Any problems with this setup?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Uladine
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Uladine

Uladine

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After doing some research I've weighed my budget (approx. $1750) and I have zero'd in on some components. I was wondering if any PC DAW veterans can help me out and see if you can find any potential shortcomings in the system I have my eyes on.

First of all, after browsing the internet for a considerable amount of time in search of a computer dealer with good prices, I stumbled upon www.americancomputech.com and picked out a few components for a kit:

AMD Athlon™ T-bird/XP Kit Configurator 1 $684.92

* ECS K7S5A Socket A SDR/DDR Retail Box (motherboard)
* AMD Athlon™ T-bird 1.33GHz (266MHz) Socket A OEM (CPU)
* Thermaltake 462-7 Volcano II Socket A Fan (CPU cooler)
* 512MB PC133 168pin Micron SDRAM
* 1.44Mb 3.5 Samsung Floppy Drive OEM
* 20.4Gb ATA100 Maxtor 7200rpm (OS Drive)
* PowerColor AGP Riva TNT2 M64 32Mb Retail Box (video card)
* Phoebe 8x4x32 IDE CDRW OEM
* PCI 10/100BaseT Encore Network Card
* ATX Deluxe MidTower 300W P.S.
* 2x Case Cooling Fans
* PS2 Win Keyboard
* PS2 Optical Scroll Mouse
* 17" 0.27ni 1280x1024 ProView

40.9Gb ATA100 Maxtor 7200rpm 1 (Audio Drive) $110.58

The total comes to $795.50 plus $66.47 for shipping bringing me to $861.97.

Would these components work together? Are there any other sites with better deals?

As for my soundcard I am looking at the ST Audio DSP2000 from musicians friend for $449 and I think I'm gonna go with Sonar for my multitrack software.

Anyway, if anybody knows about any compatability problems that may arise with this configuration please let me know before I drop $1650 on something that may give me problems. Thank you.

:D
 
I was researching that MOBO a few weeks ago.

If you get that MOBO, you should get an XP processor. I've read lots of people have problems with the faster TBirds and the k7s5a. Also, you may have to upgrade the power supply. Check to see if you're getting the one with onboard LAN, and you can drop the LAN card from the add-on list. I'd also look at the difference in cost of the PC133 SDRAM vs DDR RAM, as this MOBO will take either, but not both.

There's a huge support community at ocworkbench.com...

I don't know about compatability with the ST Audio card, try emailing the soundcard mfgr.

Queue
 
Here are the features on the motherboard...

CPU:
· AMD® Athlon/Duron (K7) processors;
· Full series of Athlon/Duron CPU including the future Athlon processors.
Chipset:
· SiS® 735 System Chipset;
· Super I/O and LPC - ITE8705F;
· System Hardware Monitor -- Built-in ITE8705;
· LAN -- MAC integrated in SiS735 & PHY on Board;
· AC97 Audio Codec Compliant with AC97 2.1 specification.

Memory:
· 2 DDR DIMM Sockets and 2 DIMM sockets support (can not be used
simultaneously)
· Two 184-pin 2.5V DDR SDRAM (DDR266/DDR200) or two 168-pin 3.3V
SDRAM (PC133/PC100);
· 1GB Maximum (DDR or SDRAM).

Onboard Audio:
· AC97 Audio Codec Avance ALC100.

System BIOS:
· AMI 2MB Flash EEPROM;
· Supports Plug and Play 1.0A, AMP 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI;
· Support for ACPI revision 1.0 specification.

Integrated I/O Functions, Ports, Headers:
· Supports Plug and Play function;
· PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connectors;
· Dual USB ports and LAN connectors;
· One EPP/ECP mode parallel port;
· Two 16550 high-speed serial I/O ports;
· Audio ports (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in, CD-in, and game port);
· Dual PCI IDE interfaces -- support four IDE devices (PIO mode 4, DMA Mode
2, Ultra DMA 33/66/100);
· Supports 360K~2.88MB, 3 Mode FDDs or LS120;
· ATX Power Supply Connector;
· IrDA cable header;
· Extra USB header;
· Two CD-in headers;
· Front panel MIC/Line-out header;
· Green, HDD, Power indicator LED headers;
· CPU and case fan headers;
· Modem Ring Wake Up header.

RTC & Battery:
· SiS® 735 included 256 bytes of CMOS SRAM;
· With CMOS hardware clear jumper.

Expansion Slots:
· 5 PCI slots;
· 1 4X AGP slot;
· 1 AMR slot

Form Factor:
· ATX (304mm x 244mm), 4 Layers




So apperently I dont need the LAN card. If I get an XP processor would there be any other compatability issues besides maybe the power supply? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know about compatability with the ST Audio card, try emailing the soundcard mfgr.
Click to expand...

Or see if they have a website. (ST Audio)

Problem is not many people have that MOBO in DAW's, so it is hard to draw on user experiences.

Queue
 
Uladine,

I just put together a new box last week using the K7S5A board with a Athalon 1.33. I did this after buying a Delta 1010 to replace a Core2. I've got 768megs of SDRAM on the board and Gforce video card with a Maxtor 20 gig HD (O/S) and a WD 40 gig HD (audio) using Cool Edit Pro. I've only had the system up and running for several days now, but seems to be working fine. Then again, I just do voice-overs and narration...minimal track usage. still everything seems to be OK.

laovz
 
lavoz said:
Uladine,

I just put together a new box last week using the K7S5A board with a Athalon 1.33. I did this after buying a Delta 1010 to replace a Core2. I've got 768megs of SDRAM on the board and Gforce video card with a Maxtor 20 gig HD (O/S) and a WD 40 gig HD (audio) using Cool Edit Pro. I've only had the system up and running for several days now, but seems to be working fine. Then again, I just do voice-overs and narration...minimal track usage. still everything seems to be OK.

laovz
Click to expand...

lavoz,

Did the Core2 not work with the new board? Or did you just want to upgrade? I am building a new daw piece by piece and I am still trying to find the best mobo. I use the Core2 and Lexicon spouts that no testing has been done on Athlon systems.
 
That's a pretty wide open question, kinda like

What kinda guitar is used in rock and roll records?

The mantra spoken by the purists is

"Intel CPU" + "Intel Chipset" = Stable DAW

NOT always true. There are SO MANY FRIGGIN' VARIATIONS it could make your head spin.

Single/Dual Processor
Intel/AMD CPU
MOBO Chipset
Memory speed/type
SCSI/IDE Drives
What Video Card?
What Sound Card?
What Recording Software?
What OS?


Queue
(I have to stop now, my head is spinning...)
 
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