need advice on new pc ..is this one ok?

im having issues with maschine 2.2 and it looks like my old pc is slowly dying so it looks like ill have too cough up and buy a new pc..ive not got a lot of money because I over spent in the black Friday sales and xmas but I saw one tonight at pc world that seems ok..its got an i5 processor ,8gb ram,,,2tb hd..built in Bluetooth..and its only £399 and I can get it on intrest free credit so I only need a small deposit and I pay the rest off next xmas
if I can get about 3-4 years out of it and I can upgrade the ram when I can too 16gb do people think this will be ok and up for the job of running maschine 2.2 smoothly and with very low latency.

my current pc only has 4gb of ram and intel dual core e5800 3.2 ghz processor its running Cubase 7 ok and maschine 1.8 but I know its not handling new updated software especially from native instruments as well as it did.

heres the link..

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/deskt...ire-xc-605-desktop-pc-10071539-pdt.html#cat-0

I look forward too reading your replys thanks

 

I think CPU is most important. I would go for i7 and pick one with most cores you can afford. Quad core is minimum.

But I'm not good with PC's so can't tell more about this setup.

 

Not sure an i5 will last you 3-4 years.

 

An i5 is fine and would probably last you as long as an i7 (however long that may be).

The 220W power supply might prove limiting.

Try and listen to it running with a lot of activity to ensure the fan noise is not too annoying.

The mouse and keyboard are likely to be basic.

The best first upgrade to this machine would be a 120GB ssd as opposed to more RAM.

Note that the OS is installed and you will not get a disc so remember to make a backup disc.

 

looks good for the money.
not a fan of 5400rpm drives, not a fan of built in graphics, but for the money it looks good.
and you will get 4 years out of it...up the ram, and swap out the HDD (or add SSD for os + programs) after 2 years and bingo.. a new machine.

 

thanks ive just bought it ..I got it on intrest free so I only had to pay £40 and I could take it home..i checked in store its got the newest generation i5 processor and it can be upgraded too 16gb so it seems ok and should last me a few years..i really wanted the £1000 + scan computer I posted before on another page but I couldn't afford it at the minute.now I got the hassle off installing all my favourite software again.im still gonna keep my old computer but I think ill use it as a media pc.

 

quick update..need urgent help..

ive just unboxed it and checked the back and its only got 1 very very small expansion slot at the top for a card and holes for a new graphic card but I use a konnekt 6 firewire audio interface !! I need a firewire card with texas instrument chip that would fit in the top slot ..and that's if its possible I cant open the maschine its covered in security tape at the back so if I open it my warrant is void.

its got 6 usb ports which is the same as my old computer but on my old computer I also have a emu 0404 pci card installed the audio part is deactivated but I have the midi ports still active so I can have all my external gear midied up..

I do have a native instrument guitar rig session audio interface too but that's all boxed up I don't use it anymore and I remember last time I used it (which is over a year ago )the asio drivers didn't give me a low latency and because its usb 1 it couldn't handle big projects itd crackle its ass off so I put it in storage and bought the konnekt 6.
has anyone any experience with the guitar rig session used in win 8.1?

I don't know what too do..do I use it with the guitar rig session or do I take it back and cancel my fininace with the store..

im gutted I thought itd have atleast 1 pci port I wish I could have seen it in store but they didn't have any on demo they only received them this morning as I was in the store..

 

Return it. Was not a good purchase to begin with imo. USB1 is not good enough period so don't even try it.

Don't buy just anything because you are desperate. Know what your needs are and what the computer has in terms of I/O and expandability. If the add does not show these details then call the retailer or research the model on line.

Better to just stick with Maschine 1.8 and make music with what you have then to waste money on a system that still won't suit your needs.

 

Agree with b-righteous. Right now you are not making smart purchasing decisions because you are desperate to have something. Buy smart, do research, triple check everything, call the company that makes the computer and ask plenty of questions. Most PC makers have sites, compare what you ned with what they have.

Return the machine if possible and be patient until you get what you actually need.

