Hi people!

First of all excuse my terrible ESL.

I've posted the same thread in the PC section since this is a Windows or Mac OS issue. You can reply here of course, but the PC section thread is http://audiosex.pro/index.php?/topic/18925-windows-or-mac-os-for-dawing-with-only-2gb/. Admins and mods you are welcomed to correct/move/warn this post if it's in the wrong section, duplicated, etc.


I'm a Windows veteran with a Quad Core Extreme 3.5Ghz 8GB desktop PC. Recently I got an old MacBook Air as a gift. Damn, so cute and still useful for non demanding apps with that killer trackpad. But I want to use it for make music and this is when problems come. It's a 2010 Mac. I know, use your desktop PC best advice hands down, but I have no time for using it and the few I've is mostly reserved for big display things: movies, shows, and so on

The pros:
- Quite good (for a laptop) 13 inches 1440x900 display. Enough for basic DAWing.
- SSD drive 128GB about 200MBs
- I'm a novice, I don't need Waves plugins quality nor a complete DAW
- I can plug an external SSD drive (256GB, about 400MBs)
- Aside from guitars, I can use if needed very tiny virtual instruments, even loops/rexs/wavs etc if it's absolutely necessary (I promised myself years ago no loops ever LoL)

The cons (almost everything else lol):
- Core Duo 1.86Ghz
- 2GB RAM, this is the biggest issue no doubt. It gets worse, 300MB used by the GPU
- Only USB2 ports and no ethernet connector. This means I can only take advantage of the near zero latency of the optional USB external SSD drive, the speed won't pass 40-50MBs.
- I use only virtual instruments and I need to use Kontakt at least for the guitars, I'm a metal head, that's no negotiable LoL (or another sample based virtual guitar like MusicLab's RealLPC or the 8 strings one).

Other considerations:
- I'm a windows tweaker but a Mac OS X newcomer, so advanced optimizing for Mac OS X would be too much for me. I'd love to apply Copylefter's wonderful guide, but at the moment I can't. There are other considerations, my Mac OS is legit and I want to take profit of the nice included tools, syncing calendars and files with other Mac friends, etc...

- Although I'm a Mac newcomer, I know universal tips for low resource usage with DAW (no VST oversampling or quality mode except in the mixdown, 32 bit apps use less RAM, use stock DAW plugins, freeze tracks exhaustively, disable visual effects, etc...)

So I have two choices:
1) Windows 7 partition with a Windows lite version. I know, lite versions can be evil. The one I'm using gives 1.3 GB free at startup, which is quite good, only 400MB used with all the drivers installed including boot camp ones.

I'd use Studio One as DAW. Reaper is lighter but I'm used to Studio One. For VST. For easiness and low resource hungry I'd use EZMix 2 for effects when needed.

2) Mac OS X partition. I've Yosemite at the moment but clearly is way too much demanding. Like I said before, I'm no Mac tweaker but I can downgrade to Snow Leopard or Lion.

I'd use Studio One or GarageBand, again EZMix 2 (Garageband alternative?) for effects.

The Kontakt problem belongs the the Kontakt section and it's complex. But if you guys can give me tips would be very appreciated. I'm a medium level Kontakt user, I can simplify multis. I know that the first step would be convert the samples to uncompressed format since I've slow CPU but SSD drive. Better said, I think I know these things lol. An alternative virtual guitar tip would also be appreciated. Again, these questions doesn't belong to this section.

Which choice do you recommend me? Another tips?

Many thanks in advance, I know it's a complex problem. I've tried googling and searching but it's hard when you've no time and you search information for a 2Ghz Core Duo with 2GB RAM computer.

Cheers,

Luis

 

You will run with the latest Version of OS X into RAM issues, but that of course depends on the Plugins you like to use. Windows 8.1 might use up less RAM but than you are still very limited while using Plugins.
For example Serum will use around 200MB depending on the Patch for just one instance.

I would try to upgrade the RAM to 8GB. Not much either but definitely better

 

I can't upgrade RAM, It's an ultra thin laptop.

The Windows 7 Lite I'm using is the lightest Windows (7 or 8) on RAM that I'm aware off. Lighter versions doesn't have basic functionalities that I need. I'm not so sure about Mac OS X versions, but I would need to downgrade at least to Mountain Lion based on the search results I've collected including several of this site.

I can't even think using a virtual instrument so resource hungry as Serum. I do metal, but for synth I'd use something like Synth1 or Sylenth1 with light patches at most.

Thanks c3po

 

Your English is fine - better than some native speakers'.

With a computer of the specs you cite, running Mac, you'll want to work within the 32-bit realm. Since you cannot upgrade the RAM in the Air, try Snow Leopard with Garageband 6 (plus update); Logic Pro 9 if you feel adventuresome (and tweak controls for the buffer, cores and such). You'll be using 32-bit plug-ins with that configuration. External sample library drive would be optimal, but if you do things like freezing tracks and/or defeating effects unnecessary for playback while recording another track, and having no other applications open, and not trying to do really complex arrangements, you'll do okay (to a certain extent). Ableton Live 8 might work fairly well on your Macbook Air.

With an Apple DAW, native/stock plug-ins aren't necessarily the right choice. The EQ is terribly CPU-heavy, especially when its GUI is open. Apple's guitar amps are also very demanding. There are lighter-weight third-party plug-ins. There is a good amount of free plug-ins and software which are made to run more universally; usually cross-platform. I have found that the free version (V4) of the Tracktion DAW is remarkably lightweight (easy on system resources), and it can use both AU and VST plug-ins on Mac. Its GUI is arranged unconventionally, but after a while it makes its own sense. Ultimately, it's not much different from Garageband in its functions and usefulness. Ardour is more complex (pro-level), but being open-source-developed, it's also rather efficient.

(While you're at it, with an SSD running Snow Leopard, enable TRIM support on the drive.)

 

when you full the memory the OSs start to write on the boot drive.
A good bet is a fastar ssd like Samsung Evo
Other way is to use xp with Logic 5 (last version for pc)

 

Really appreciated

That's really good information, specially the fact Apple DAWs stock plugins are high resource usage.

I don't record, I only use VI. I'm aware that good ampsim are CPU hungry. That's why I'm considering using EZMix for the entire mixing chain (at least for the guitars), because it's relatively lightweight on the CPU and RAM. Still, I need CPU friendly basic plugins like EQ, compressor etc. I'll look Traction, but it would be important for me if I can use Studio One or GarageBand because are easy to use and I'm a beginner at DAWing.

Given that I won't record, nor use stock plugins, I suppose that if I go with Mac Garageband would be better than Logic. Am I right?

I can plug one external drive including a 256SSD one. But the USB ports are USB2, that means about 50MBs max. I also can plug a larger HDD with the same USB2 speed limitation.

Trim advice noted.

Thanks so much.

 

That would be great, and in fact I can upgrade the SSD in theory while I can't upgrade CPU or RAM.

But in practice, due to the ultra slim design of the Mac Air, I would need to buy and official and exclusive Apple mini SSD, which comes with a proprietary PCI-E mini circuit board, and pay a MAX price for the hardware and installation to an official Apple installation.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I don't have that money ... lol

 

Well you could run a partition of your desktop PC as a hackintosh, that´s what i would do