List of performing desktop DAW configurations

Hello,

we’d like to gather a list of well performing DAW systems you use with Cubase.
Besides helping out other fellow users, it will provide us all with valuable information.

Please, keep it clean and tidy, no discussions and chatting, only information about the system with a few technical remarks aimed at helping others to understand the setup’s peculiarities.

I’ll post mine below, you can use that as (sort of) a ‘template’.
Mac users can do just the same.

Just disregard / delete the entries which do not apply to you.

Thank you in advance to those who will join.

DAW #1

Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550
PSU: Corsair CX-600
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-HD3
CPU: i5 4690K (with Arctic Freezer 11-LP cooler)
RAM: Corsair Dominator XMS DDR3 1600MHz (2x 8GB)
GPU: Sapphire HD 7850 2GB (2x ASUS VH242H 24" LCD)
Operating System: Windows 8.1 x64
OS Disk: SSD Crucial MX100 256GB
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB (4 partitions: Sound Library, Software Archive, Audio Data, System Archive and backup)
Webcam / Capture: none
Add-on cards: none
Other: SanDisk Cruzer 32GB for licenses and installers backup, eLicenser (both on internal USB2 socket), Belkin USB Wi-Fi

DAW: Cubase 8.5.0 and 8.0.30, 64-bit
Other Audio Software (stand-alone): Overloud TH2, TH3 and Mark Studio 2, Studio Devil VGA II, AMP and VBA, Amplitube, Absynth 5, Massive, z3ta+ 2, Rhino 2
Other software: Paint Shop Pro X5

Audio Device: Steinberg UR (various), latest Yamaha Steinberg USB driver
Latency: 96 samples for tracking - 512 or 1024 for mixing
MIDI Devices: Nektar Panorama P6, latest install package
Other Peripherals: Steinberg CMC CH, TP and PD

BIOS: All C-States, Turbo Boost, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled (no HT option for the i5 4690K)
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hybernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance. Steinberg Power scheme disabled.

Most used VSTi: Superior Drummer 2, EZDrummer, Padshop Pro, Dark Planet, Absynth 5, Massive, Albino 3, Spectral, Rhino 2, z3ta+ (1 & 2)
Most used VST FX: RND Portico, Waves SSL, DMG Audio, Stillwell, PSP Audioware, Overloud, Voxengo, SPL, Elysia, Brainworx, FabFilter, Valhalla DSP, Studio Devil, TSE Audio, IK Multimedia, Nomad Factory, Ignite Amps, ToneBoosters, Audio Damage, u-he, Cubase plug-in set and more. All 64-bit.

Most common use-cases: Mixing / Composing / Tracking and overdubbing
Most common project type: Mid-size projects (60-80 total tracks), 5 to 10 VSTi instances, extensive insert FX use (120-150 instances, can go up to 200)

Remarks: The DAW system is powered via a UPS, APC RS 1000
All software is legally purchased and properly licensed.
Self-built system, mid 2015


DAW #2

[Edit: No longer in use as of May 2016]

Here’s my DAW setup. I’ve had this system for over 2 years and it has been rock solid on Win7/8.1, Cubase 7/7.5/8/8.5

Case: Codegen 4U 19" Rack Case
PSU: Corsair
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4, Intel X79, S 2
CPU: Intel i7 4930K (Water cooled)
RAM: 4 x 4GB Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black 1,333MHz
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N96TSL (4GB, Nvidia GeForce 9600GT)
Operating System: Windows 8.1 x64
OS Disk: SSD Crucial M4 128GB
Storage: 1TB and 500GB
Webcam / Capture: none
Add-on cards: Lycom PE-101 2 Port Firewire 1394a. TP Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-e Wi-fi card
Other: Netgear GS105UK Gigabit ethernet switch

DAW: Cubase 8.5.0 and 8.0.30 and 7.5 (all x64)
Other Audio Software (stand-alone): none
Other software: Adobe After Effects. Not much other software installed.

Audio Device: Steinberg MR816CSX, latest driver
Latency: Usually run very high latencies as I am mixing most of the time and use my MR816 for low latency vocal tracking but this system runs fine at lowest buffer setting of 32.

MIDI Devices: Nektar Panorama P6, latest install package
Other Peripherals: Avid S3, Avid Artist Transport. Previously used Steinberg CC-121 and CMC-PD / CMC-QC

BIOS: Details TBC but broadly similar to Fabio’s post above.

Most used VSTi: Sylenth, Kontakt, Serum, Spire

Most used VST FX: Sonnox, Waves, Soundtoys, iZotope, Slate

Most common use-cases: Composing / Mixing / Vocal Tracking. Small amount of composing to picture.

Most common project type: 50-150 tracks. Lots of VSTi’s and FX.

