Dear Community,
I want to build (by a specialized PC Shop) a Window PC for a friend that I managed to convince to switch to Dorico
I would like to have some advice witch hardware would be the best for Dorico (also for the future).
Basically I would opt for an Intel i9 processor (3,6 mhz), I think to remember that the single core should be better high powerā¦(?)
Ram 16GB (usage probably quite exclusively with Note Performer), more needed?
Graphic: any suggestions? Minimal requirements?
OS: Windows 10 or better Windows 11?
Sound Interface? (with ASIO drivers)
(I personally have iMac system maximized, thats why I ask the Windows experts here some tipps
Is it basically a Dorico machine or more like an audio workstation? Or a general purpose PC that also runs Dorico? Will they have a MIDI keyboard attached? Will they need mic inputs for recording?
I donāt know of any reason to use Win10 over Win11 for audio stuff, so Iād go with the most recent OS unless someone else has a reason to go with Win10. (Iām using Win11 myself.)
16 GB is fine for NP, but if they really donāt want to buy more now, I would at least leave room to upgrade. If there are 4 RAM slots, get 2x8 rather than 4x4, so they can easily add 2x8 more in the future. If they ever purchase other sound libraries, RAM requirements go up in a hurry. 32GB configured as 2x16 would be a little more future-proof if budget allows.
I think GPU is a non-factor for Dorico. Basically anything decent is fine. Itās only if they are into gaming, photo/video editing, crypto mining, etc, that they will need a high-end card.
There are lots of ways to go with an audio interface. Biggest decision is if they need mic inputs or not. For a simple interface with mic inputs, a Scarlett 2i2 is pretty standard and probably the most common one around. A UAD Volt 2 or Audient iD4 would be good choices for entry level interfaces too.
Once you spend a little more, there is sort of a divide between audiophile interfaces and music production interfaces. Iām not sure where they come down on that divide, but am happy to recommend something with some more info. There are also interfaces that can mix in multiple signals, control multiple sets of speakers, etc., so it all sort of depends on what their needs are.
If they are planning on using the PC as an audio workstation for recording, they may want to make sure the motherboard has a Thunderbolt header so they can add a TB card. Most likely they will know if this is something they want, and most systems do not have this.
If this is the i9 you are looking at, that appears to use the old motherboard socket. You might do better to get a lower level chip from one of the latest Intel series (12000, 13000, or 14000) that would work with the newer CPU socket and allow for future expansion.
Thank you @FredGUnn and @Derrek for the responds! And for the useful tipps and questions.
I will check with my friend what he also uses the PC for and will check with the local PC shop witch Processor series are available.
The question is Intel or AMD Ryzen? In the benchmarks (more or less all based on gaming ) there are often the multicore values listed, but I think for some Dorico linear editing processes is more important the single core powerā¦?
(and the AMD are maybe cheaper? as in the past, so the would be more money for a better audio interfaceā¦or Ramā¦?)
CPU Benchmark has a Single Thread Performance rating which I assume would be helpful with judging performance with Dorico operations. Iāve built both Intel and AMD systems in the past, and donāt really have a preference for one over the other. Iāve always just built based on price/performance/availability.
I dunno, I have a pretty complicated Windows audio setup, but donāt have any ASIO issues at all. I use the ASIO driver for my interface with Dorico and everything works fine.
None of that really matters anymore. Newer Intel processors have all been pretty much the same the past decade, theyāve hit a wall with the architecture. And for music any GPU is fine.
Only things Iād recommend is to get more disk space than you think you need (2TB NVMe ideally or SSD system drive, plus a second 4TB data drive), Iād not go with less than 32GB RAM. Finally I/O is important, if youāre ever going to use Thunderbolt with a professional interface such as the Focusrite RED series then you need to be careful of the TB compatibility. Iāve got a RED 4Pre (discontinued now) and thereās no better series for audio work, everything else is consumer grade (but will work fine for Dorico of course).
+1. Certainly if youāre coming from Mac (adding 1TB to go from 1TB to 2TB on a Mac Pro is a mind boggling $400) you might be surprised how cheap storage is for PC. A 4TB M.2 Samsung 990 Pro is only $279, so thereās no reason to skimp on fast local storage.
Absolutely he should not scrimp on RAM. You can bank on the fact that whatever you think you can get away with (even in the future) should at the very least have double the capacity. The additional RAM itself can be added later so long as the motherboard can handle it.
