Do Dell's Come With PCI Slots?

I've had to deal with this myself when I wanted to upgrade my old Dell box, since my A/D converter boxes all use cards that fit the old/original PCI slots....same as your Delta converter.

Plus....I have 3 converter boxes and need 3 PCI cards...so while you can find newer towers with maybe one PCI slot on the MOBO, it's pretty much impossible to find a newer one with 3 PCI slots.

My solution....eBay. :)
I found an older (but newer than what I had) tower that came with 3 PCI slots. It's a Dell (so was my older one)...and I run 3 Layla24 boxes, plus I have SCSI drives (4 internal - 1 OS, 3 work). The tower is a dual Xeon 2.2 GHz with 4 GB ram.
Not a blazing machine by today's standards, but no slouch either.

I bought a complete back-up pile of parts for it....including a MOBO and power supplies, etc....and two 1.7 GHz Xeon CPUs....so I can basically keep it going for awhile.

The problem for me is that if I go with a new system, I automatically would have to buy 3 new converter boxes and new style extra drives....so I'm not upgrading anytime soon.
It's a 32 bit system....but I've got everything I need plug-in/app wise, and I'm not really missing anything I can see. Only downside is maybe trying to run crazy amount of plugs across multiple tracks in real time....but I don't do that, and I can easily work around that.
 
Thanks Armistice. I had to do some digging, but I found that model on the US site as well. And yeah it looks like it has one free PCI slot. But at almost $900US it's pretty pricey. Its other features (CPU speed, memory, etc.) are kind of average - like something you'd get in a machine half that price. We'll see... it's an option.

I went home last night to try to salvage the harddrive one more time. And now the thing won't even power up. I've never see a PC die like this. Up until the day before yesterday, it showed no signs of any problems.
 
Steenamaroo said:
No power at all? No fans, no lights? Maybe it's just the PSU that has died?
Click to expand...

Power Supplies haven't changed in the last 10 years, maybe more. If it is PS, $70 give or take, could fix your problem. If not, send it back. Worth a shot.
 
A few years ago I bought a W7/64 HP tower and was aghast to find it only had one PCI slot. This scuppered my plan to install 2 M-A 2496 cards and have 4 in 4out from a Teac A3440.

So when XP died I was looking for a new PC (I have 4!) and built the attached. I have not stressed it unduly so far but the PC seems remarkably swift and stable. Quiet too bar a slightly clicky HDD which I am going to sleeve.

Do note that the Asus MOBO does NOT have integrated graphics but you don't need anything very garish for audio work. I paid about 30quid for one from Maplin but only because I was eager to get going I could have bought something just as good on 'Zon for 1/2 that.

I have used 3 2496 cards on 2 W7/64 PCs, nay bother.

Dave.
 

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TripleM said:
I went home last night to try to salvage the harddrive one more time. And now the thing won't even power up. I've never see a PC die like this. Up until the day before yesterday, it showed no signs of any problems.
Click to expand...

I had that problem too, with one of the Dells. Replaced the Power Supply, but the motherboard was fried. Which fried which?
 
I also had successfully used Dells for many years and a Delta 44. I needed to upgrade to handle increased recording demands in early 2012 and couldn't find a Dell with PCI within my budget. I had a custom computer built with high quality components for under $600 that included Win7 Pro, Win Office Pro, and a PCI slot so I could continue to use my Delta 44 (that I'm still using). I went with a builder on ebay who had numerous positive ratings, which was lower priced than local builders. I considered buying the exact components from newegg but I couldn't even buy the parts at the price I paid for having the machine built and shipped. I guess the builder can get parts at wholesale.
 
If I were you, I'd first try to install a new hard drive and see if that works; no point in buying a whole new system if the hard drive is the only faulty unit!

Also, in my experience, using a Dell/Gateway/HP (or any computer bought at a big-box store, for that matter) to run a DAW is a no-no. They come with all sorts of software & peripherals pre-installed, and many times you cannot uninstall them without completely wiping the entire system and starting from scratch. Which is sorta pointless, because you're actually paying more for all those extras.

If you have the cash, I'd HIGHLY recommend checking out the recording PCs sold by Sweetwater; they're the best pre-made PCs for recording you'll find at the price. However, I have built ALL of my recording towers from scratch since 1999, and while the learning curve is a bit steep, with all the information now available online, you can easily build your own. I built one about 18 months ago for $800 (not including OS or DAW software), and it is STILL faster & more powerful than any consumer Mac tower on the market. If yer interested in going the DIY PC-build route, feel free to PM me with any questions or concerns. I'm more than willing to help you choose all the right components and help you assemble them. It's really a lot easier than you think it is, I promise. Took me about 2 hours to assemble my tower from beginning to end, including installing the OS & software. I was up & recording within 3 hours of starting to build the PC.

Also, there's a great article you should look over, as it explains why the Dell/Gateway/HP route isn't a good one, and it also provides quite a lot of great information regarding optimizing yer PC for recording. NUMBER ONE RULE: ***ALWAYS*** shut down any wireless/internet connection before tracking audio; it constantly will eat up bandwidth on the system busses as it always needs to make sure it's connected. Check out the graph in this article and you'll see what I mean: USING VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS IN LIVE PERFORMANCE - Harmony Central

But like I said, if yer interested in building yer own PC, feel free to PM me. I'm more than willing to share my knowledge & experience with you.
 
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