I built my first DAW 3-4 years ago, and it was PAINFUL deciding what parts to buy, but believe it or not, this list below was Mack Daddy cutting edge back then:
Athalon 600
Asus K7V
256M Ram
18Gig Seagate SCSI & Adaptec adapter
(I used to have a Gadget Labs 8in/8out card, but downgraded to a SB Audigy Platinum just before I realized that I really could use more than two ins and outs!)
OK, so I'm at it again (and still thick as a brick) even though I work in the tech/computer industry (rumor has it that if you work on Linux servers that you're presumed to be "geekier than thou", well, I'm proof that it isn't necessarily so! I guess I like making music more than I like recompiling kernels and chasing down installation dependencies!).
So, in preperation for building the new DAW I've begun the process of reading a bazillion BBS threads, and twice as many articles on the web, and the question of what parts to buy still makes me dizzy and I'm losing sleep!
What I'm hoping to get from you all is a few quick pointers in the right direction and more importantly, I'd like to be reminded of the right questions we need to ask before buying one part over another as I'm well aware that in some cases one part isn't necessarily bad or better, but just might not be what you need or isn't worth the extra expense.
First, let me start with a few assumptions about my next setup:
1. I do NOT need the fastest, sexiest, beast on the block.
2. I'm going AMD (read all the discussions and make your own decision)
My needs/recording style:
I use Cakewalk Sonar, and sometimes play with Acid or CEPro, and might get into Project5 or Reason and will probably start beefing up on the soft snyths.
I record most of my music straight from my Triton keyboard, in stereo, vocals, some guitar (stereo, straight in through a POD or GT-6), some bass, but ultimately we're talking minimal tracks here, maybe 20 at the most at any given time, but more like 6-8 on average. So, what I'm getting at is that everything I do now runs fine on Win98, 600Mhz, 256MB, so I don't need to build a maserati, but I do want to upgrade now as I'm starting to record much more than ever and am starting to add midi and soft synths/effects to the mix and I see than increasing significantly.
QUESTIONS:
Motherboards:
If I'm going AMD, are there really any issues still around regarding the Via chipsets or any others?
Quote from another board:
"stick to server/highend mobo's nothing with a VIA chipset
i run a dual AMD mp setup on a TYAN tiger MP and its rock solid."
Onboard sound (is it really significant if it has it or not? I haven't run into any problems with disabling in the BIOS)
I guess USB 2.0 is a given (and on most boards?)
PCI slots (need a few more than 2 I suppose
FSB: 333, 400, (the age old question of when to buy and when to wait for the next big thing.. well, as you've seen, I've gotten by fairly nicely on the low end, so I'm really looking for that 'bang for the buck' cost/benefit analysis
**Are there any boards that are REALLY problematic?
Anything else on the Motherboard, any other relevant questions we should ask ourselves?
_______________
Soundcard:
I haven't decided which sound card yet, so I'll probably plod along with the SB Audigy Platinum for a bit, but I'm pondering the new Ozone USB & Midi controller as an all-in-one deal, though I'm starting to think I'd really like more ins and outs (cost is the consideration, so keep in mind that this isn't a Santa Claus wish list DAW we're talking about!) ;-)
To be honest, I'm not as worried about this part of the equation as there are a LOT of useful discussions and debates that will help me make that final decision, however, if anyone has any particuar KNOWN ISSUES with a sound card and an Athlon MOBO, please share.
_______________
CPU: I just can't seem to get my hands around any of the versions/styles/flavors of AMD CPUs (XP, MP, wizbang shaboom?)
CPU SPEED: I Plan on looking closely at the cost/benefit/performance ratio, but suspect I won't go lower than say a 2.2 (I figure If I'm getting by on a 600, a 2.2 would keep me happy for at least another year??)
DUAL CPUs?? (just for the sake of discussion, though I can't seem to see any reason a moderate home rec user would need em. Want em, well that's another issue (and thread!) ;-)
________________
RAM:
Bus speeds, manufacturers, 'Crucial' this, 2700 that, SD, DD, DIZZY... please tell me there is someone out there that can spell out in child like terminology the choices based on needs and relevant quality (the 256Megs I'm running is cheapo crap from BestBuy, seems to work for me, I mean, I'm not trying to run a Benchmark outfit or stacks of tracks and massive processing.. well, maybe in a few months I will!) ;-)
Amount: I'll probably start with 512, but will move to a Gig a.s.a.p.
