Cheap DAW

  • Thread starter Thread starter jb4play
  • Start date Start date
J

jb4play

New member
I'm looking into buying another pc for my studio. The software I will be running is Nuendo, Reason, Recycle, etc... The specs of the system are:

1 Pc Chips Mb825g Socket A Via Km266pro $49.99
2 Amd Athlon Xp 2700+ 2.17ghz 333fsb Oem $93.99
3 512mb Pc2100 266mhz Ddr Major Brand $62.00
4 20gb Ide Hard Drive Major Brand $34.95
5 160gb Ide Hard Drive 7200rpm Major Brand $72.00
6 Hitachi-Lg 48x24x48x Cdrw Internal Ide $28.95
7 Atx 400 Watt P.S. Pl Style Midtower Case $29.95
8 8cm Sleeve Bearing Case Cooling Fan $4.00

$394.28

Does this seem like a good deal and will it be able to handle Nuendo and other software programs? I don't use many plugs. I'm not trying to go over $400 in all for a new DAW.
 
Sounds like a very good deal to me. Faster than my system and I can do most projects up to 40 tracks with not all too many plugins with no problem.

Buy it! If you run into trouble, you can always put in more ram or a faster cpu.
 
do you plan to use onboard graphics and sound? if so, that could hurt performance a bit. sounds like an excellent system in terms of value for an audio workstation though. nice spot on a cheap case... 30 bucks for a PSU and case??? that's crazy cheap.
 
How monstrously-super pukingly, amazingly holy cow fricking loud is the case when it's running ?? If it's not too loud then yup looks like a deal. Also do you have a network card for it or what ?
 
If it's too loud, take out the case fan and buy some HD shock dampners. They work great and are dirt cheap. If it's still too loud invest in better/quieter fans for the CPU and power supply, or get fanless stuff.
 
I revised my DAW a lil...

DAW Specs

AOpen 91.4ID37.074 2-Tone IDE DVD Burner http://english.aopen.com.tw/products/dvd+rw/DUW1608ARR.htm

EXCELSTOR J880 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive http://www.excelstor.com/callisto.htm

Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 80 Gb Hard Drive http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/ata/st380021a.html

nVidia GeForce 2 GTS Video Card http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce2pro.html

ST Audio DSP 2000 C-Port Sound Card http://www.staudio.com/products/dsp2000.html

ECS NFORCE4-A939 (1.0) Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWeb/Products/ProductsDetail.aspx?DetailID=493&MenuID=90&LanID=0

Rosewill R214P-BLK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 400W Power Supply http://www.rosewill.com/product/product.aspx?productId=44

KINGMAX SuperRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model MPXD42D-2K http://www.kingmax.com/product/superram_ddr400_512.htm

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BIBOX http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487,00.html/

$507.78

Software

Steinberg Nuendo 2.2.0.35 http://www.steinberg.de/ProductPage_sb190e.html?Product_ID=2442&Langue_ID=4

Propellerheads Reason 3.0 http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaymain

Propellerheads Recycle 2.1 http://www.propellerheads.se/products/recycle/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaymain

Waves Diamond Bundle 5.0 http://waves.com/content.asp?id=396

Steinberg WaveLab 5.01a http://www.steinberg.de/ProductPage_sb0f7f.html?Product_ID=2442&Langue_ID=4

Operating System

Windows 2000 Professional http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/professional/evaluation/business/overview/default.asp
 
All that software

Well, with like 5,000 dollars worth of software paying for the DAW shouldn't be too much of a prob!
 
true, you think that setup will give me enough power to handle tracking, mixing, and mastering without any hiccups? I also think i'm going to try to go with windows server 2003 x64 as the main os, I've heard good things about it so far.
 
I see you didn't list a heatsink/fan combo for your processor. I'd suggest zalman coolers. I have one and can barely hear it when it's on full speed. They tend to be big and clunky, so make sure it fits your motherboard (Zalman provides a compatability chart on their website for each heatsink).

Also go for some silent fans rather than generic. They won't push as much air, but you don't have a monster system that needs lots of airflow. I use acoustiproduct's silent fans. Unfortunately, they tend to be much more expensive than generic brands (a bit more than $15 a pop). It beats trying to make a soundproof enclosure afterwards when you realize your computer sounds like a jet engine.
 
Where do you get your prices from?

DVD Burner: I'd go a Pioneers over the Acer

Case: Do yourself a favour and get a decent case & PSU. Better cases have mouts (and decent grills) for larger fans (ie 120mm fans). Larger, low speed fans will push the same amount of air as smaller fans, and will be quieter. I highly suggest an Antec case, either the SLK2650-QBE, SLK3700-QBE, or the Sonata. Case design (especially with regard to the fan grills) can be crucial in having a cool & quiet set up)

Video Card: How much are you paying for this? It is SERIOUSLY out dated. Unless your'e only paying $5 (or it's free), I'd drop it and get a passively cooled GeForce4 MX440 or an FX5200 or a Radeon 9200....oh yeah and you've got an nForce4 board there, which means you'll need to get a PCI-E graphics card, not an AGP card, so you'll need something like an X300 if you're wanting a cheap solution. Have a look here for example: http://au.asus.com/products3.aspx?l1=2&l2=8&l3=14&slname=Radeon X300

Hard drive: never heard of "EXCELSTOR" maybe look at the Maxtor ATA133 drives if that's what you're aiming for. If you've got the cash and want something fast, then a 74GB Western Digital Raptor would be great...but pricey.
 
I don't have a dvd burner within my budget b/c I believe my cd burner from my old daw will do the job. I yanked my case up to a 480 w case with temperature displays on the front panel so I think i'm good there. I'm using my old geforce video card from my previous daw b/c it never gave me any problems (I don't intend on playing videogames) and it's free :). I chose to use my old 80 gb hd and a new 120 gb hard drive b/c of the price and it seems to be a decent quality.
 
I finally got my new pc setup, here it is...

Custom Built AMD DAW Computer System

DAW Specs

Generic Floppy Disk Drive

AOC Spectrum 7GLR Monitor http://shopping.com/xFS?KW=AOC+Spectrum+7GLR+Monitor+

LG CRD 8522B CD-Rom Drive http://shopping.com/xPF-LG_CRD_8522B_CRD_8522B_RET

Mitsumi 4804TE CD Rewritable drive http://www.mitsumi.com/products/4424cdrw.html

White Label Magnetic Data Tech 120GB Hard Drive 7200RPM http://3btech.net/whlamadate20.html

Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 80GB Hard Drive http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/specs/ata/st380021a.html

NVIDIA GeForce 2 GTS Video Card http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce2pro.html

ST Audio DSP 2000 C-Port Sound Card http://www.staudio.com/products/dsp2000.html

CHAINTECH S1689 Socket 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.chaintech.com.tw/tw/eng/product_spec.asp?MPSNo=13&PISNo=319

Black and Silver EZ-Media G7 Extreme Steel Gamer Case w- LCD Temperature Readout & 480 Watt Power Supply http://3btech.net/siandblezg7e.html

WINTEC (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model 35145588-P http://www.wintecindustries.com/ord...4&product_id=588&searchstring=35145588-P&Op=2

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487,00.html

Operating System

Microsoft Windows XP Professional http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/default.mspx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top