NotePerformer now has modules that it uses to implement third party sample libraries. With the release of NP 4 Arne said that he had hit a wall with the his own native sample development options, so going forward heās moving to develop an increasing number of modules. This caused consternation for those looking for an upgraded set of native sounds, but Iāve gotta believe heās figured out the best path forward.
The upshot of all this is that your friend may be content with native NP sounds right now, but if he does not prepare for the future possibility of wanting third party implementation he may box himself into not only having to add more RAM, but completely redoing his motherboard if it does not support his future RAM needs. The last thing you want to do is find out in two years that you are either boxed in or you have to rebuild your computer to support your needs then.
My path over the years was 8GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and my current 64 GB. In three of those cases I had to replace my motherboard, which often can mean a necessary CPU replacement as well. I donāt even want to think about my next build, which will become necessary whenever Windows 11 becomes necessary. That build will have a minimum of 128 GB, and I could not have imagined that just four years ago.
My recommendation Save him some future grief, or some day the grief will come. He may not see it now, but it will come.
My benevolently intended two cents, with the caveat that his view of the future may be different than mine.
Iāve got 128 GB now. With the full BBCSO Pro loaded into NPPE, and no other audio programs open other than my usual background stuff, Iām already at 80 GB so, yeah, NP certainly has the potential to eat up a ton of RAM.
With that NPPE library open plus my standard VEPro jazz template, Iām at 103 GB without Dorico, Pro Tools, or other audio programs open, so 128 GB honestly doesnāt seem so ridiculous after all.
I use my PC for composing as well as some recording. Therefore, I needed a machine that was not only powerful but also as quiet as possible.
My vendor advised me to not go for an i9 but for an i7 instead. His argument was that the i9 was only a bit faster, but gets much hotter, so he would need to build in a louder cooling system.
So I went for the i7 instead and my PC is hardly audible at all.
Sure, I use one with my laptop to host all my VSTs. I used one for general storage when we still had a Mac Mini as a āfamilyā computer. But a USB-C drive canāt come close in speed to a NVMe drive, especially with the new PCIe 5.0 standard. Samsungās fastest T9 with USB 3.2 is 2,000 MB/s read/write. A Crucial T700 PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive is six times faster at 12,000 MB/s.
For a new PC desktop build thereās no reason not to use NVMe drives as they are pretty cheap, and for future-proofing if possible Iād go for a mobo with PCIe 5.0.
Yes, butā¦
Firstly, that speed is a maximum, which youāll only hit for files that are one or more gigabytes. Reading 1000 x 12 Mb files will be slower than reading 1 x 12 Gb file. And as files get smaller, youāll see the speeds even out between those two drives. (A 12 Kb text file is not going to significantly different.)
Secondly: I just opened an 8.8Mb Dorico file, which took 7518 ms to load. My SSD is 5,000 MB/s. So, the SSD is not the limiting factor.
I use an external SSD rated a paltry 700 MB/s as my āMedia Centreā, where I store Movies, Music, etc. I can start playing a 2 Gb movie instantly, and scroll to any point, with no buffering.
Yes, faster/newer is always better; but I wouldnāt dismiss external SSDs as not up to the job. Our computers are crazy fast and powerful: more so than we need, for much of the time! Super fast internal NVMe storage is nice to have, but if your budget isnāt endless, farming out to a USB-C drive is an easy choice.
Sure, and an external drive is fine for VSTs, photos, videos, music, etc that might need to be shared between computers, but it makes no sense to use that for the OS and programs. Youāll definitely notice a speed hit if all the programs are stored externally. In addition to being faster, NVMe drives arenāt more expensive either, so thereās no reason not to incorporate them into a new build. Samsungās top model 2TB 990 Pro NVMe is $129 at Amazon. Its top external 2TB T9 is not only slower but more expensive at $229. Depending on which mobo he goes with, he could add a few PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives, have plenty of storage, and a pretty speedy system rather inexpensively.
Iād like to add this about ram: I have a feeling it isnāt used as often as we think since SSD speeds are also really high these days. Iāve noticed that not a lot of my 64 gb ram is used on big orchestra projects using Cubase, because it uses my SSDās to stream.
Iām not an expert on the subject but from my experience and todays prices itās maybe better to focus more on having good SSDās instead of buying (too) much ram.
Thatās not surprising. Iād say your preload buffer is quite low because of the fact that, with SSD speeds, it doesnāt need to put so much into RAM for smooth playback. Iām no expert either though!
) there are often the multicore values listed, but I think for some Dorico linear editing processes is more important the single core powerā¦?
I use the ASIO driver for my interface with Dorico and everything works fine.
