Tracking PC, No Disrespect Intended!

I actually posted this first on another thread...as it is somewhat sad of me to even consider this and I don't want to dis-respect anyone...as ALL of you have added great value to my amateur recording hobby thru your advise and wisdom.
 
But, I think I might need a new desktop to "ADD" to the already PURRFECT one I have in my mixing/mastering room. Of course, I am speaking about my amazing ProStudio from Purrfect Audio...thanks again Jim!
 
This new addition is for tracking only. In another room entirely. Used for up to 16 mics at a time and maybe just 14 mics and the bass direct and myself using TH2, although I am not entirely sold on TH2.
 
If all comes out great and I can get a killer sound with TH2 during mix down, then great.

So...and don't throw things at me, why can't I just get a cheap off the shelf pc. I get it...with mixing/mastering get the best, and I did. And, for tracking I am thinking I can cheat a little, only because I don't have anymore studio funds.

I found one with i7, 3.2GHz, 8GB ram and one TB HDD. I can wipe the drive re-load Win7 without any crap and configure the bios, and then optimize or tweak for use.

Why is this a bad idea...as it is all I can afford.

I know this is stupid, as I love my Prostudio...but cannot afford a second one.
 
I am struggling to get this laptop of mine to work with out pops/clicks and am aware that I am asking way too much of this machine...no matter how much tweaking and optimizing I do.

I think what you are proposing is a great idea.  As stated above simply be careful of the specs.  Many users have remote systems for off site recording. 

The one I looked at had the Intel 4600.
 
That is what my ProStudio has.

Karyn, when you say you used an external thunderbolt drive do you mean a USB3/thunderbolt type that gives USB3 data speeds or a dedicated thunderbolt RAID setup like a G-Force?

My reason for asking is I'm considering a similar setup and a G-Force is much more expensive than a 7200rpm drive in a USB3 enclosure.

16 tracks x 96000 samples/ sec x 24 bits /sample= 36,864,000 bits /sec /8 = 4,608,000 bytes or 4.6 MB /sec
 
That is the load you will be putting on your hard drive. The load on your CPU and the internal processing in an audio interface is negligible by comparison to the limit of the drive writing. That speed should be well within reach of a good 7200 rpm drive with a decent buffer, even assuming the tracks are being written as individual files. You need a fast hard drive for recording dry, not a lot of processor speed.

There are some really encouraging posts here.
 
What I take away from this is that I need a 7200rpm HDD, which my laptop has.
 
But, with a tired old duo-core running at 2.5GHz and four gigs of ram it just won't keep up.
 
So, since I am only keeping the .cwp files on this tracking PC for the duration of the tracking session, and then moving them to my Lacie to copy to my ProStudio, I should consider an SSD for a new system, or maybe an upgrade to the laptop, but doubt that upgrade would yield any real performance increase...but, I don't know.
 
I know it is better to have two HDDs, one for the OS and one for project files. I can't imagine I would benefit from connecting one of my Lacies, using USB, while tracking. Wouldn't that actually slow me down.
 
Also, if I get a new system, should I still stick to the two HDD set up, and if so, is an SSD necessary?
 
I really did not realize the difference between the two systems.
 
I think my ProStudio is perfect for my mixing/mastering, as I use many plug-ins and will soon be adding soft-synths.
 
But, I did not realize how different an optimized tracking  PC could be. I am confident that I could carry the ProStudio downstairs to the tracking room, and it would kick butt, but I don't want to disturb the set-up in the mixing/mastering room or take any chances with that PC...it is just not worth it.
 
So I guess I don't really need an i7. That saves my money.
 
Any other suggestions will get me closer to whether or not I will build a PC or buy one, or upgrade the laptop with 2 more gigs of ram and an SSD...LOL.
 
 

I am really on the fence.
 
I do see the advantage of two HDD so that is important if I buy/build. Unfortunately the only way to use two HDDs with the laptop is to use an external HDD with USB, but won't that be a bottleneck?
 
If not, then maybe it is a good idea to try the SSD in the laptop and hook up and external. If this works then great.
 
If not I can use the SSD for the buy/build if necessary.
 
Oh, and my copy of Win7 is a good copy...my laptop shipped with Vista. I got rid of that the first year.
 
So here is the plan...please correct or advise on specs.
 
Laptop attempt: get an SSD for internal and try external (USB) HDD for project files...that is if you guys/gals don't think the external will bottleneck me.
 
Buy/build: i5 quad 3.0 GHz or higher, 8GB of ram or more, internal HDD @ 7200rpm and a second one of the same, or upgrade to SSD for use with the project files not the OS...I think that is right. On board HD4600.
 
Let me know what you think.
 
Thanks
 
 

You don't need to record directly to the external. I would record to the internal SSD and dump it to the external at the end of the night. 
An internal SATA drive be it regular 7200 or  SSD is going to handle a lot more than a external USB drive. 
Don't erase the files on the SSD until they are also transferred from the External to your main DAW. That way there is always 2 copies on hand. 
 
I built my DAW with a 120 SSD OS drive, it also has a 1 TB 7200 data drive for all music stuff and a 500 Gig data back up drive. I also have a couple of external drives. 
 
 

One note.  The Dell OEM version OS DOES NOT have any bloatware in it.  This is a misconception that some have.  Its no different than any other OEM OS version except that it is pre activated.  Bloatware is other software that is installed by PC manufacturers and its not limited to Dell, almost all do that.  Bloatware and the OS are two totally different things. 
 
If a Dell owner reinstalls using the Dell "PC Restore" (recovery partition on the hard drive) they will get everything as it was originally delivered.  However, if a Dell user only installs the OS using a Dell installation disc it will ONLY be the Operating System, nothing else (and in that case they will have to install all the device drivers).