Upgrades Are Going To Be The Death Of Me

[MikeRivers]

I just saw that Universal Audio is about to start shipping a USB version of their Apollo Twin interface. I thought that finally I could try out one of their interfaces which have previously been for Thunderbold and (I think) Mac only. Then I read that it had to be SuperSpeed USB 3.0. I've never heard of that, or maybe I have and didn't know it. Whatever it is, I don't have it, and it wants a 64-bit Windows 7+ OS and I only have 32 bits.

 

I did find what claims to be a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI-x card (what's PCI-x? Is that otherwise known as PCI Express x1?), that I could install, but I guess it means I need to get another new junker computer. Most modern CPU I have now is a Core2Duo (that's running Vista). So what should I look for if I go shopping at the used computer store that's going to run Windows 7, 64-bit, and have enough horsepower to run a few tracks in Pro Tools? i3 and i5 CPUs are starting to show up, but I don't know the language and hirearchy as to what gets me what. $100 has been my computer price for a while, but I expect I'll have to go over budget if I get something to play with the UAD interface on.

 

If you're going to tell me to build my own, give me a specific shopping list. Otherwise just something like "an i3 with 4 GB RAM and 2.8 gHz speed will be just fine" is good. Oh, and a PCI-x slot.

 

 

[Anderton]

Chances are if a computer has USB 3.0, it's a 64-bit machine that will run Windows 7.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Mike, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer mode SuperSpeed (often abbreviated SS near the port and on the cable plugs) that can transfer data at up to 5 Gbit/s. It's part of the USB 3.0 spec - you don't need anything special beyond a true USB 3.0 port - SuperSpeed comes along with that.

 

PCI-x is the original PCI card standard - which predates the current PCI-e standard, but both are still commonly found on modern motherboards, although PCI-x is older and being slowly phased out in favor of the newer card / slot standard. I'm a bit surprised you found a PCI-x USB 3.0 card - finding them in PCI-e format shouldn't be difficult.

 

As far as the processor, UA's site says it requires a i-series processor, so an i5 should be fine. Quad core is better IMO, but a dual core will be cheaper. I use a quad core i7, but on a budget you'll probably have to get a dual core i5. Any speed should be fine, but again, the fastest you can afford will pay speed and processing dividends. I'd stay away from the i3. It might work, but I've heard of people having issues with trying to use them for their recording computers.

 

Be aware that there have been a few different i-series motherboards and chips - not all i-series CPUs will work with all i-series motherboards. Make sure they both use the same socket type - LGA 1155 (Ivy and Sandy Bridge), LGA 1150 (Haswell and Broadwell), etc. Chances are if you're going to get an older i5 CPU, you'll probably need an 1155 motherboard.

 

As far as RAM, at least 4GB is a hard minimum these days for a DAW computer IMO. If you can get more into the machine, it's always a good idea to do so. I have 16GB of RAM in both my PC (3.5 GHz quad core i7) and MacBook Pro (2.2 GHz quad core i7), and I will probably add another 16 GB to the PC fairly soon.

[Anderton]

M

As far as RAM, at least 4GB is a hard minimum these days for a DAW computer IMO.

 

Granted, that's enough to wake a computer up in the morning. But if you want it to get out of bed, 8 GB. If you want it to get out of bed, make breakfast, and check voice mail...16 GB.

 

 

[MikeRivers]

Chances are if a computer has USB 3.0' date=' it's a 64-bit machine that will run Windows 7.[/quote']

 

Computers that come from the factory with USB 3.0 are probably going to exceed my moral budget for a new computer. I suspect that adding a USB 3.0 card to one of my Pentium 4s would probably not get me much further than providing a socket that fits a USB 3 cable, and maybe not rejecting a device that wants to see a USB 3.0 port.

 

 

[MikeRivers]

Mike' date=' USB 3.0 adds the new transfer mode SuperSpeed (often abbreviated SS near the port and on the cable plugs) that can transfer data at up to 5 Gbit/s. It's part of the USB 3.0 spec - you don't need anything special beyond a true USB 3.0 port - SuperSpeed comes along with that.[/quote']

 

Thanks. That's comforting to know. I guess that UA was just being cautious, adding the "SuperSpeed" to their requirements as a gentle hint that you can't use an adapter cable and need a real fully-capable port.

 

PCI-x is the original PCI card standard - which predates the current PCI-e standard, but both are still commonly found on modern motherboards, although PCI-x is older and being slowly phased out in favor of the newer card / slot standard. I'm a bit surprised you found a PCI-x USB 3.0 card - finding them in PCI-e format shouldn't be difficult.

 

PCI-e is what I'm familiar with. I didn't know if -x was older or newer. As I recall, there are two (or more) flavors of PCI-e slots, differing in the number of serial paths between the card and motherboard, with different connectors.

 

The first card I ran across was this one from Startech. On second look, I found one that specified "PCI-e" from Cables2Go. Looks like they both use the small connector. I think the large connector is mostly used for graphics cards.

 

As far as the processor, UA's site says it requires a i-series processor, so an i5 should be fine. Quad core is better IMO, but a dual core will be cheaper. I use a quad core i7, but on a budget you'll probably have to get a dual core i5. Any speed should be fine, but again, the fastest you can afford will pay speed and processing dividends. I'd stay away from the i3. It might work, but I've heard of people having issues with trying to use them for their recording computers.

 

Hard to keep track of all the "i"s. I wonder what the problem with the i3 is, maybe a missing instruction that a DAW wants to use?

 

Be aware that there have been a few different i-series motherboards and chips - not all i-series CPUs will work with all i-series motherboards.

 

I figure that what I'd get is an off-the-shelf computer, probably a Dell, so whatever CPU is in there is going to work with whatever motherboard is in there. My recording needs are very modest. I'm not inclined to actually use it, just use it to play with things that require more computer than what I presently have. It's what I do when I'm not posting on forums.

 

As far as RAM, at least 4GB is a hard minimum these days for a DAW computer IMO. If you can get more into the machine, it's always a good idea to do so.

 

Since I'm only running 32-bit versions of the OS, anything beyond about 3 GB isn't going to be used, but with a 64-bit system, I'll probably spring for the whole hog 4 GB.

 

Thanks for the primer.