_________________
HARDDRIVES:
ATA? 100? SCSI (I originally had SCSI, but don't think my setup warrants the additional cost)
7200 is fine, right?
Well, I just bought a WD800JB, and I suppose I probably should have gotten one of the Seagate V's as the sound level is much lower than the WD. (Oh, did I mention that I intend to get this machine as quiet as possible: Fans, power supply, case)
From a different thread I'm on, here's some info on drive noise and heat dissipation:
Here is a link to all of the drives and how they rate for noise:
http://www.storagereview.com/php/be.../bench_sort.php
One drive partitioned or Two?? (I do intend to keep the OS seperated from the audio, but i'm also thinking about backups...
...wondering if I should go RAID1 and write everything to a second disk (any special MOBO needs? I was told I could do all the raid stuff with software, but I keep seeing RAID as a MOBO feature?), or I could also make periodic Ghost images as I use Ghost a lot at work so I'm familiar with it.
From a different thread:
"i have a promise ATA100 RAID card in my box and it provides me with enough bandwidth to do pretty much anything i want..."
Comments? Additional questions we should ask?
______________
As far as the noise and heat stuff, I'm doing pretty good reading specialized sites and some custom jobs people have done. Maybe a drive enclosure, Fanless PSU, special case, custom materials inside to dampen the sound, and maybe some of the Zalmar fans?
(http://www.siliconacoustics.com/silpc.html)
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/foratandpeni.html
______________
Oh, and any particularly good online parts sources? I've seen Newegg come up a lot and I just bought the hard drive from them, the price was the lowest around and it arrived VERY quick.
______________
Well, it's late and I've written way more than I should have, but I really needed to get this off my chest, now I go and pray to the DAW gods that you all guide me in the right direction and I make a decision on parts (ANY decision is better than frettin' and worryin' about it for so long that I'm spending more time researching and less time making music!)
Ciao, and thanks in advance to all who share the experiene and technical wisdom!
~+~ 3des ~+~
p.s. My brain's spell check was off when I wrote this, so that's my disclaimer! ;-)
Athalon 600
Asus K7V
256M Ram
18Gig Seagate SCSI & Adaptec adapter
(I used to have a Gadget Labs 8in/8out card, but downgraded to a SB Audigy Platinum just before I realized that I really could use more than two ins and outs!)
OK, so I'm at it again (and still thick as a brick) even though I work in the tech/computer industry (rumor has it that if you work on Linux servers that you're presumed to be "geekier than thou", well, I'm proof that it isn't necessarily so! I guess I like making music more than I like recompiling kernels and chasing down installation dependencies!).
So, in preperation for building the new DAW I've begun the process of reading a bazillion BBS threads, and twice as many articles on the web, and the question of what parts to buy still makes me dizzy and I'm losing sleep!
What I'm hoping to get from you all is a few quick pointers in the right direction and more importantly, I'd like to be reminded of the right questions we need to ask before buying one part over another as I'm well aware that in some cases one part isn't necessarily bad or better, but just might not be what you need or isn't worth the extra expense.
First, let me start with a few assumptions about my next setup:
1. I do NOT need the fastest, sexiest, beast on the block.
2. I'm going AMD (read all the discussions and make your own decision)
My needs/recording style:
I use Cakewalk Sonar, and sometimes play with Acid or CEPro, and might get into Project5 or Reason and will probably start beefing up on the soft snyths.
I record most of my music straight from my Triton keyboard, in stereo, vocals, some guitar (stereo, straight in through a POD or GT-6), some bass, but ultimately we're talking minimal tracks here, maybe 20 at the most at any given time, but more like 6-8 on average. So, what I'm getting at is that everything I do now runs fine on Win98, 600Mhz, 256MB, so I don't need to build a maserati, but I do want to upgrade now as I'm starting to record much more than ever and am starting to add midi and soft synths/effects to the mix and I see than increasing significantly.
QUESTIONS:
Motherboards:
If I'm going AMD, are there really any issues still around regarding the Via chipsets or any others?
Quote from another board:
"stick to server/highend mobo's nothing with a VIA chipset
i run a dual AMD mp setup on a TYAN tiger MP and its rock solid."
