4th Eden Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 So my trusty Laptop Workstation has gone one windows update too far...now in a perpetual loop... this was purchased in 2012. Time to reinstall all my software...DATA is safe on a DATA drive so its all programs. So Im on the hunt for a replacement workstation...this time a tower/desktop.. My specs as I see it would be as follows: i7 processor... 16gb ram...240GB ssd...2TB HD on Win10 pro.. Agree/disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Jarvis Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Personally I'd double the size of the SSD if not get a 1TB one...the prices have really come down. Also, if you do a lot of orchestral or complicted projects with a lot of sample libraries bump your ram to 24gb, otherwise 16 is fine! And you want a third drive as well...SSD for Windows and programs, plugins, etc., 2nd drive for sample libraries, 3rd drive will be your audio drive...save your projects here. Also start thinking about using more than one monitor...one for the console, one for tracks, and a third for other programs, plugin GUIs, browser, etc. I have 3 monitors right now...28" main, 32" above that, and a 22" to the right...waiting for delivery of a 10' dvi cable so I can hook up another 22" to the right of my keyboards to view better while recording my keys. Bill 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 (edited) If you've ONLY got programs on your OS drive, then a 240 SSD should be fine... however, that's assuming any sample-based packages have their sample data on another drive. In this isn't case go with at least 1TB. Although a standard HDD might be tempting as it's much cheaper, any sample based synths (Komplete, Omnisphere etc) will be MUCH slower at loading. I've got a 250GB C drive with programs only, a 500GB SSD E drive with the "ProgramData" parts of (i.e. samples for) NI Komplete, Omnisphere, AIR Complete & Sonitus stuff, and another 500GB SSD F drive for my own samples & project files. D drive is my DVD-R. It's worth mentioning my 500GB Program Data drive is almost full. All that's on there is what I mentioned above, plus some 3rd party Kontakt libaries. Oh, and I've got Komplete Standard - there's no way Komplete Ultimate would fit on that drive. So my recommendation would be: OS/Programs drive: 250GB SSD Program Data/Samples : 1TB SSD Projects Drive: 500GB SSD ...and get a 4TB HDD drive for backups. Edited May 27, 2019 by msmcleod 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 9 minutes ago, msmcleod said: If you've ONLY got programs on your OS drive, then a 240 SSD should be fine... however, that's assuming any sample-based packages have their sample data on another drive. In this isn't case go with at least 1TB. Although a standard HDD might be tempting as it's much cheaper, any sample based synths (Komplete, Omnisphere etc) will be MUCH slower at loading. I've got a 250GB C drive with programs only, a 500GB SSD E drive with the "ProgramData" parts of (i.e. samples for) NI Komplete, Omnisphere, AIR Complete & Sonitus stuff, and another 500GB SSD F drive for my own samples & project files. D drive is my DVD-R. It's worth mentioning my 500GB Program Data drive is almost full. All that's on there is what I mentioned above, plus some 3rd party Kontakt libaries. Oh, and I've got Komplete Standard - there's no way Komplete Ultimate would fit on that drive. So my recommendation would be: OS/Programs drive: 250GB SSD Program Data/Samples : 1TB SSD Projects Drive: 500GB SSD ...and get a 4TB HDD drive for backups. yes..thats the mistake i made with the last workstation...program data I think defaults on the C drive ..NI is a bugger for putting all this data on here or I think in my My Docs folder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Cookie Jarvis said: Personally I'd double the size of the SSD if not get a 1TB one...the prices have really come down. Also, if you do a lot of orchestral or complicted projects with a lot of sample libraries bump your ram to 24gb, otherwise 16 is fine! And you want a third drive as well...SSD for Windows and programs, plugins, etc., 2nd drive for sample libraries, 3rd drive will be your audio drive...save your projects here. Also start thinking about using more than one monitor...one for the console, one for tracks, and a third for other programs, plugin GUIs, browser, etc. I have 3 monitors right now...28" main, 32" above that, and a 22" to the right...waiting for delivery of a 10' dvi cable so I can hook up another 22" to the right of my keyboards to view better