Quick Start

10
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
This chapter describes the requirements and installation
procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version
of Cubase.
Minimum requirements
To use Cubase, your computer must meet the following
minimum requirements:
Windows
• Windows XP (Home or Professional, Service Pack 2),
or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit – see below)
• 2 GHz processor (Dual Core processor recommended)
•1024MB RAM
• Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware;
ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low
latency performance.
• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels recommended
• 4GB of free hard disk space
• Steinberg Key and USB component connector
• DVD ROM drive with dual layer support required for installation
• Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
• Mac OS X 10.5.5
• PowerPC G5 (Intel Core Duo processor recommended)
•1024MB RAM
• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels
• 4GB of free hard disk space
• Steinberg Key and USB component connector
• DVD ROM drive with dual layer support required for installation
• Internet connection required for license activation
Ö If you want to install the 64-bit version of Cubase,
make sure you read the ReadMe document on this topic
before proceeding.
You will find this document, called “Windows_Vista_64bit_[lan-
guage].rtf”, on the installation DVD, in the ReadMe Files folder.
General notes on how to set up your system
• RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of
available RAM and the number of audio channels that you
can have running.
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as
a general rule “the more the better” applies.
• Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines
how many minutes of audio you will be able to record.
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard
disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Cubase use up at least 80 MB
of disk space per recording minute.
• Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also de-
termines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually ex-
pressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
• Wheel mouse – Although a mouse without a wheel will
work fine with Cubase, we recommend that you use a
wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably.
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Cubase, you need
the following:
• A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your
computer.
•A MIDI instrument.
• Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your
MIDI devices.
!
On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW
Components”, you can find detailed information on
what to consider when setting up a computer system
dedicated to audio work.