A FEW TIPS FOR PURCHASING A PC FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION OR USEING AN EXISTING PC..
(note…instead of commenting in this thread re this topic please…if ive missed anything…
which is easy to do as it's a complex topic…please pm me…and i will post your added tips and attribute them to you…)
these tips apply to a windows pc.
Why the need for this guide ?? simple answer is ive seen too many people over the years make incorrect decisions re this topic and tried to help as many as I could.
This guide is particularly for someone new to music production on a pc ... .and ive tried as much as possible to provide one central reference because so much of this info is scattered around the net. Also by having this series of tips, when a new person encounters problems , this topic might be useful for the person and thus maybe save lots of time/posts helping the person.
Here's the tips.
1..DPC LATENCY.
please read this…
https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/solving-dpc-latency-issues/in summary its important imho to purchase a pc that has low microsecond count in itself without attaching anything to it. the lower the better imho.
One reason people encounter problems is high dpc count.
For example, a common mistake is to use any old pc.
before using any pc i would urge the reader to run the utility mentioned in the article above..
ie latency monitor. …and really understand the topic of dpc latency by googling.
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymonThe purpose of latency mon is to assess the suitability of a pc for audio/music production.
but how to test prior to purchase ? can be an issue.
answer…i only deal with people that either let me run latency mon prior to purchase
or have a 30 day no questions asked return policy which is plenty of time to test.
2..ORGANISATIONS THAT TEST PC LATENCY.
I came across this site awhile back that tests dpc of lots and lots of popular pc's.
thus saving you the hassle.
it's highly useful and has a table of microsecond latencies ranked from highest to lowest..
https://www.notebookcheck.net/DPC-Latency-Ranking-Which-laptops-and-Windows-tablets-offer-the-lowest-latency.504376.0.htmlalso an interesting but looong thread......re low latency
https://gearspace.com/board/music-computers/618474-audio-interface-low-latency-performance-data-base.htmlirrespective of the route you go, i would advise getting a 30 day no questions asked return for any pc which gives you adequate time to test the pc with your chosen sound interface and preferably also a decent warranty eg a year.
3..MORE WAYS TO TEST A PC.
you want a pc that's highly responsive to user commands.
There are various indicators that you might have problems with a pc.
for example maybe it comes with bloatware….
an interesting article …(or google what is bloatware ?)
https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/tips-tricks/what-is-bloatware-and-how-can-it-impact-security/In summary, various apps running on your pc and their pc resource usage can impact the primary task of music production and availability of resources for such.
Another clue is…how long does a pc take to boot into windows from cold ?
Some pc's take a loooong time. Ideally you want a fast boot time.
For example, PCs properly set up/acquired can boot into windows in just a few seconds.
so in looking at a pc to buy try and see if you can test how long it takes to boot from cold..
note…NOT from sleep mode but from when it's completely shut off.
There are various other ways to test the suitability of a pc…
..how fast do apps take to load after clicking on an icon ?
on my pc for example my music apps max just take a few secs.
..how fluid is moving between various screens ?
..if you already are a pg user, and it's just a basic indicator, but one more indicator in looking at suitability of a pc for music production is in pg's realband menus action>>test audio performance. This will report a track number. in my case over 200 tracks.
just google for more info on testing a pc….there are various utilities on the net.
also read up the link between single thread and multi thread performance and multi cores viz music production. There are often many debates about such.
one will find the speedier the processor the higher the measured thread counts…..which is good...but...one has to mitigate this with power consumption.
see the following site that tests processor performance…its very useful prior to pc purchase…
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/BUT a caution…notice the power consumption of the processor you're interested in.i didnt choose myself the fastest processor due to not only my budget but also how quickly tech changes. also i wanted a pc that ran quiete for music production.
otherwise i have to put it in another room….fan noise can be an issue…
although there are products to mitigate this.
4..ASSESS YOUR NEEDS PRIOR TO PC PURCHASE.
a constant issue ive come across over the years is someone not assessing their needs
prior to purchasing re track and plug in counts.
i have modest needs in this area and tend to use less than 40 tracks and a sprinkling of plug ins
each having low pc resource usage.
but the big mistake ive seen people make over the years is using a pc that isnt capable of meeting their needs. ie they try to run a slew of tracks and plug ins on an underpowered pc.
some plugins for example can be quite demanding re pc resources.
some multutrack software will report various stats like plugin cpu usage….which is useful.
The above is another example of maybe getting a 30 day return on any purchase in case your chosen pc cant handle your workload needs.
Sometimes if you can it might be a good idea to rent a pc for a while to get a feel for things.
you can always of course bounce down a bunch of tracks to one track like the old days…
but some people dont want to do that.
5..PURCHASE OPTIONS.
Buying a pc for music production imho is complex compared to many apps a user might run.
One thing I did for years was buy what are called 'off lease' refurbished pc's from companies that specialised in such. These are often extremely powerful for just a couple of hundred dollars.
the reader might not believe me …but truthfully i never had one problem with refurbs.
they just ran day in/out ... .maybe i was lucky.
the advantage of such a purchasing strategy is the refurbs have been cleaned up of any bloat,
fully tested, often upgraded by the refurbisher with newer storage technology eg ssd's,
The OS is pre-loaded…and boot fast. What's not to like ?
just make sure you get a good warranty. Once again try and get a 30 day return if you can.
so you have a test time.
Typically you will find brands like HP , Dell, and Lenovo as examples for sale.
Some of these refurbs feature very high end processors. lots of ram and very fast ssd storage.
just google 'refurbished powerful pc with warranty'.
Now having said the above, be aware some low end inexpensive new pc's using current generation processors and e.g. m2 ssd storage (<<which i love..) are getting quite powerful.
In summary the tech landscape is changing for finding inexpensive low cost new pc's.
