[Csnd] buying a new computer
| Date | 2020-04-16 08:12 |
| From | Stefan Thomas |
| Subject | [Csnd] buying a new computer |
Dear community, my computer is getting old and I would like to buy a new one. I want to use it for csound live performances (with midi and audio). Which parameters are important for these purposes? Thank You for Your hints, Stefan |
| Date | 2020-04-16 11:18 |
| From | Michael Gogins |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
What operating system are you using? Or is that also a choice? They all can do good audio with some fiddling required on Linux. I would avoid Windows. Most musicians use OSX. I prefer Linux because it is easy to develop on snd simplifies software installation. Either a gaming computer or a media workstation would be suitable. Do you need a laptop or can you use a desktop or small form factor computer like a NUC? Anyway, high CPU speed with overclocking, several cores, lots of RAM say at least 8 gigabytes, and a solid state drive with NVMe m.2. A big monitor and good graphics are nice for coding or music notation, even more important for visual music. On Thu, Apr 16, 2020, 03:13 Stefan Thomas <kontrapunktstefan@gmail.com> wrote:
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| Date | 2020-04-16 11:37 |
| From | Stefan Thomas |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
I'm using linux (ubuntu) and I would like to maintain this OS Am Do., 16. Apr. 2020 um 12:19 Uhr schrieb Michael Gogins <michael.gogins@gmail.com>:
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| Date | 2020-04-16 13:18 |
| From | Tarmo Johannes |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
Hi, I use Linux, too and when I need to change a computer (and it happens very, very seldom), I look for a (somewhat) used business class laptop - then the price can be very reasonable but the quality will still last for years and years. Definitely go for SSD hard drive, at least 8 GB of RAM, i7 or similar powerful CPU. For operating system, if you are used with Ubuntu - I saw that UbuntuStudio 20.04 LTS is coming out soon - so you will have all you need for multimedia work out of the box. greetings, tarmo Kontakt Stefan Thomas (<kontrapunktstefan@gmail.com>) kirjutas kuupäeval N, 16. aprill 2020 kell 13:37:
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| Date | 2020-04-16 13:29 |
| From | Hlöðver Sigurðsson |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
Except if you plan to use some of the experimental cuda opcodes in Csound, then put all your money in a good CPU. If you plan to add visuals of any sort, the budget will increase substantially. Good CPU 1,2 and 3. Then RAM as long as it's not less than 16GB which seems to be a standard minimal size these days on the market. On Thu, 16 Apr 2020 at 14:18, Tarmo Johannes <trmjhnns@gmail.com> wrote:
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| Date | 2020-04-16 13:49 |
| From | Michael Gogins |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
OK, I think that's a good choice. I also use Ubuntu (only). In the end, what you do will depend on what kind of music you are making, so I have some more questions. Do you use music notation software? Do you create visual music or 3-dimensional or animated computer graphics? Do you do audio recording? Do you do audio multi-tracking (overdubbing)? Is Csound the main, or most important, music software that you use? I use mostly Csound for synthesis, and I write my pieces as computer programs in several languages (JavaScript, Python, C++, Common Lisp). I don't do audio recording much and when I do I use a portable recorder. OK, now for my advice. The computer is not as important as the speakers, and the speakers need to be in the right kind of room. Use studio monitor speakers in a dead room, or put them close to your head. REPEAT: PREFER GOOD SPEAKERS TO A GOOD COMPUTER. For the computer, more power is always better. Buy the most powerful computer that you can afford. Because Csound isn't normally run multi-threaded, you don't really need more than 2 or 4 cores. I use 4. The more memory you have, the more sound samples you can load, and the less swapping (maybe none) the computer will have to do when running Csound. I have 32 gigabytes. Using a solid state drive is a no-brainer. They are several times as fast, at least, than any hard disk. Get the biggest, fastest SSD that you can afford. I have a 1 terabyte NVMe m.2 SSD. All this is available in a NUC (small form factor computer). I have one, an Intel NUC. It doesn't have an audio output (!) but I use an outboard USB audio interface that works fine. I use a wireless keyboard and mouse, cuts down on cable gymnastics. All the computer operating system and software setup should be standard. Don't do custom stuff unless you can't help it. I note a few exceptions below. Use a lightweight desktop environment. Ubuntu now comes with adequate, even good, audio performance. You don't need a real-time kernel any more. You do need to join the audio group and to configure limits.conf with something like this: @audio - rtprio 95 @audio - memlock unlimited #@audio - nice -20 Also use a big swap partition to cut down swapping. Unless you do many non-music but audio-related things on your computer, disable PulseAudio and use only ALSA. Use the simplest ALSA configuration you can get away with. Use the plughw device names for sample rate and format conversions that happen automatically. Have fun! ----------------------------------------------------- Michael GoginsIrreducible Productions http://michaelgogins.tumblr.com Michael dot Gogins at gmail dot com On Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 6:37 AM Stefan Thomas <kontrapunktstefan@gmail.com> wrote:
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| Date | 2020-04-16 22:44 |
| From | Stefan Thomas |
| Subject | Re: [Csnd] buying a new computer |
Dear all, thanks for Your very useful hints. I use mostly csound, but I also use notation software (lilypond), sequencer (rosegarden). I don't think I will do much with visual output. I will send You shortly a link to my newest piece. Am Do., 16. Apr. 2020 um 14:49 Uhr schrieb Michael Gogins <michael.gogins@gmail.com>:
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