system requirements questions and CPU error

[randyhill87]

hello,
here is my sandra report

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : Randy-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : AlienWare (Dell) M11xR3 103C_5335KV
Serial Number : 8MNF4R1
Chassis : AlienWare (Dell) Portable
Mainboard : AlienWare (Dell) M11xR3
Serial Number : .8MNF4R1.CN129611830019.
BIOS : AlienWare (Dell) A03 06/07/2011
Total Memory : 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2537M CPU @ 1.40GHz (2C 4T 2.3GHz/2.3GHz Turbo, 2.3GHz IMC, 2x 256kB L2, 3MB L3)

Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell Core (Sandy Bridge) Mobile DRAM Controller 100MHz FSB, 2x 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 2x 667MHz (1.33GHz), Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5273DH0-CH9 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5273DH0-CH9 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics Family (12 SM5.0 350MHz/900MHz, 1GB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M (96SP 2C 1.34GHz, 1GB 1.79GHz)
Compute Shader Processor : Intel(R) HD Graphics Family (12SP 350MHz/900MHz, 64MB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9750420AS (750.2GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 699GB (C:)

Logical Storage Devices
RECOVERY : 20GB (NTFS)
The Cave (C:) : 678GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9750420AS (750.2GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell QS67 LPC Controller
Audio Device : Dell Cougar Point High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Serial Port(s) : 2
Disk Controller : Dell Cougar Point Mobile 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1 : Dell Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
USB Controller 2 : Dell Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell IEEE 1394 Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus
SMBus/i2c Controller 2 : IPMI T0 Controller

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Send To Microsoft OneNote 2010 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN (802.11g (ERP), 54Mbps)

Power Management
Battery No 1 : Simplo DELL T7YJR17L 65.05Wh/4.39Ah

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.6

is my laptop able to run pro tools 10? i know that i need another hard drive but is that all i need? then when i play back my recordings it's giving me a CPU usage error. how much CPU do i need for it not to run out of CPU usage?

also
i was thinking of getting a desktop computer because i think it would help run pro tools 10 better and for the system requirements for windows on pro tools 10 is very general, System Software (32 or 64-bit) Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate edition with Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Total System RAM: 2GB minimum, 4GB (or more) recommended
is that really all i need?
thank you for your time for reading my form, i hope you reply. thanks again Randy-

[albee1952]

Dells and laptops are mostly a crap shoot when it comes to Pro Tools. The integrated graphics is often a show stopper, but you can install and try it anyway. Wifi would need to be disabled when running Pro Tools. Your recording drive(you already know to use a separate drive) would need to be USB2(or 3) or eSATA as firewire drives are not supported on Windows 7.

A desktop machine is the way to go if you want best performance(and there's a big difference between a laptop i5/i7 and a desktop version). 4GB of RAM is dead minimum, and most of us run double that and more these days. Depending on the motherboard, you need to accomodate the multi-channel RAM properly, so in a triple channel system(like the X58 motherboards) that means 6 or 12GB(no way to divide 8GB into 3 slots)

[randyhill87]

thank you soo much albee for all your help, i am on my way to buy a desktop.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by randyhill87

thank you soo much albee for all your help, i am on my way to buy a desktop.

Don't do this blindly!!!! You need to make some decisions before you drop your cash. There are far more NON-compatible computers out there in retail land than compatible ones

[randyhill87]

"Don't do this blindly!!!! You need to make some decisions before you drop your cash. There are far more NON-compatible computers out there in retail land than compatible ones"

so what should i be looking for? what computer should i be looking for besides the approved computers that avid had on the web site?
-also i was looking at hard drives is it just a regular external hard drive like from best buy or is it like something like from guitar center like the Glyph PortaGig 50 FireWire/USB 2.0/E Sata External Hard Drive?? what type of hard drive?

[randyhill87]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Don't do this blindly!!!! You need to make some decisions before you drop your cash. There are far more NON-compatible computers out there in retail land than compatible ones

so what should i be looking for? what computer should i be looking for besides the approved computers that avid had on the web site?
-also i was looking at hard drives is it just a regular external hard drive like from best buy or is it like something like from guitar center like the Glyph PortaGig 50 FireWire/USB 2.0/E Sata External Hard Drive?? what type of hard drive?