I have a 2.2GHz laptop for X1 below recommended spec and have a lot of **** on it too! it works fine, it will get sluggish with a lot of tracks and I even notice some random clicking sometimes rarely. other than those pretty fine for what I need.


Cian

HI again,
 
For completeness :)
 
a) to clear up the pricing..
You are right new machines of these specs are in the ballpark of $1300ish.. I had been trolling for a while looking at buy/build. The PC I eventually purchased was an HP refurbished unit.. sold by an Ebay outlet (that seems to be a HP cover).
It comes with full warranty, free shipping, and money back guarantee... Now TBH I usually i stay clear of this type of thing preferring to build myself but it was an eye popping deal :)
Anyway, other than being in an HP sealed box labelled "refurbished" (presumably to stop resell as new), i cannot fault this cosmetically or functionally..all sealed bags, pristine case etc etc..
 
Not that i promote any business at all.. but anyway, just to show they are available :)  here is an example listing i grabbed at random... (not the same but close enough to make my point).. they pretty much have any config you want..and in volume.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-HPE-580T-I7-950-3-06GHZ-16GB-1-5TB-1GB-ATI-DESKTOP-/360386525145?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item53e8b5f7d9
 
b) Roll your own
Yes I appreciate you get warranty on all the bits.. but yourself is the backer for the system :)..lol  The warranty comment was more to do with the fact that it can take quite some effort for retailers/manufactureres to make good on component warranty claims in my experience....in one case i had to contact the manufacturer directly and pretty much quote my resume to get a replacement video card...lol. Luckily my last build, a gaming rig, went very nicely, though the memory does not meet max timing.
 
c) in conclusion
DOnt wish to jack your thread.. the careful and diligent shipper can get a bargain.. and fwiw I have 8.5.3 on a 3.0GHz dual core on xp and had no issues with GR3.. IIRC around 5-7% CPU
 
cheers, m38

 
Bub

Mystic38

Do I agree you need to know how to spec/pick a system when you are looking for a dedicated machine..? yes I do...

But  I also think the "DAW specific" bit is pure marketing BS.... to me anyway, PC specs are as apples to apples as you can get.. the equivalent performance to my machine at studio cat would be about $1400 .. TWICE my purchase price...

I'm not calling you a liar ... but man, I searched all over and could not find your PC for less than $1399 new. I found one that was open and never used for $900 ... but it has a different Video card than you listed. So they are selling different configurations under that model number which is typical. You got a hell of a deal on it where ever you got it (if it was new).

BTW, I have built many machines over 20 years and i costed one out,  but in this case it would not have saved me any money, nor given me a warranty..

Every PC I've ever built had a warranty on the parts. RAM is usually lifetime, HDD's +/-5 years, CPU's lifetime IIRC, mobo's 2 ~ 5 years. And I've always been able to build my own systems for a fraction of what I could buy them pre-built. Yeah, I could get a P4 system cheaper than if I built it myself, but it was always cache starved compared to the one I spec'd out and it was stuck on a Soyo mobo. LOL!

As for a DAW, again, they are tweaked and tested and sometimes come pre-loaded with whatever you request, you just use your serial to register it when it arrives. Something like an HP, Dell, etc is setup for generic usage and aren't spec'd out with larger cache, faster memory, etc, unless you upgrade the advertised box.

But, like I said before, that HP should be a great system for you and it sounds like a great deal at that price. Glad you like it!

Well, I thought I could spruce up my signature with some nice specs. for you Bud. But I can't even do that. I paid for 550 characters, but I barely get half, so... this will have to do.

Windows 7 Professional SP1 (x64)
Asus P8Z68-V Pro - Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.4GHz (default)
Noctua NH-C14 cooling solution (1 fan, low-profile configuration in an Antec Take 3 rackmount 3u case - 650w PSU)
16GB Kingston HyperX Genesis - DDR3 dual-channel @ 1600MHz (4 x 4)
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 @ 120GB - SSD (SATA III - 6Gbps)
2 x Maxtor Velociraptor @ 600GB - 10k rpm - 32MB Cache (SATA III - 6Gbps)



And I did activate GR 4, but I don't want to discourage you, cause the numbers are pretty darn good. The one thing that bugs me with this piece of software, is the extra service it creates. Is is needed just for the NI hardware side of things and can I zapp it and still use GR 4? Please say yes! 

Main system's spec is in sig.

