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Recommended specs for a new PC to run Hauptwerk
If you already have a computer and want to know whether it will be adequate for your needs, please see the 'should I upgrade?' section. If you're buying a new computer to run Hauptwerk, the first and biggest question is whether it should be an Apple Mac or a Windows PC, so please have a look at the 'Mac or PC?' section first. The section gives some quick recommendations if you've decided you want to buy a new Windows PC.
Here we give a complete example PC system specification using readily-available components, and the approximate performance that we would expect you to achieve from Hauptwerk with it, based on our tests with this system. If you are considering buying a new PC to run Hauptwerk, then buying this system should give similar performance.
[To emphasize: these are only suggestions if you considering a new computer; any existing computer with a 2 GHz processor or faster and sufficient memory should give good performance with most medium-sized sample sets with all features enabled, and even a 1 GHz Pentium III will give good performance with many sample sets with some realism features disabled in Hauptwerk (interpolation and per-pipe filters).]
PC system 1
This system is specified to be fairly affordable whilst being adequate to run even large 'wet' sample sets, including smaller cathedral-sized organs (approx. 40-45 stops) with all realism features enabled, or almost any dry sample sets.
- Processor: 1 x Intel Core 2 Q9450 (2.66 GHz, 12 MB L2 cache, quad-core) or 1 x Intel Core 2 Q6600 (2.40 GHz, 8 MB L2 cache, quad-core) or 1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (2.66 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache, dual-core) or 1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 cache, dual-core) [all are 64-bit].
- Motherboard: Intel D975XBX (dual-channel memory, max 8 GB memory, PCIe, SATA RAID, ECC memory support) or Asus P5W DH Deluxe.
- Memory: 8 or 4 GB of high-quality ECC memory, distributed evenly amongst slots for separate memory channels on the motherboard.
- Graphics card: any suitable PCIe card with 64-bit Windows Vista drivers (we use a Matrox G550 PCIe).
- Power supply: 500 W or higher rating (we use an Enermax EG851AX-VH 660W).
- Operating system: 64-bit Windows Vista.
- Audio/MIDI interface: Echo Audiofire 12, Echo Audiofire 8, MOTU 24 I/O, E-MU 1212M, E-MU 1616M PCI or Focusrite Saffire.
- Optional additional MIDI interface: MOTU Micro Lite or MOTU Express 128.
- Hard-drive: One or two Seagate Barracuda (or similar) 7200 RPM SATA drives of 250 GB capacity or larger. Use two drives in a RAID 1 array for fast sample set loading.
- Others: DVD-RW drive, floppy drive, keyboard, mouse, monitor, case.
Based on our tests with this system, for the E6700 processor (dual-core) the number of pipes you would be able to play at once ('static polyphony') should be about as follows (mono samples panned into stereo, unenclosed pipes, all Hauptwerk features enabled, 12 milliseconds buffer latency):
- 64-bit Windows Vista: 3500-4000, depending on the audio interface.
With the Q6600 processor (quad-core) the number of pipes you would be able to play at once ('static polyphony') should be about as follows (mono samples panned into stereo, unenclosed pipes, all Hauptwerk features enabled, 12 milliseconds buffer latency):
- 64-bit Windows Vista: 5000-6500, depending on the audio interface.
With an E6600 processor we would expect the polyphony to be at most 10 percent lower than with the E6700. [Note that with interpolation, per-pipe filters and multiple sample loop playback disabled, Hauptwerk will typically be able to achieve about three times the polyphony than with all features enabled.]
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