Dumb Newb general soundcard question

T

thewanderer24

New member
Hi folks. Again, please be patient with the newb (me). I am a little confused after reading endless threads and articles.

I need to get a new PC to go with an outboard firewire based system, like the Firepod.

If I am using a firepod (or similar system), do I really need anything more in terms of a soundcard or onboard sound in the PC?

What do I really need in terms of sound cards, or what should I avoid?

Do I need some other soundcard on the PC for monitoring, playing back audio, etc., or can I run that through the firepod also?
 
No problem. Where are you from and I'll look for a good Pc for ya. Not promising anything though :D
 
Ohh and what is your budget for your PC? What will you be running? Jus Cubase LE which comes with the firepod?
 
Cool! thanks for the help!

I am in California. Not sure at this point if I will stick with Cubase, but at least for starters that's what I intend to use.

I'd like to see if I can get a PC for no more than $1,000~1,200 (U.S. dollars if possible).

I was looking on the Dell website, and very tempted by this...

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DXPS400F1&s=dhs

Upgrade the Ram to 1G, maybe upgrade the Harddrive to 160G. Not sure if the onboard sound could potentially be a problem with the firepod, or if I should get one of the options there. Should I be afraid of running a decent outboard sound setup through the firewire on an Audigy card? I think it makes more sense to just get a firewire card add on and keep their cheapest sound option.

What grabs my attention about this, is that (a) it's got a good processor, (b) RAM update to 1G isn't much money and (c) they're throwing in a nice flat pannel monitor (I need a new monitor)

What I worry about is how easy it will be to add on to or make changes to the system down the road. I also wonder about all the extra garbage software Dell puts on it's systems, and what that could do to me. Also, I don't like that I'm paying for a bunch of stuff on this system that I don't want and won't use/need.


The other kind of system that caught my attention from a system supposedly designed for use as a DAW, is like this one (I'd probably call them and discuss more specifically, but here's a model they break down for me)...

http://www.adkproaudio.com/systems/viewsystem.cfm?recordid=86

Upgrade to the X2 3800 processor, and up to 1GB of RAM.
Price would still be ~$1200, Pluses on this one are the dual hard drives, that I could get them to do the install (for free) of the Cubase software and any drivers, etc. needed for the Firepod, so I know there isn't any conflict anywhere. Also, there wouldn't be any junk software that I don't use. I could see this computer being much more expandable and flexible for audio needs down the road - but maybe this isn't right.

The main minus is that I'd be stuck with my old monitor - but it would work well enough for awhile, and the flat panel monitors are getting cheaper these days.

Anyway, this isn't everything I've looked at, but kind of sums up the stuff I am tossing around in my mind. Any inputs, thoughts, slaps to my face, etc. are very much appreciated.

Thanks
 
I'd be open to Mac if it wouldn't cost me so much more money for a decent system. But I can't see how I could get a decent Mac for the amount of money I am talking about.
 
thewanderer24 said:
I'd be open to Mac if it wouldn't cost me so much more money for a decent system. But I can't see how I could get a decent Mac for the amount of money I am talking about.
Click to expand...

check out the iMac. $1200 for a whole bunch of features. Great machines. I have one myself!
 
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