# Need advice for a new iMac



## kimarnesen (Sep 6, 2017)

How much RAM, and kind of processor and hard drive should I have to run programs like Logic and Sibelius with several instances of Kontakt with libraries like the ones from Spitfire?


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## John Busby (Sep 6, 2017)

How many instances is several? like 50 or in the 100's
what you have should run what you want with minimal trouble
you could try purging samples that you're not using and bouncing down and using audio files to take the load off your processor 
SSD's would help too!


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## Publius (Sep 6, 2017)

I think the mac has a nice little performance/resource monitor in the utilities folder. I suggest running your stuff that is having problems and watch the resource monitor to see if all the memory is being used, and how busy the cpu is---this may help inform your purchases.


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## kimarnesen (Sep 6, 2017)

johnbusbymusic said:


> How many instances is several? like 50 or in the 100's
> what you have should run what you want with minimal trouble
> you could try purging samples that you're not using and bouncing down and using audio files to take the load off your processor
> SSD's would help too!



Well, now it has problems with 2 instances of Kontakt and 1 of UVI Workstation, with together 6 different instruments. Haven't even dared to try a full orchestra with this system.


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## Steinmetzify (Sep 6, 2017)

I'm running a PC laptop with all the same specs you are.....16GB RAM, i7, 512GB SSD drive, and regularly run 8-10 tracks of Kontakt with anywhere from 2-5 instances on each track, plus all the Slate plugins on each track and the master track, no issues.


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## Publius (Sep 6, 2017)

you didn't give a cpu model number, but the i7-860 is a 2.8 gig cpu. It has a benchmark of 5,047. The xeon on my home computer runs about 10,000. My rig is kind of an oddball because it started out as a server, so I won't recommend it to you. I see you has having the option of adding ram to the imac or starting over with a new computer. Others here can discuss mac as I am not familiar with newer imacs. If you go the pc route, there may be some threads here which talk about some new builds. Just doing some guessing here, but it looks like your computer is not going to support your musical goals.

For me, the way I build a new pc or upgrade, is maybe an odd approach. I look at price performance and see what the best cpu is for about $350. Then I get a mobo that supports its socket--and today I would want a mobo that can support 64 gig of ram. I like to get a motherboard perhaps midrange cost in the range, and see what features it has. I used to get cheaper mobos, but I like the extra features of better ones now. Then I would get 32 gig in sizes that would allow me to add 32 more later. And a terabyte of ssd for system and samples, then I get maybe a 2-4 gig spinning platter drive to hold backups and archived files.

For daw the network card performance is not a big deal, so I select the network card that has the sockets and resolution that will support my monitors.

Another poster reminded me that you may benefit from an upgrade to ssd in this computer as well. I know its hard to take apart an imac, so maybe you need a pro to upgrade the parts.


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## kimarnesen (Sep 7, 2017)

Publius said:


> you didn't give a cpu model number, but the i7-860 is a 2.8 gig cpu. It has a benchmark of 5,047. The xeon on my home computer runs about 10,000. My rig is kind of an oddball because it started out as a server, so I won't recommend it to you. I see you has having the option of adding ram to the imac or starting over with a new computer. Others here can discuss mac as I am not familiar with newer imacs. If you go the pc route, there may be some threads here which talk about some new builds. Just doing some guessing here, but it looks like your computer is not going to support your musical goals.
> 
> For me, the way I build a new pc or upgrade, is maybe an odd approach. I look at price performance and see what the best cpu is for about $350. Then I get a mobo that supports its socket--and today I would want a mobo that can support 64 gig of ram. I like to get a motherboard perhaps midrange cost in the range, and see what features it has. I used to get cheaper mobos, but I like the extra features of better ones now. Then I would get 32 gig in sizes that would allow me to add 32 more later. And a terabyte of ssd for system and samples, then I get maybe a 2-4 gig spinning platter drive to hold backups and archived files.
> 
> ...




Thank you for sharing all this information, And I'm sorry for not providing more info. It seems like my CPU model number is i7-2600S. I guess that is incredibly low?

Would it help if I upgrade the RAM to 32GB and run the OS and libraries from an external SSD? I think the problem is that this computer seems to have only USB 2.0, so it won't help much. Or can I use it with Thunderbolt instead?

Could a 3rd option be to use this iMac as the master and buy a great PC to use as a slave with Vienna Ensemble Pro and ethernet cable? Or will this iMac have trouble with a full orchestra anyway by streaming the audio?


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## JPQ (Sep 7, 2017)

I want now know which libraries in first post talks. Becouse such imac sound something what i can afford. if current quad core imac mini what is about 1800euros with 16gigabytes ram is similar. makes me wonder if i need switch to pc.


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## Publius (Sep 8, 2017)

mrarnesen said:


> Thank you for sharing all this information, although I'm not a computer guy so I really would need help from an expert before wasting my cash. And I'm sorry for not providing more info. It seems like my CPU model number is i7-2600S. I guess that is incredibly low?...



Looks like the cpu benchmark for that cpu is 1799 single core/7062 multicore. To boil it down to an adjective, I would not say its incredibly low, I would say for a DAW, it is above-average, but not at the highest performance levels.

Without any performance monitoring information, anything I say about ram or cpu would be complete speculation and likely wrong. It may be that others here with more experience can answer your questions more fully.


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## kimarnesen (Sep 9, 2017)

After some consideration I will go for a PC slave instead of a new iMac. I've been fixing a lot on my iMac which has helped with its speed this weekend. So I think it can work as a master, at least for a while.


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## Benjamin Orth (Sep 10, 2017)

johnbusbymusic said:


> SSD's would help too!



Absolutely! A SSD makes a huge difference. I totally underestimated that and thought I need more RAM (or better a new computer) but when I upgraded my Macbook Pro with an SSD it almost felt like a new machine.


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## samphony (Sep 10, 2017)

An ssd and hosting some demanding sample libraries outside your DAW via VEP even on the same computer should give you a great benefit.


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