Quote:

...computers with different combinations of devices and programs cause strange problems

jazzman



This is the key right here Blisco. You have to learn just for self defense if nothing else what version of an OS works with certain devices that work with what programs. Music production like what we discuss here is not the normal operation of a PC. A very small percentage of PC sales are for this kind of thing. Sometimes you get lucky by simply buying a brand name right off the shelf and everything works fine but many times that's not the case. I'm not a super geek or anything but I've learned enough in the last 6 or 7 years or so to know that I need to keep building my own systems with my own hand picked parts. My current P4 2.8 is about 4 years old and I carefully picked out everything and then ordered the stuff from Newegg. Everything is important to music production from the power supply, the type and brand name memory, hard drive manufacturer, maybe not so much the CPU. But as you've already read, which version of an OS to go with what audio interface and DAW is really critical. Some people have good luck with Creative products but imho you're better off with something a bit more suited for music production. It's not so much the basic audio quality, the Creative cards sound fine, it's more about a much more flexible software suite, a bit better quality in the hardware, things like that. Considering those Creative cards are well over $100 you can get something by Edirol, EMU or Tascam that's specifically designed for what we do and not gaming for just a little bit more.
I will probably make the jump to Win 7 next year but trust me, I will haunt various forums first and figure out just what works with what.

Bob

Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.