My off-line music computer is also the photography computer. The latest upgrade to my photographic program, On 1 Photo Raw, made my video card obsolete, in other words it is not powerful enough to use all of the program's functions. Thus I would like to purchase new video card.
IIRC in the past some video card drivers would mess up audio drivers. Since music is the number one thing for this computer I don't want that to happen. So my question is is that still true? If so what video cards should I avoid?
FYI what I am looking for is a video card with OpenGL 4.2 compatible video card with 2+ GB dedicated VRAM, 1920x1080 resolution (at 100% scale factor). I would probably go with one with 4 gigs of VRAM. Any suggestions? (Yes my monitor can handle that resolution)
Thanx in advance for your wisdom, knowledge, and time.
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
64 bit Win 11 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
FYI, newer, high end gaming cards are extremely difficult to find right now. The two reasons, 1) Bitcoin miners buy these cards as soon as they can find one. 2) COVID has caused supply chain issues for the makers of the cards. I've been trying to upgrade my card since February and no luck. If you want to spend double or more on a card you can find them on Ebay. I'm just too cheap to spend extra.....
If you want to find a card that's less expensive and lower specs, it may be a little easier.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Been using a passive video card for years (doesn't have a fan to cool it) the Nvidia 710, runs great, photo and games run good with it.
Is it the GForce 710? I have that card because it has 4 HDMI outs on it and I run 3 monitors.
What it will "mess with" is typically not driver driven. Your current drivers don't get removed or changed. What happens is a video card with HDMI will want to become your primary audio device because HDMI by nature sends audio. You just need to go to the card's interface using their provided software and disable the audio on the card. Your existing drivers will then become default and you will be back where you started. I can say that from experience because I too said "What the heck is THIS now" when I suddenly found my Focusrite was no longer my enabled audio source after changing to that video card.
This is the one I use, but my primary requirement was the 4 HDMIs rather than 4gb or RAM This one only has 2gb.
Note that your options may be directed by the kind of slot you have open. Mine uses a PCI Express x1. If I went to more RAM I think I would need to go to a motherboard with a PCI 2.0 slot for the bus to support that VRAM. That one Steve or Harv may be able to shed more light on. They are more into the hardware than I am.
I think that's the one Eddie, have it for at least five years I think, and got it a lot cheaper than your link.
It does take up a little more room because of the passive cooling (you might have to move an existing pc card to give it that bit of extra room) but runs good, and no extra fans to get noise from.
To be honest unless a user is a dedicated gamer then I think no need for an expensive card, I have a lot of older games Half life 2, Desperadoes, for all that, more than happy with it. As far as I can see will run Video software fine as well.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
What kind of horsepower does the computer have Mario? I am sitting here on an i5 with 16GB of RAM but I am soon going to upgrade to 32 GB. My CPU is the biggest I can put on this mobo and I don't know if increasing the RAM will even matter, but it's not expensive and it might help.
For me, I like to exceed recommended. That's why the Pro Tools PC has and i7with 64 GB of RAM in it. Man, I paid a fortune for that PC. LOL!!
Your comment about Photography editing tools caught my attention. Photography is a large hobby for me too. Like Eddie says your motherboard has plenty of PCI slots to work with. 750 watts should run any card you choose. I am NO Expert. I do recall that DirectX v12 support was also critical in the spec but that may have been specific to something I am using.
I notice the same trend in video card demands, more more more! with each release. I am an Adobe LR & PS user. This demand for CPU, RAM and GPU are what moved me to a larger system as well. I notice the speed delivered by the GPU. I think that a Solid State system drive has become a good investment. (Cost++Performance When you are ready)
This trend is very likely to persist into the future with larger image files, Stacking, AI and at the same time CPU power increments tapering(contradicting Moore Law). {stating obvious} for Graphic processor bigger is better and will carry you further into the future.
I have been very pleased with ASUS NVidia GeForce cards. Like Steve suggests older versions could hit your sweet spot of Cost++Performance.
With my to be twelve year old computer next February, I feel very ancient around you guys, but hey it does what I need at the moment, runs windows 10 just fine, though the SSD does help a lot.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
I ended up getting an ATI Radeon RX580 recently - it's probably overkill for music production, but I do some video editing so this card will speed that up too.
Originally Posted By: sslechta
FYI, newer, high end gaming cards are extremely difficult to find right now. The two reasons, 1) Bitcoin miners buy these cards as soon as they can find one. 2) COVID has caused supply chain issues for the makers of the cards. I've been trying to upgrade my card since February and no luck. If you want to spend double or more on a card you can find them on Ebay. I'm just too cheap to spend extra.....
If you want to find a card that's less expensive and lower specs, it may be a little easier.
That's exactly the problem I ran into this month. Scalpers have driven video card prices through the roof, such that all my local stores are sold out of anything below $1000, and all the "used" sales are between double and triple the original price for a 3 year old GPU.
