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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
I am in the market for a new Windows laptop and am looking for some advice on the ideal specification. I am a little out of touch with Windows computer specs. I have had distortion problems with songs containing the most Realtracks so I want to avoid this particular problem. I am using an external synth and Focusrite.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2018
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Budget?
Used? New?
Most audio issues I've dealt for many, many years were resolved with 12th gen intel processor, 32g ram and nvme gen4 ssd.
Most of the machines with these specs or above have fast USB ports and usually 2 different USB controllers for those. That is a big plus for external gear in my view.
With this setup I can run BIAB with heavy plugins and simultaneously a DAW with plugins. No audio stuttering.
Mine is Thinkbook by Lenovo. To somewhat futureproof (for Audio!), I would not go below specs mentioned above.
If money permit, look at the current Lenovo Legion series. They are considered "gaming" laptops, but obviously could be used for anything. They are very powerful machines.
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Having said that, I am sure your current laptop, if it was made in the past 5-7 years, has at least 8gb ram and ssd, could very likely be tuned to run BIAB by itself (without heavy weight VSTi) without audio issues.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
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The advice I often see here and elsewhere is that, if my other digital audio programs run fine on a particular computer, BIAB should, too. I've written elsewhere that I don't think this advice applies as well now. Two years ago, when the speed of BIAB's regenerating was remarkably shortened, it increased the need for more cores and a faster processor. I have read the minimum requirements and, while they work, you may not be happy with it. You mention distortion and RealTracks so you are aware this can be a challenge. There are settings within BIAB to lessen the load, and threads here with these tips. One is that the more you convert RealTracks to audio, the less stress on your computer.
There is more to it. There is always more. But if you are buying, put your money into this order: CPU, RAM, SSD storage for the RealTracks. Graphics are not important for BIAB (now, at least).
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 103
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2023
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There is more to it. There is always more. But if you are buying, put your money into this order: CPU, RAM, SSD storage for the RealTracks. Graphics are not important for BIAB (now, at least). Great advice, and if I can add one more suggestion, if comparing a couple of machines that are generally equal in cost and with specs as above, if one has two SSD slots (one used and one empty) and the other has only the one main SSD and no opportunity to expand other than swapping out the main one, I personally would give much consideration to the double SSD capability for future proofing.
Last edited by BluegrassPicker; 02/07/26 04:38 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,564
Veteran
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BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
Thank you for the input. I am in the market for a new laptop and am prepared to pay.
My existing laptop is an i7-5500 with 8GB of RAM and a 500Gb hard drive.
I am looking at an I7 with 32 GB of RAM and 1TB SSD.
I assume this will do the job, at least that is what Gemini is also telling me!
Things have certainly changed since I first started with BIAB in 2000. I now amaze the residents in our senior's residence with what BIAB can do!
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Ok. An i7 CPU could be more or less powerful over a wide range. Some i3 and i5 chips are faster than some i7 chips so get the fastest you can afford. If you do anything besides BIAB you will probably want an external SSD USB drive for your RealTracks.
Do you have monitors (speakers)?
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
I only use this laptop for BIAB so 1TB SSD should be enough?
I have powered BOSE speakers that I feed from a mixer
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 103
Apprentice
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Apprentice
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I have my BB installation on a 1TB SSD which is separate from my boot drive. My BB installation alone is 250 GB.
Also, when you get all done, I would suggest that you pick up a seperate external USB powered SSD drive to be used as a BACKUP. You can copy everything to it and then detach it so it is available to restore your BB songs in case your computer or computer's SSD crashes and dies. It DOES happen and it isn't any fun to lose everything.
Last edited by BluegrassPicker; 02/08/26 07:13 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,248
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I only use this laptop for BIAB so 1TB SSD should be enough?
I have powered BOSE speakers that I feed from a mixer
Tony Depends what version of BIAB. If recent Audiophile FLAC, go with 2tb. If Ultrapak - 1 tb should be fine. You want to have at least 20-30% of space left on HD. ------- Just make sure to research CPU. Your current is i7-5500. That 5500 number... It should be at least 2x higher for meaningful upgrade  From my laptop experience, usually better CPU machines have newer chipsets as well.
Last edited by Rustyspoon#; 02/08/26 10:37 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 733 |
I am homing in on a ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405CA-RS71T-CA) I asked Gemini to compare it with my existing laptop for using with BIAB and the reply was.
"Comparing your current i7-5500U to the Intel Ultra 7-255H is like comparing a reliable bicycle to a high-end sports car"
Do you think there is a little man at AI headquarters answering my questions?
Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 109
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 109 |
I am in the market for a new Windows laptop and am looking for some advice on the ideal specification. I am a little out of touch with Windows computer specs. I have had distortion problems with songs containing the most Realtracks so I want to avoid this particular problem. I am using an external synth and Focusrite. Hello Tony, I just purchased a new MSI laptop to replace my current MSI gaming laptop, which I have had for about 6 years. I hopped back on the Band in a Box bandwagon about 12 years ago after first buying (I think a DOS version) sometime in the 1990's. My last 5-6 Band in a Box purchases have been the full audiophile version, and the last 2-3 installs have been a full hard drive install (after running from the purchased hard drive for years before that.) Here is the laptop I purchased, at Costco, about a month ago after a 2-month search, the MSI Crosshair 18 HX AI 18" Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX - NVIDIA RTX 5070 - 2560x1600 - 32GB RAM - 1TB SSD - Windows 11 Home:https://www.costco.com/p/-/msi-crosshair-18-hx-ai-18-gaming-laptop-intel-core-ultra-9-275hx-nvidia-rtx-5070-2560x1600-32gb-ram-1tb-ssd-windows-11-home/4000374413?langId=-1I also bought a second 4TB hard drive and added it to the laptop, so I have a primary 1TB C drive where I have installed the program and my DAW, and the 4TB where I have the DRUMS and STYLES installed, along with my projects. I also have the full TB of Native Instruments and VST's on the secondary drive. There are many reasons for choosing this laptop, including the VERY powerful CPU with multicores (handy for the stuff we do), the ability to upgrade (I can upgrade the RAM and have already upgrade the drive), the large monitor which is very hand for the new GUI, and the dedicated graphics card (8VRAM) which is handy for some games I may play. It was also on sale at $300 off when I bought it in January, and Costco provide an additional 90-day return window. CONS: It is heavier than my current laptop, but has a plastic lid which is fine for carting around from home to office to coffee shops to work on my music, but I would not travel with it on a plane as I think it could be susceptible to damage. I feel like there is the tiniest delay - not really latency - in the display being a touch behind the audio. I did not notice this on my replaced laptop, which seemed to display notes and/or chords right in line with the sound. I will go back and double check. There is also the occasional crackle when rendering new tracks and/or experimenting with VST's, which MAY be latency, but I have been trying to address by closing my browser and experimenting with other settings. In any case, I am not necessarily endorsing the laptop - indeed, I may still return it - though I am happy with it so far. The other computers I considered are the zephyrus (G14 and G16). Both are more gamer-type laptops with 5070TI, 5080 graphics cards, but lesser CPU's. I hope this discussion helps a little.
Tom Marvan
Dunbar7376
San Diego, CA
Band in A Box Audiophile 2025
MSI GE66 10SFS 15.6" Laptop (Model GE66048)
Intel Core i7 10th Gen i7-10750H 2.6ghz
32GB DDR4 RAM 2666mhz
8GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
1920x1080 Full HD LED
2x1TB NVMe SSD PCI
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,248
Veteran
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dunbar7376,
Nice machine!
MSI is a reputable brand, but Lenovos parts are more abundant and usually much cheaper if something breaks down the line. Also, not sure of MSI warranty policy. Lenovo doesn't discriminate if you are not original owner and if warranty is present on pre-owned or refurbished comp, it will honor it without pain. Also, it lets you extend existing warranty at fair prices.
Tony, It all differs from machine to machine... I had Asus desktop and a laptop in the past. In my view Lenovo Thinkpad, Thinkbook or Legion series are much better builds.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 109
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 109 |
Rustyspoon#, It is a very nice machine. The benefit of purchasing a laptop at Costco here in the US is that on top of the (in this case, one year) MSI warranty, they add another year (or two) of warranty as well as phone/email support via Costco. If parts are needed, then for sure Lenovo is exceptional in offering replacements parts or indeed full replacements if your purchase their add on support when purchasing from them directly. Indeed, this was very useful when I was at business school in Durham, NC - not far from Lenovo's HQ - and they gave me a complete replacement of my ThinkPad (this was post the IBM hardware transition) when it died. There were some lovely Legion and Zephyrus deals that started today as part of the President's Day sale at Best Buy. Again, these are not endorsements, but simply the next computers that I would consider if I wasn't working through my current MSI set up.The Legion is $480 off, down to $1799. Lenovo - Legion 7i 16" 2.5k OLED Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 2025 - 32GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 - 1TB SSD - Glacier Whitehttps://www.bestbuy.com/product/lenovo-legion-7i-16-2-5k-oled-gaming-laptop-intel-core-ultra-9-275hx-2025-32gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070-1tb-ssd-glacier-white/JJGSH3Y5H9/sku/6617095The Zephyrus is $500 off, down to $1899. ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 14" 3K OLED 120Hz Gaming Laptop - Copilot+ PC - AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX - 32GB RAM - NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti - 1TB - Platinum Whitehttps://www.bestbuy.com/product/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-14-3k-oled-120hz-gaming-laptop-copilot-pc-amd-ryzen-ai-9-hx-32gb-ram-nvidia-rtx-5070-ti-1tb-platinum-white/JJGGLHJXQ9/sku/6613954Tom Marvan.
Tom Marvan
Dunbar7376
San Diego, CA
Band in A Box Audiophile 2025
MSI GE66 10SFS 15.6" Laptop (Model GE66048)
Intel Core i7 10th Gen i7-10750H 2.6ghz
32GB DDR4 RAM 2666mhz
8GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
1920x1080 Full HD LED
2x1TB NVMe SSD PCI
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
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Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
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