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Old 01-29-2021, 12:30 PM
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albee1952 albee1952 is offline
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Default Re: PC Requirements for PT Ultimate

Another 2 cents; why are you looking at Pro Tools Ultimate over the standard version(not Pro Tools First, which I never recommend)? The standard version is way cheaper and probably does everything you need(unless you plan on mixing in surround) I also think Reaper and Studio One are both solid programs that seem less finicky on Windows(when it comes to hardware)

PC specs are a moving target. Intel i5 quad is the bare minimum. i7 is also fine and i9 represents the "latest and greatest"(speed matters more than how many cores). AMD has a few solid options as well, but compatibility is the most important thing, and it can be tough to figure that detail unless you are copying a known-working setup(the motherboard chipset can be a "make or break" detail. 32GB of RAM is most user's recommended minimum(mine too).

As for drive space, a few things need to be considered(regardless of DAW choice):
1-How many sample-based virtual instruments will you use? If a lot, then you probably should have a separate drive for sample libraries. 2TB seems like a good amount for the "average" user(but heavy sample users may need way more)
2-Do you need to be portable(on a laptop)? Laptop PC's are a much bigger crapshoot and a desktop gives the best performance per dollar. A laptop with a 2TB SSD would be fine for many(as long as its compatible) but I prefer a desktop. With a desktop, I would do a 500GB NVME drive for system, a 1-2TB SSD for samples and another 1-2TB SSD for sessions. Sure, you can stuff everything onto a single SSD, but that makes backups more complex, and "puts all your eggs in one basket"(which is not a great idea). You also need to pay attention to backups, no matter what setup or DAW you go with
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