Pre-configured PC Computers now available

I am please to announce that Organtechnology is now offering pre-configured for Hauptwerk Lenovo computers.
Please check us out. The link is at the bottom of the hardware links page.

Tom

Here is the link to Tom's web site:

http://www.organtechnology.com/

Rgds,
Ed

Hi Tom,

The highest spec PC you list (the OT-4) only has 6GB RAM and a dual-core processor - I would have thought you need to be aiming for at least 8GB (preferably 16 or 24GB), Quad Core for one of your systems, as even this only just powerful enough for some of the current sample sets.

Regards,
Chris.

I am please to announce that Organtechnology is now offering pre-configured for Hauptwerk Lenovo computers.
Please check us out. The link is at the bottom of the hardware links page.

Tom

Instead of 'box shifting' Lenovo garbage, why not buy separate components and build well made computers that are actually well specified specifically for the task of running sophisticated VPO setups.

Dear Wurlitzerwilly,

Thank you for your comments. The Organtechnology product is a combination of solid hardware and personal service for those who are not comfortable with purchasing their own components and assembling and configuring their systems. Perhaps the computer market in the UK is different from the USA as we have had excellent results from Lenovo; who is the successor to IBM's Personal Computer manufacturing recognized as the premier brand by people who know.. However, the units we sell are made specifically for the USA and we will not be selling or shipping to the UK or EU for now. Also, if a resident of the USA wishes for us to provide a computer of a different brand and capability with the capacities you mention we could undertake such a commission but the pricing would be adjusted accordingly..

Sincerely,

Tom

Dear Wurlitzerwilly,

Thank you for your comments. The Organtechnology product is a combination of solid hardware and personal service for those who are not comfortable with purchasing their own components and assembling and configuring their systems. Perhaps the computer market in the UK is different from the USA as we have had excellent results from Lenovo; who is the successor to IBM's Personal Computer manufacturing recognized as the premier brand by people who know.. However, the units we sell are made specifically for the USA and we will not be selling or shipping to the UK or EU for now. Also, if a resident of the USA wishes for us to provide a computer of a different brand and capability with the capacities you mention we could undertake such a commission but the pricing would be adjusted accordingly..

Sincerely,

Tom

My comments are nothing to do with the US or UK markets, both of which I know well. Replies based on country of origin are really rather inferior arguments.

As has been said above, 2 core duos just don't do anything but the basics. The specs you provide will just give the impression that Hauptwerk itself is no good, because the platform it's expected to run on, isn't up to the job.
Not only that, your entry level PC doesn't even have an ASIO sound card - an essential to running Hauptwerk with 'proper' sound quality.

Being a successor to IBM's PC Manufacturing isn't really much of an endorsement is it? Why are IBM no longer manufacturing PC's. I think we all know the answer to that one.

Dear Willy,

Why are you picking a fight?Have I offended you in some way? Why all this hostility?

Tom

Hi Tom,

While I couldn't or wouldn't speak for Alan, but I kinda think he might be reacting (maybe better said) "in a protecting mode" due to some past bad experience(s) here and on another Forum. Having said that, it's no reflection on you or what you are trying to do. IMHO, there is a market (albeit fairly small) for H/W ready to go computers of various vintages.

There appears to be several levels of Hauptwerk (loyalists and users). One maybe the computer hobbyist who has some musical ambitions. There is another group who are very accomplished musicians and having varying views on anything (including computers) that aren't completely understood, but for lack of a better word, tolerated. Then there are others that embrace the whole picture and are very loyal to Martin and now Brett for the absolute fabulous product we know as Hauptwerk. Most of us are newbies in one form or another here, but we do learn something new every day. That's thanks to the huge knowledge base that exists here. Myself, I started with version 1.0 and I feel highly unqualified to begin explaining all that can be done with H/W.

Bottom line, there can arise a defensive posture when something new enters the picture that perhaps might not be understood by someone totally unfamiliar with Hauptwerk, less they get a wrong impression at the beginning. There is a bit of that even in regards to the Free Edition perhaps by showing H/W in a more limited way. The word Free has a tremendous following these days as does economical (cheap). We each come to these words with our own previous experiences.

Not sure if that answers any of your thoughts on the subject, but those (for better or worse) are mine.

