Upgrading PC for pro audio???

M

MartyP

New member
I've been gathering information about building my home studio in order to make the right choices while upgrading my old pc.

I would love to be able to add the necessary hardware to my gateway 820gm desktop. I intend on using external hard drive and audio interface. I have yet to decide on a DAW.

I would appreciate it if anyone would be willing to take a look at the specs and make a recommendation on what components will be sufficient and what components need to be upgraded in order to achieve the best results.

I was unable to post a link to the specs but this is the model:
4055Gateway 820GM Media Center Computer

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP
 
Well MartyP I'm not sure how well that'll hold up for you.
Generally a computer with lots of RAM (at least 4GB IMO) and a multicore CPU is ideal for recording.
 
3 drives always on any daw:

OS, apps and plugins on boot drive
Sample libraries on second drive (if you use them)
Audio projects and tracks on another drive
 
I have a SSD with FL studio on it , and it really eliminates the bottlenecks especially with samples. I keep all my projects on a file server, and run the OS off the SSD
 
Yes i was planning on upgrading at least the processor...could you offer any suggestions on what else to upgrade on this pc
like soundcard, ports etc. and which of it's components are already good enough
 
well you already said you were going to use an interface, which IS a soundcard.
You will ignore the built-it.

....and if you are at that level, you really need to read some basic recording manuals.

Good starter manual here.

Good starter book here.

More here.

Spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$
 
MartyP said:
Yes i was planning on upgrading at least the processor...could you offer any suggestions on what else to upgrade on this pc
like soundcard, ports etc. and which of it's components are already good enough
Click to expand...

Your hard drive is fairly good, especially for a small drive. It could carry on being your main OS and app drive, assuming you don't install a lot onto the computer. If you do use it for a lot of applications, you may find a bigger drive to suit you better. Once you start filling up over half way on your drive, you start to gain noticable differences in performance. Adding more drives for your plugins and actual recordings will help keep optimal performance too.

512MB DDR RAM is very little. 4GB DDR3 is a better place to start. 8GB will give you some headroom for futureproofing. Original DDR made motherboards will not support DDR3 though.

You mention wanting to upgrade CPU anyways, which will most likely mean upgrading your mobo. So it seems like ripping it all out and starting again.
Even for the power supply. I'd say about 400-500 watts minimum to be able to run everything in a more modern computer. You may be able to still use the 300 watt, but I wouldn't recommend. Even if you do, that's still only that and a small hard drive that will still be original to the computer. You may as well pay out for a new computer as much as replacing parts will do for it. Keeping the case and still using that could save you enough to go for 8GB of RAM over 4GB too, so cuts in what you really need will do you well.

If price is limited, what kinda budget do you have?

TimOBrien said:
3 drives always on any daw:

OS, apps and plugins on boot drive
Sample libraries on second drive (if you use them)
Audio projects and tracks on another drive
Click to expand...

I'd put plugins in with the samples always. Plugins are often What will need to be read most. So it just slows down your main drive more and more if you put them with all your applications and OS, which will always have the drive already spinning. Definitely good to have a 3 drive set up though.
 
MartyP said:
Thanks geezer
your feedback has been most helpful.
my budget is around 1000
Click to expand...

You can get some great stuff for that amount.
I'd reccomend first gen i5 or i7 CPU, or 2nd gen i5.
8GB of RAM.
3 hard drives[or 2 if you use the original hard drive] - 1TB should really be about average size, Samsung Spinpoint F3s, Western Digital Caviar Blacks and Seagate Barracudas are some of the most reliable.
Which motherboard you get will depend on which CPU you go for. If you need Firewire for an audio interface or something, it is also important to check if the motherboard has a firewire port. [hopefully Texas Instruments chipset]
 
kidkage said:
Yeah peeking around with that budget at tigerdirect.com will get you one awesome machine :D
Click to expand...

...if you know what you're looking at. No offense intended, I don't know you at all so please don't get butt-hurt. Like every other subject on this forum, it's easy to spend a ton of money trying to make things work together. I built a great computer (after reading a couple of books and a few looonnnggg conversations with our resident IT guy) for half the price of a similar off-the-shelf machine. That was in '07 so it's time to build a new one for the music...

tigerdirect and newegg are great sites for aquiring the parts once you have a goal. What OS do you intend to use? What configuration is the case (ATX, micro-ATX, etc.)? I'd be happy to help you get a plan together, just let me know!
 
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Just peeking around at tigerdirect (bored at work). If I had $1K to spend, here's what I would build:

B69-5423 ::GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 900 Series Motherboard and AMD FD6100WMGUSBX FX-6100 Processor Bundle
Price: $359.99

G452-0216 ::GIGABYTE GV-N210D3-1GI GeForce 210 Video Card - 1GB, DDR3, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), 1x HDMI, 1x DVI-I, 1x VGA, Direct X 10.1, Single-Slot, Low Profile
Price: $39.99

T13-1113 ::Coolmax 500-Watt Modular Power Supply - PCI-E, 120mm Fan
Price: $44.99

2 ea. TSD-250AAKX ::Western Digital WD2500AAKX Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 250GB, 3.5", SATA 6Gbps, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
Price: $149.98 (74.99 each)

