system requirements

• Aug 12, 2017 - 20:51

Hi,

This has surely been covered before but I was unable to find it.

I want to buy a used computer to run the program. Was thinking of core duo at 2.x to 3 ghz. running windows 7 or 10. Are both of these OS OK ?

Also, how much live memory do I need and how much disk space ?

Gordon

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• Aug 12, 2017 - 22:00

I run MuseScore using the AppImage, xubuntu 16.04, AMD Athlon II X4 620 with 4Gb RAM. Not that much faster than a Core2 Duo and no speed problems except when re-drawing really large scores. I'm not sure what overhead Windows might add, however, but do you really need Windows? Storage is unlikely to be a problem - I have a ton of stuff including PDF files of source material and currently am using 10.5Gb for 30000 files.

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• Aug 13, 2017 - 12:44

xubuntu 16.04. Free, long-term support, stable, runs on on older hardware - xubuntu is ubuntu but with a less demanding graphical interface etc.. Download the AppImage of MuseScore and you don't need to worry about having the latest Qt libraries etc. demanded by the Nightly and repository versions.

Of course MuseScore works on Windows 7 and if Windows comes pre-installed on the computer then I'd suggest you just try MuseScore for Windows and see how you get on. Try and get a machine with plenty of RAM - 4 is OK but 8 is better.

You can have your cake and eat it, as it were, by downloading xubuntu onto a USB stick or burn it to a DVD and you can boot from it and try it out before committing to install. You can also choose to dual-boot with Windows but that is a more advanced option and you'd be better reading on the ubuntu help pages. I only use Windows now so my daughter can play "The SIM's".

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• Aug 15, 2017 - 22:50

So in the end, I moved up a little from my original plan. A dell quad i7 from about 2012. It has 8 ram, and runs at 3.4

I am hoping that I will be able to do some sequencing/recording as well.

Is there anything special I should know about midi interfaces ? I have one midi controller (keyboard) that has usb connection, but I have others that do not. If I am sequencing or recording from one program, and then switch to Musescore, it might be helpful to input from the same interface.

Are there some to avoid. Some to prefer ?

You might wonder why I am so dumb. Its a long story, but I finally got time to work on this, and took a lot of 30 year old gear out of storage. A lot has changed in that time.

Thanks for helping me out here guys.

I should be around a lot and look forward to sharing.

Best,

Gordon

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• Aug 12, 2017 - 22:34

I'm not a Windows expert, so take the following only as some suggestions.
If you want to use Windows10, make shure that the used computer is even supported.
For RAM ("live memory") - for MuseScore whatever is build in is probably enough, BUT if you want/need to use better soundfonts you want lot's of RAM. Do not buy it if the computer uses DDR-2 RAM. Upgrading that kind of RAM is really expensive.
Also, unless you get a really good deal on the used computer, you might get a "new" computer for not much more money.
You can get so-called business notebooks (more than enough for MuseScore) for ~300 Euro/$.

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• Aug 13, 2017 - 04:19

Hi Mat,

Why buy used ? I am really cheap. heh heh.

And I have multiple kids going to school, hence multiple computers to maintain.

So, I stay a little behind the curve to keep the costs down.

But my main question I guess, is whether MuseScore works with 64 bit windows ( 7 and up)

Gordon

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• May 15, 2020 - 00:10

I upgraded to a used HP Z420 (£150 off eBay) and my current system has 16Gb RAM but this is only used when running virtual machines. With two desktops each running a browser with multiple tabs and a large spreadsheet open it is using 4.05Gb memory. Starting MuseScore and playing back a piano score of the third movement of Moonlight Sonata only increases this to 4.30Gb. So, yes, 8Gb RAM ought to be fine for most musical purposes.

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