New PC set up help

[ares1550]

Hey guys, I feel pretty stupid seeing as you probobly answer these types of questions all the time but i figgured you guys would be the ones to ask since youre the experts! I just have some basic questions

1.)Dell PC...Yes or No?
Ive read things saying that these are good Pc's to go with and ive read that they suck. Basically im going to upgrade the soundcard to an Audiophile 24/96. I know you recomend building a PC of your own but with Windows XP already in the mix I feel like its a great deal (and less of a hassle than building).

2.)512 or 1GB of ram?
Im thinking of buying some ram of of Newegg.com or some place similar to get a cheap boost of speed, should I go 512 or 1gb?

3.)Home Studio Version 2 XL or Cubase SE?
I want to start using legit software, not just dling demos of every product (right now im using n-tracks and audacity). I was thinking of going with Home Studio but then Cubase SE was brought to my attention...which would be a better program to use? All i am recording with is my Jstation, i want the simple functions like panning, and I want to start using plug ins and getting used to those like compressor and other simple tools to make my recordings sound better, so which should I go for?

Thanks so much for reading this super long post and answering any of my questions!

 

[VooDu Valve]

Hey guys, I feel pretty stupid seeing as you probobly answer these types of questions all the time but i figgured you guys would be the ones to ask since youre the experts! I just have some basic questions

1.)Dell PC...Yes or No?
Ive read things saying that these are good Pc's to go with and ive read that they suck. Basically im going to upgrade the soundcard to an Audiophile 24/96. I know you recomend building a PC of your own but with Windows XP already in the mix I feel like its a great deal (and less of a hassle than building).

2.)512 or 1GB of ram?
Im thinking of buying some ram of of Newegg.com or some place similar to get a cheap boost of speed, should I go 512 or 1gb?

3.)Home Studio Version 2 XL or Cubase SE?
I want to start using legit software, not just dling demos of every product (right now im using n-tracks and audacity). I was thinking of going with Home Studio but then Cubase SE was brought to my attention...which would be a better program to use? All i am recording with is my Jstation, i want the simple functions like panning, and I want to start using plug ins and getting used to those like compressor and other simple tools to make my recordings sound better, so which should I go for?

Thanks so much for reading this super long post and answering any of my questions!

I don't know about the Dell but glad to see you're upgrading the sound card....

I run 1gb of RAM and will soon be upgrading to 1.5......

And as far as a program........ I feel that Home Studio is the way to go.... I use 2004... and as far as I know the difference between HS2004 and HS2 is that 2 comes with the VST adapter and 2004 will not support VST without the adapter..... but as with all software you need to learn the functions of it... some people say HS can be hard to learn but I don't feel it was and I'm not a computer guy.... just follow the tutorials and visit the cakewalk forum to ask questions.

Also I run XP Home

Good Luck

 

[ares1550]

Thanks VooDu! You say that you will be upgrading to 1.5, I know the dell only alows 1gb max, will i run into problems here? I mean Im not going to be using thousands of plug ins per track, i just want to get started using them and hope that the ones included with the programs are good. Oh, and if any of you dont like the dell and think I absolutely have to build my own pc, what would be some good options for the motherboard, processor, and ram for under $500? I really would just like the dell but if the soundcard wont fit or something else like that I guess id have to go with a home brew pc. Thanks again!

 

[fivestar]

Thanks VooDu! You say that you will be upgrading to 1.5, I know the dell only alows 1gb max, will i run into problems here? I mean Im not going to be using thousands of plug ins per track, i just want to get started using them and hope that the ones included with the programs are good. Oh, and if any of you dont like the dell and think I absolutely have to build my own pc, what would be some good options for the motherboard, processor, and ram for under $500? I really would just like the dell but if the soundcard wont fit or something else like that I guess id have to go with a home brew pc. Thanks again!

That REALLY would be my suggestion. Putting a computer together is SO much easier than what people who haven't done it would assume. If you've ever changed a hard drive/PCI card/CD_ROM in your computer, you can put one together. For less than $500, here's my suggestions (all from directron.com...cheapest prices i've found so far):

Mobo: Intel D865PERL - $77
CPU: Intel P4 2.8 GHz w/ Hyper Threading - $192
Memory: Budget this at the end and buy as much as you can afford. That motherboard will allow you to upgrade to as much as 4 gigs.
Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 120 gig - $90

There are the main components. Now a question: Are you going to be REPLACING your old computer or just getting a new one to go along with it? If you're replacing it, you can cut alot of cost by trasferring some of the other components (i.e. case/power supply/PCI cards/CD-ROMS) to the new one instead of having to duplicate the stuff you already have.

