Have a four year old computer...

  • Thread starter Thread starter mellotron
  • Start date Start date
M

mellotron

New member
It's 2 Ghz and only has 256 MB RAM. I wanna upgrade it to 1 gig.

I'm planning on ditching my previous Firebox plan. I really have no idea if I'd be better off quality-wise using firewire or with PCI; I just know that PCI would be a lot cheaper for me.

I might go with the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 sound card, M-Audio DMP3 mic preamp, 2 Naiant MSH-1's, 1 Studio Projects B1, Presonus HP4 headphone amp, a pair of headphones yet to be determined. Would this setup work if I plan on a solo project of recording acoustic guitar, cello, and piano?

Any recommendations, please?
 
The computer that you have will do just fine. But a little RAM could only help matters.
I have a 1Ghz, 512 RAM system and I'm able to record 10 channels simutaneously. Probably more, 10 is the most I've needed to do.

I prefer a PCI card. It is more efficient than the alternatives. The AP 24/96 will do you fine. I own a DMP3 and it should handle all of those sources well. I have no first hand experience with the mics that you're considering, but all seem to be well regarded. I think you're on the right track.
 
mellotron said:
It's 2 Ghz and only has 256 MB RAM. I wanna upgrade it to 1 gig.

I'm planning on ditching my previous Firebox plan. I really have no idea if I'd be better off quality-wise using firewire or with PCI; I just know that PCI would be a lot cheaper for me.

I might go with the M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 sound card, M-Audio DMP3 mic preamp, 2 Naiant MSH-1's, 1 Studio Projects B1, Presonus HP4 headphone amp, a pair of headphones yet to be determined. Would this setup work if I plan on a solo project of recording acoustic guitar, cello, and piano?

Any recommendations, please?
Click to expand...

That is the exact same setup I have and it works fine, except for the Studio Project mics.
 
I'm updating my computer and am about to sell my Aardvark Q10, Aark 24 and Direct Pro 24/96. I haven't listed them on eBay yet, if you're interested, let me know. I was gonna keep them but I upgraded to a dual core AMD yesterday and now it won't recognize the drivers! They all work great on XP- the preamps are unbeatable for the price and if you're gonna stay with your processor and just update your ram any one of these would work great for you!
Thanks, Rick
 
2 GHz is plenty of processor speed, but you most definitley want to add RAM. A gig should keep you pretty happy. Firewire is more future proof, but some really good deals can be found on PCI interfaces right now as they face obsolescence, so decide between investing for the long run or getting a deal now and upgrading somewhere down the road. The DMP3 is a gem, a really stellar value in a clean preamp.

Have fun!
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to reconsider things in the long term. Will PCI ever become completely obsolete? I also have a newer computer that has PCI-Xpress....though I'm not sure if that's for a graphics card. Is PCI compatible with this?

I'm now also considering going for the mixer/soundcard interface. Instead of a preamp, I could get a mixer, right? I'm looking at the Behringer XENYX 1204.

If I go the firewire route, I'll probably go for the Firebox. Some people complain about the preamps, something about feedback? But I'm new to recording with firewire, so it'll be fine for my needs starting out.
 
mellotron said:
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to reconsider things in the long term. Will PCI ever become completely obsolete?
Click to expand...

In the long run, yes. ISA certainly did - much to my sorrow - and they are already beginning to phase PCI out, by the looks. Indeed, the 5v -> 3v switch a couple of years threatened to break a number of cards.
Partly because of this I just plumped for a FireWire audio interface rather than a PCI one.

I also have a newer computer that has PCI-Xpress....though I'm not sure if that's for a graphics card. Is PCI compatible with this?
Click to expand...
It's physically different. My new machine has four slots - two PCI ones, and two PCI express ones. PCI-express comes in different flavours, by the way - I have a huge 16x slot for a graphics card, and a smaller 1x slot which I haven't yet been able to populate since peripherals for it are thin on the ground. 1x PCI-express is likely to replace regular PCI cards at some point though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top