Here’s mine - which works incredibly well
Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550
PSU:Coolernaster RS500
Motherboard: Asus Z97-K
CPU: i5 4690K Standard Intel HS
RAM: Kingston HX318C10FK2 4GB x 2
GPU: Intel HD4600 - built in CPU display - 3 monitors DVI/HDMI/VGA
Operating System: Windows 8.1 x64/Windows 10 x64 Dual Boot
OS Disk: SSD Samsung EVO 850 128GB
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB x 2


DAW: Cubase 8.5.0 and 8.0.30, 64-bit
Other Audio Software Native Komplete 10


Audio Device: Behringer XR18
Latency: 128
MIDI Devices: Roland old Midi controller - midi into XR18

BIOS: All C-States, Turbo Boost, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled (no HT option for the i5 4690K)
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hybernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance. Steinberg Power scheme disabled.

Most used VSTi: Kontakt 5
Most used VST FX: Steinberg built in

Most common use-cases: Mixing/ Tracking
Most common project type: Live band recordings


Self-built system, mid 2015

Case: Chenbro Rackmount 4U Server Chassis RM42300-F
PSU: KingWin Stryker 500-Watt ATX 500 Fanless Power Supply STR-500
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi rev1.1
CPU: i7-3770K (with Noctua NH-C14 cooler)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport Very Low Profile 32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR3-1600 1.35V
GPU: Integrated Intel HD4000, 2 ASUS 24" monitors (HDMI/DVI)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home x64
OS Disk: SSD Samsung 850 EVO 256GB
Storage: HDD WD RE 2TB (Audio), HDD WD Green 1TB (Documents), SSD Intel 335 256GB (Samples), SSD mSATA MyDigitalSSD 256GB (Samples)
Webcam: Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920
Add-on cards: Universal Audio UAD2 Duo PCIe, Gigabyte WiFi/Bluetooth card (BT disabled)
Other: eLicenser, iLok, Fractal Audio AxeFx2 USB

DAW: Cubase 8.5.0 and 8.0.30, 64-bit
Other Audio Software (stand-alone): Ozone 7 Advanced, Sibelius 7.5
Other software: Adobe Premiere CS5.5, MS Office 2013 (Word & Excel), Cyberlink MediaEspresso, Power2Go 9 and PowerDVD 13

Audio Device: Allen & Heath ZED R16 Firewire mixing board
Latency: 128 or 256 samples at 48kHz for tracking and mixing, 32 samples for MIDI Guitar 2 use, ASIOGuard on high
MIDI Devices: E-MU XMidi X1 USB, Roland UM-ONE USB
Other Peripherals: Behringer UltraCurve 2496 (Monitor EQ), Behringer ADA 8200 (ADAT extension of the ZED R16), Lexicon MX200 (tracking reverb)

BIOS: All C-States, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled, HT on, Turbo Boost permanently fixed for all cores to 4 GHz, Internal audio and LAN off
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hibernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance. Steinberg Power scheme disabled.

Most used VSTi: Superior Drummer 2, EZDrummer 2, EZKeys, Dark Planet, Halion Sonic SE2, PLAY 4.3.0 (Choirs, Stormdrum 3, Voices Of Passion) Kontakt Player 5, Ivory 2, Mr Ray & VB3 (32bit, SB internal bridge), others all 64bit
Most used VST FX: UAD2 plugs, Cubase plug-in set, all 64-bit

Most common use-cases: Mixing / Composing / Tracking and overdubbing / Notation / light Video editing
Most common project type: Mid/small-size projects (30-50 total tracks), 15 to 20 VSTi instances, light insert FX use (20-30 instances), Standard Template is 22GB in RAM

Remarks: The DAW system is powered via a UPS (APC Pro 1300), Self-built system, mid 2013

Eye-4800-SHORT, 550W PSU
Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H, BIOS F8
i7 4790K @ 4.4 GHz
2 x G. Skill F3-10666CL9-4GBRL (4 GB DDR3 1333 CL9 CR 1T)
AMD Radeon HD 6450
Transcend SSD 370 512GB (TS512GSSD370)
2 x Samsung HD403LJ
DVBSky S952 V3 PCIe
Steinberg Midex 8
RME Digi 9652 Project Hammerfall, ADI-8 Pro
Latency: Always 64 samples / 1.5 ms @ 44.1 kHz

OS: Windows 10 v1511 x86
DAW: Cubase 5.5.3 (work), 8.0.20 (play), 8.5.0 (laugh)
Other Software: Office 2013, Lightroom, PS CS2, much more

Most used VSTi:
Steinberg Halion Sonic 2 (work horse)
Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2
GA One

Most used VST plugins:
Valhalla Vintage Verb
LISP
Sonalksis SV-315 + SV-517
AKAI DecaBuddy
FerricTDS
Voxengo SPAN
ENTTEC DMXIS

BIOS: C3/C6 off, C1E on, speedstep off, HT On
Qualcomm onboard NIC off (!)

