Reaper system requirements

Dirk Diggler · 23 Aug 2015 at 17:33

A mate wants me to build him a system for music playback and editing. He says he'll be using Reaper to start with, and maybe Pro Tools or Cubase.

What kind of CPU and RAM will be required? I'm thinking i5 minimum but would an i7 be beneficial?

visibleman · 23 Aug 2015 at 17:57

If he's dealing with mostly audio, then look at SSD's (for the project drive; OS/software isn't particularly important to be on SSD's) for read/write speeds; mostly VST/AU/RTAS plugins (especially synths or reverb plugins) then processing will be important; sample based libraries then loads of ram is what'll you need (can always use SSD's for library files to speed up loading times).
Generally lean towards ram more than anything else though - if you have a choice of a few more MHz or a few more GB's then go with the ram.

And a half decent audio interface is just as important.

Dirk Diggler · 23 Aug 2015 at 18:31

So, 120GB SSD, i5 & 16GB of RAM? Would i7 be a boost or a waste? I might be able to stretch to the i7 but only if it's worth it.

russell664 · 23 Aug 2015 at 21:47

More RAM is the key I think, unless you plan on doing video rending, I would go to the i5 instead and save some coin.

visibleman · 24 Aug 2015 at 15:30

String said:
So, 120GB SSD, i5 & 16GB of RAM? Would i7 be a boost or a waste? I might be able to stretch to the i7 but only if it's worth it.

You'd be better off finding out exactly what they'll be doing (and what plugins they'll be using) and taking it from there, especially if you're on a budget and wanting the best 'bang for your buck'.

However, i'd spend the 'stretch' on more RAM rather than a i7. And unless the budget allows for a bigger SSD or multiple drives, then stick to mechanical - 120GB won't last long especially if they plan to use sample library based plugins (some of my orchestral libraries are well over 100GB each).