Laptop recording, will this rig be sufficient?

Stoffeltoo

To the amateur recording boffins, the following question

I purchased a second hand PC that was used for graphic art and design studies. Comes with wondows 8, specs dualcore, HD3000, drr3 1333, I3, 4gig Ram, 2.2ghz.
Will this suffice for recording.
The intention is to keep it standalone with Reaper, selected DXi, VST, VSTi and Band in a Box loaded.

Are the specs sufficient for studio recording? I cannot afford pro-tools and totally dislike Cubase due to its complexity.

Editing will be done on a desktop with all the bells and whistles.

Thanks

morph

That would work without issues EXCEPT trying to record via the normal input ports like the Mic port has latency issues. In other words if you have a track you are playing while recording the recorded track will be slightly out and will have to be manually slid backwards to line up

The best option is to get an Audio Interface that connects via USB2.0 that gives zero latency. You would need something like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 https://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i2 avaiable from Paul Bothers or Mars.

Stoffeltoo

Thanks for the reply Greg.
I do have a 2in4out lexicon audio interface connected to a small 12 channel FX desk.

With ASIO and ASIO4All I have very little latency issues on my current desktop rig

domhatch

hey stof.

ick. windows. ick ick ick. anyways, sounds as though the machine should be strong enough to handle what we would normally throw at these things. what i (in my limited capacity & understanding, and in no particular order) consider to be the most important factors in a machine used in a home recording sitch would be:

- processor (needs to be a quick-thinking machine overall)
- ram
- hdd (space and speed)
- operating system
- what some others don't necessarily consider, but i like a quick graphics card as well (i want to see my waveforms rendered NOW!)

despite the fact that you have a windows pc ?, it seems you have a relatively solid machine there. and reaper is also famous for not putting too much pressure on the cpu, while maximising usage of other free system resources - like ram for instance - at the same time, which helps.

i'd say if you got it at a good price, you could pat yourself on the back. but i wonder - wonder i do - what is the editing desktop equipped with? is it that much bigger and meaner? and also, what's your recording interface?

cheers
dh|

EDITED - coz i made some icky errors.

V8

I R hardly a boffin...considering all the headaches I've had 8)

Setting up your PC/laptop for audio is advised, Native Instruments have damn useful guides for Win7/XP - not sure about 8/10. https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/209571729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing.

I'd dedicate one of your computers for audio only...no internet, no anti virus, etc...Makes a bigger difference than you'd think.

You may want more RAM (8GB) if you can. While Reaper is light on resources...Windows is a hungry beastie and 3rd party plug-ins can eat ram like it's free.

I did write some about interfaces...but you've got one and it works. So we can skip that =D

domhatch

Meron Rigas wrote: I R hardly a boffin...considering all the headaches I've had 8)

Setting up your PC/laptop for audio is advised, Native Instruments have damn useful guides for Win7/XP - not sure about 8/10. https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/209571729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing.

I'd dedicate one of your computers for audio only...no internet, no anti virus, etc...Makes a bigger difference than you'd think.

You may want more RAM (8GB) if you can. While Reaper is light on resources...Windows is a hungry beastie and 3rd party plug-ins can eat ram like it's free.

I did write some about interfaces...but you've got one and it works. So we can skip that =D

here be some hectically important points made by yon meron:
- windows is resource-hungry, so scale down where you can
- unplugging the beastie from the interpipes is a great way to head off down this journey, coz:
- you don't need interpipes and:
- you don't need anti-virus, etc - all the horrid thingies that come with being connected

one of the benefits of working on windows (NO! i did not type that out loud!) is that access to what is running in the background and chomping your system resources, is quicker and easier than on a mac for us average types. of course, you do need to know what you can and can not turn off without the system going ??? on you.

also, make sure you are running the correct version of reaper for your machine. don't ask me, i don't know for sure. maybe someone else can help you? i'd imagine on windows 8 you'd need the 64-bit version of reaper, but there's an outside chance the 32-bit is the correct version. you'd probably find the final word on this on the reaper home page, check there fer sher.

oooooooor... you could always just swap both out for a single mac? and never have to worry again? ?
dh|

Stoffeltoo

Lol!! a Mac! Never thought I'd ever think of it!
Nah! Invested too much Do$h in other software already. I am comfortable with windows OS and really try to keep it simple.

My other laptop is almost ready to go to the man in the machine. Most of my recordings for compos were done on it but it started too hang, hard disk makes funny clackety noises ??? I have too reboot more than once a day and battery is shot.

