Need opinions on building proper system for home recording

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bornmad

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Guys, I need your help. I have recently been shopping around for an inexpensive barebones system that is fast, and that I can upggrade easily. I have been told that the best way to go about achieving this is to build my own system, but I wanted to just get a barebones system to start out with and work from there.

I am running into trouble finding something that seems reliable. I have posted many systems that I was interested in on tech sites, and they have basically told me no go with the ones I've been looking at.

Since you guys are more associated with wanting to use a computer for home recording, maybe I could get some suggestions on sytems, or sites that sell barebones systems that would be adequate enough to help me get started.

I would appreciate any opinions.
 
Just a few questions first. How familiar are you with computers, are you prepared to "roll your own", what's your budget and your expectations?

/Ola
 
What is it your running into that people say is unreliable? Putting together a system yourself will give you the best chances of upgrading a long way , as you say you want to be able to do. I'm still using a 3 year old Abit bh-6 motherboard, (after twice flashing the bios to take advantage of faster speed processors). Has never given me any troubles whatsoever. Now, I plan on upgrading to a newer mobo to take advantage of new technology (onboard ATA100, pc 133 memory, maybe dual socket cpu's , etc), but...the point is what I've got now has gone a looong way for me. At least in 'computer years' lol. Two motherboards that get alot of praise are Abit and Asus. One factor to consider is what music app you plan on running and what hardware you want to use. Some early AMD cpu's had issue's with certain soundcards because of the mobo's chipset not getting along with the card. This seems not to be the case with the lastest AMD's, so IMO , it just comes down to personal preference. Intel or AMD. AMD's seem to have a slight edge in speed and cost less than a comparable speed Pentium chip while Intel has always been reliable with most all hardware. IBM desktar hard drives seem to get the most praise these days. A fast disc drive system could consist of two drives, one for your system files and one for strictly audio files. For video , Matrox is extremely reliable and gets heaps of praise. I love my matrox g450 dual head! I use generic run of the mill PC-100 memory with no problems. Get at least 128 megs regardless of type. Btw, if you shop carefully, you might be able to get all the components you want for close to what you'd pay for a 'bare bones' system. Pricewatch.com is great for getting the lowest prices on every possible computer component.
 
I still tend to say stay away from the AMDs if you are going to use the machine for recording, even if the newer AMDs seem to be better in capatibility than they used to be. Maxtor hard drives are also good in addition to the IBMs, and whatever you get make sure it's at least 7200 RPM. I also have a Matrox 450 dual head in my recording machine, and it has worked great so far. Amen to pricewatch.com too.


Ultimately though, it comes down to the questions Ola asked.
 
Here's where I shop: The Computer Depot (in San Diego) http://www.mypcparts.com/index.html

Here are my suggestions:

System #1: ATX Mid-tower=$25. ABIT BX motherboard=$120. Celeron 566 (overclocked to 850)=$75. 128mb pc133=$40. 20gb IBM 7200=$120. Floppy=$15. 32X CD ROM=$30. SB Live! Value=$45. Video=$30. Total price=$500

System #2: ATX Mid-tower=$25. ABIT BX motherboard=$120. PIII 750=$165. 256mb pc133=$80. 45gb IBM 7200=$155. Floppy=$15. 52X CD ROM=$38. SB Live! Value=$45. Video=$30. Total price=$673

Put it together yourself.

Buy your periphrials separately.
 
Hey guys. First off, I'm with you guys on Pricewatch, thanks for the suggestion. Also, I am very prepared to rollmy own PC. I've done some reading, and I feel the best way is to build my own.

TDukex, thankks for posting a suggested setup.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.
 
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