Here's another option for purchasing a pc for music production…viz buying from a builder of pc's that specialises in custom built turnkey pc's for recording studios. there are many builders if you google…eg
https://www.studiocat.com/en-cahttps://silentpc.com/daw/?gclid=CjwKCAiA-vOsBhAAEiwAIWR0TUHU5QSvq-Hy--Jf4oSX0reF7BAY89TM8CuQ1vXHDhNNaOr-cW98BRoCZ74QAvD_BwEnote…they are just examples of many. I have no links with anyone.
just google for more builders of pc's for recording studios.
some companies will also install the sound interface and all your music apps often.
so the pc is delivered and you literally just switch it on…and away you go….recording.
i mention the above because many musicians over the years have said to me 'i dont wanna be a tech i just wanna record songs'. but i feel no matter the purchasing route a muso goes the more tech knowledge a person has re pc the easier time one will have doing music production.
(whether mac or pc…this is a truism imho.)
there are lots of sources that will help you re purchasing decisions re not just pc's but all manner of recording gear….eg..
..this pg site of course.
..reaper.fm
..gearspace.com
..you tube.
to name a few ... .just google for lots of info on any gear you're considering.
6..THE NET.
this is a contentious topic ie…should i put my new pc on the net ?
please… i dont want a big argument on this topic….It's the user's decision.
I personally dont put any music production pc on the net. thus there is no possibility of
It picking up a bug whatever. In addition software for the net and security uses resources.
it's going to vary depending on pc configuration of course.
all i can say is always ive kept my music pc's off the net so there is no possibility of contamination. in addition…thus there is no possibility of a running net process/task interrupting the primary activity of music production…..which ive seen on occasion.
Maybe this is one reason I never get problems ?
Another argument for not putting your shiny new pc on the net is there are tons of under 100 buck refurb pc's and tablets one can use for the net.. For example, this chromebook I'm using for this topic was 90 bucks. Finally, if you need to download music app updates you can use a cheap old pc like i do.
If you doubt my advice, start a thread on gearspace.com where zillions of studios hang out both large and small and start a thread 'Do you put your music production pc on the net' ??youll get lots of interesting answers.
or just search gearspace for old threads on this topic.
7..PC CONFIGURATIONS.
there are lots of different pc configs.
personally i recommend a processor that's at least 3 ghz with good thread performance
for music production…see this table….
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.htmlplus lots of ram…i use 16 gb. and i prefer m.2 solid state storage.
no reason not to use m.2 ssd. It's really cheap now.
If you anticipate using tons of tracks and high resource usage plug-ins then you might want to look at high end faster but costly processors ... .and more ram.
and remember the low microsecond dpc latency this essay started with ?
also if your interest is rolling your own pc there is a ton of info on the net and eg you tube…
'building a music production pc'.
and the above is all i'll say on this topic as there are so many opinions out there and configurations.
Let me say I'm not particularly fond of laptops due to lack of expandability compared to desktops and towers etc.
8..CHOICE OF AUDIO INTERFACE.
there are lots of sound interfaces…a bewildering array.
to keep this brief there are two threads i started here on pg related to sound interfaces
that might help and that pg users use with pg software for music production…to save me retyping here are the two links…
https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=635707#Post635707https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=718708#Post718708now let me say something of importance….i dont just go out and get any old interface.
This is a critically important purchase as it's a core piece of gear for music production…... .
As such I would recommend renting an interface for a week from your favorite local gear store as it will cost little, and test it out with your pc….ive done this in the past.
and thus see how it performs with no glitches. …and its low latency.
Most reputable gear stores know which interfaces or mixers with interfaces dont give a user problems. Once again there are lots of reviews on the net.
Finally, I recommend setting windows and biab and rb and the audio interface to 44.1/16 bit.
This has always worked best for me.(and NO i dont want to get into a long 'argy bargy debate on the merits of different sampling rates and bit depths.)
9..SO YOU GOT A 'CLUNKER' // OPTIMISING A PC FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION.
Right upfront let me say that if you have never optimised a pc for music production you might
want to use a reputable pc tech to optimize your pc as there are so many settings.
My opinions on this topic are different now than in the past because you can get for a few hundred bucks a nice powerful refurb pc off lease or new pc...thus sometimes it's not worth upgrading an old clunker ... .just donate it to someone or use it for net surfing.
but if you insist on using some old clunker there are a few things you can do.
one being to upgrade the old clunky rotating drive to a ssd.
in addition you should consider optimising the clunker to be suitable for music production.
(note what follows also applies to new pc's.)
Here are a few example valuable links re optimising an old or new pc for music production.
https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/windows-11-pc-optimization-for-recording/https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=654003#Post654003(note also pg faq's on this pg site.)
also various sound interface manufacturers have usefull optimisation guidea eg…
https://audient.com/tutorial/optimise-your-windows-pc-for-audio/https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4408057193362--Optimising-Windows-11-for-AudioThere are many many other guides on the net and you tube.
just google 'optimising a pc for music production'.
let me reiterate , dont mess around with a pc's settings if all this is new to you.
get a qualified pc tech.
to come full circle before using a new pc or a clunker for music production your first stop imho
should be to run the latency monitor utility which will assess the suitability of your pc for music production.Here's the link again…
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymonnote...often its a driver issue re latency.
10..GETTING HELP FROM YOUR FELLOW PG USERS.
its important to note that other users wont be able to easily help you without knowing your settings.
so if you encounter problems its best to post pictures of the following settings.
..your windows playback and recording settings includeing the advanced tab.
..your settings for audio and midi drivers in biab or rb.
..your sound interface settings. Newer interfaces normally have a desktop utility with the settings.
I hope the above is of use to users new to music production.
its a very complex subject.
happiness.
om. 🇨🇦. 🇬🇧