Rgds,
Ed

Dear Willy,

Why are you picking a fight?Have I offended you in some way? Why all this hostility?

Tom

Well firstly, my name is Alan not Willy and it's part of my signature.
Secondly there is no 'fight' here.
I made valid points and you chose to counter them with comments about the UK market, which are unfounded.
If we don't agree, there is no fight - we simply don't agree.
Any hostility on my part is against Lenovo and under-specified PCs for Hauptwerk.
I believe in Hauptwerk and I don't believe in certain aspects of PCs. I'm entitled to my opinion, you're entitled to yours, but please don't play the lame dog and claim 'fight'.

Being a successor to IBM's PC Manufacturing isn't really much of an endorsement is it? Why are IBM no longer manufacturing PC's. I think we all know the answer to that one.

Low profit margin, plus IBM's not-entirely-explicable desire to concentrate on software, especially (and more explicably) on larger machines. IBM certainly did not get out of the PC business because their machines were poor; on the contrary, they were solid and reliable, a long-standing IBM tradition (their hardware has tended to be better than their software, with some notable exceptions, of which the PCjunior was probably the most tragic. I'm one of those people who hoards the old M keyboards, because they're built like tanks and are the most comfortable things to type on I've come across). We don't know, yet, whether Lenovo's all-Chinese quality control will continue to be the equal of IBM's, but the machines I've seen from them have been very good. At least so far.

That said, Tom's machine do seem a bit underpowered for Hauptwerk; some sort of customization might be in order (at a minimum, a decent ASIO sound card, and more memory).

Dear Alan,

Thank you for the clarification. Yes you may diagree as you desire. I chose to move on and let your statements stand without further response from me.

Tom

[B. Milan]

I don't think it's completely fair to say that the computers are underpowered for Hauptwerk. Please remember that Hauptwerk can run on older Pentium processors much slower than a Core 2 Duo.

www.hauptwerk.com/requirements

Hauptwerk itself is more optimized now than it was even with Hauptwerk version 1 so you will get better performance out of it regardless. It is the instruments that create higher demands for processing power and memory, however there are plenty of smaller instruments available which would run perfectly well on these computers and do run fine on older Pentium machines and so will also run very well on the Core 2 Duo machines.

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your comment. It was thought provoking enough that I re-reviewed the memory requirements for running various sample sets for HW3. HW has provided a nifty little way to investigate the size of memory required for a sample set to run.

Gt to: http://www.hauptwerk.com/index.php?src= ... nstruments

You may then click on the memory window and select the memory size to see how many sets are listed.
You will find 91.5 percent of all the sample sets fit in under 6 GB.

And 95.75 percent will fit in under 8 GB while for 4 GB, which is my personal minimum, 87.2 percent of the sets will fit. It looks as if to get to 100 % that you would need a 16GB machine. I am sure that as newer sample sets come out the requirements will continue to increase and as the memory sticks get more capacity a memory upgrade will be possible on our motherboards as well.

For those who want more performance, the Quad Core machines are definitely the way to go and I do not offer such a machine and probably won't be able to be much help, to a user savy enough to build their own.

I prefer to look at the glass as 88 percent full instead of 12 percent empty but at your suggestion, I am looking into increasing the OT-4 to 8GB.

As for the ASIO card, that has not seemed to be an issue in the OT-1 which is intended for use with either the Free Version which only has a polyphony of 256 pipes or the Basic Version which also has no multichannel audio capability using the Intel HD-Audio. For the Full out version of HW3 the OT-2 with the externall Firewire 8 channel audio is probably the minimum. I would also note that the audio system needed to utilize the multichannel output capability are not inexpensive.

As someone else remarked Organtechnology is aimed at the smallish number of people who want a simple turnkey solution to having a Hauptwerk organ in their home. Thanks again for your comments they were helpful.

Best Regards,

Tom

I don't think it's completely fair to say that the computers are underpowered for Hauptwerk. Please remember that Hauptwerk can run on older Pentium processors much slower than a Core 2 Duo.

Fair comment Brett, from someone who knows.
However, I do stand by my comment regarding lack of an ASIO sound card, even a two channel one.

Alan,

That's a good suggestion. Which ASIO card(s) for 2 channels do you think would be appropriate? I will investigate adding one of them to the OT-1.

Tom