start using /buying plugins and loops in libraries and have more than 6 tracks you might get in trouble.

Sorry but this is laughable ? 6 tracks ? I don't think you could buy a new machine today that could only cope with 6. Or did you meant to type 60 ?

I was running more than 6 audio tracks on Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 with plugins on back in about 1998

I was trying to say that people who just record audio with real instruments a 6 track or less with no virtual instruments and crazy amounts of plugins to raise the cpu you can get away will less processing power but if you are going to have some crazy 32 tracks then you need a more powerful computer...thats all.