Hey homebuilders

T

t_chance

New member
If I you a chance to do it over again.... What's the one thing you would NOT do, or do differently on your next box? I just got my case and am putting together a "Field" dedicated music PC for taking out on the town. I don't want to make all the same mistakes you may have. I just admitted the old dell laptop I got wouldn’t cut it, so I give in. A big PC it is. Now is the time.
 
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So far I havent had any grips with mine.

The one thing I would do differently next time is, buy bigger ram :D .

I built my machine with two things in mind. A solid machine to use for now, as well as being able to upgrade later. I started here with 512 mb RAM. But in twox256 mb sticks. In hindsight I probably should have bought one 512 for now and a nother 512 later. Eventually thats probably what'll happen anyway, leaving me with an extra couple 256 sticks laying around. :D Although Im sure I could still utilize at least one of these sticks one my mobo, alongside the twox512's.

I recall the reason for the twox256 sticks tho. My general understanding at the time was that twox256 actually runs faster than one stick of 512. I dont know details eally, but thats the impression i was under.

As well in regard to cooling, no fan is quiet enough as far as I am concerned.

All things considered I am very happy with my build.
 
If you go for a desktop for moving around, invest in a case that is large enough and easy to open. When moving desktops, it won't be the first time you need to make sure everything is still pluged in OK.

Mount a couple of ears on it for carrying. Maybe some wheels under it?
 
I wouldn't buy an Athlon processor and motherboard.......

I know two other people other than myself who have popping problems with Athlons in Cubase. I've spoke to a mate of mine who used to have the same problem but when he changed to a pentium it dissappeared.

It wasn't because he changed his spec either - I have a 1.8 Athlon and a friend of mine has a 1.4, but we still have problems.

I'm open to arguement if anyone else can help.........
 
Thanks for the input so far. The case I have has folding ears/handles., but I hadn't thought about wheelin' it around.

I wasn't aware of Atholon/Cubase problems. I know that there have always been VIA chipset issues though. Interesting.
 
Neil Ogilvie said:
I wouldn't buy an Athlon processor and motherboard.......

I know two other people other than myself who have popping problems with Athlons in Cubase. I've spoke to a mate of mine who used to have the same problem but when he changed to a pentium it dissappeared.

It wasn't because he changed his spec either - I have a 1.8 Athlon and a friend of mine has a 1.4, but we still have problems.

I'm open to arguement if anyone else can help.........
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That's probably in the chipset, not the CPU. I have an Athlon running Cubase, and I have no problems whatsoever.
 
I am thinking of checking this out.

Intel chipset, onboard video and ethernet, 1 PCI slot, 1 DIMM capable of 1GB of DDR RAM.

Not really expandable, but cool for a really small system. My wife wants a new computer, and this may be a good idea for not taking up a lot of room.

EDIT

Here's the config I spec'd out at Newegg.com:

Intel Mini System
iWill Barebones kit 189.99
LiteOn 48X CDRW 52.99
Belkin Firewire PCI card 49.99
WD 120gig 7200rpm 8MB cache 145.00
Crucial 512MB DDR PC2700 100.00
Intel 2.4Ghz 512k cache 533 bus 192.00



Total $729.97
 
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Polaris: if you want a cute small system, check out the Via Epia series. Small, powerfull enough for casual use like internet, mail, wordprocessing, etc.... Even for simple audio. They are very transportable. And they are quiet!!!
 
some servers use a rack mountable case- not sure if the racks for computer are the same as for audio but might be worth looking into- that way you could put your computer in a rack along with all your other gear- by the way- what are your plans for a monitor out on the town- are you gonna drag around a flat screen or something-

-jeff
 
kremitmusic said:
some servers use a rack mountable case- not sure if the racks for computer are the same as for audio but might be worth looking into- that way you could put your computer in a rack along with all your other gear- by the way- what are your plans for a monitor out on the town- are you gonna drag around a flat screen or something-

-jeff
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Unfortunately I think the computer racks are deeper, even though they're standard 19" wide.
 
kremitmusic said:
some servers use a rack mountable case- not sure if the racks for computer are the same as for audio but might be worth looking into- that way you could put your computer in a rack along with all your other gear- by the way- what are your plans for a monitor out on the town- are you gonna drag around a flat screen or something-

-jeff
Click to expand...

I plan on getting a cheapo 15 inch LCD.
The server case I got is plenty heavy duty AND deep. No ears but the cast cover has threaded holes so I can fab a couple up easy enough for mounting. I'll more than likely just make a drawer for easy in/out without messing with screws.
 
at the risk of sounding stupid......

Polaris20 said:
That's probably in the chipset, not the CPU. I have an Athlon running Cubase, and I have no problems whatsoever.
Click to expand...

What the hell is a chipset?
 
What the hell is a chipset?
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Chipsets are on all motherboards, and basically handle i/o. The northbridge chipset handles the processor, memory, pci, and agp. The southbridge chipset handles USB, serial ports, and a couple other things. Some software and hardware don't like certain chipsets - mostly the older VIA flavors. I was under the impression these incompatibilities were old news...perhaps not.
 
Thanks Wren, for the link. I'm going to hold off on the monitor purchase for last because I think the prices will come down more by the time I get this all done, and I want the max USE with the warrantee.
 
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