Onboard sound (is it really significant if it has it or not? I haven't run into any problems with disabling in the BIOS)
I guess USB 2.0 is a given (and on most boards?)
PCI slots (need a few more than 2 I suppose
FSB: 333, 400, (the age old question of when to buy and when to wait for the next big thing.. well, as you've seen, I've gotten by fairly nicely on the low end, so I'm really looking for that 'bang for the buck' cost/benefit analysis
**Are there any boards that are REALLY problematic?
Anything else on the Motherboard, any other relevant questions we should ask ourselves?
_______________
Soundcard:
I haven't decided which sound card yet, so I'll probably plod along with the SB Audigy Platinum for a bit, but I'm pondering the new Ozone USB & Midi controller as an all-in-one deal, though I'm starting to think I'd really like more ins and outs (cost is the consideration, so keep in mind that this isn't a Santa Claus wish list DAW we're talking about!) ;-)
To be honest, I'm not as worried about this part of the equation as there are a LOT of useful discussions and debates that will help me make that final decision, however, if anyone has any particuar KNOWN ISSUES with a sound card and an Athlon MOBO, please share.
_______________
CPU: I just can't seem to get my hands around any of the versions/styles/flavors of AMD CPUs (XP, MP, wizbang shaboom?)
CPU SPEED: I Plan on looking closely at the cost/benefit/performance ratio, but suspect I won't go lower than say a 2.2 (I figure If I'm getting by on a 600, a 2.2 would keep me happy for at least another year??)
DUAL CPUs?? (just for the sake of discussion, though I can't seem to see any reason a moderate home rec user would need em. Want em, well that's another issue (and thread!) ;-)
________________
RAM:
Bus speeds, manufacturers, 'Crucial' this, 2700 that, SD, DD, DIZZY... please tell me there is someone out there that can spell out in child like terminology the choices based on needs and relevant quality (the 256Megs I'm running is cheapo crap from BestBuy, seems to work for me, I mean, I'm not trying to run a Benchmark outfit or stacks of tracks and massive processing.. well, maybe in a few months I will!) ;-)
Amount: I'll probably start with 512, but will move to a Gig a.s.a.p.
_________________
HARDDRIVES:
ATA? 100? SCSI (I originally had SCSI, but don't think my setup warrants the additional cost)
7200 is fine, right?
Well, I just bought a WD800JB, and I suppose I probably should have gotten one of the Seagate V's as the sound level is much lower than the WD. (Oh, did I mention that I intend to get this machine as quiet as possible: Fans, power supply, case)
From a different thread I'm on, here's some info on drive noise and heat dissipation:
Here is a link to all of the drives and how they rate for noise:
http://www.storagereview.com/php/be.../bench_sort.php
One drive partitioned or Two?? (I do intend to keep the OS seperated from the audio, but i'm also thinking about backups...
...wondering if I should go RAID1 and write everything to a second disk (any special MOBO needs? I was told I could do all the raid stuff with software, but I keep seeing RAID as a MOBO feature?), or I could also make periodic Ghost images as I use Ghost a lot at work so I'm familiar with it.
From a different thread:
"i have a promise ATA100 RAID card in my box and it provides me with enough bandwidth to do pretty much anything i want..."
Comments? Additional questions we should ask?
______________
As far as the noise and heat stuff, I'm doing pretty good reading specialized sites and some custom jobs people have done. Maybe a drive enclosure, Fanless PSU, special case, custom materials inside to dampen the sound, and maybe some of the Zalmar fans?
(http://www.siliconacoustics.com/silpc.html)
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/foratandpeni.html
______________
Oh, and any particularly good online parts sources? I've seen Newegg come up a lot and I just bought the hard drive from them, the price was the lowest around and it arrived VERY quick.
______________
Well, it's late and I've written way more than I should have, but I really needed to get this off my chest, now I go and pray to the DAW gods that you all guide me in the right direction and I make a decision on parts (ANY decision is better than frettin' and worryin' about it for so long that I'm spending more time researching and less time making music!)
Ciao, and thanks in advance to all who share the experiene and technical wisdom!
~+~ 3des ~+~
p.s. My brain's spell check was off when I wrote this, so that's my disclaimer! ;-)