need help with my studio computer

A

audio_leak

New member
hey everyone i just bought a new computer tower for all my studio purposes and just wanted to make sure that ive got everything i need in there. a friend put it together for me and assured me that i have good quality of everything. he said best, but i wont say that.

so just wondered if somebody who knows computers can tell me if this will be a good computer for my home studio

this is the list my friend sent me, as i said i dont know about computers so i dont know if this is everything you need to know. i can tell you how many USB and firewire ports it has and stuff like that if you need to know also.

Gigabyte EP43-UD3L
Intel Q9400 Quad Core
8GB Kingston Ram 2x4GB
512MB 4670 Gigabyte
WD 1TB
SATA LG DVD-R
Coolermaster RC331
Firewire Card

theres no sound card cause im planning on using my lexicon lambda as a sound card.

so yeah just basically would like to know if i have everything i need, and what are maybe some mods i could make if there are any?

thanks for reading.
 
I'm just relearning my stuff now as I have been out of the game for several years but it looks good to me.
The only question would be what software are you using? The lambda comes with Cubase LE if I recall. If you are using that, I'd say you are going to be fine. Actually, if you use pretty much anything you should be ok.

All you really need is a USB 2.0 which you have. The rest is going to be dependant on plugins, etc that are used with the software. good luck and have fun.
 
You didn't mention what OS you will be using...

32 bit operating systems will not be able to utilize all 8 gigs of Ram (they top out at 4 gigs but realistically, you're going to be allowed around 3 for your stuff)... You will need a 64 bit OS to use all 8 gigs.

If you are going to be running 64 bit OS, you will have to insure your hardware drivers are compatible.

Also, a lot of audio Firewire hardware seems to be real particular about the chipset on the Firewire card. Go with a Texas Instruments chipset for the widest compatibility.

:)
 
If this is purely for DAW use I'd try to get a passive video card (one without a fan) to cut system noise

Also you may want to consider another hard drive (one drive for OS and applications and one drive to record to) if you use a lot of samples in your music you may even want a third HDD for Sample playback and storage.

I Personally don't Like LG for cd/DVD burning, I've had a couple fail on me after only a few hours use.
Plextor are a little more expensive but are excellent for Music CD burning because of the error correction capabilities they offer (which virtually no one else in the mainstream market does)

If you're not going Vista/7 64 bit then 8GB of RAM is a waste of time. if you are going 64 bit then great. Mother board supports up to 16GB so no problem there. Just watch the RAM voltages, MOBO supports up to DDR2 1200 speed RAM. Anything over DDR2 800 is basically overclocked 800 RAM and *Usually* requires non standard voltages to run. Just be aware of that when you are picking and setting up the RAM in the BIOS
 
thanks very much guys!

im pretty sure its running windows XP professional, im not sure if that can be a 64 bit system?


yes this computer will be purely for DAW use, i dont and will not use it for surfing the web, or storing photos or anything like that.

another hard-drive seems like an excellent idea, do i just use a portable hard-drive to do this, or do i have to actually install and place another one inside my computer tower?

@umair: i will be using the lexicon lambda as a soundcard, i dont intend on using the Cubase LE software that comes with it thought for my recording setup. my plans are to purchase a digidesign 003 and move on up to protools.

am i going to run into any problems trying to run protools?

thanks again for the great tips and the help.
 
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