while recording my keys. Bill agree on all those points..I'd love to push the boat out and whack a 1tb ssd...extra RAM but budget dictates squeezing the spec somewhat... I ve got a 42" Samsung which im happy with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Mark already posted what I was going to. Smaller SSD for the OS with a larger SSD. It's easy now to both install programs as well as redirect "Libraries" ("Documents," "My Pictures," "My Videos," etc.) to the second SSD. Let the smaller SSD handle the OS, registry and temp files while the larger one handles everything else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 2 hours ago, craigb said: Mark already posted what I was going to. Smaller SSD for the OS with a larger SSD. It's easy now to both install programs as well as redirect "Libraries" ("Documents," "My Pictures," "My Videos," etc.) to the second SSD. Let the smaller SSD handle the OS, registry and temp files while the larger one handles everything else. One of the reasons I did this is because I had a dual boot (well, actually I've got a quad boot: Win 10, Win 10 "test" [for testing updates etc], Win 7 64 bit, Win 7 32 bit), but it means all four boots can use the same ProgramData and I don't end up having multiple copies of samples. But it also means my backups are quicker, as I don't have to refresh my back up of the ProgramData drive as often. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted May 30, 2019 Author Share Posted May 30, 2019 Ive now had a spec from a local company based on some of the suggestions: AMD Ryzen 2200G Processor + AMD VEGA 8 Graphics Motherboard featuring 6 x SATA connections + 1 x NVME Drive. Total = 7 Drives. 6 x USB 3.1 + 2 x USB 2.0. 16GB DDR4 RAM 480GB NVME Drive for Windows boot drive. (This is 4 x faster than an SSD.) 1 x 480GB SSD 1 x 3 TB HDD 450W Corsair PSU So Ive not heard of a NVME drive before... for me this is a huge improvement on my current laptop.. but im still unsure about the Ryzen processor... On 5/27/2019 at 11:35 PM, msmcleod said: One of the reasons I did this is because I had a dual boot (well, actually I've got a quad boot: Win 10, Win 10 "test" [for testing updates etc], Win 7 64 bit, Win 7 32 bit), but it means all four boots can use the same ProgramData and I don't end up having multiple copies of samples. But it also means my backups are quicker, as I don't have to refresh my back up of the ProgramData drive as often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRelevant Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 As other have mentioned, I would up the specs of the SSD. Cost have really come down. Planning on upgrading from a 500 GB to a 1 TB SSD in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 14 hours ago, iRelevant said: As other have mentioned, I would up the specs of the SSD. Cost have really come down. Planning on upgrading from a 500 GB to a 1 TB SSD in the near future. just trying to understand the new M.2 SSDs...theres a SATA version up to 600mb p/s and NVMe SSD 2gb+ p/s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starise Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) The M.2 spec is basically a drive on a card. The footprint is much smaller making it great for laptops, though there are plenty of desktop motherboards that have it now too. In order to handle those faster specs, your computer needs the capability to see/use it. I agree with the larger SSD idea. I sort of gravitated in smaller increments with the same end result. I went with a bunch of 500gb Samsung drives. My MOBO has like 10 SATA ports on it. I still have room for a bunch more drives after adding 5. My most recent was a Samung EVO860. This might be a consideration if money is tight since you can go in a more as needed way adding 500gb drives instead of 1TB drives. One other benefit to that is you can keep more specialty files separate on each drive. A builder isn't likely to do that. He will probably just add huge drives unless told otherwise. If adding drives, keep in mind a PC running win 10 Home won't instantly recognize a drive like say, a usb stick or memory card. You'll need to go in and do some basic setup in disk management. It's easy once you know how to do it....I guess that covers a lot of things. Edited May 31, 2019 by Starise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antler Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 (edited) Also keep in mind that any mechanical HDD is going to be louder than an SSD: SSDs don't have any physically moving parts (and so will probably generate