Comp Upgrades

N

Naghorvik_Soran

New member
This is probably a common question around here but it couldnt hurt to ask it again.

Im planning to upgrade my computer studio setup

origionally it was this

HARDWARE
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Intel PCI motherboard (came with computer bought in 1999)
128K Memory
Pentium III 733mhz
Elza Erazor III graphics card
Maxtor 20 Gig HD
Windows 98
M audio Audiophile
sony 8x CD-R

Software: Cakewalk 9

I plan to Upgrade to a setup that Runs Cubase SX with HALion, LM4mkII, Absynth, Windows Xp. I plan to Keep the audiophile but what else can i Keep and what needs to be replaced. Or for that matter Would just buying a new computer be just as viable a solution I usually make colossal Screw ups when it comes to mass Equipment upgrades so im hoping to do this one right

THANK YOU
 
More RAM and a 7200RPM HD added to your current system would go a long way. I have a P3 750 with 512MB Ram and it runs fine for audio apps. The downside to buying more RAM for that computer is you most likely wont be able to use it when you finally do a full upgrade. But RAM is pretty cheap right now so it's not a huge concern.

If you are getting a whole new box then you can salvage the video card, floppy and maybe the CD ROM. You can use that HD for a backup drive in your new box if you want. You may be able to use the old case if the power supply is at least 250W but preferably 300W.
 
The power supply is a 250w,

but one more question, is the motherboard (origionaly built for a pentium 300) a possible isssue will it slow things down or is it a non factor
 
It's not going to slow you down any worse than you are now. XP will run just fine on your system, so more RAM and a faster HD can only help.

One other thing to consider though, running 3 VSTi's are going to hog up your CPU big time. I'm not familiar with any of the ones you mentioned, so if they're not CPU intensive, you might be all right. But you may have to convert them to audio tracks if you plan to get crazy with them.
 
I should add that I don't use a lot of plugins. If you want to be doing a lot of realtime processing than you might want a newer system.
 
With that in mind

The amount of VSTi's and processing i do is quite ludicrius so i guess the direction would be obvious, so with that in mind
for a newer system anything i should avoid or watch out for
 
Just make sure that the Mobo, OS, Software and sound card will all play together. There were issues with VIA mobo chipsets but some say that is a thing of the past.
 
I've had two boards with VIA chipsets, and have experienced none of the problems I've read about. The only software that ever gave me trouble was ProTools free - and I don't know if that was directly related to VIA, or to my AMD CPU's.
 
Just thought that I'd add a little bit. Since I don't know anything about your MB, you may want to check the speed rating of your IDE bus. I'm guessing that it's either ATA-33 and if you're lucky ATA-66. If it's ATA-33, getting a 7,200rpm drive will speed things up a little but the read/write for the drive is going to be a huge bottleneck.
 
ProTools Free is a bug-laden piece-o-garbage. Everybody has problems with it - it probably wasn't your system. I've heard that the one you get with their hardware is good though.
 
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