Computer Setup - opinions?

J

jdavis

New member
Hey guys,
I'm looking into getting the Digi001 sound card, and am building a computer to supplement it. I'm on a limited budget, so i'm building it pretty bare bones, but here's what i'm thinking:

PIII 1 GHz Proc.
1 Gb 168 pin DIMM RAM
30.7 Gb Hard Drive(dedicated to OS, Protools, and Sound Files)
Voodoo video card
standard floppy and CD-R drive
external(USB) CD-RW
Windows 98 SE
17" Monitor
Rack Mount case

I'm getting most of these parts off of Pricewatch...has anyone else done this? Also, will the DIMM RAM work ok? Any opinions whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

***Justin***
 
Actually, it's two 512 chips. Here's what pricewatch said:

512MB 168 Pins 64X4 PC133 (can be used as PC100) SDRAM NeutronUSA# 430082

2 of those'ens.

***Justin***
 
I guess I don't know much about RAM but one thing I know is that Digidesign recommends 192 Mb. And among most multi-track softwares, this is the one that asks for the most. I believe 256 Mb could be sufficient.

For the hard drive, some people here will tell you that 40 Gb would be necessary, and that's only for the audio files. But 30 Gb should bring you a long way.

I don't remember if the price difference is a lot, but maybe check into Win 2000, for stability.

As far as the monitor goes, it's been mentioned a lot here not to purchase it on-line for questions of shipping prices.

Also, a 300W power supply could be an advantage.
 
Just my two cents:

Get a 19" monitor. Size does matter
512MB RAM will more than suffice. Make sure that the motherboard, which you havent mentioned, can handle 512MB sticks.
W2k is the only good OS released by MS. If your hardware supports W2k, go for it.
Do you have another HDD as you write "dedicated to OS, Protools, and Sound Files"?
Why an external CD-RW? Does it not fit in the case?
The MK ASUS CUSL2-C seems to be the motherboard of the month.
As mentioned, 300W power supply is good
Get a good CPU fan. Golden Orbs are nice and quiet.
 
Yeah, the motherboard I was looking at(by Amptron(any good?)) can take up to 1.5 Gb of memory, in the form of 3 DIMM sticks. As far as the CD-RW, I already have an external one, so at first I was just going to use it, in order to save a bit of money at first.
Also, the Digi001 and Protools LE will only run on Win98, thus why i'm using it. I have a couple other computers running Win2k and know how good it is! Does anyone know anything about Amptron Motherboards? The Digi001 also won't run on a VIA chipset, which makes it a little tougher to find the right pieces. Thanks for your help.

***Justin***
 
Ola's info is usually worth more than just two cents.

I just noticed that you want to "build" your machine.

I'm a big ProRec fan. You could be interested in reading their articles about building computers for DAW purposes.
 
I have no idea about Amptron mobos, sorry. 1GB RAM is most likely a waste. I don't even know how W98 handles that much memory. Check out the Asus CUSL2-C. It's i815 based and I don't think I've heard anything bad about it yet.

Do you already own the Digi001 and ProTools LE? If no, you might want to look into other setups with W2k support.
 
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