New PC

[Two-Twelve]

I'm currently saving up to build a new PC, as all I have to work with currently is a pretty crappy laptop with 3 gigs of RAM. Anyway, what are some good specs to aim for? How good of a CPU and how much ram should I get to be able to run a lot of instruments and plugins as well as be able to handle multiple, large Kontakt libraries? Also any soundcard recommendations? I will also be buying a good video card as I will be using it for gaming as well. My budget is 800-900 dollars.

[ChromaMonster]

Just built my PC not long ago, so I'm gonna get this typed out while everything's still fresh in my head. As a music producer who works with massive Kontakt libraries, you should be aiming for a nice, fast CPU, at least 8GBs of RAM, and preferably 1-2 TB of hard disk space at least.

First for CPU, you should know that there are two major players out there, AMD and Intel. I'm no CPU connoisseur, but what I know is that the new Intel Sandy Bridge line gives great value for money. You get the same power of the previous generation at half the price. Personally, I'm using the i5 2500k, and it works great for just about everything I do! Keep in mind the 'k' at the back, though. It makes the difference between being able to overclock your CPU and not.

However, you may want to wait for Intel's new Ivy Bridge line coming out soon, though. Not sure how it fares against the Sandy Bridge line, so just keep the option in mind.

On to RAM. I don't know much about this other than my recommended 8GB, but you should consider the RAM bus speeds as well.

As for hard disks, I guess SSDs would be out of the question with your budget. Any decent hard disk running at 7200rpm would do, and you may want to do a little research into RAID 0. Not recommended though; Failure means you lose all your data. Risk for speed.

As for a video card, get ATi If you intend on getting an AMD processor, and Nvidia if you're going for Intel. I don't know much about ATi, but if you're going with Nvidia, I suggest the GTX550 Ti or the GTX560. Should be enough to play most, if not all games on maximum.

Not too much on soundcards in my book, so I'll just let someone else take that for me. Also, feel free to correct any mistake I made above.

[colortwelve]

My desktop still has a Core-2 Quad and only 4GB of RAM, but it runs FL on an ASIO driver like nobody's business. I am going to upgrade my laptop soon, though, and I'm just barely scraping by with an i5 at the moment. I'd shoot for one of the newer Intel quad-cores, an i7 if you can drop the cash for one. But I've also seen AMD processors with 4 cores and an additional two that can be unlocked going for around $200-250 if you know where to look. RAM - 8GB is good, 16 is amazing, but like I said, I get by with only 4. For me, it's usually the processor that makes my performance.

[Versilaryan]

Processor power is everything. Go for an Intel i7. Not sure about the AMD equivalent.

If you have an audio interface, don't worry about the sound card at all. Otherwise, getting a higher-end one would be a good idea. Or you can get a crappy one and buy an audio interface, especially if you work a lot with microphones or MIDI instruments.

8 gigs of RAM is plenty. I have 12 and that's overkill.

If you can afford it, get a small solid-state drive as well as a 1-2 TB hard drive. The SSD doesn't need to be that big -- just enough for your OS and recording things. The hard drive should be 7200RPM, and if you can't afford the SSD, look into RAID0.

[DJSheogowrath]

Tossing my hat in, it's not like you do need a monster computer. My PC is a pre-built Dell Optiplex 755, 2 gigs of RAM, 2.66ghz dual core processor. It's a computer built for IT. But even then, I almost never lag in FL or Ableton, and it works great. So there's that.
My advice is, find out a good gaming setup, and go from there. The thing about gaming PC's is that they also work great for music, because music and games are usually both CPU-heavy things. Maybe don't worry too much about a $300 graphics card, but I think you get the idea.

[vladnuke]

Uh oh, gonna toss mah modest little computer into the ring.126GB Samsung SSD, 2TB hard drive, SLI'ed GTX 560Ti's, Core i7proccessor, 16 gigs of ram, and on top of all that, liquid cooling. All for around $1500, but worth every penny spent. Now I'm ready for the vidja games of today AND the future! And I can use it to control our nation's air traffic systems!