 

yep im gonna do that im going too take it back tomorrow..ive checked my recipt and as long as I haven't plugged it in I can return it within 14 days and ive not I only got it out off the plastic bag and that's when I saw how small the 2 slots were on the back..they were very very small and ive found a firewire card that plugs into the bay but its £60 ..im not paying that for a firewire card which may or may not work because it doesn't say if its got texas instrument chips onboard the firewire card ..if its not texas the konnekt 6 a focusrite liquid mix 16 wont work.

it does look a good pc and the specs for the money are good but if I keep it it will still be one big headache because yes it will run maschine 2.2 fine and fast but I will then have most off my studio not being able too be wired in.

ill get a refund and start saving for a very high spec custom built maschine from scan in a couple of months..

thanks everyone for your help

 

the usb 1 is from the native instrument guitar rig session not the new pc the new pc has usb 3 ports but I agree the usb 1 standard is way too old now .

 

wifes just told me its better for me too take pc I bought back tomorrow then we can goto scan on Monday too have one configured and built for me.i can go in and discuss what I want what I need and then let them sort it out..ive just configured one on there website which I think will suit my needs and will last me years.
im going for the top i7 cpu spec..12gb ram..250 gb ssd..2 tb drive..new firewire drive..silent case..win 8.1 pro..and a few more spcs and all that comes too £884.
does it sound ok?
http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/scan-aw25

 

it should not be as live and cubase 8 will run fine on even core2s. , but i5 is pretty much obsolete for reaktor and almost for maschine 2.2.... though it may last another 3 - 4 months for the players. for the current gen of NI software, you really need a minimum 2ghz i7quad... you could get by with a 2.5+ ghz i5 or i7 2.3 duo but you will be limited ... use what you already have until you can get what you really need... it is the song writing the is the focus... you will find a way to make it work.... don't be caught in the upgrade go round... what was a good tool will always be a good tool in the right hands..

i still use a duo core laptop at times with m2 and live...

go for the best cpu with the most solid main board and options support you can afford.. the ram and drive you can always update or use what had from another... .. if it supports a good amount of PCI cards.. you can add a lot to it.... some of the pc that list features do at times list those from cards they have installed.. like graphics and firewire support.. you can as well look into barebones computers.. they usually have no ram, hard drive or OS.. the idea is that you pull your ram and hard drive from anther computer that already has an OS installed... this way you don't have to pay for that which you already have and the OS for a PC is 100 of it..

 

thanks ill keep an eye out for barebones and see what will be best..i want something I wont have to upgrade for at least 4-5 years ..I found the recipt for my current computer and I forgot how cheap it was lol.

I bought it about 3 years ago and it only cost me £170 lol..brand new and ive never upgraded it and its been fine for all those years well its still fine now for somethings its just the updates too the ni plugins it cant handle but Cubase 7.5 runs ok as does maschine 1.8 and ableton live.i wish I could upgrade its ram but I was told when I bought it it could only have a maximum 4gb and that's what its got..i have an old win xp pc in my studio and that's only got 2gb ram and that did the job for many years its still got Cubase 7 running on it and samething only thing that kills it is kontakt and reactor other than those it still works fine but I love ni plugins

 

A quad core i5 (Haswell or Ivy Bridge) is fine for running Maschine 2.2 and Reaktor and even VSTs like Diva. By the time an i5 is no longer fit for purpose then an i7 won't be that far behind.

I presume that there is a bug in the latest Maschine software (which I expect NI will eventually fix) because if you do nothing but add empty groups you get a major crash (so much for unlimited).

 

well ive got my money back,i took it back this morning and in a few weeks ill get one from scan if ive got the money f I don't have the money then its plain and simple I wont be buying anymore native instruments stuff for a longtime because my system cant handle them now..it was ok a few weeks ago but now the updated plugins use more cpu power than they did before updating so if native carry on like they have been there will be another update in a short while which would probably render them useless on my system so I wont be updating anything for a long time and its pointless buying new stuff from ni if I cant be sure they wont work properly itd be a waste of money.
the pc I configured on scan seems like itd last me a long time i just need to sell a few things first so i can get a good deposit
but for the time being ill just use maschine 1.8 and stick with what i have ,i know it well and know how it handles and my limits .

 

I'm in the same situation, need a new laptop for my new maschine.
There's a promotion for boxing week
Tempting but is it strong enough for music? http://m.futureshop.ca/defaultpage....etails.aspx?ajax=true&sku=10328112&lang=en-CA

What do you guys think?

 

I saw that yesterday in the store I returned my pc too and I think itll run maschine 2 but it wont last very long its made for just surfing the net not for music.

 

Snap. Thanks for that!

 

I buy the top spec Mac about every 6-7 years....