OS:
disabled prefetch/superfetch (!!), BCDEDIT /set increaseuserva 2800, …

Most common use-cases: Tracking, on stage use incl. VSTi and VSTfx
Most common project type: Whole band setup, live mixing, always smaller than 1.2 GB (Cubase 5.5) or 1.4 GB (Cubase 8.x)

Self built system, 2015.

Case - generic mid-tower
Motherboard - Intel H77
Cpu - i7 3770, 8mb cache
Cpu sockett - LGA 1155
Memory - Kingston, 16g, DDR3
Video - ATI HD 7770 2g
SSD - Samsing 230, 256g (OS, samples)
HD - Seagate, 1T (Audio)
Audio - Roland quad capture

Midi - Edirol PCR

OS - win7 64

DAW’s installed - Cubase from versions 7 - 8.5, Wavelab 8.53


Most vst/vsti’s from from Fxpansion, Psp, Acustica, Fabfilter, Steinberg, Voxengo, Tokyo Dawn Labs, D16, u-he.

Disabled - onboard sound, video sound drivers (within ATI drivers), WIFI, any power saving states, esp. for usb. I don’t use usb3 for anything. No tweaks.

PSU: Fatal1ty 750W
CPU: i7-3930k @3.9Ghz (Intel RTS2011 Liquid Cooling)
RAM: 64GB DDR3 1866Mhz
GPU: ASUS HD7970-DC2 TOP 1Ghz 3GB (3xHPZR2240w monitors)
Operating System: Windows 10 64bit Pro (via clean install)
OS Disk: SSD Samsung 500GB Evo
Storage: 3 x 2TB Seagate
Add-on cards: Firewire
Other: Connected to internet via Ethernet to BT Home Hub 5 (upload 7Mbps download 38 Mbps)

DAW: Cubase 8.0.30, 64-bit
Other software: Photoshop CS6 (64 bit) and Bridge (64bit). Office365. Argyll CMS, Quicktime.

Latency: 64 samples
MIDI Interface: MOTU128
Audio Interface: M-audio Profire 2626 via Firewire

BIOS: XMP
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hibernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance. Steinberg Power scheme disabled.

Most common use-cases: Composing and Scoring / Tracking and overdubbing/ Mixing
Most common project type: Small-size projects (25-60 tracks mix of Midi and Audio)

All software is legally purchased and properly licensed.
Self-built system, 2013. Software rebuilt with Windows 10 Nov 2015)

Win 7 - 64 bit
Asus P8Z77Vpro
I7 3770k processor
32gb Corsair vengeance 1600 ram
Asus HD7790 graphics card with quad monitors
Corsair CX650 modular PSU
RME FF400 ,Raydat and Adi8 pro convertors
Cubase Keyboard
CMC Qc
Midex 8
Automap
Cubase 6/7/8/8.5
Halion 5
Uad Pci card
Storage : 2 x Samsung SSD 240gb drives ,2 x 7200rpm sata drives

All software has been kept to the minimum , no windows updates or internet connection and this system runs like a dream with all versions of 64 bit Cubase

Here is my system -

Model Name: iMac late 2013
Model Identifier: iMac14,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 8 GB
Video Intel Iris Pro 1536

OSX - 10.11.2

DAW - Cubase 7.5, 8.5.0 and 64 Bit

Audio Device Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 - (initially configured under El Capitan to run as AutoAgg Device.)
Input Latency 8.073ms
Output Latency 7.846ms
Sample Rate 44.100 Khz

MIDI Devices -
Nektar Impact LX61
Alexis Q25
iPad via Alesis iO Dock2

Most Used VSTi - Halion 5, Halion Sonic 2, GA4, EZ Drummer2
VST Effects - Waves H Comp, Waves GTR 3.5, Waves CLA Series, Waves TruVerb, Amplitude 3 & 4,
NI Guitar Rig

Case: Generic
PSU: Generic 650W
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55-USB3 w/ TI-chipset firewire
CPU: i5 660 (stock cooler)
RAM: Corsair DDR3 (2x 4GB)
GPU: Onboard GFX
Operating System: Windows 7 Pro
OS Disk: WD 500gig 7200rpm
Storage: WD x 2 500gig 7200rpm
Add-on cards: none

Cubase versions used and tested on this system: Cubase 6.5.5, 7.0.7, 7.5.40. 8.0.30, 8.5.0 All 64-bit

Audio Device: Tascam FW-1884 + FE-8 + FE-8 + ART TubeOpto8 Xpander
ASIO Driver: Tascam FW-1884 v1.80 64bit (Firewire)
Latency: 96 samples for tracking - 512 or 1024 for mixing
MIDI Devices: FCB1010

