Optimum Gateway-->Audio Only

laj35

laj35

New member
Hey guys,

I am finally about to purchase an all audio PC. I've done a fair amount of research into what motherboard, chipset, etc. but came to the realization that I have neither good credit nor the cash on hand to be able to essentially custom build my own PC piece by piece and best suiting my personal needs. Soooo...my bandmate who happens to have $2000 worth of credit on his Gateway acount has taken the leap of faith with me and is gonna let me finance it through his account. Again this will be an all audio PC, nothing else even internet (for a year or two anyways). Here is the machine we were looking at: http://www.gateway.com/home/prod/hm_500xl_ProdDetail.shtml

I guess I was just really looking for any thoughts you guys had on:
1.) The up and downsides of this PC.
2.) Tips for dealing with Gateway in regards to not having to get any/all bullshit soft/hardware that would be unnecesary.
3.) Anything else you might think could be helpful.

Thanks in advance for any help/ideas y'all can provide, it's much appreciated...



Laj
 
they'll install ALOT of crap on there..i don't know if you can have them ship it to you with just the OS installed..i'd try.

i might see if I could change the (1) 120gb HD to (2) 60gb drives..

try to get 512mb RAM.

get win xp pro.

drop the microsoft works suite..it is pure crap imho.

what are the options on sound cards?

what software are you gonna use to record?

peace:)
 
Already got an M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. Use Cubase 5.1, Wavelab, bunch of softies. Use for both audio recording and MIDI sequencing.


Thanks again,

Laj
 
I'd second the "try to have them ship it to you with only the O/S" bit. Just make sure they ship you the CD with all the drivers on it for your hardware - it'd' make life a lot easier.

If worst comes to worst, the box would do pretty well as it is. You could partition the drive into 2 smaller chunks if you needed to, and you can always pick up more ram later (but it'd be nice to have it on credit).

Given the circumstances, (I am credit-challenged myself), I think you'll do fine with that box, even if they get whiney about how you want it and they can only ship it as is.

First order of business though - uninstall Works (like CDT-sHaG said - pure trash).
 
Thanks seanmorse, appreciate the thoughts. You guys think that they would/are gonna give me any griefe for just asking for the PC without all the bullshit? Anybody else have any thoughts?



Laj
 
Im in the process of buying a new Dell right now, and although the guy can't really answer all my questions, He's been really cool about customizing my order. Definately XP pro, Upgrade to Office xp small buisness if they won't ship it without Works, and if you can, go for the 512 RAM on one DIM if you can. Im trying to figure out what soundcard or USB device to go with for my setup, mainly want to master and burn my DAT mixdowns on to CD. Any ideas?
Good luck with Gateway...
 
laj35: I'm pretty sure they'll be okay with it. My office is a Gateway shop (we buy a ton of computers from them, and replace them every year). We have a Gold account, so they bend over backwards to help - we've had them ship all sorts of crazy configurations and they never gave us any flack. I'd imagine they'll still be pretty easy to work with even without the Gold account.

mancalledaerodynamics: I doubt Dell (or Gateway for that matter) is going to have pro-sumer audio cards available with the system. You're probably going to have to purchase & install that after you get the system. I have no experience with DAT, and I'm sure you'll want to transfer digitally. Hopefully somebody'll jump in with a suggestion. ...but don't let it hold up your Dell order - I wouldn't order anything special because you're going to replace it anyway.
 
I'm pretty sure you can get it with just the os and hardware drivers installed..but check...

hell go to one of those gateway country stores, if that's an option, and talk to someone...

and DEFINETLY get your disks..the latest hardware drivers you can dl from the net, but OS disks you have to have..do not take any answer other than "yes"...

i have a friend who bought a GW with winME (aggg!! whatta load of shit) and no OS disks what-so-ever!! i had a hard time even formatting that thing...

i could only do it with the winxp pro CD we bought..(we upgraded him to winxp pro, and the whole system is smooth as butter....)

good luck!!:D
 
OK, so gotta make sure I get the disks. While they will *hopefully* send along the box with just the OS on it, they won't ship the program disks with all the bullshit, you think??? I plan on going to the local Gateway Country today or tommorrow, so I suppose they'll be able to answer most of my queries, again *hopefully. Thanks again for your thoughts dudes, much obliged.....




Laj
 
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