less heat; meaning less cooling overall is needed for your PC [in turn possibly meaning quieter PC case fans]). If you can, go for a newer processor architecture, i.e. an i9 if you're going for Intel. If you're after an M2 for speed, I'd recommend using it for the OS/program data, and one or more SSDs for your sample libraries. If you have the chance to spec out the case fans, larger fans provide more cooling with less movement so opt for 12cm fans if available; I also recommend Noctua fans for quietness. Edited June 1, 2019 by antler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 On 6/1/2019 at 9:09 PM, antler said: Also keep in mind that any mechanical HDD is going to be louder than an SSD: SSDs don't have any physically moving parts (and so will probably generate less heat; meaning less cooling overall is needed for your PC [in turn possibly meaning quieter PC case fans]). If you can, go for a newer processor architecture, i.e. an i9 if you're going for Intel. If you're after an M2 for speed, I'd recommend using it for the OS/program data, and one or more SSDs for your sample libraries. If you have the chance to spec out the case fans, larger fans provide more cooling with less movement so opt for 12cm fans if available; I also recommend Noctua fans for quietness. Thanks... Current thinking .. OS drive M.2 512GB SSD Program Data/Libraries/Cakewalk Projects - 960GB SSD VST Libraries (Komplete/Spectrasonics/IK Multimedia etc..) - 3TB HDD Backup/Spare Drive - 3TB HDD 16GB DDR4 RAM AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Eight Core CPU (3.2GHz-4.1GHz/20MB CACHE/AM4) Case has 6x3.0 USB and 4 x USB 2... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 On 5/31/2019 at 3:56 PM, Starise said: The M.2 spec is basically a drive on a card. The footprint is much smaller making it great for laptops, though there are plenty of desktop motherboards that have it now too. In order to handle those faster specs, your computer needs the capability to see/use it. I agree with the larger SSD idea. I sort of gravitated in smaller increments with the same end result. I went with a bunch of 500gb Samsung drives. My MOBO has like 10 SATA ports on it. I still have room for a bunch more drives after adding 5. My most recent was a Samung EVO860. This might be a consideration if money is tight since you can go in a more as needed way adding 500gb drives instead of 1TB drives. One other benefit to that is you can keep more specialty files separate on each drive. A builder isn't likely to do that. He will probably just add huge drives unless told otherwise. If adding drives, keep in mind a PC running win 10 Home won't instantly recognize a drive like say, a usb stick or memory card. You'll need to go in and do some basic setup in disk management. It's easy once you know how to do it....I guess that covers a lot of things. im going for Win10 Pro...yes, this mtgerboard allows for another 4 2.5" drive..Im adding my current one so I will still have 3 left... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 New PC finally arrives tomorrow ready for the big install! Ryzen 7 processor 16gb memory m.2 SSD 500GB (OS drive) 1tb SSD (program data, program files etc ) 2 x 3TB 7200 rpm drives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse g Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 6 hours ago, 4th Eden said: New PC finally arrives tomorrow ready for the big install! Ryzen 7 processor 16gb memory m.2 SSD 500GB (OS drive) 1tb SSD (program data, program files etc ) 2 x 3TB 7200 rpm drives You are fine, install your software and enjoy making music. Wait, don't forget the Lava Lamp!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4th Eden Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 good call! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 14 hours ago, 4th Eden said: New PC finally arrives tomorrow ready for the big install! Ryzen 7 processor 16gb memory m.2 SSD 500GB (OS drive) 1tb SSD (program data, program files etc ) 2 x 3TB 7200 rpm drives 7 hours ago, jesse g said: You are fine, install your software and enjoy making music. Wait, don't forget the Lava Lamp!! Once again, if I may suggest... 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse g Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Very nice Craig!! I have added that to my Christmas wish list for the wife and kids. 🎅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 I have, um, more than one? (But I love 'em!🙂) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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