# One big VEP samples server or two smaller ones?



## Pablocrespo (Mar 13, 2019)

So, I am building my new master (9900k 64gb) and the old master (3930k) will be the main VEP slave (I don´t like that word but I don´t know which one is commonly accepted).
So, I have two options:

1. New Master 64gb + Old Master 32gb + Old Slave 24gb
(I would have to buy a new dongle and vep7 makes you pay for licenses)

2. New Master 64gb + Old Master 64gb
(I would have to buy 32gb and would sell the old slave)

So, in your experience, is there gain in keeping the old slave and distribute the burden, even though I would have less ram (8gb) and more power consumption? 
Or should I consolidate all in two machines?


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## JohnG (Mar 13, 2019)

I have three satellite/ slave PCs. They started as feeble machines and I've upgraded them so now they're pretty robust.


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## Pablocrespo (Mar 14, 2019)

Thanks, I don´t know if the extra processing power and distribution using two slaves instead of one is worth the hassle of buying a new dongle, the vep7 license, cables,etc and still have 8gb less of ram.

Is the distribution aspect still an issue?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 14, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> Thanks, I don´t know if the extra processing power and distribution using two slaves instead of one is worth the hassle of buying a new dongle, the vep7 license, cables,etc and still have 8gb less of ram.
> 
> Is the distribution aspect still an issue?



Well, with more than one slave you'll need a switch or hub. I prefer just going machine to machine, keeps thing simple.


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## Pablocrespo (Mar 14, 2019)

Thanks, I have a nice gb switch, so that wouldn´t be an issue, the setbacks would be more power consumption, a new dongle and vep license.

So my doubt is if I should get more ram and use two computers or if the load distribution still matters?


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## Desire Inspires (Mar 14, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> So, I am building my new master (9900k 64gb) and the old master (3930k) will be the main VEP slave (I don´t like that word but I don´t know which one is commonly accepted).



You could use Parent and Child.


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## JohnG (Mar 14, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> if the load distribution still matters?



Although I am a huge fan of throwing muscle at the problem of composing (so I am inclined to answer, "yes"), I don't think anyone can reliably answer this question for you.

It would help if we knew:

1. what kind of music you write,
2. which libraries you use,
3. how you write (score paper, DAW, sing into your iPhone...),
4. whether you want to record audio as well (singing, guitar, flute, other instruments you play), and
5. what kind of buffers you can tolerate when composing / playing.

Even then, your possible need for very fast processing varies a lot by library, even _within_ a library. For example, the Performance Legato samples in Spifire Symphonic Strings (especially with two mic positions) are super CPU hogs, though the rest of that library is not nearly as demanding. If you turn on three lines of that type of patch, you are going to have to work with a larger buffer than you would for most other samples.

And of course there's a huge difference between someone trying to emulate, say, an acoustic orchestra, by contrast with writing metal songs.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 14, 2019)

Desire Inspires said:


> You could use Parent and Child



These are machines, nothing to do with cruelty and abuse!


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## JohnG (Mar 14, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> more power consumption



I put solar panels on the roof to offset it.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 14, 2019)

You're building a new machine and you're running VE Pro 6 now? That means you already have VE Pro for all three machines.

I personally would start by adding the new machine and seeing how it works with the old one. RAM is only one resource, processing power is another, and my hunch is that two slaves will take you a lot father than one with more RAM. But I don't know.

I only turn on PC slaves to run libraries I have on them, not because my main machine runs out of resources.


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## Desire Inspires (Mar 14, 2019)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> These are machines, nothing to do with cruelty and abuse!



True, but the word 'slave' has a negative connotation. I'd suggest satellite as an alternative word.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Mar 14, 2019)

I dunno. To me it's a matter of picking your battles, and this is one that doesn't seem worth fighting (because there's no payoff).

Statues of Robert E. Lee, absolutely. This... I'm having a hard time getting excited.


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## BlackDorito (Mar 14, 2019)

These days we get lots of messages about how the entire social, physical and political infrastructure of the world must change within the next 10 years in order to avoid catastrophic irreversible climate change and all the consequences thereof. VI composers running extra slave systems are surely a very small component of this crisis, but just for your own peace of mind (and under the philosophy of "think globally but act locally"), you might want to start with one slave system. I find that I can run very large VSL or Spitfire templates on one Windows PC slave with 32GB. I would ask yourself: in the next 5 years, what is the largest slave template I would realistically need to run, and can I build a single slave to run it? Your current VEP license will suffice for that.


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## Pablocrespo (Mar 15, 2019)

Thank you all, I have a large template mainly CSS/CSSS (CSB soon) spit solo, play brass ,LASS, BWW, Stormdrums and albions.
I plan to host some in the new 64gb master with omnisphere and other synths.

So, the jury is divided in more machines or less machines with more memory...


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## paulwr (Mar 18, 2019)

Desire Inspires said:


> True, but the word 'slave' has a negative connotation. I'd suggest satellite as an alternative word.


"Server" is an accurate description in 'computer talk' that that usage of a computer.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Mar 19, 2019)

paulwr said:


> "Server" is an accurate description in 'computer talk' that that usage of a computer.



How about "a non-descript secondary processing unit". Seriously, the world has gone mad with this politically correct BS. Anyways....


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## JohnG (Mar 19, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> So, the jury is divided in more machines or less machines with more memory...



You might consider one PC for strings only, a second for "other," and keep virtual synths on the same machine as your DAW software. Depending on your choice of libraries, strings need a very fast processor now for the scripting, in addition to good drives and plenty of RAM.

Strings remain by far the most demanding section of most library families, from Spitfire to EW and others. If you can get them off the DAW that should help a lot.

And, of course, you don't need to do it all at once; could just start with a strings satellite PC and see how it goes.


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## shomynik (Mar 19, 2019)

I have 2 slaves and 64gb master. These 64gb I don't use anymore as I moved ALL of my libraries (except synths) to my slaves and with that saved a lot of CPU cycles on my master for "mixing as I go". A major workflow improvement for me.

So maybe consider going with 32gb master and leaving more ram for slaves which usually are coping much easier with library streaming comparing to DAWs processes and especially plugins that master has to run.

Of course all of this heavily depends on your workflow.

GL
Milos

EDIT:
This was the case for me as I was running synths, keys and percussions off my master, and I usually have around 4 libraries of percs activated and ready to go which in Cubase reserves asio load from the get-go. So, if you load your instruments on your master one by one, then the benefit I had might not be so great for you.


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## Desire Inspires (Mar 19, 2019)

Wolfie2112 said:


> How about "a non-descript secondary processing unit". Seriously, the world has gone mad with this politically correct BS. Anyways....



No BS to me. The word isn’t acceptable. There are better alternatives.


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## Pablocrespo (Mar 22, 2019)

I changed the title, to a better nomenclature.

So, the opinions are divided, I think I will put my strings with their scripting in the first sample server, and keep my percussions and soft synths in the Master


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## Desire Inspires (Mar 22, 2019)

Pablocrespo said:


> I changed the title, to a better nomenclature.
> 
> So, the opinions are divided, I think I will put my strings with their scripting in the first sample server, and keep my percussions and soft synths in the Master



Thank you for changing the title.

I hope you find a solution for your computing needs.


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## Pablocrespo (Mar 22, 2019)

It´s the least I can do my friend, I will post when I am done...I am just testing the 9900k and this thing rocks!!!!


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