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I'm sure we all have the problem of not being able to finish tunes due to cpu overload, so whats the best thing to do?

Would it be better to add RAM to my current pc, or buy a new one enitrely?

build your own.

cheaper & helps in future-proofing your pc.

Woah that's a weak rig. 1 gig of RAM and a dual core that doesn't hit 2ghz?

If that was all I had I'd have to bounce or freeze everything.

yeah man, you may as well get a new computer. That CPU is not going to allow you to do much of anything without a whole lot of frustration. I have 2.75 Gig and 3.0 GHz and I am hating life with it. W need more processing power!!!!

My laptop has 4.00gb ram and 2.10GHz processor but I usually don't have any problems. If you're worried about overload you could also close all background programs (especially anti-virus programs as they consume shitloads of CPU behind your back). And when I used to do pc gaming I used Vista Services Optimizer which basically pemporarily disampled all background programs and services automatically, network home sharing, changed the windows themes and did some other shit to all majorly reduce CPU usage from anything besides your main applicalion (in my case, Battlefield 2142). I haven't tried using it since ditching gaming and starting to produce, but that's cos I haven't had any problems with CPU overload.

But if you really wanna take all easy measures to reducing CPU load in the short term you could try that.

build a new one

Invest in a new computer. I'm surprised the one you have currently is able to run anything.

That computer is slower than my 4 year old laptop(2.5ghz dual core, 4gb ram), and i find working on the laptop a bit limiting now. Going to upgrade to an i7 system, i'd suggest you do the same. A new i7 or i5 system would literally blow yours out of the water, you won't be disappointed.

It just depends on your budget really, but i personally wouldn't bother trying to upgrade that system as it'd be more cost effective to get a brand new system.

I don't think upgrade is even an option.
You can probably go to Quad core max with the mb.
You ideally want to buy an i9 compatible mb.
Which will naturally extend your upgrade possibilities in future.
Always be proactive with your purchases.

Yeah build a new one from the ground up, much cheaper and probably you'll end up with a better computer. I know work on my AMD 6 Phenom II six-core with 3.2 Ghz for each core. With that I also have 8Gb of RAM right now but going to upgrade to 12 since having 2Gb for each processor core is the ideal setup.

If you have the means to upgrade then do so. If not use what you have the best you can. Don't let low CPU stand in the way of your music. I honestly have a piece of junk single core 2gb ram emachines. It runs fl 9 and ableton 8 pretty well to a certain point. I resample a lot to begin with, but that helps my CPU a lot. However resampling may or may not add a quality to the audio which you may or may not want. I am a firm believer in the philosphy of "Its not what you have, but how well you can use what you do have." I am still learning but from what i understand most of the pros don't use huge effects chains on every track. If a ton of effects are desired resampling is used. If you start choking out your pc, figure out why. Usually it is due to things you can minimize virtually, rather than change machines. I think people focus too much on specs and shiny new things. Back in the day you would have so much less than even the crappiest pc with the most generic daw, unless you where big time.

spotofthedead - good points
I think we all just assumed you were able to upgrade.
If it isn't an option then there are many options.

Get Windows xp lite.
Remove all non-essential applications from startup.
Within your daw you would essentially bounce all active synths to wav to free up resources.
Bounce entire sections of tunes and rebuild them as blocks.
etc.

I produce all my tunes on a machine of a similar spec to yours. Having a sick computer helps but it isn't the be-all and end-all. I don't have to freeze or bounce much really. Bouncing things does have its advantages anyway...

You could at least stick some more RAM in though and you could probably do a bit more with it for a while. I'm planning on building a new PC when I have some cash at the end of the summer.

Yep, that PC is definitely a few decades too old
Seriously though, in order to increase performance the following things help a LOT:
- Be careful about reverb! Reverb is a mechanic that has a lot of layers and requires a lot fo processing power, even when there is no signal going through it, so be careful with for example huge sized reverbs that have a wet of ~5%. Those take up a LOT of CPU power.
- Unison of course. Don't ever go above unison 4 if it doesn't give the sound some special characteristics that you need, bounce it if so. This applies for any synth
- Don't leave your synth group in your DAW too cluttered, again: any synths you have on your project that has Reverb in itself or in a mixer state that it's connected to, WILL take up a lot of CPU.

These things don't apply for me anymore since i have a brand-new high-end laptop with an Ivy-Bridge i7, 8GB ram, and a SSD with all my VSTs on it
Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies,

Are there any suggestions as to what new laptop/pcs to be looking at in particular, and even in terms of the difference between laptops and pcs and how performance and price correlate?

doublay

I can produce on my 1GB netbook. I just bounce/render/freeze all the time.

It all depends on what your budget is. If you want help I could come up with a few systems. Also do you want a desktop or a laptop?

Desktop, go i5 or i7 but get an mb that can go beyond.
8gb minimum

Electric_Head wrote:Desktop, go i5 or i7 but get an mb that can go beyond.
8gb minimum

That but 6gb is plenty(you can always upgrade), also an ssd helps a LOT but a fast (7200rpm minimal) normal hard drive works too