A79-1006 ::AMD AP34G1608U1K Performance Edition Desktop Memory Kit - 4GB (2x 2GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM Price: $34.99

S203-8588 ::Samsung SH-222BB/RSBS 22X Internal DVDRW Burner - 22x / 16x, SATA, 1.5MB Buffer
Price: 29.99

Also found a neat 4U rackmount case for $99. Total (without shipping): $760. I'd use my 500GB external Firewire drive for file storage, internal drive 1 for XP SP3 (own it so not factored into cost) and ancillary progs (Office 2010, IE9, anti-virus etc) drive 2 for DAW and plug-ins. Already own a DVI monitor, so I'd need a matching second monitor (plan around $100, nothing extravagant. Can find 'em used pretty cheap). Mount the case in one of those kick-ass desks by CapacityWKS or GuitarGodGT, put the keyboard/mouse on a pull out tray, set the mixer/audio interface on the desk and you are set!
 
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deaf clef pro said:
Just peeking around at tigerdirect (bored at work). If I had $1K to spend, here's what I would build:

B69-5423 ::GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 900 Series Motherboard and AMD FD6100WMGUSBX FX-6100 Processor Bundle
Price: $359.99

G452-0216 ::GIGABYTE GV-N210D3-1GI GeForce 210 Video Card - 1GB, DDR3, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), 1x HDMI, 1x DVI-I, 1x VGA, Direct X 10.1, Single-Slot, Low Profile
Price: $39.99

T13-1113 ::Coolmax 500-Watt Modular Power Supply - PCI-E, 120mm Fan
Price: $44.99

2 ea. TSD-250AAKX ::Western Digital WD2500AAKX Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 250GB, 3.5", SATA 6Gbps, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
Price: $149.98 (74.99 each)

A79-1006 ::AMD AP34G1608U1K Performance Edition Desktop Memory Kit - 4GB (2x 2GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM Price: $34.99

S203-8588 ::Samsung SH-222BB/RSBS 22X Internal DVDRW Burner - 22x / 16x, SATA, 1.5MB Buffer
Price: 29.99

Also found a neat 4U rackmount case for $99. Total (without shipping): $760. I'd use my 500GB external Firewire drive for file storage, internal drive 1 for XP SP3 (own it so not factored into cost) and ancillary progs (Office 2010, IE9, anti-virus etc) drive 2 for DAW and plug-ins. Already own a DVI monitor, so I'd need a matching second monitor (plan around $100, nothing extravagant. Can find 'em used pretty cheap). Mount the case in one of those kick-ass desks by CapacityWKS or GuitarGodGT, put the keyboard/mouse on a pull out tray, set the mixer/audio interface on the desk and you are set!
Click to expand...

Overpriced mobo.

Pointless adding a video card, when built in graphics work perfectly fine for what the guy needs. Especially as standard DVI can send higher than 1080 HD signals.

Good choice of hard drive, though the Blacks seem to have greater performance and reliability over the Blues. For only a little extra cash.

Never even heard of that RAM before. For similar prices, you can get some cheapy Corsair XMS RAM. Even the Vengeance RAM is cheap now, which clocks a little faster than the XMA stuff. If you look in the right places, you can get it the same price too.

Wayyyyy overpriced CD/DVD drive. You can use the same one out of the old computer. The things are made for pennies. Even the cheapest ones will do a great job. Blu-Ray [as it is technically a media hub thingy], will be a little extra, as it's new tech. But if it is needed, there's no reason not to.

I like the rackmount case idea.
 
I was bored at work and threw this list together in about 20 minutes...just like mastering an album, or skinning a cat, everyone's got thier own way of doing it. The original poster didn't specify thier requirements very well so I went with what I would want in my own studio. That's where the videocard came in...I wanted dual-monitor support and the mobo doesn't have it. I also assumed his OE computer had two disc drives on an IDE channel...the new mobo has no IDE headers. The RAM is made by the CPU and chipset manufacturer and matched the mobo architecture and recommended frequency. I have this same power supply and am very plesased with its performance, ease of installation and neatness.

I would certainly spend more time thoroughly researching the mobo/CPU combo before actually purchasing anything to ensure I was getting the least expensive solution to my needs.
 
I always reckon it is worth spending more for a good power supply. Seasonic is good, and there are others. They will be more expensive of course. If you spend $120 in place of a $40 power supply, your total build will be an extra $80. What's your data worth?

Paul
 
PRHunt said:
I always reckon it is worth spending more for a good power supply. Seasonic is good, and there are others. They will be more expensive of course. If you spend $120 in place of a $40 power supply, your total build will be an extra $80. What's your data worth?

Paul
Click to expand...

There are a LOT of good power supplies. Antec probably actually get some of the biggest praise. They also make some very sexy cases. I have one of the Dark Fleet cases they do. I use Corsair PSU though. Corsair known very much for their reliability.

But in all, it doesn't matter who you get your stuff from, there's always a chance that something will bollocks up. and your power supply going dead, is not going to fuck with your data. You can just as easy put a new working power supply into it and have all your data still there, or move your hard drive/s to another machine. Whatever. The real money to protect your data, need to go into those hard drives. and if you have the money to RAID, then that can come in useful too. Otherwise, just a spare drive to save all your most valuable stuff into at the end of each day is a good way to go more cheaply.
 
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