That's the theory. Yes, they are standardised. But is standardisation of hardware a guarantee for not finding bugs in device drivers or firmware? Additionally, I accept it can't be, in terms of future-proofing - but that's understandable anyway.
This was far more of a concern 15 to 20 years ago then it is now. If you look in Device Manager of a contemporary computer running Win 7, you'll be surprised at how many drivers are straight from Microsoft and installed automatically when the OS is installed. As for firmware, the only devices that have it are the graphics card and the CD/DVD/BluRay drive. Hard drives have it too, but they're never updated and all hard drives are made by one of about three or four manufacturers (none of which are in the US) and are simply rebranded by whatever computer manufacturer is selling them. If you start adding other components, none of which are necessary for a music machine, e.g. a third-party RAID controller (I use RAID in two of my machines, though not the primary music computer), USB 3.0 cards (though newer motherboards will have them built in), etc., you may need to concern yourself about the quality of drivers and firmware but, even then, with the exception of RAID cards, these items are built around standard chipsets and the drivers will be the same for all cards manufactured from the same chipset.
I agree, this is a good point. But if all the parts are standardised, as you say, then why would a brand named computer - or any computer for that matter - have a problem? Do you not think this validates my earlier question?
A brand name computer has problems for the same reason that a self-assembled computer may have problems: poor quality control or failing parts at the component level. Moreover, brand name computers often include customizations to the BIOS and, occasionally, to the OS, which, in themselves, can cause compatibility problems with off-the-shelf software. This used to be a bigger problem than it is today (I'm talking 80s and early 90s), but I still see it come up from time to time.
Since computers have been used in music production long before dual core existed, I think you must mean when used with up to the minute software and components of it's generation?
Yes and no. First, this we've been talking about the difference between buying a brand-computer and building one yourself. Second, software and hardware tend to evolve together -- old software makes fewer demands on the hardware, but it also does less.
I currently run a single core AMD Athlon with 2GB RAM, purely for audio work, without any issues. Given that my requirements are quite basic in terms of number of VSTs and tracks. Knowing the limitations of this machine, I can use certain methods (bouncing & layering) to account for it if I want to add more, which might not concern someone using a more state of the art machine.
When Windows runs out out of physical memory it uses a paging file -- a hidden system file on the hard disk to which it temporarily stores data, which it pages in and out of physical memory. As soon as you force Windows to use a paging file, you've slowed down the machine by at least an order of magnitude. Multi-core CPUs matter only when using software that supports multi-threading (which is most current music software), or when you're running more than one program at a time (which would be extremely problematic with only 2 gig of RAM).
The AMD Athlon is the machine I built myself from a bare chassis and it's been quite a reliable piece of kit under Win XP (until it slowed down with internet use).
The only way a computer will slow down because of internet use is because it has become infected with malware. Everyone should be running a good anti-virus program, and have a firewall in use (the one that comes with Windows 7 is fine).
It now runs Windows 7, though I haven't had time to put it fully to the test yet. But the machine I've had the most trouble with, is the quad core Phenom which a friend put together for me, under Windows 7. I now use it for internet, office and graphics duty and it's settled down fairly smoothly into it's role(s).
By "graphics" do you mean games? Computer games present the biggest challenge to a computer's hardware for a variety of reason. In a game machine, it is critical to have a powerful graphics card equipped with the latest driver. Case, CPU and FPU cooling is vital. Lots of memory is key.
When computer audio software produces a mix-down of multiple tracks to a file consisting of a single stereo pair (or when it does the equivalent with video) it engages in a process called "rendering," which taxes the hardware rather dramatically. It's not unusual to see the CPU (and, for some software, the FPU) running continuously at 100% (even in a multi-core machine) and memory use climb to the maximum installed. This raises concerns about heat, among other things. I've had older machines that, while capable of doing most tasks, choke when it was time to render. Usually, the choking is the result of motherboard components overheating, causing the CPU to shut down and the machine to reboot. Most modern BIOS implementations allow you to set the over-heat temperature and, to a certain extent, you can push this beyond rated specs, just as you can overclock a CPU, but it is looking for trouble to do it. That's one reason why available memory and multiple-cores are important.
I have three multi-core desktops that I use on a regular basis, all of which I built. Two are Intel-based, the other uses an AMD quad-core chip. It's my music computer, and the only problem I've ever had with it was due to running out of physical memory (it originally had only 4 gig).
But trying to retro-fit a slightly older sound card for recording was pretty much a disaster - and we still can't get it to recognise the CD/DVD drive.
I have no idea why you're using a sound card at all. Music recording requires a capable audio interface, not a general purpose sound card. As for getting it recognize an optical drive, I can't imagine what the problem is. Does it show up in Device Manager?
Now this isn't a faulty drive (we've tested it) and we can't find anything wrong elsewhere in the system, either. We also know it's receiving power from the PSU and we also know that others across the world are experiencing the same issue - with varying brands. The common factor is Windows 7. But it works for some and not for others... So, should we be looking towards Microsoft and their OS, that supposedly ties all these 'standardised parts' together in a box, for the answer to issues like this? Well, judging by the outcries when Windows Vista was first released, nothing would surprise me any more.
Some people can drive a car without the slightest idea how a car works. Similarly, some people can use a computer without the slightest idea of how it works. I can think of several scenarios that would account for the problem with your CD/DVD drive, but without more specifics, I couldn't give a diagnosis here.
My other question is - if, say, Dell, HP or Apple discovered such a problem in their pre-assembled designs - what do you think they would do with it? You'd hope it wouldn't leave the factory at all.
From what I've read, they ignore it. Dell, in particular, tries to correct problems through later releases.
Another good point. Which is why I had to mention that it is possible to buy a pre-assembled machine, built purely for audio purposes. There's no harm in building a PC yourself. We've established it's no more complex than Mechano... as long as you do your homework. But I still think it's important to mention to someone who is completely green to the task, the potential issues they could be facing and to be prepared for the amount of setting up and troubleshooting which might be involved.
As I said, some people can drive a car without the slightest idea of how it works. I guarantee, however, that any computer user who doesn't acquire at least some competence with respect to the guts and the OS, will experience lots of problems that, to slightly more sophisticated users, aren't problems at all.