BIOS: All C-States, Turbo Boost, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hybernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance. Steinberg Power scheme disabled.

all previous versions up to 8.5.0 run perfect with various 3rd party plugs including CPU hungry ones eg Uhe-DIVA
the only issue seen so far is crash-on-exit with v8.5.0 (i have yet to troubleshoot eg trash prefs etc)

Cubase 8.0.3/8.5

Digi 96 io
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro5,1
Processor Name: 6-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.33 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 6
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 12 MB
Memory: 24 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 6.4 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.39f11
SMC Version (processor tray): 1.39f11
Serial Number (system): 3U216000HFL
Serial Number (processor tray): J512500MLCZJC
Hardware UUID: 5F2E120F-DD8F-53B7-8430-4AB076D40F11

An intel extreme motherboard.

PSU: Cooler Master 750
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
CPU: i7 3770 (with Cooler Master Gemini 2 Cooler)
RAM: Kingstons DDR3 1600MHz (4 x 8GB)
GPU: ATI Radeon HD-6970 (Driver 14_12) (3 Monitors + 1 TV) - AMD Overdrive clock set at 500 Hz, all other profiles at default
Operating System: Windows 7 x64 (SP 1)
OS Disk: Seagate Barracuda 500GB (Custom SWAP Drive, Custom TEMP Drive)
Work Disk: Seagate Barracuda 2TB (RAID 0 - 2pc of 1TB)
Samples Disk: Seagate Barracuda 2TB

DAW: Cubase 8.0.20 x64
Other software: Sony Sound Forge 10, Adobe CS6, 3DS MAX 2012

Audio Device: Steinberg UR 44 (dspMixFX, Boot, Main - v2.1.1, Yamaha USB v1.9.5)
Sample Rate: 96KHz
ASIO: 192 Samples
MIDI Devices: Alesis Q88 - MIDI DIN 5 Pin to UR44 MIDI In (USB Powered by motherboard / no USB MIDI selected)
Other Peripherals: Custom built Tablet Control for Cubase Remote Control Devices via WiFi on local network, Logitech F310 Custom Controller for Transport

BIOS: All C-States, Turbo Boost, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled, HyperThreading On
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hybernation (disabled via DOS Prompt), no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance.
System on: 24/7

Most used VSTi: Kontakt 5.5.0.409, KORG Legacy Series, True Pianos 1.94, Addictive Drums 2
Most used VST FX: Waves 9.30, iZotope Insight, Eventide Anthology X, IK Multimedia Amplitube 4 & ARC 2, Steinberg REVerbrance. All x64 and Plugin via Cubase, no stand alone.

Most common use-cases: Full MIDI Composition with multiple CC on Key Editor / Audio Record - Vocals (Audio tracks max - 12) / Mixing with Automation/ Export at 96kHz 32 Bit Ft (Session 96kHz / 24 Bit - no freezing)
Most common project type: Mid-size projects (60-80 total tracks), max 40 VSTi instances, insert FX use (depends on number of tracks - every track has WAVES NLS - max 120 tracks)

Remarks: The DAW system hooked up to LAN Backup Servers, System offline, Fixed IP.
Additional Reg Hacks: Disable of all sleep states, Disable Core Park, Disable of HD Audio Devices
All software is legally purchased and properly licensed.
Self-built system, April 2012

Case: Fractal design R4
PSU: corsair RM85
Motherboard: z97-a (PCI+PCIe) no firewire - no overclock
CPU: i7 4790k (Noctua nh-u12s)
RAM: DDR3, PC1600, 16GB, CL9 Ven k (2x8)
GPU: Onboard Intel HD
Operating System: Windows 7 64 Bit
OS Disk: SSD Samsung 840 EVO
Storage: WD blue 1 tera 7200rpm

Cubase versions used and tested on this system: Cubase 8.5.10 64-bit

Audio Device: RME 9652 PCI (no express, black version)
ASIO Driver: latest RME
Latency: 32 samples for tracking - 128/256 for mixing
MIDI Devices: Midiman midisport 2x2

BIOS: All C-States, Turbo Boost, Enhanced Halt and all CPU throttling features disabled
Power Options: High Performance, no sleep, no hybernation, no USB selective suspend, no HD disable, all advanced settings set to inactive power saving or maximum performance

Most used VSTi: Halion 5, Superior Drummer, XLN, Kontakt, Retrologue 2, Massive, VST absolute collection.
Most used VSTfx: UAD2, IK Multimedia, Waves, Steinberg stock plugins (w/ sidechain), Lexicon, altiverb.
Connected to the net with avast (no problem at all)