Watched FB instrument traders and the like but the ou's are still steep with their second hand prices for Apple products.

domhatch

Stoffeltoo wrote: Watched FB instrument traders and the like but the ou's are still steep with their second hand prices for Apple products.

ja nê, therein squats the toad. macs are expensive. but and however, i have had the same machine for the past three years, and see no particular need - or reason - to upgrade anything for at least another three. and prior to that my macbook (which is still hanging on) went for a good 6 before i upgraded. that said, i did go for the best i could possibly afford each time.

i guess my needs are also min. i don't do much in the way of recording, i just get what i can out of my equipment (and talent) ? although i'm hoping to fix that from next year. so maybe this mac fanboy will come running back to microsoft's open arms, eh?

who knows...
dh|

Stoffeltoo

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/02/27/bpb-freeware-studio-best-free-delay-vst-plugins/

Hi Dom, Maybe worth a peek?

Stoffeltoo

Err, Sorry, wrong post :-[

V8

Stoffeltoo wrote: Lol!! a Mac! Never thought I'd ever think of it!

I know...sigh

I dunno, the jury is still out for me. I think a decently specced windows machine should be as capable as a mac. With a few inclusions - only does audio, no antivirus/windows firewall/defender bloatware. No internet, disable wifi/modems/lan.

Interface - depends on your uses - for me I'd want one with great RTL scores (on windows) for tracking software effects and instruments.

domhatch

Stoffeltoo wrote: Err, Sorry, wrong post :-[

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: never mind stof, i found the right one. thanks mate, much appreciated. and thanked.

Lu22

Meron Rigas wrote:
Stoffeltoo wrote: Lol!! a Mac! Never thought I'd ever think of it!
I know...sigh

I dunno, the jury is still out for me. I think a decently specced windows machine should be as capable as a mac. With a few inclusions - only does audio, no antivirus/windows firewall/defender bloatware. No internet, disable wifi/modems/lan.

Interface - depends on your uses - for me I'd want one with great RTL scores (on windows) for tracking software effects and instruments.

Well I'm running windows 10, with defender running, several peripheral management apps running too and I have yet to notice any latency. That being said it is a +- 18 grand gaming rig, but at the price of mac's nowadays its far better bang for buck.

My question is why even use laptops for recording? The screens are tiny, the keyboards suck and at "equivalent" specs (A laptop's i7 3.0ghz will never outperform a desktop i7 3.0ghz) the price difference is insane. What reason is there to use a laptop other than mobility?

V8

Lu22 wrote:
Meron Rigas wrote:
Stoffeltoo wrote: Lol!! a Mac! Never thought I'd ever think of it!
I know...sigh

I dunno, the jury is still out for me. I think a decently specced windows machine should be as capable as a mac. With a few inclusions - only does audio, no antivirus/windows firewall/defender bloatware. No internet, disable wifi/modems/lan.

Interface - depends on your uses - for me I'd want one with great RTL scores (on windows) for tracking software effects and instruments.
Well I'm running windows 10, with defender running, several peripheral management apps running too and I have yet to notice any latency. That being said it is a +- 18 grand gaming rig, but at the price of mac's nowadays its far better bang for buck.

My question is why even use laptops for recording? The screens are tiny, the keyboards suck and at "equivalent" specs (A laptop's i7 3.0ghz will never outperform a desktop i7 3.0ghz) the price difference is insane. What reason is there to use a laptop other than mobility?

I ain't draggin your rig to a gig!

Basically that's my reason, the laptop has done duty as my rig (laptop, interface + midi floorboard) at gigs. And it's a crappy i3 (but tiny 13in) - so I've had to consider resource management if I want to avoid glitches/drop outs.

101%, you'll far better bang for buck building up a desktop rig. Although when you start getting loads of tracks running and some poorly coded plug-ins (that you have to have 6 instances of) and try and run your interface at 32 samples for low RTL, you'd possibly notice a glitch/drop out or two when your anti virus does a update or some other background process decides it's a good time to update.

At home, my lappie is hooked up to a 32in widescreen and wireless keyboard+mouse. Couch bound mixing is underrated :?

Lu22

Meron Rigas wrote: I ain't draggin your rig to a gig!

Basically that's my reason, the laptop has done duty as my rig (laptop, interface + midi floorboard) at gigs. And it's a crappy i3 (but tiny 13in) - so I've had to consider resource management if I want to avoid glitches/drop outs.

101%, you'll far better bang for buck building up a desktop rig. Although when you start getting loads of tracks running and some poorly coded plug-ins (that you have to have 6 instances of) and try and run your interface at 32 samples for low RTL, you'd possibly notice a glitch/drop out or two when your anti virus does a update or some other background process decides it's a good time to update.

At home, my lappie is hooked up to a 32in widescreen and wireless keyboard+mouse. Couch bound mixing is underrated :?

Hahaha yes the thing is insanely heavy.

Have you considered replacing the hard drive with a solid state? They're by no means cheap but they are crazy fast and I've read several articles stating that they can drastically improve performance on older laptops.

32" screens definitely make things easier.