Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation developed and released by Avid Technology and can be used for a wide range of sound recording and sound production purposes. Like all digital audio workstation software, Pro Tools can perform the functions of a multitrack tape recorder and audio mixer, along with additional features that can only be performed in the digital domain, such as non-destructive editing, using the Undo feature, which allows an engineer to undo any changes.
Hardware Recommendations
Processor
Mixing, Plugins, Exporting
For digital audio production, it is beneficial to have more processor cores rather than a higher clockspeed per core.
Graphics
This application doesn't utilize (or makes slight use of) GPU acceleration, so a high-end graphics card is not required. Therefore, we recommend a Quadro T400.
Storage
In general, we recommend a two to four drive configuration depending on your budget and desired performance level:
- Primary Drive: SSD for the operating system, software and plugins
- Secondary Drive: another SSD, or for better performance, an NVMe Flash Storage Drive (the "HP Z Turbo Drive") for active project files and disk cache
- Optional Third Drive (SSD or HDD): rather than store the samples on the secondary drive, placing them on a third drive can improve performance and free up space
- Optional Fourth Drive (HDD): storage for the larger sound libraries on a hard disk drive which is
Memory
In general, 4GB of RAM per CPU core is recommended. For example, if you select a single 12-core processor, 32GB will suffice for basic tasks or 64GB for more demanding workloads.
If you are using many virtual instruments and plugins, we recommend 8GB of RAM per CPU core.
Configuration Recommendations
HP Z8 G4 Workstation
$7,925
HP Z6 G4 Workstation
$5,025
HP Z6 G4 Workstation
$4,475
HP Z840 Workstation
$4,600
HP Z4 G4 Workstation
$3,100
HP Z440 Workstation
$2,400
Running additional applications on this system?
The recommended components and configurations provided on this page are specific to this software. If you plan on running other applications, view our recommendations for them as well and choose a configuration that best suits the needs of the application requirements collectively. Feel free to contact us for further assistance.