I have been working on an old laptop(16GB RAM,Core i 7 4th Gen,500GB SSD) til now with smaller sound libraries.For the past six months I have been saving some money to buy kontakt libraries.Now, I am looking forward to buy Audiobro's Modern Scoring Strings and Modern Scoring Brass as both are on sale right now.I think I won't be able to run these libraries smoothly on my laptop and,therefore, I have decided to switch to a desktop workstation instead.As other libraries have also grown in size , I am interested in finding out the minimum specifications that would be required to work with 8 to 10 libraries of such size in each of my projects.I am generally inclined towards creating epic hybrid orchestral soundtracks and also use synths in my projects

 

You need at least 32 GB RAM, 64 GB and more would be better! A fast, modern CPU such as the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G, 6C/12T, 4.30-5.00 GHz. An Intel or AMD processor with 8 cores, TurboBoost technology, and Hyperthreading features for larger projects where multiple applications run in parallel. Make sure the processor is equipped with an efficient cooling system and that the computer case also cools efficiently.

The system requirements for Modern Scoring Brass may vary depending on the version and platform. However, the following minimum requirements generally apply to using software instruments such as Modern Scoring Brass:

Minimum Requirements:
- Operating System: Windows 10 or macOS 10.13 (or higher)
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
- RAM: 8 GB (16 GB or more recommended)
- Hard Drive Space: At least 20 GB of free space for installation
- Audio Interface: ASIO-compatible audio interface for Windows or Core Audio for macOS
- DAW: A compatible digital audio workstation (e.g., Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live)

Recommended Requirements:
- Operating System: Latest version of Windows or macOS
- Processor: Intel Core i7 or better
- RAM: 16 GB or more
- Hard Drive Space: SSD for faster loading times

 

Last edited: Mar 30, 2025 at 10:06 AM

The two most important specs are RAM capacity and a decent SSD with DRAM and plenty of space. RAM frequency is not very important unless you're going more than one step down in frequency, but if the price difference for, let's say, 64gb DDR4 3200hz vs 32gb DDR4 3600hz is small enough to fit your budget, I would just go with more RAM instead of faster RAM. Things to note about RAM: Ryzen CPUs are finicky with using more slots with faster RAM. My Ryzen 5600X shits itself occasionally because I have 4 slots of 8gb DDR4 3600hz. I had to manually set the timings and everything to keep it stable at 3533hz.

On the SSD side, a faster SSD does not mean tangible speed gains. If you can get more space for a Gen3 NVMe instead of less space for a faster Gen4 NVMe, I would get more space instead. I believe most NVMe SSDs come with DRAM nowadays, but make sure to double check. I also recommend getting a motherboard with at least 2 NVMe slots, and at least one high-speed USB port (USB-C or orange USB-A). Get a NVMe case on AliExpress to keep your libraries portable, use the internal slots for the important stuff.

On CPU, I would say anything will work. I only had a couple Kontakt libraries actually start using too much of my CPU, and it wasn't anything that I couldn't just get from another library. Some developers don't make very efficient code. I normally would avoid Intel these days, just get a Ryzen, a 5600 at least, or a 7600X if you want to future-proof a little longer by having DDR5.

 

Size doesn't really matter or mean anything. Performance and resource usage is all about how well programmed and optimized the library is. 100 mb library can be a CPU hog if it's doing a lot of complex scripting, using a bunch of effects and processing under the hood. And 200 gb library can barely use any CPU at all. It all depends on individual library, and it will vary from one to the next and there's no way of knowing besides trying it yourself.

I have an old i7 4790k and Modern Scoring Strings ran fine on it. I tried it and it wasn't for me, so I have not used it extensively and never utilized it in a project, but just from screwing around with it for couple of days it worked fine and I didn't have any issues with it. I also remember it being heavier on CPU compared to Spitfire or Orchestral Tools stuff because of the more advanced programming, divisi, etc.
And regarding the 8-10 libraries of such size part, I'll list my most used libraries over the last 10 years, covering strings, brass, percussion, hybrid stuff, pianos and choir, and they add up to around 800 gigs if that helps you. I have no issues running them even on 10 years old CPU with just 32 gigs of ram. With big sessions I do have to bounce some tracks to audio and freeze CPU heavy synths. Once I'm done writing and no longer care about latency I increase audio buffer size all the way to 2048, and to 4096 for mixing. Overall it's not very convenient or efficient, but it's still totally usable.

