PC purchase advice
I am an experienced Sibelius 7 user but I need to replace my PC. I have considered and rejected a Mac because I have other PC based software I need to retain. I am UK based. I will only use the PC for Sibelius, Office software and internet browsing - I don't do gaming - and so the graphics do not need to be high spec, although the sound card does. I have read on another forum that one can buy a USB-based external sound card with a much lower latency for recording and playback. Has anyone gone down this route and can recommend a suitable sound-card? Or can anyone suggest a suitable level of spec PC? The salespeople at my local PC world inevitable know all about good graphics cards but next to nothing about good sound cards. Any advice would be welcome.
If you're going for a PC, then why not go for an internal soundcard that supports ASIO. I have the old but venerable M-Audio Audiophile 2496 in the Win 7 section of this PC. It also works on the Win XP section, alongside a now obsolete Terratec card. For the laptop and Macbook, I also have a Terratec DMX6Fire external USB card, which has all sorts of extra inputs and outputs. Latency on all of these will go as low as 1 millisecond, but I'm comfortable with a rock solid, stable 11ms. Remember, internal or external, ASIO is important.
As for the PC itself, I'd steer clear of the outfit that you mentioned! "Knowhow"? More like 'No Hope!" IMHO. My son and I have had to 'rescue' a few of their customers over the past few years. I'd find a local shop that will custom build a PC using the best components, rather than selling you an off the peg item, whose components are already months behind the best. I've built all of my PCs for the last 15 years or so, my son is now better and more qualified than me, so he can do my next one. This one's well over 5 years old and still copes with anything I throw at it.
You need 8GB RAM, preferably 16GB, if you're going to use Sib 7's sounds, or large sample libraries. And an SSD is essential for loading Sib sounds in quickly, as well as speeding up your start up and app loading times. Quality motherboard and as fast a CPU as you can afford. Good, quiet cooling system, the last thing you want when writing or listening to music is a fan system that rivals a Hoover.
Hope that helps!
As for the PC itself, I'd steer clear of the outfit that you mentioned! "Knowhow"? More like 'No Hope!" IMHO. My son and I have had to 'rescue' a few of their customers over the past few years. I'd find a local shop that will custom build a PC using the best components, rather than selling you an off the peg item, whose components are already months behind the best. I've built all of my PCs for the last 15 years or so, my son is now better and more qualified than me, so he can do my next one. This one's well over 5 years old and still copes with anything I throw at it.
You need 8GB RAM, preferably 16GB, if you're going to use Sib 7's sounds, or large sample libraries. And an SSD is essential for loading Sib sounds in quickly, as well as speeding up your start up and app loading times. Quality motherboard and as fast a CPU as you can afford. Good, quiet cooling system, the last thing you want when writing or listening to music is a fan system that rivals a Hoover.
Hope that helps!
In addition to Andy's excellent advice, there is the other side of the coin. Until I built the rig in my sig, I ran Sib7 on a laptop. Onboard graphics and sound. The only thing Sibelius really needs is ram, the more the better. I don't input from midi keyboard so ASIO doesn't help me. Sure, if you use a keyboard and lots of fancy add on sounds, a good sound card is a must. But you don't say what your requirements are. Next would be an SSD. This cuts down sound loading time for large scores from 8 to 10 minutes down to 3 minutes.
True, Sibelius is not graphics intensive. Yet having an internal (as apposed to "onboard") graphics card and audio card will make your computer faster over all. Though probably not worth a graphics card in your case.
True, Sibelius is not graphics intensive. Yet having an internal (as apposed to "onboard") graphics card and audio card will make your computer faster over all. Though probably not worth a graphics card in your case.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop
