20 Computer performance tips

01 UNDERSTAND ABOUT RAM

Modern audio software can be very memory-hungry and although the newer versions of Windows and Mac OSX have got much better at managing RAM, it’s still one of the main performance bottlenecks on many peoples’ setups. This is especially true if you use sample-based instruments, which generally have to be loaded into RAM to one extent or another. Buy a computer that’s got plenty of RAM, or upgrade and expand what you already have, if possible – 4GB is an absolute minimum and 8GB or even 16GB is preferable. There’s even an argument to be made for prioritising more RAM over spending money on a fractionally faster CPU, since this will offer you better performance in real world situations. Laptops, especially Apple models, have limited expansion capability and some are even non-user upgradeable so be aware of this if you’re buying one to make music with.

“Buy a computer that’s got plenty of RAM or upgrade and expand”

02 KNOW THE LIMITATIONS OF WI-FI

Although you can use wireless hard drives for storage, they don’t offer quick enough performance to handle things like streaming Kontakt libraries efficiently. So as tempting as it is to offload your libraries onto a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive, it’s better to use