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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20
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Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 20 |
AMD has their x6 processors out now. $200 at www.newegg.com. They have gotten rave reviews. They also overclock very nicely if you want to squeeze a little extra speed out of them.
Jeff
Custom built computer
I7 920 processor over clocked to 3.8 ghz - water cooled
Win 7 64 bit
6 gig memory
2 tb raid 1 hard drive
40 inch monitor
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48 |
Peter, you've got a great program, and I'm having a fun time using it, and exploring all of the features. You've packed a huge number of features in BiaB and Real Band, and many of these are challenging my musical knowledge. On the threading, all of these features show up as generally about 20 active threads (it varies from 10 to 30 or so) at any one time. I think the only time a programmer would really try to intervene is when you know a subroutine is going to be a resource hog, so you try to give it priority and its own core (or 'hyperthread' = fake core) or memory until if finishes. I generally am scared of second guessing the compiler or operating system. It's not so much that you can't do better, but the odds are stacked towards you getting in completely wrong.
Jazzmammal, I think there is some real street cred in recycling your old cases -- I take pride in the fact that I didn't even buy this case; it was given to me by a friend who had already used it for a few years. I'm going to see how long I can keep it on the road.
Jeff, I had seen the write-up on the AMD 6-cores (Thuban was their internal code name) which have L1/L2/L3 cache and DDR3. The two core Phenom II uses the same cores (the K10 cores) and basically salvages rejects from the 4 core chips (chip harvesting) with two cores disabled. Because of this, you get a real discount ~$85 wo fan. And you get that same 6mb L3 cache shared by two rather than six cores, which should help predictive execution for a single program (but who knows). And they all clock at 3-4Mhz.
But I think just as important is the memory access -- I'm guessing that RT/RB are really memory intensive; probably the sequencing part as well. On my monitor, BiaB is the biggest memory consumer (around 200 MB out of 2GB or 10%) of the active programs besides the system. And I suspect the read/write activity is pretty high. So having DDR3 (twice the transfer rate of DDR2) and a 64-bit fetch (which you can have on Win7 and Mac) is perhaps just as important as cores. And I like to have a lot of onboard memory (at least 4GB) so the disk can page into the memory.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48 |
BTW Jeff, the best deal, if you wanted to go the AMD Phenom II X6 processor route is to buy Dell's Studio XPS 7100 which has this processor, a Foxconn board (produced to Dell specs ... a good deal), CD R/W, 1TB HD power supply, onboard ATI graphics (AMD owns ATI) and nice box all for $799. Don't add anything, but just buy your extras from Newegg. I have the forerunner of this (with Athelon II X4) which was about $600. You can't build them for this price.
Chris
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48 |
Just a quick note on my setup. I've installed my memory (the Corsair, which is OK but not great) and the AMD chip and Motherboard:
ASUS M4A88TD-M ATX Motherboard $98
AMD Phenom II X2 3.2 GHz 2x512 KB L2 + L3 Cache Dual-Core $89
I figured I try out an option I'd seen on other forums of unlocking the cores on the AMD. AMD basically makes one chip -- a 4-processor Phenom II x4 ... if they disable the l3 cache, they call it an Athlon (dropping 30% off the price); if they disable one or two cores, they call it an x3 or x2 (knocking 25% to 50% off the price). It's all marketing so they can address different markets and pricepoints. Blackbox chips can be overclocked (the 3.2Ghz can be made higher ... in the extreme, they've gone up to 7GHz with this chip); blue and green box can't.
Fortunately, Asus has motherboards (e.g., M4A88TD-M) that override AMD's settings -- just flip a physical switch on the MB or go to the startup menu. It takes no time at all. I was able to turn on all four cores and overclock to ~3.5 GHz within a few minutes and everything is stable.
Realtracks and Realdrums compile in <3 seconds, even if I have RealTracks on all of the sequencer tracks. I checked and all four cores are being used about equally during this process -- I think that Win 7 does most of the load balancing and assignment of cores.
Anyway, if you are looking for a quick upgrade on the cheap, this is a great way to do it.
Last edited by westland; 10/24/10 12:58 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333 |
That is a very good report, thanks!
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
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Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697 |
Great report, thanks Chris!
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48 |
Thanks John and Bob ... here are some pictures ...  From the Store  This old cabinet  This is what's in the boxes Removed my old board and DRAM  New MB assembled  Bolted into the freshly vacuumed case (amazing how much dust these accumulate in a couple of years)  Finished, almost, I need to neaten up the drives 
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 48 |
Here is the final Win7 performance comparison of the hacked $200 ASUS/PhenomIIX2 system versus a commercial budget Dell (the Dell counterpart to my hacked system is now about $800) 
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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