Cubase and Windows

[JohnyParticipant]

Any Windows users for Cubase here?

My mixes have grown out of my macbook and just wondering should I try Windows or keep paying Apple such premium. This is still a kind of a hobby for me and a new Mac would a bit too heavy investment.

Any luck with Windows laptops and cubase? All the input would be appreciated.

[Maurice BeekmanParticipant]

Hi Johnyl,

I'm running Cubase 9.5 on a windows laptop and i'm quit happy with it. It's a 2 year old i7 laptop with an 128GB solid state disk and 8GB RAM (an external HD for archiving projects). Most of the PLAPA multitrack sessions can be handled with several plugins on each track and groups/sends. I'm using a Focusrite 18i20 audio interface and if i use it with maximum latency i can handle about 60 tracks with plugins, etc. When i'm using more effects i have to freeze tracks to save CPU power.

Only negative thing i can think of is the USB interface for audio devices. Firewire or Thunderbolt are much better then USB3. But if you don't record much this won't be an issue. I do record and with USB and sometimes the latency can become an issue, unless i use direct monitoring.

I think both a Mac and Windows machine work great and it's a ratrace: every year faster PC's/Mac's but also more and more tracks and CPU hungry plugins. So eventually you will run out of CPU 🙂

Maurice

[JohnyParticipant]

Thanks for the info Maurice!

So Windows is an option. I have Motu 16A for AD/DA which has both USB and TB. AVB is also supported so it might be also an option. (Switched to MOTU and TB from 18i20 because I had latency issues. ;D) I do also record but I always do live monitoring. Much easier and hassle free...

//Johny

[Derek WhitakerParticipant]

Cubase 9.5 Windows 10 user here with UAD Apollo setup. I am completely happy with my set up but strongly recommend you use a PC that supports Thunderbolt.

[Anonymous]

Ph.D. Computer Scientist speaking here; I deal with Apples, Win PC's & Linux boxes on a daily basis. However, not for music applications.

For music production, I use a Windows 10 PC and Cubase 8.5 PRO. I also have antivirus software running, a firewall, it is connected to the internet, I have MS office 2016 professional plus running as well, and actually a lot of other crap that does not belong on a workstation. I have to say that it is as stable as the Colosseum in Rome. I also have another Win10 PC that only runs the VSL library in sync with my main workstation. This combination also does not introduce any problems at all.

My advice is (assuming that you are going to buy a notebook): 16GB of ram, 32GB if possible, Intel I7 4th generation CPU and a 1TB Samsung SSD Pro. 1TB seems to be overkill and actually, it is, but 500GB is too little especially if you have huge sample libraries installed. This is not a cheap laptop, but it still is half the price of your MacBook PRO.

[JohnyParticipant]

So... finally I took the plunge and got new Asus with TB support. Intel with 4 cores, 16Gb and 512Gb. I'm not collecting sample library so my needs for space are more than met with 512Gb.

Just fine tuning the setup as I type. Already got Cubase and my ADDA working quite properly. Next thing is the test recording down full load of tracks and see where we are with the setup.

It's a joy to mix after outdated macbook. I can have much more plugins and stuff running before touching "render in place" button.

Thanks for the pep talk! 😀

ps. I would love have Linux as OS in my DAW, but the damn thing is no good for audio (go figure).

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