eDRUMin and VST

[anton]

Why not something like the HP ENVY x360?
The new AMD Ryzen 7 4700U seems to be a monster and wipes the floor with Intel at the moment in regards of CPU power and integrated graphics
Sure, it costs a little more than your NUC but you have the touchscreen already available and a NVMe M.2 SSD which is awesome too.

[Mylo]

Why not something like the HP ENVY x360?
The new AMD Ryzen 7 4700U seems to be a monster and wipes the floor with Intel at the moment in regards of CPU power and integrated graphics
Sure, it costs a little more than your NUC but you have the touchscreen already available and a NVMe M.2 SSD which is awesome too.

Some thoughts... (and the typical question of “what do you want to do with your computer?” applies here. The comments below are in context of using the computer as a dedicated drum module.)

All the AMD versions of this laptop seem to top out at 512GB SSD. If you are going to use SD3 that won’t be enough. I have SD3 Core fully loaded and I’ve added the Death & Darkness SDX. I also have Reaper installed and the free version of SSD5. All that and my storage is at 499 GB of 930GB. If you are going to use SD3 and you have plans to buy some expansion kits you will want... no... need 1TB. But #1, if you’re not using SD3 then 512GB may be enough. But #2, storage is relatively cheap so get all you can afford in SSD form. I tend to skimp more on CPU and put money into faster storage and memory. IMO I/O is still the bottleneck when it comes to speed. All the cores in the world don’t do much good if they are waiting on data from storage and memory.

If you buy a Windows machine and you want to access it via Remote Desktop from another machine you will need Windows 10 Pro. Windows 10 Home does not allow you to turn on Remote Desktop. I’m not familiar with remote access when it comes to Mac or Linux so I’m not sure what to look for with these operating systems,

Laptops are lacking in USB ports. You will most likely need a USB hub depending on all extras you have (more equipment, more wires, possibly more latency). The number of USB ports needed is dropping though. My NUC is receiving two ED10s and my Scarlett audio interface so that is a minimum of two USB ports needed.

I agree AMD is wiping the floor with Intel. But for my purposes the NUC fit perfectly.

[anton]

Why not something like the HP ENVY x360?
The new AMD Ryzen 7 4700U seems to be a monster and wipes the floor with Intel at the moment in regards of CPU power and integrated graphics
Sure, it costs a little more than your NUC but you have the touchscreen already available and a NVMe M.2 SSD which is awesome too.

Some thoughts... (and the typical question of “what do you want to do with your computer?” applies here. The comments below are in context of using the computer as a dedicated drum module.)

All the AMD versions of this laptop seem to top out at 512GB SSD. If you are going to use SD3 that won’t be enough. I have SD3 Core fully loaded and I’ve added the Death & Darkness SDX. I also have Reaper installed and the free version of SSD5. All that and my storage is at 499 GB of 930GB. If you are going to use SD3 and you have plans to buy some expansion kits you will want... no... need 1TB. But #1, if you’re not using SD3 then 512GB may be enough. But #2, storage is relatively cheap so get all you can afford in SSD form. I tend to skimp more on CPU and put money into faster storage and memory. IMO I/O is still the bottleneck when it comes to speed. All the cores in the world don’t do much good if they are waiting on data from storage and memory.

If you buy a Windows machine and you think you may want to use access it via Remote Desktop from another machine you will need Windows 10 Pro. Windows 10 Home does not allow you to turn on Remote Desktop. I’m not as familiar with remote access when it comes to Mac or Linux so I’m not sure what to look for with these operating systems,

Laptops are lacking in USB ports. You will most likely need a USB hub depending on all extras you have (more equipment, more wires, possibly more latency). The number of USB ports needed is dropping though. My NUC is receiving two ED10s and my Scarlett audio interface so that is a minimum of two USB ports needed.

I agree AMD is wiping the floor with Intel. But for my purposes the NUC fit my purposes perfectly.

Sure Mylo it's allways the question what someone wants from a system
Just wanted to give a example for another route
The Envy 360x is also available with 1TB storage. Or maybe it was the powerbook. Don't exactly know anymore.

And a external powered USB hub is a must. No matter if you use a NUC or Laptop For me at least

[Mylo]

Sure Mylo it's allways the question what someone wants from a system
Just wanted to give a example for another route
The Envy 360x is also available with 1TB storage. Or maybe it was the powerbook. Don't exactly know anymore.