Originally Posted By: eddie1261
Originally Posted By: musiclover
Been using a passive video card for years (doesn't have a fan to cool it) the Nvidia 710, runs great, photo and games run good with it.
Is it the GForce 710? I have that card because it has 4 HDMI outs on it and I run 3 monitors.
What it will "mess with" is typically not driver driven. Your current drivers don't get removed or changed. What happens is a video card with HDMI will want to become your primary audio device because HDMI by nature sends audio. You just need to go to the card's interface using their provided software and disable the audio on the card. Your existing drivers will then become default and you will be back where you started. I can say that from experience because I too said "What the heck is THIS now" when I suddenly found my Focusrite was no longer my enabled audio source after changing to that video card.
This is the one I use, but my primary requirement was the 4 HDMIs rather than 4gb or RAM This one only has 2gb.
Note that your options may be directed by the kind of slot you have open. Mine uses a PCI Express x1. If I went to more RAM I think I would need to go to a motherboard with a PCI 2.0 slot for the bus to support that VRAM. That one Steve or Harv may be able to shed more light on. They are more into the hardware than I am.
Passive cards are great for music-only machines, as they'll reduce noise. And you're right on the mark for the HDMI audio - then again, I've never had a problem with it as I always use an external audio interface with it's own ASIO driver, so my DAWs never try to select the HDMI as it's not an ASIO device.
Originally Posted By: musiclover
To be honest unless a user is a dedicated gamer then I think no need for an expensive card, I have a lot of older games Half life 2, Desperadoes, for all that, more than happy with it. As far as I can see will run Video software fine as well.
Half-Life 2 is still one of the best games ever created. No real need to play many newer games than that!
That said, I don't practice what I preach there - I'm in the process of building a new gaming machine - i5 11400, GTX 1060 6gb, 32gb ram, 2tb NVMe SSD, and I'll be picking up a Playstation 5 as soon as I can find one the scalpers haven't got to...
So, people deeper into hardware may be able to answer this.
The computer I am using right now in a i5-4590 with 4 cores, and the box has 16gb of RAM. I use it to watch Spectrum TV while I am in here. The video card is a GeForce GT 710 which I believe only has 1 GB of RAM on it.
I also like to play backgammon on my computer. I play a web based game from 247games.com.
When I play backgammon with that TV streaming, the game is jerky. Do I need more SYSTEM RAM or a video card with more RAM in IT to stop the jerkiness?
So, people deeper into hardware may be able to answer this.
The computer I am using right now in a i5-4590 with 4 cores, and the box has 16gb of RAM. I use it to watch Spectrum TV while I am in here. The video card is a GeForce GT 710 which I believe only has 1 GB of RAM on it.
I also like to play backgammon on my computer. I play a web based game from 247games.com.
When I play backgammon with that TV streaming, the game is jerky. Do I need more SYSTEM RAM or a video card with more RAM in IT to stop the jerkiness?
Depends on the exact software, but the GT 710 is a fairly slow card. Great for normal desktop tasks, but if there's any graphics acceleration necessary it'll be slow. Probably nothing to do with video ram, but more with the GPU itself.
The i5 is probably fast enough for what you're doing, and 16gb is probably ok unless the Task Manager is telling you the RAM is all in use.
When I play backgammon with that TV streaming, the game is jerky. Do I need more SYSTEM RAM or a video card with more RAM in IT to stop the jerkiness?
Stuttering is generally an indication that you have maxed out your VRAM. Once that happens, most games will start to stream out of system RAM and run slower. If it starts to run WAY SLOWER with lots of stuttering, that means the game has maxed out your system RAM and started streaming off of the hard drive. So, more system RAM can help. You can also try backing off on your anti ailiasing. With gaming, it all starts with a good GPU, which the GT 710 is not, that is matched with a CPU that is able to take advantage of the good GPU's power.
Between those 2 replies, off to Amazon I go to buy a better video card. Hopefully I can find one with 4gb of RAM and the 4 HDMI ports I need for these monitors.
Keith, you going to get up this way anytime soon? I may even be willing to venture outside the walls of my fortress of technical solitude to meet up with you somewhere.
Well, did testing today. Some things I have to mention.
I usually have Chrome open on one screen and Brave on another. Brave I use to watch TV and monitor a seldom used email account. Since that is all I do, I have no need for a bunch of plugins that were migrated from Chrome when I installed Brave. I deleted all of those plugins from Brave (but not from Chrome) and my CPU usage fell to next to nothing. I then loaded up my backgammon game and my solitaire game, both online browser based games, and they ran smoothly. So the issue was indeed CPU usage. I have been running those 2 browsers at the same time for so long now it never occurred to me that they were both running.
Between those replies giving me a roadmap of things to check, everything is good now.
Though I will probably still use this as an excuse to buy a new video card. I always liked AMDs. What this does is gives me some lead time to look at my mobo slots, find what I want that will fit, and wait for prices to come down.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-9 includes 900 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!
Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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