eDRUMin, Superior Drummer 3 and PC Hardware

[TheJay]

Hello everyone, who is using the eDRUMin in conjunction with a PC to operate Superior Drummer 3? I'd like you to share your thoughts/experiences on the official hardware specs.

64-bit Windows 7 or newer, 4 GB RAM (8 GB RAM or more recommended).
It would be useful to know what kind of drives you are running this on as well, original HDD, SSD or M.2 NVME and capacity.

It's strange there is no reference to the optimum CPU required.

I run Rock Foundry and that seems to be a real hog, but not quite as bad as Rooms of Hansa. If you have any sounds addons or expansions, what have you got and how well do they run?

[MWJT42]

My understanding is, once loaded into RAM, its all good. This is likely the minimum spec to mix and render, where latency is not a concern. An SSD will allow for quick loading of samples, but again for most use cases a slow load time is not a concern

Real time playability is down to the audio interface and CPU (and then SSD speed if switching kits) - which is what most eDRUMin users will be after I presume, but not the sole, or even most used, purpose of SD3.

Our (eDRUMin, real time users) minimum spec should probably include an i5 6th gen or equivalent and a decent low latency soundcard (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

[thenewdrummer]

(Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

So the interface doesn't need midi in? If I understand, the midi goes through eDRUMin and only the audio out goes to the interface? I thought it would be better for latency going to the interface before going to the computer but it seems that I'm I wrong. Am I? I thought there was some processing when entering the interface but it's only in output?

[MWJT42]

(Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

So the interface doesn't need midi in? If I understand, the midi goes through eDRUMin and only the audio out goes to the interface? I thought it would be better for latency going to the interface before going to the computer but it seems that I'm I wrong. Am I? I thought there was some processing when entering the interface but it's only in output?

eDRUMin is a USB Midi interface.

Triggers -> eDRUMin -> USB Midi -> Laptop -> VSTi software -> audio interface -> headphones

The VSTi turns the midi into sound.

[thenewdrummer]

(Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

So the interface doesn't need midi in? If I understand, the midi goes through eDRUMin and only the audio out goes to the interface? I thought it would be better for latency going to the interface before going to the computer but it seems that I'm I wrong. Am I? I thought there was some processing when entering the interface but it's only in output?

eDRUMin is a USB Midi interface.

Triggers -> eDRUMin -> USB Midi -> Laptop -> VSTi software -> audio interface -> headphones

The VSTi turns the midi into sound.

Thanks I understand now

[TheJay]

My understanding is, once loaded into RAM, its all good. This is likely the minimum spec to mix and render, where latency is not a concern. An SSD will allow for quick loading of samples, but again for most use cases a slow load time is not a concern

Real time playability is down to the audio interface and CPU (and then SSD speed if switching kits) - which is what most eDRUMin users will be after I presume, but not the sole, or even most used, purpose of SD3.

Our (eDRUMin, real time users) minimum spec should probably include an i5 6th gen or equivalent and a decent low latency soundcard (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

Thank you, this is the type of information I was hoping people would share and the use case is what I expected too. So what you have said is the CPU minimum recommended. What would be a solid and stable CPU to keep latency low and cope with all triggers being sent? Do you think 8GB RAM is enough or would you say more would be preferable for the base product and expansions?

[MWJT42]

My understanding is, once loaded into RAM, its all good. This is likely the minimum spec to mix and render, where latency is not a concern. An SSD will allow for quick loading of samples, but again for most use cases a slow load time is not a concern

Real time playability is down to the audio interface and CPU (and then SSD speed if switching kits) - which is what most eDRUMin users will be after I presume, but not the sole, or even most used, purpose of SD3.

Our (eDRUMin, real time users) minimum spec should probably include an i5 6th gen or equivalent and a decent low latency soundcard (Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 being a solid go to).

Thank you, this is the type of information I was hoping people would share and the use case is what I expected too. So what you have said is the CPU minimum recommended. What would be a solid and stable CPU to keep latency low and cope with all triggers being sent? Do you think 8GB RAM is enough or would you say more would be preferable for the base product and expansions?

Core or SDX shouldn't make a difference, especially as the Core is so massive with the 11.1 surround mics!

I have an old i5 6th gen Lenovo (avoid!) laptop, 8GB RAM with Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Solid <4ms latency. Perfect for real time practice, including Skype / Spotify sessions. However, it feels like the minimum spec to me. Had to wipe Windows to ensure most efficient use of CPU power etc.

[TheJay]

I know a lot of people use laptops but I'd say this is a situation where a PC would be better due to breathing space. Laptop hardware tends to be underpowered to prevent overheating much of the time.

I would imagine a similar CPU in a PC would run better.

So ideally 8GB RAM, i5 7th gen, an m.2 NVME to run Windows and applications quickly, to compare to ease/quickness of operating a Pearl Mimic? All SD3 files stored on either a conventional SSD (for less noise) or NAS HDDs (for massive storage)?