And a external powered USB hub is a must. No matter if you use a NUC or Laptop For me at least

That HP Envy looks pretty hot. If I was in the market for a laptop that one would get serious consideration.

What was weird on the HP store for the Envy is that the 1TB version switched over to using Intel. The Ryzen surely supports 1TB SSDs so why the switch to Intel? I don’t get that myself.

I’ve done away with my need for a USB hub... for now.

And when it comes to NUCs or mini PCs, AMD as a line of them as well. But I had a set of specs I had in mind and I couldn’t find an AMD mini PC that met what I needed.

[MWJT42]

All laptop SSDs are upgradable, and personally I like my data stored on an external drive, so I can mix on a different machine without having to copy / download SD3!

So storage is not a massive consideration IMO. Mine is 128GB and I've bought a 500GB USB 3 external SSD for Superior Drummer 3 etc. Means I can also wipe my laptop if necessary and everything is still available to me.

At this level of spec people are taking about, I imagine the audio interface will become the limiting factor for performance. What is everyone using?

[Mylo]

All laptop SSDs are upgradable, and personally I like my data stored on an external drive, so I can mix on a different machine without having to copy / download SD3!

So storage is not a massive consideration IMO. Mine is 128GB and I've bought a 500GB USB 3 external SSD for Superior Drummer 3 etc. Means I can also wipe my laptop if necessary and everything is still available to me.

At this level of spec people are taking about, I imagine the audio interface will become the limiting factor for performance. What is everyone using?

External drives are convenient. But you loose the benefit of SSD speeds if your computer’s I/O (storage interface, USB ports) can’t keep up. The bottleneck in SD3 is loading kits and presets. On my old laptop it would take 45-60 seconds to load a kit with an old spinning hard drive. My NUC loads the same kit in about 20 seconds with the SSD. Big deal you say... so you saved a few seconds, but if you switch kits or presets a lot during a gig it starts to add up.

This article seems to cover external drives in depth. It’s a pretty good read: https://www.akitio.com/information-cent ... nal-drives

In the end it is your money. Buy the most of what you can afford that fulfills your purpose. I’m just putting all this out there for “food for thought”.

[MWJT42]

if you switch kits or presets a lot during a gig it starts to add up.

Makes sense, yeah I wouldn't want to use my setup live.

And certainly not with my Lenovo laptop (definitely a brand to avoid!)

Mine's a leave on, same kit loaded for months, setup. Occasionally need to restart the audio interface when Rob releases a new beta eDRUMin version!

[Mylo]

I learn all this because I’m an apologist for VSTs and eDRUMin. VSTs and eDRUMin get dinged for things like “you have to have a laptop” or “SD3 takes forever to load a kit” or “it only has 4 inputs” (ha, Rob showed them). It’s nice to have answers.

[anton]

I learn all this because I’m an apologist for VSTs and eDRUMin. VSTs and eDRUMin get dinged for things like “you have to have a laptop” or “SD3 takes forever to load a kit” or “it only has 4 inputs” (ha, Rob showed them). It’s nice to have answers.

Amen!

[dsteinschneider]

I learn all this because I’m an apologist for VSTs and eDRUMin. VSTs and eDRUMin get dinged for things like “you have to have a laptop” or “SD3 takes forever to load a kit” or “it only has 4 inputs” (ha, Rob showed them). It’s nice to have answers.

There is bias against the midi controller->computer->VST->audio interface among keyboard players in my area. I created a setup I could bring on stage as quickly as a keyboard with onboard sounds. Other keyboard players at local open mics thought it was crazy until they heard me play realistic Hammond, Rhodes, Wurli and Moog all with the push of different pads on my Axiom controller. I don't even open the laptop. I offered to help one of them set it up but he doesn't trust his computer skills. To pull it off you do need to follow protocols like making sure updates are 100 percent manual, restart the laptop when you get to the venue, turn off all power saving settings in BIOS and Windows 10, have a rock solid VST host and do things like make sure the laptop and USB hub are getting power (not on battery). I can carry it on stage (use a bench style stand) hand the ac plug and TRS output cable to the sound guy and I'm ready to go.

EDIT: Using a 2012 Lenovo X230 with SSD and 16GB RAM