bpjacobsenI am considering building myself a pc to me used with SD3. Looking for suggested components that will work well with SD3 and a DAW but without breaking the bank. Want to k now if it’s worth going this route vs sticking with the mini PC and just upgrading the SSD to a 2 TB PCIe 3? (stock 500gb is not large enough for my 5 libraries. lol
Currently I’m using a Beelink mini pc which works decent but eventually I will likely start venturing into a DAW so I think I will need more power/speed. Here is what I am running currently:
running the SD3 stock library from the stock 500gb PCIe 3 ssd and the other libraries on the internal SATA 2.5 SSD at 1tb. blah
3 eDrumin 8 trigger boxes and 1 eDrumin 4, all split (except for cymbals.) so very large e kit with more drums than anyone needs. But hey, I’ll never get bored. (and I’ll never gig with it.) LOL
UA VOLT 4 Audio interface connected to usb 3.2 directly on the mini pc
currently running the eDrummin boxes on non-powered Anker USB hub. the host is connected to usb 3.2.
Would love to hear your recommendations or what you are running on a similar setup that you are happy with.
Figure on a max budget of $500 to $600.
Or am I better off just spending about $120 for a 2tb PCIe 3 SSD so I can at least run all libraries on there? I know PCIe 4 is the current w/ 5 approaching so I would still be running older tech regardless. but I don’t need the latest/greatest/most expensive, just something that will perform respectably with a DAW.
Mark KingJust get the PCIe ssd for now and enjoy playing.
When you say DAW it really depends on how you will use it, to how powerful your pc needs to be. Running at low latencies (which you need to do for any vsti) takes a lot of power, especially if projects are getting large. If you want a DAW to record drums only and have no interest in recording full songs and other vst instruments, then you don’t need anything too powerful. But remember once you start you may want to do more.
I work with a DAW (Cubase 13 pro) to record, produce and can still run out of steam on a three year old i9 running at 5Ghz with 32gig memory. The cost of my pc was £1800 and is not in the highest bracket (would be similar in dollars) your budget gets a low end machine even if you build it yourself.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
bpjacobsenJust get the PCIe ssd for now and enjoy playing.
When you say DAW it really depends on how you will use it, to how powerful your pc needs to be. Running at low latencies (which you need to do for any vsti) takes a lot of power, especially if projects are getting large. If you want a DAW to record drums only and have no interest in recording full songs and other vst instruments, then you don’t need anything too powerful. But remember once you start you may want to do more.
I work with a DAW (Cubase 13 pro) to record, produce and can still run out of steam on a three year old i9 running at 5Ghz with 32gig memory. The cost of my pc was £1800 and is not in the highest bracket (would be similar in dollars) your budget gets a low end machine even if you build it yourself.
- This post was modified 1 year ago by Mark King.
Oh wow, OK well that stinks. Guess I will be sticking with just sd3 then. Sounds like I can’t afford to throw DAW into the ‘mix’. Pun intended. I dn realize how much power it required to do recording and such. Sheesh! Looks like that would really be a sizeable investment. 😬
Andrew PayneI purchased a used Dell Precision Laptop 7730, i7 6 Core 2.6 GHz, 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD for less than AUD $1200 (so USD $800) on ebay (from a reputable computer reseller in australia). A very cost cost effective high performing windows laptop. There was an ebay discount at the time which helped get such a good price.
Dell Precision 7730, i7 6 Core 2.6 GHz, 128GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 3 x 2TB SSD, Windows 11, Cubase Pro 14, SD3 plus a variety of SDX's and EZX's, Orchestral Percussion, EZBASS, RME BabyFace Pro FS and KRK V4 monitors. Modified Yamaha DTX900, DTXPRESS4 and Edrumin10 triggering SD3. Yamaha pads/cymbals and Roland VH-10 HiHat. PDP Maple acoustic kit for live playing.
Mark KingI didn’t say it wouldn’t be enough but if you start using a few virtual instruments and using effects then before long it really builds up and you may regret getting a cheap pc. I wouldn’t recommend a laptop unless you specifically need one as they are more likely to have a bottleneck, which you may not be able to fix. On a desktop you can change just about anything.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
Shen GI posted in your other thread about the lack of need for an upgrade, but here I’d also like to suggest trying Reaper if you want. It’s not technically free, but basically is with a 5 sec nag screen. And it’s so cheap I ended up paying for it anyway. But you can at least dip your toes in without commitment.
bpjacobsenI posted in your other thread about the lack of need for an upgrade, but here I’d also like to suggest trying Reaper if you want. It’s not technically free, but basically is with a 5 sec nag screen. And it’s so cheap I ended up paying for it anyway. But you can at least dip your toes in without commitment.
Can you recommend a good tutorial for someone like myself that is just starting to explore the whole DAW scene? Also, what generally is the DAW used for? From what I can tell, it allows you to add tracks of samples or instruments you have connected to the interface etc and allows you to mix them. basically record music I guess. Seems like with just SD3, you are way limited in that you have to basically route all mics to one channel to get them to record everything together which is not ideal. Any tips, resources on reaper, info you can provide to give me a better sense of what all it is used for would be awesome. thanks
Mark KingSD3 used in a DAW can use multiple outputs so you can mix in the DAW. A DAW is basically a studio in a box. You can record audio, use vst instruments (which sd3 is). So in Cubase I have :Piano, synth, percussion, guitar, orchestra etc virtual instruments as well as setting up a sampler tracks. You also get effect plugins and audio/midi manipulation tools. Tuning tools, timing tools. You name it and a DAW will probably have it. Reaper comes with a few of these. Cubase comes with a huge amount but obviously it costs. you can buy vsti’s for just about any instrument like sd3 is for drums.
If thinking of reaper then get along to the reaper website as I think there are lots of videos on how to use it.
SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors
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