PCRail Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I'm about to purchase a new computer and I'd appreciate suggestions. My current laptop is taking a long time to edit sequences, especially when .gif files are involved. Current is i5-7200U CPU @ 2.5GHz with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB HD (not Solid State). I don't want to continue to have the same issue so I'd like to understand where to focus upgrades - Processor? RAM? Solid State Storage? I saw a thread from 2019 by PhilMassey but things move quickly, so I'd appreciate current ideas. Thanks. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Step one. Unless you NEED a laptop, go with a desktop, a really fast video card with at least two monitors (I have four 24 inch monitors and often am using three for sequencing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I don't recall exactly what I wrote to last time ( barely remember breakfast), but not a great deal has changed. Unfortunately it a fact of life that as sequences get bigger, ( pixels), load and render times can get longer and even very high horsepower machines can seem slow. The biggest single thing you can do is a fast SSD, period. That i5 laptop would seem like new with a good SSD and a clean install. After that as much processor and graphics card as you can afford. A medium to high end graphics adaptor always helps, but those gifs will still take a long time to load, Minimum 8 GB ram with 16 being preferred. Actually LOR can only access 4GB but Windows and any other software in use need some too. I have a fast desktop with a decent video card, (was high end a year ago) and gifs still can take minutes to load. Totally agree with what Jim just said too, especially the 3 monitors. If you have to have a laptop, so be it, but a desktop is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRail Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. You've given me a lot to think about and research. Why four monitors? Thanks also for that reality check about .gif files that will keep slowing me down. I actually have a crossword puzzle to work on while sequences load or renew or paste. In fact, that little spinner is going right now. It stopped. gotta go. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I went with a Digital Storm gaming PC mostly for multiple monitor support, 500mb SSD drive, and a 2TB secondary drive for my backups. i7 processor but might have been better off with an i9 though others say the AMD Ryzen chip is faster/better. Spent more than I would have had I gone to BestBuy/WalMart but am happy with my purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 1 hour ago, PCRail said: Why four monitors? I have two central monitors that are both in landscape orientation stacked vertically in the middle. On the right is a single monitor in portrait orientation, and on the left is a single monitor that is in landscape orientation. When I am sequencing, I have the S5 sequencer on the lower center monitor. I have a stand alone instance of SuperStar on the left monitor, and the display simulations from both on the upper center monitor. That leaves the right hand monitor for other stuff going on (E-Mail, a ham radio chat program, etc). Now to ask why I have a stand alone instance of SuperStar, the reason is that I have spent a lot of time this year converting my earlier sequences into true S5 format. I have historically sequenced essentially everything in SuperStar. In order to convert those into true S5 format means taking segments of each song in S5 Sequencer and doing an "Insert SuperStar Effects". Then copy sequencing from the stand alone instance of SuperStar to the instance of SuperStar that is opened as a result of the "Insert SuperSrar Effects" command. For each time I do that, I then have to modify most of the effects for either the new number of strings on my pixel tree (growing from 24 to 26 strings this year) or placement on the grid. For each segment, I have to go through this process many times because of the way that SuperStar integrates (poorly) with the S5 sequencer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRail Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 Thanks for the specifics on four monitors. It's a piece of information I'll store for when a situation arises that could be solved by multiple monitors. I think that I took the advice and here are the specs on my new desktop arriving next Thursday: 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10510U Processor Windows 10 Home 16GB, 2x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive (Boot) + 1TB 5400 rpm 2.5" SATA Hard Drive (Storage) 23.8-in. touch display Spinner stopped. Gotta go. Thanks Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRail Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 ....And a NVIDIA graphics card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I use four monitors. Two are actually 4K TV screens and two regular 1080P monitors. I tried using my gaming computer with a Core I7 that I built but for unknown reasons (still yet), it doesn't like to communicate with the E1.31. I'll fix it one of these days....lol. Currently, my view is to insure the sequencing computer has all the resources it needs for any and all applications that I use it for. In this case, my sequencing computer and show computer are one in the same. I do that to insure there are no surprises with what was planned as opposed to what is displayed. My show computer is an older Dell Server T5500. Its fully loaded with K1200 quad monitor card, two Xeon 6-core cpus, 72Gb of ram and two 1TB hard drives. As Phil mentioned, no matter how much machine you have, LOR will only access 4Gb but the system needs additional to handle all the normal background processes. Now as Jim mentioned, laying out your workspace is important too. Using four monitors or however many you use, its nice to have things open in front of you so you don't have to always move windows out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Here is a good site where you can compare performance and data for all your computer parts. https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-500GB-vs-Crucial-MX500-500GB/3477vsm418385 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCRail Posted October 3, 2020 Author Share Posted October 3, 2020 I've been using the new desktop that I described earlier and things are much better, much faster. Thanks for your suggestions. Halloween is on. We're delivering treats through an 8' PVC pipe lined with smart pixel strips. It's not a trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Glad it's working out well. Now get a couple more monitors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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