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Topic: Comparing Operatin Systems for Recording |
James Quillian
From:
San Antonio, Texas, USA
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Posted 26 Feb 2018 4:53 pm |
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Everything I do is by trial and error. Of all the operating systems I have used, it seems that xp is the only one that worked seamlessly.
My impression is that the lighter an operating system is, the better it works for a dedicated use like recording. Windows 7 works o.k. but not great.
Linux works fine with Audacity but that seems to be the only Linux recording program around.
I am looking for thoughts on this if anybody has any.
_________________
Curbside Jimmy's New Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlzieFLE5no |
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werner althaus
From:
lincoln, NE
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Posted 26 Feb 2018 8:41 pm
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Running IZ RADAR Studio with Windows 8.1 and ProTools 11 HD. I don't know how they (IZ Technologies) do it but alongside the fast processor, SSDs and 32 GB of RAM they "strip down" the OS to it's bare minimum and the machine flies, 12-15 seconds to boot CPU, another 25-35 seconds to launch ProTools and never a hitch.
It's the best I've ever experienced but it is an expensive purpose built workstation.
I wonder if anyone offers a similar stripped down version of windows optimized for audio work that would run an "off the shelf" PC in a similar fashion. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 2:08 am
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WIN 7 works great, not just OK.
it runs in 32 or 64 bit format and can have extended ram over the XP system which is limited to 4 gig, 3.5 in reality.
It's not the OP system, it's how your PC is configured and prepared for the DAW.
My WIN 7 system Pro Tools 12 runs 10 gig of RAM , my XP, Pro Tools 8 system runs ok, but not near as efficient as the WIN 7 system. Not even close.
If you are running WIN 7 and are having operational issues, something is wrong , more likely the PC is not optimized.
Many users have a PC they use for everything they do, daily tasks , internet, mail , etc.. including the DAW. The DAW is not in control of the PC and processing, something else is. The DAW is an afterthought. DAW's do not like sharing resources.
Werner's comment above is correct. A DAW likes a dedicated machine, nothing is on it , no start menu, no extra programs hogging valuable processing resources running in the background, no enabled INTERNET unless you need it. When you set up a DAW properly, you tell it how much buffer sizes and processing to have available. OF course there are defaults but the defaults are not geared for every PC, they are starting points.
But, back to the topic, XP is NOT better than WIN7. Mostly because it only runs in 32 bit and is limited to 4 gig of ram.
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 3:41 am
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Which DAW depends on your hardware. If the hardware is compatible then Win 10 is a good choice. Win 10 lowered my recording and over latency, compared to Win 7 or Win 8/8.1. Microsoft did several "under the hood" enhancements specifically for recording. Both Cakewalk Sonar and Studio One 3 Pro run flawlessly for me in Win 10.
Using a Roland "Octa-Capture" USB recording interface, with Win 7 and 8/8.1 6ms was the best, reliable, recording latency I could use. With Win 10 I could go down to 4.1ms "reliable" recording latency.
Consider that many vendors are designing equipment to take advantage of current technology - both hardware and software. Some no longer support (or fully support) old (obsolete or soon to be obsolete) Operating Systems. Thunderbolt interfaces are appearing more and more. With a Windows PC, everything I've seen says you have to have Win 10 (and hardware) to use Thunderbolt.
This is like the old "what is better" (anything). Everyone will have an opinion and likely different.
_________________
GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat, SIT Strings
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit |
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mtulbert
From:
Plano, Texas 75023
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Posted 27 Feb 2018 6:02 am
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I agree with Tony and Jack. Had Pro Tools running under Windows 7 with no difficulty at all. Did the free update to Windows 10 when it first came out and you could restore to Windows 7 if you were not happy and was amazed at how much better it worked.
I then built a "Hackintosh" to try Pro Tools on the MAC OX platform. The performance specs were almost equal on both setups. YMMV.
As Jack mentioned the newer technology does help improve recording performance.
