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Old 10-31-2017, 10:05 PM   #1
hugoagogo
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Default PC Configuration: 2 hard drives vs 1

After seven years, my faithful PC has died. I've been searching for a new PC that would be used exclusively for my music projects. Originally I was thinking that if I could find something in my price range, I'd like to go with a smaller SSD running my O/S and a larger drive running all my software (Reaper, VST's etc.) and projects.

Long story short - PC's with predetermined configurations are cheaper than those that can be personalized, so I wound up with a PC with a single 1TB drive.

My level of music production:
- primarily for myself (and friends), very basic recordings (mostly 4-8 tracks - not a lot of effects)
- mainly VST's, some electric guitar, some mic'd acoustic and vocals.
- I don't work on a lot of projects at the same time; I'd be surprised if they totaled more than 10 GB of storage at any given time.

My equipment/software:
- i5-7400 with 8GB DDR 4
- 1TB drive running Windows 10
- 2 M-audio midi keyboards
- Tascam US-144 MKII used as interface for guitars & mic inputs.
- Reaper; main VST's are IK Multimedia (Syntronik, Sampletank, Amplitube); lots of minor secondary VST's - all of it equals approx. 200-225 GB of space.

My questions:
Based on what I'm doing, would it be beneficial to put a second hard drive in the PC? Are my purposes so basic that there is not need to invest the time/money (I do back up everything on an external drive, so that is not a concern). If I do run a second drive in the PC, what are the benefits?

Sorry for all the typing/rambling. I've found many answers and solutions on the forums to past problems and concerns, and I do value everyone's opinions. So thanks in advance for your feedback - if there's key info here I haven't provided, let me know.
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Old 11-01-2017, 03:54 AM   #2
Judders
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Ultimately, the question to ask is how are you getting on with your system? Can you get your buffer low enough for comfortable playing? Are you experiencing any pops or clicks? Are you tearing your hair out over how long it takes for instruments to load?

If the answer to all of the above is that you're fine with how it's performing, then there's no need to tinker with it.

If you were to get a second internal disc, then the main thing is to record audio to it.

Do you know if any of your software instruments stream samples from disc, or do they all load into RAM? Because more RAM could possibly be a better investment than another drive. Again, only if you've run into problems.

What is the most simultaneous tracks of audio you would record?
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Old 11-01-2017, 09:16 AM   #3
hugoagogo
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Hey Judders thanks very much for responding.

Most of your questions I am unable to answer at this time as the PC hasn't been delivered and I still need to transfer all my software onto it. I thought it would be good to ask the question before that process began.

Based on the types of projects I have been doing, I had no real issues with my previous system (AMD quad core with 8GB DDR3). No latency or buffering issues, although some of the instruments with large samples took a while to load up. So, I'm thinking I wouldn't be pushing the new system hard enough to cause any issues.

When recording I never go beyond two live tracks at the same time. That would usually be two mics, or a guitar input and a mic. I can't see my needs going beyond that in the future.
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Old 11-01-2017, 09:24 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hugoagogo View Post
Hey Judders thanks very much for responding.

Most of your questions I am unable to answer at this time as the PC hasn't been delivered and I still need to transfer all my software onto it. I thought it would be good to ask the question before that process began.

Based on the types of projects I have been doing, I had no real issues with my previous system (AMD quad core with 8GB DDR3). No latency or buffering issues, although some of the instruments with large samples took a while to load up. So, I'm thinking I wouldn't be pushing the new system hard enough to cause any issues.

When recording I never go beyond two live tracks at the same time. That would usually be two mics, or a guitar input and a mic. I can't see my needs going beyond that in the future.
Cool, so from the sounds of things you might appreciate the faster instrument loading times you'd get from having all your samples on a second SSD. Other than that, if it ain't broke...
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Old 11-01-2017, 09:48 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Judders View Post
Cool, so from the sounds of things you might appreciate the faster instrument loading times you'd get from having all your samples on a second SSD. Other than that, if it ain't broke...
I'm just really excited to getting back to making music. Thanks again for your help and suggestions, Judders.
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Old 11-01-2017, 10:06 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by hugoagogo View Post
I'm just really excited to getting back to making music. Thanks again for your help and suggestions, Judders.
You're welcome, have fun!
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