New Computer system (Gateway, CompUSA, Dell< Other?)

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sndallas

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Another newbie here looking to buy a computer system...Looking for suggestions on where to buy (Or not buy!!), and approx costs for what Im looking for?. I have started shopping around, and am getting conflicting information, prices and specs? Comp USA is telling me their built sytems are much better quality than Dell, Gateway..(Can this be?) Another computer store said they couldnt fit my Delta 44 sound card into their system which has audio already "built in?" Here is essentually what Im looking for, and I seem to be getting a price quote of about $2500...Does this sound about right??..can I do $$$ better?, If so where?

P4 2.4 533b
win XP home
1024 ram
2- 80 HD (7200)
CDRW 40x12x40
DVD 16x
NVid 64mb video card for 2 monitors
2- 15' lcd moitors (basic quality)


(I already have Delta 44 soundcard and want them to put in for me..not part of cost above)

So where should I go for best $$$ and components? How much should I expect to pay for this type of system?..What could I change to save $$$? Any other factors I need to consider?

Thx
 
build it. less expensive. better parts. www.newegg.com. plus you'll learn just how incredibly easy it is to put your soundcard in your own computer. I wouldn't put task that into the hands of the Comp USA guys!

I just built something similar (without the lcd's) for around $1000.

What are you doing with the computer?
1. Is it audio only or will it be used for other purposes like video editing etc.
2. Are you using software synthesizers? Specifically sample or soundfont players?
3. Are you using native or outboard gear for processing (reverb, etc.)?
 
Eric,

Computer will be used strictly for audio..., and I do plan to use software synths , onboard effects, and probably other things Im not even aware of yet, etc....so I want to make sure I have enough of a system to handle most possibilities...(do I need certain mininimum specs for all that?)

To be truthful, Im petrified of building my own, but it looks like I can save $1000 doing so? wow.....I went to newegg and their site is currently down.....I have no idea how they work?..would the info I have provided in my first post be enough to build this correctly, or do i need to provide alot more technical info that I really have no idea about at this time?
 
I am very happy with the system I bought a BestBuy:

www.vprmatrix.com


P4-2.26 with Intel 845EBT motherboard
512Mb RAM
80Gb HD
40x CD-RW
DVD
Geforce 4 MX video
XP Home
USB 2.0 and Firewire ports
onboard RAID

This above set me back $1100. I replaced the video card with a GeForce dualhead card for $100 and put my Audiophile 2496 in ($150).

I would personally stay away from 15" LCDs as most of them cannot go above 1024x768 resolution. 17" and 19" CRT's are a much better value in my opinion. Soon after buying the above system, I picked up a Samsung 17" Syncmaster 763 for $150 - the picture quality is excellent and I run it at 1280x960 as well as my other Dell 17" and that gives me alot of screen realestate.


The grand total would then come to around $1600 for what I have (excluding the Audiophile which I already had)

The best thing about the PC I bought was the fact that BestBuy has 18 month no interest financing.
 
Don't fear building a PC. It's easier than you probably think. Most model airplanes I build for my nephews are much more complex. check out tomshardware.com. lot's of good tips for DIY's.

But.....if you don't have patience and about a day to spend on it, then don't torture yourself. Dude, just get a Dell. They are quiet, reliable, and I'm pretty sure they always use very well tested components. I just don't like all the extra software that comes on em. I like to install my own OS so it's fresh and only has what I want.

Here's a detailed article on how to build a PC.
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020918/index.html


I just built one for home and I use Kontakt sampler + Sonar so latency was a big issue for me upfront.

I was asking about the softsynths because a soft sampler can chew up a lot of memory but a gig of ram is way overkill for most audio projects. Mostly what you're doing is pulling from hard disk straight into the processor and crunching away. Very rarely will 512 megs of memory be too little for your needs unless you plan on using HUGE soundfonts or sample libraries and you aren't planning on using something like gigasampler which pulls from disk.

I just built the following. All can be found at newegg.
Enermax 350 PSU (get the FC model, it's near silent)
cooler master aluminum case (the cheapest model was fine for me)
Intel 2.4B retail processor (retail rather than OEM is always better cause the warranty is longer)
Intel 845EPT2 motherboard
Matrox G450 dual head video card (the DAW standard AGP video card)
Corsair Extreme Series 512 megs PC2700 ram (CAS 2) with heat spreader (quality memory is worth the extra bucks).
Already had a cd burner and hard drives but it seems most DAW folks stick with Seagate Barracuda IV drives and Plextor burners.

Now for the monitors, I just always stick with Sony wherever possible. Just been my experience that their stuff stands the test of time better than most. I just picked up a 15" monitor from best buy for 399 so you can probably shop around and do better but I'll say this, I have a 21" non-LCD for my studio and it's plenty big! But people who have dual monitor setups swear by them, plus I think LCD monitors interfere less with guitar pickups.

Good luck, whatever you decide. BTW, my new machine is stable, fast, and gives me ridiculously low latency with Kontakt (<5ms).
 
If you have never built or been inside of a computer It would take more time and help in tweaking it than buying it. To say saving $1000 is on the high end. Custom built for audio in my opinion is the way to go. Some places only give you a 1 year warranty, but if the Motherboard has a 3 year warranty thats should be ok. Dont buy a MB without a 3 year warranty. The MB is the most important thing. Im a big fan of Intel myself. DDR ram. RDram not necessary. As erichenryus stated, Retail on the Processer.
I like the way brzilians computer looks. You problably wouldnt need the raid.
Do you really need 2 Monitors? You could buy more recording stuff.
Plenty of people here who would help you install your delta 44.

Heres some light reading.
http://www.advanceddesignky.com/
http://www.buildorbuy.org/wdm.html
http://www.adkproaudio.com/
http://www.5dot1.com/computers/index.html
:cool:
 
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