Computer Hardware specifications to run Cubase and sibelius

[genesis]

Hi

 

I am looking to purchase refurbished DELL OptiPlex 760 SFF E7500 2.93 4GB 250GB HD to replace our old PCs in the music suite.

I will be installing Cubase 7 and Sibelius latest version on these PCs.

 

Is this configuration sufficient to run these software's on these PCs , do I need any special/additional sound cards ?

 

I have see some schools uses MAC on the music suites.

 

Any suggestions much appreciated.

 

Thanks

[newpersn]

Used to run the older version of the software on old celerons d with 2 gb ram. Used to painful until they got the macs.

 

I'd go for i5 8gb and ssd. Just for peace of mind.

[TomCollins]

We use i3, 4GB (32bit image so realistically only uses 3) and just a standard HDD, runs Cubase fine :-)

[genesis]

Due to budget constraint , will no be affordable for MAC and also for windows based i3

Have you used any special sound cards cards

Edited April 3, 2014 by genesis

[synaesthesia]

We use i3's in our music suite, 4GB RAM and Tascam external sound devices. No problems currently but I suspect they'd work just fine with the onboard sound.

You might be pushing your luck using the latest Cubase & Sibelius on core2duo devices.

[difinity]

I built 20 computers for our music department recently. G840 processor with 4Gb memory and 250Gb hard drive, Asus Xonar sound card.

The only pain was the Cubase and Sibelieus software, both have to activate over the internet which won't work from behind a proxy, so i had to take them home in batches to activate.

[dhicks]

I will be installing Cubase 7 and Sibelius latest version on these PCs.

 

Does Cubase still require a physical USB dongle to be present? If so, you might want to make sure the PCs have internal USB ports - you can get them on cheap (£10) USB add-in cards if the PC doesn't have any internal USB ports built in. It avoids the dongles wandering off.

 

Edit: ah, post above rather implies Cubase now activates via a server, which is good (I last installed Cubase around 5 years ago, sounds like things have progessed a bit now).

Edited April 4, 2014 by dhicks

[SHimmer45]

id recommend a hardware midi card as well, some sounds chipsets dont play very nicely and the latency is horrid even with tuning using openasio.

 

we have been using an M-audio 96 pci card for years and has a range of inputs and straight forward controls

[Sagima]

We use dell SFF760s with very similar specs to run cubase and sibelius (only difference is ours have an e8400 processor rather than the E7700). No complaints but they do seem to prefer to run Sibelius on osx if they have the choice. looks identical to me but i'm not the one using it. We don't have any extra sound cards or anything internal but we do have usb keyboards attached.

[Guest Guest]

Your spec is fine. No you don't need external sound cards. Just install and configure (in Sibelius and cubase) asio4all

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Hi

 

I am looking to purchase refurbished DELL OptiPlex 760 SFF E7500 2.93 4GB 250GB HD to replace our old PCs in the music suite.

I will be installing Cubase 7 and Sibelius latest version on these PCs.

 

Is this configuration sufficient to run these software's on these PCs , do I need any special/additional sound cards ?

 

I have see some schools uses MAC on the music suites.

 

Any suggestions much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Hi @genesis I'd be happy to go through the spec of a music suite with you. We sell the best priced refurbished hardware around, and I used to do all kinds of recording.

 

I'll be able to find you something that works to your budget I'm sure.

 

Also check out my recent blog on recording suites.

 

Feel free to drop me a line, email or PM to discuss things