Minimum Computer Requirements To Use Live to DJ in a Club?

chair · Post by **chair** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:14 am

I am currently running a Mac G4 256 40Gb powerbook. It is quite fine for inhouse production work but when i load up some tracks and begin working on a set to play live I get a few hiccups. No freezes or crashes but it is definately not what it should be. From those of you who are using Live in the clubs and own a mac, in your opinion what is the minimum requirement to make things go smoothe? Alternatively I am also wondering what kind of Audio Interface would complement nicely for djing and club use, no instrument recording. Thanks.

djastroboy · Post by **djastroboy** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:26 am

There's no absolute minimum computer requirements per se, but obviously any given computer can only do a certain amount of work.
First thing I would say is to go through the settings on your plugins and see if there are "quality"-type settings that you can lower to decrease the load.
For instance, on Ablteton's reverb, you can set the Global thingy to "economy" and get lower CPU usage.
Once that's done, you could also increase your latency setting on your soundcard in small increments and see if your hiccups go away.

What's different about your live vs. studio sets?

Is the live setup more demanding or are you just more aware of the glitches?

minimal · Post by **minimal** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:43 am

a good start could be to set a relatively high latency when on stage, as you don't need any recording.
This way you should be able to "do more" with your computer so far djing goes.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:53 am

Without a doubt, more RAM will solve most of your problems. OSX will choke on only 256mb in virtually any application.

As a minimum, the onboard audio output will suffice. There are numerous threads on this and other forums regarding external interfaces.