Just to add, Sonar is on it's own dedicated setup (dual-boot Vista 64bit). Drives are a 500 GB WD Black for system (also swap, in 8GB partition at start of drive) and a 500 GB Samsung F3 for audio streaming (1st partition on that drive, 250GB). USB memory stick added for 4GB "Readyboost" swap space.

Cooling by single case fan at rear, single fan on cpu, both 120m slow-running Noctuas. Big Noctua heatsink on cpu.
 
GPU has standard fan, but with card's BIOS edited to reduce the pre-set rpm curve to what the card actually needs (as stock fan speed started at 65% at idle and ramped to 100% by 50 degrees C. Noisy like a vacuum cleaner).

Both drives in QuietDrive cases.

PSU is a 600W Corsair, very quiet indeed. RAM also Corsair, running at factory clock and voltages - in fact, nothing overclocked.

System is home-built (I've been building PCs since 486 days), runs cool, is very stable and very, very quiet unless running a 3D game which ramps up the GPU fan.

It's not state of the art, but powerful enough that I don't currently feel the need to upgrade anything.

It can run X1C + the version of GR that comes with X1 without really noticing it - cpu loading about 4% peak.

My 2GHz Core2Duo Centrino (I forget which cpu model no.) 32bit Vista Lenovo laptop with 2GB RAM and a 5400rpm HDD plus on-board graphics can also run X1C + GR, peak cpu loading about 15-20%.

Alegria
The one thing that bugs me with this piece of software, is the extra service it creates. Is is needed just for the NI hardware side of things and can I zapp it and still use GR 4? Please say yes!

I think that's right. What's the service name?


EDIT:

Hmmm... found it on my own system: NIHardwareService

Thought I told GR not to install any controller stuff when I set it up, though I do seem to remember there was some obstacle to de-delecting it.

Anyway, it's disabled now, and does not seem to have affected any of my NI synths or GR4 LE at first glance.

Jonbouy

I had a gentlemen tell me an i5 w/4GB ram was not enough to run a 1 track project with Guitar Rig on it in X1.

Gentleman?  I thought Freddie said it...

Being subtle here...


Most of the parts I got from Tigerdirect up here....total cost came to about $1700 all told.

Wish I looked as good as my system specs.

Asus P8P67, i5 2500K @ 3.3GHz, 8G DDR3, Win7x64, MOTU Ultralite Hybrid running in Firewire mode, Sonar X1c -

I loaded an audio only project, added GR4, loaded up a preset, turned input echo on.  before turning input echo on there was no visible meter reading on the CPU meter.  after turning it on, it went to 1-2%.

My PC specs are in my signature. Now running X1C very well (so far).
I've never bought an off the shelf PC though I have done so with the 2 laptops I own.

I wanted Jim Roseberry to build my last PC but of course he's in the US and I'm in Australia so that was impractical. Well what do you know - Jim offers a consultation service where he will give you a parts list according to your needs and budget with links to online stores where they can be purchased.

As Jim builds PC's for a living he's getting access to new MOBO, RAM, CPU's before they hit the market and gets to test the relialility and compatability of various components.  For a one off charge for a 30 minute consult I got the benefit of all that experience. During the course of my initial enquiry, buying the parts and building the machine we exchanged about a dozen emails to help refine my choices, help me with burn in procedures, memory testing and the software to really stress test the build once it was finished. I got far more for my money than I expected. I got the confidence that apart from component failure I was going to get a tried and true system that Jim himself had built quite a few times over and I got to do it myself properly.

I had no trial and error to go through - I have a PC that performs exceptionally well and the manufacturer warranties on the various components. It's the next best thing to getting Jim to do it himself. Why didn't I buy one built in Australia? Well the cost was at least double what I paid for my simiarly spec'd machine. AND Jim's reputation is impeccable and even though I didn't pay a premium I got a premium PC. I took the trouble to really lay out the cabling very neatly and do it just as I figured Jim would have built it for me. In that way it was far different to any other build I'd undertaken. After having run the machine for a year I swapped out the basic graphics card and replaced it with a nVidia FX Quadra 3800 for the graphics work I also do along with audio and video

Let's face it - anyone can build a PC. Order the parts online get them delivered and away you go. Only need a Philips head screw driver and that's about it. but will it work, proabably, will it provide optimal performance for your desired application - maybe, maybe not; and that's the lottery. $40 took all that risk out of it for me. And I learned a bunch.

"brundlefly"
Hmmm... found it on my own system: NIHardwareService

That's the one. I disabled it also. The plugin seems to work fine without it. Which is good.