Spoiler: List of libraries

Audio Imperia - Jaeger
Audio Ollie - LA Modern Percussion
Cinematic Studio Brass
Cinematic Studio Woodwinds
Cinesamples - CinePerc
Embertone - Walker 1955 Concert D
Heavyocity - Damage 2
Native Instruments - Noire
Orchestral Tools - Berlin Strings
Orchestral Tools - Metropolis ARK 1
Orchestral Tools - Metropolis ARK 3
Spitfire Audio - Chamber Strings
Spitfire Audio - LCO Strings
Strezov Sampling - Freyja
Strezov Sampling - Wotan

Regarding hardware I cannot recommend anything specific because I'm not really aware of what's out there since I rarely upgrade. I used my 4790k for almost a decade before I grabbed a used Ryzen 9 5950x and I'm sticking with it for another decade. I would just say that CPU is the most important part for music production, so the better one you'll be able to get the better it is. Just be aware when buying used, you need to find both CPU and Motherboard before committing to buying. CPUs live way way longer than motherboards, so the later can get pretty expensive when buying for an older CPU and can overall make the good deal on cheap CPU spiral up and cost more than buying something new.

And 2nd most important thing for working with samples is RAM. I would say if you going for big orchestral stuff 32 gigs would be the minimum requirement, 64 is ideal. Just like with CPU, more is better but the benefit is more convenience, less management, etc., nice to have but not absolutely required. Speed doesn't really matter, only jumping from DDR3 to DDR4 to DDR5 will make a small difference.

And as for SSD vs HDD, it's up to you. If you can get a good deal on SSD that can fit all the samples you're using, then go for it. Most of my samples are on HDDs and besides it taking slightly longer to load I don't really notice any downsides. For me personally convivence of being able to fit everything on 2 8TB drives rather than having everything be split across many many SSDs far outweighs the speed benefits of SSDs and their still very steep price. I would 100% prioritize better CPU and RAM over faster storage.

 

Any particular benefits of using Ryzen over Intel CPUs?

 

Keep in mind that disk streaming, hard drive/SSD access times, RAM and library sizes all work together.
With less RAM and large libraries, you'll need to work with smaller pre-load buffers in Kontakt and that can work well enough if SSD access times are short enough.
The more polyphony you need at once, the more you'll have a challenging condition in your system.
A workaround that may do it for you is to re-save a Kontakt patch while purging unused samples so you'll have fewer samples to pre-load, reducing memory consumption.

 

So, that means I could try using the same system and getting 32 GB RAM ... Are you proposing that I should first buy the library and switch to the new system if I have difficulties working with these libraries on it?

 

I learnt it sometime ago but IDK whenever the DAW is open in front of me ... I always forget to do so ... Thanks for this optimization trick

 

AMD's latest invention was the Ryzen; it's faster and cheaper than Intel. 32 GB of RAM should be enough; if you need more RAM, you can simply buy the same RAM you installed again and upgrade. Every motherboard manufacturer's website has a list of supported RAM. Please read them before you buy RAM to make sure the RAM is compatible with your motherboard.

A low-cost graphics card can actually reduce CPU load by handling graphics processing independently. Dedicated graphics cards, equipped with their own memory and processors, offload graphics-intensive tasks from the CPU, thus improving overall system performance.

 

Last edited: Mar 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM

Laptop specs you mentioned should be fine to run MSS (never tried Brass myself but it should be about the same as Strings). I personally would acquire the library in ways that are free and don't require you paying for it so you can actually test it and see if it works for you and most importantly to see if you even like it or not, and after that decide if you want to upgrade your system first or go with the library purchase, especially if money is tight and this is just a hobby for you.

I wouldn't bother upgrading a laptop with 4th gen Intel CPU in it for many reasons. Upgrading laptops is just pain in the butt. DDR3 as is can get expensive because of how old it is, and probably even more so if it's a laptop. I just don't think it's money worth spending on something you'll have to completely replace anyway, better save it for that. For CPU that old the difference between desktop and laptop chips is pretty big, so I think even though 4790 is still okay in 2025 I wouldn't use a laptop chip myself. You will have to upgrade eventually. I think saving up for that and maybe waiting for sales, or trying used market, is money better spent in long term.

Of course that all is very subjective and it's still up to you what you find as good and what your tolerance is for subpar performance. I know a friend who has been composing on a very old laptop for many years. I saw him working and it was very laggy and unresponsive once the project gets big and there're many tracks are running, I wouldn't be able to work with that but he did and still managed to make good music with it.

Ryzen is just as good as Intel and can be better in some applications. And it's usually cheaper too. Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs have a bunch of issues, from instability and crashes to just straight up dying. As far as I know there's no proper fix, just faulty silicon and buying one is gambling on it working properly or not. You can find a bunch of info about it on the internet, it was a pretty big thing when it happened. Ryzen is the safe option, and probably cheaper too than 12th gen i7 or i9.