How to delete un-used recordings on a track

[Darryl Ramm]

It depends on what you want to do. It's possible to run smaller sessions in 8GB. But start wanting to run lots of VIs and use some memory for disk cache and have a couple of web browsers ope etc... ah not so good. Can you upgrade the memory?

[GNRMatt]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

It depends on what you want to do. It's possible to run smaller sessions in 8GB. But start wanting to run lots of VIs and use some memory for disk cache and have a couple of web browsers ope etc... ah not so good. Can you upgrade the memory?

I won't be using any VI's. All of my recordings will be purely guitar and vocal recordings (maybe a little piano or bass). Upgrading the memory on the laptop would probably be difficult as there is no access port for it. I'd prefer not to have to buy a separate computer just for this. It'd be easy for me to make sure nothing else is running except for Pro Tools and the standard Windows processes. I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try and hope for the best.

[Darryl Ramm]

You could tell us the exact model of the latpop, or even better post a Sandra report.

You can also try a one month free trial of Pro Tools Ultimate (same software install, at the end of the trial just subscribe to Pro Tools standard and use that license with the same install).

[GNRMatt]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You could tell us the exact model of the latpop, or even better post a Sandra report.

I was able to create a Sandra report. The results are:

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : LAPTOP-MHVKNC0D
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : Toshiba Satellite L55-C INVALID
Serial Number : ZF10*****
Chassis : Notebook
Mainboard : FF50 06F2
Serial Number : QC020Q8********
BIOS : Insyde 5.10 09/11/2015
TPM - Trusted Platform Module : Intel 2.0 2013 (24PCR 64Ses 24Obj 16Ctr)
Intel Management Engine (ME) : 10.0.47.1006
Total Memory : 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz (2C 4T 2.7GHz, 2.4GHz IMC, 2x 256kB L2, 3MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC BGA1168

Chipset
Memory Controller : Toshiba Core5U (Broadwell-U) Host Bridge 100MHz, 2x 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5173DB0-YK0 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1Rx8 PC3-12800SO DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5173DB0-YK0 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1Rx8 PC3-12800SO DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : SDC Generic PnP Monitor (1600x1200, 156AT37-T01
, 15.3")
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (192S 24C SM5.4 900MHz, 768kB L2, 128MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL : Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (192S 24C SM2.0 900MHz, 576kB L2, 3.2GB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)
D3D 11 : Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (192S 24C SM11.4 900MHz, 768kB L2, 128MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)
OpenGL : Intel(R) HD Graphics 5500 (192S 24C SM4.40 900MHz, 768kB L2, 128MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Storage Devices
Disk : TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 (1TB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
Optical : TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208GB (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Logical Storage Devices
TI10716100D (C:) : 930GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 (1TB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
Hard Disk : 931MB (NTFS, 4kB) @ TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 (1TB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
ESP : 256MB (FAT32, 4kB) @ TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 (1TB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208GB (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller : Toshiba ICH90 (Wildcat Point-LP) LPC Controller
Audio Device : Toshiba ICH90 (Wildcat Point-LP) High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Conexant 5114
Disk Controller : Toshiba ICH90 (Wildcat Point-LP) SATA Controller [AHCI Mode]
USB Controller : Toshiba ICH90 (Wildcat Point-LP) USB3 xHCI Controller
USB Controller : Toshiba ICH90 (Wildcat Point-LP) USB2 EHCI Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft Software Printer Driver (300x300, Colour)
Printer : Amyuni Document Converter 500 (2400x2400, Colour)
Printer : PDF995 Printer Driver (4000x4000, Colour)
Printer : Send to Microsoft OneNote 16 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer v4 (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Print To PDF (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : Brother PC-FAX v.3.2 (200x200)
Printer : Brother MFC-J680DW Printer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Brother MFC-J680DW Printer (600x600, Colour)

Scanners & Cameras
Scanner : Brother MFC-J680DW LAN (Scanner, 1200x2400, USB)

Biometrics
Voice : Analog NUI Voice Virtual Sensor (Voice)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : TAP-NordVPN Windows Adapter V9 (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : TAP-Windows Adapter V9 (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Realtek 8811CU Wireless LAN 802.11ac USB NIC (Wifi4 (802.11n/HT), AES-CCMP, 21.7Mbps)
Wireless Adapter : Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter

Power Management
Battery : LGC PA5185U-1BRS 45.00Wh/3.02Ah

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 10 Personal 10.0.18363
Platform Compliance : x64

[Darryl Ramm]

Look up the Pro Tools minimum systems requirements. The problem is this laptop is underpowered all around for use with Pro Tools. Especially with the internal slow/under spec 5400 rpm HDD. That’s too slow to want to use as an audio drive and on these slower drive systems you want the boot and audio drive separate. The memory can be doubled to 16GB for around $70 and you could install an internal SATA SSD to replace the slow HDD. But the current disk is only SATA II/300Mbit/s and current SATA SSDS are SATA III/600Mbit/s. You could do some checking if the motherboard supports SATA III or only II. It’s got USB 3/3.1 Gen 1 so you have the option of using an external USB SSD (like say a Samsung T5 or T7, but only at a fraction of its performance capability) for an audio recording drive.

But even if you do all that you are left with a dual core i5 processor (OK it has hyperthreading which helps a little) and ~6 year old Intel built in GPU technology.

It is not hard to opening up this laptop to upgrade memory and SATA drive. The question is more is it worth it vs just getting something faster. You can test it now with Pro Tools Ultimate free trial, and it might work for very limited needs, but personally with that slow disk (and likely too little memory to set a large disk cache) I would not even do that. There are DAWS like Reaper that are much more efficient and capable of running on less powerful computers than Pro Tools, and I would use over Pro Tools First in a heartbeat, starting with it does not risk your work with flakey Avid cloud storage and unlike First, Reaper works with all leading third party plugins.

[JFreak]

i5 does not have hyperthreading as far as i know, but sure 5400rpm spinners on laptop are so 90's they must go

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

i5 does not have hyperthreading as far as i know, but sure 5400rpm spinners on laptop are so 90's they must go

You could just Google the CPU model number...

It depends on the model of processor, this i5 and many others do have hyper-threading, many others do not. The i5/i7 are broad marketing buckets used by Intel however they want at different times. Part of the reason those model names have become increasingly useless as a differentiator.

[JFreak]

My bad then. I thought i3/i5 is without hyperthreading and i7/i9 with hyperthreading. I stand corrected if that is not true.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

My bad then. I thought i3/i5 is without hyperthreading and i7/i9 with hyperthreading. I stand corrected if that is not true.

Oh now you want to bring up the Core i3... ah low end non-Xeon processors with ECC!! Silly marketing, but made to meet needs and stave off competition especially when used in low-end NAS products.

The marketing families here make more sense when compared across products at a point in time, less when compared across different times. And the whole Intel marketing family differentiation buckles from competitive pressure from AMD.

Still a 4 core/4 thread i5 is likely much better than a 2 core/4 thread i5... but many of these mobile i5 likely end up in significant thermally constrained systems that the cooling may be a big factor.

[GNRMatt]

So, based on all the feedback here, it seems my best option is get a new machine. I don't really want to break the bank here. I'm going to do some research and post on here the specs before I purchase to maybe get some feedback to make sure the experts on here think its a good bet.

I do appreciate all the help everyone has provided thus far!

I do have one other question that hopefully everyone can help with. I see there are both monthly and annual subscriptions for Pro Tools. What happens if I purchase a subscription for a year and don't renew it afterwards. Does the tool cease to function? Or do I just not receive any new updates, but Pro Tools will still function perfectly fine?