# What is more important for audio processing? (talking about hardware)



## onebluesphere (Jul 23, 2013)

Now that Logic X is out, and the new Mac Pro is coming late this year, I'm seriously considering on spending my savings on the new Mac, but will It be really necessary?
Should I wait for the new Mac Mini?
At the present moment I own the Mac mini 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (2 cores) with 8Gb 1333MHz DDR3 and do have problems ('System Overload" on Logic, and similar results in Ableton Live).
I do have to tell you that I use heavy V.I.s like Omnisphere, Trillian, 2Caudio reverbs etc..
So here is the question. What is more important for smooth audio processing (recording, etc..) 
-Size of Ghz in the processor
-Quantity of Cores 
-Ram Memory
-Type of external Hard drive
-Something else?
I do not know much about computers and I could believe things like "If I have a mac with 12 cores, maybe the problem is solved" or something like that. 
And maybe the answer is not that, but RAM Memory.
Thanks for you kind advice.


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## JPQ (Jul 23, 2013)

I try give ansvers based wbat i know VSL needs more Cores than Ghz. I also get cpu spikes which are related i think problematic Logic (9.1.8 and OS X 10.7.5 is not still fine combination) and oddly working plugin not how much i have memory,and how fast computer i have becouse even old plugins which dont stream anything and computer is superfast for these get similar problems. less with some plugins.... and is hardknow which exact problem when i we dont know all plugins and which kind combination you use.


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## Ah_dziz (Jul 23, 2013)

Any of the components you listed could be the weak link that will cause you problems. The more/faster the better when it comes to computers. Having a computer that doesn't make you rely on external hard drives seems like a good place to start though.


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## khollister (Jul 24, 2013)

Your system overload problems could be due to either CPU or disk I/O. Have you watched Logic's CPU and disk meters to see what is overloading? CPU overloads can also be caused by audio interface driver problems.

If your Mini is an i7, it is 4 cores, i5 is 2 core. Since you said 2.7 GHz, I believe you have an older i5 Mini.

Personally, I think the new Mac Pro is going to be a very poor value for our purposes (DAW) since it appears to be GPU oriented - you will be paying for high end GPU's that offer absolutely no performance advantage to Logic as it currently stands. 

Your most cost effective solution would be to pick up a new i7 quad core Mini (that has USB3 and TB for disk I/O), make sure your samples are on SSD and use your existing Mini as a slave via Vienna Ensemble Pro thru GigEthernet.

I currently have a 3.33 6 core Mac Pro and still get CPU spikes with Logic at times. I am actually considering moving to a PC/Cubase rig in the future for reasons of cost and ease of upgrades.


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## onebluesphere (Jul 24, 2013)

Thank you all for your tips.
Khollister, very clear.


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