Regards,
_________________
Mark T
Rittenberry Laquer D10, Rittenberry Prestige SD10, Revelation Preamp,Revelation Octal Preamp,Lexicon PCM 92 Reverb, Furlong Cabinet |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 28 Feb 2018 4:36 am
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yes I concur with the above, my comments only reflected WIN 7 vs XP , as thats what the op was discussing.
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 28 Feb 2018 5:33 am
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Considering Win 7 Microsoft support ends in two years (which means many hardware and software vendors will also drop support), I would not consider Win 7 for a new system. Upgrading old XP hardware to run Win 7 can even be a problem with a lot of old hardware due to lack of drivers.
I see posts from XP and Win 7 users on recording forums that are not going to upgrade to Win 10, as they are keeping what hardware and DAW software they have. That's OK until they decide to upgrade or add new and then it can become a problem.
_________________
GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat, SIT Strings
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 28 Feb 2018 10:49 am
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James, there is a variety of Audio Programs available for Linux and most of them are quite good. You can find the best bundled together in one distro: Ubuntu Studio. I haven't had the time that I would like to explore it in depth, but on first pass it looks pretty complete.
HTH. Good Luck with The Projects! 
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 3 Mar 2018 1:58 am
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| Jack Stoner wrote: |
Considering Win 7 Microsoft support ends in two years (which means many hardware and software vendors will also drop support), I would not consider Win 7 for a new system. Upgrading old XP hardware to run Win 7 can even be a problem with a lot of old hardware due to lack of drivers.
I see posts from XP and Win 7 users on recording forums that are not going to upgrade to Win 10, as they are keeping what hardware and DAW software they have. That's OK until they decide to upgrade or add new and then it can become a problem. |
While what Jack states is true, when I moved from XP to WIN 7 two years ago, all the drivers loaded, even the ones that supposedly were not going to load ! My interface is the M Audio Delta 6 , I loaded the most current driver available and the only thing that did not load was the stand-alone Control Panel program which is off line from the DAW. The interface was recognized by Pro Tools immediately. Go figure ! If I needed to upgrade the OP system again, Win 10 would not be an issue.
WIN 7 , in the 64 bit mode , has been 100 % consistent and reliable for me. It was a clean install with the latest Service PAK on a dedicated PC , using a solid state drive for the programs and an ext drive for sessions and data.
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 3 Mar 2018 3:30 am
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Tony, you are lucky. I see a lot of reports on computer forums of problems trying to use old XP hardware on newer Operating Systems. Some works but a lot does not. Audio (PC Audio) is even "iffier" as Vista/Win 7 handle some audio functions differently than XP and thus unless the driver is written for both XP and Vista/Win 7 the device will not work.
Win 10 even gets worse as support for 16 bit devices has been dropped. A lot of the early XP devices were 16 bit.
_________________
GFI Ultra Keyless S-10 with pad (Black of course) TB202 amp, Hilton VP, Steelers Choice sidekick seat, SIT Strings
Cakewalk by Bandlab and Studio One V4.6 pro DAWs, MOTU Ultralite MK5 recording interface unit |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 4 Mar 2018 8:01 am
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Very true Jack, I should re-state, some things I didn't even bother to try load into 7, I never used them with XP and 8, so there was no point !
These days I am much more cautious about what I may purchase as a plug-in, many things just appear redundant. Plus as of late I am recording much more with effects and EQ and printing .
Makes for more NAP time ! 
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Doug Garrick
From:
Grand Junction, CO
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Posted 19 Mar 2018 1:43 pm
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James, If you're comfortable with linux then I won't hesitate to recommend Ardour ( http://www.ardour.org/ ). Ardour is the open source project that the Harrison Mixbus 32c is built from. Its not as full featured as Mixbus 32 is but for my purposes its way more DAW than I'll ever use. I find it quite friendly and I love the flexibility that the JACK audio engine provides.
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-doug garrick |
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