 

[ares1550]

Well basically I could use the video card over again, otherwise most of my pc that im using now is junked (the case even sucks). So Im basically getting a new pc besides video and power supply. Thanks for your suggestions for building a pc, its really gonna help if I find that the dell isnt the way to go!

 

[fivestar]

which dell are you considering? i've had a dell and it was pretty good, especially for someone who doesn't know a ton about the technicalities of computers (due to the customer service you obviously don't get with a home built computer.) so if you need that kind of thing, the dell's the way to go for sure. if not, consider the home built. good luck in your search, man.

 

[ares1550]

fivestar: I was thinking of getting the cheapest model (the dimension 2400 i believe) with the p4 (not celeron) 40 gig hd and max out the ram to 1 GB. I dont need the tech support but i do like the price and that it comes with XP (i only have an upgrade version of XP which i heard is not recomended). Also my dad has a dell which runs very smoothly and has had less problems than my old homebuilt pc which is why I automatically wanted to just max out a dell and add a soundcard.

Do you have a home built pc? If so what are you using and do you know of any conflicts, oh and if you could reccomend a video card that would be great!

 

[fivestar]

fivestar: I was thinking of getting the cheapest model (the dimension 2400 i believe) with the p4 (not celeron) 40 gig hd and max out the ram to 1 GB. I dont need the tech support but i do like the price and that it comes with XP (i only have an upgrade version of XP which i heard is not recomended). Also my dad has a dell which runs very smoothly and has had less problems than my old homebuilt pc which is why I automatically wanted to just max out a dell and add a soundcard.

Do you have a home built pc? If so what are you using and do you know of any conflicts, oh and if you could reccomend a video card that would be great!

yeah, i've got a homebuilt, using that stuff i listed above, except my processor's 3GHz. if you can, DEFINATELY get a P4 with Hyperthreading. i think the 2.8GHz is the lowest speed (therefore the cheapest) you can get with that, which is why i listed that one. i've had absolutely no conflicts with anything. through directron, you can get an OEM version of XP for like $90 if you buy it at the same time as your hardware. even if you don't want to do that, there's really no reason not to use your XP upgrade other than convenience. yeah it sucks running two setups, but if you want to save the money, it's worth it. i really like my motherboard alot. i was kind of wary because of the low price, but the chipset and everything are great. the video card i have is an ATI rage 128 pro and i like it alright. not the best, but good enough for me. i'm not really into PC gaming or anything, so it works just fine. the video built into the mobo is pretty decent too. if you're not getting into gaming, i'd reccomend the same card i have, but if you want something with better quality, i'd go with an nvidia of some sort like this: http://store.yahoo.com/directron/asusv9570td.html.

if you do get that dell, you will want to get another hard drive. most people don't reccomend storing audio on the same drive as the software in case of crashes, for the lack of space, etc. i've personally never had a computer crash on me, so the biggest issue was storage. so i just bought one 120gig HD. 40 gigs is good for lots of applications, but wav files pile up real quick so i'd get something bigger. i'd say you need at least 60 gigs for audio alone. but that's just me. i do alot of multitracking. if you need any other help/suggestions, let me know and i'll be glad to help with whatever i can.

 

[ares1550]

Well if i go the "build your own" route i will just use a cheap video card or the onboard one on the mobo because i will do nothing but record on this pc. Thanks for your recomondations man, youve been a huge help! If anyone else has anything to say bout dells go ahead and say it too. Thanks again.

 

[MadAudio]

Well I got a Dell recently. I'd done the "build-your-own" before and it worked great, but I've gotten a lot busier since then, so it was worth it to me for the convenience. I got a Dimension 8300, PIV, 2GHz (800 MHz FSB), 1GB RAM and running XP Pro, Vegas 5, Acid 4, Sound Forge 6. I also happened to buy it when they were offering some nice free upgrades (DVD-RW, flat panel monitor), so it ended up being a really good value IMO. It's also comforting to have 24 hour support. Plus the machine rocks! I haven't had a single problem with it that wasn't my own doing!
FWIW, if you do build your own, don't skimp on the video RAM. Not enough RAM on the video card can potentially lead to performance conflicts with audio.

 

[Imaduck]

Dell's are a pretty good value, especially considering the cost of Windows, so either building or going with Dell, you should be fine. Building a PC isn't really that hard, and if you need any help, just post on here. Like someone else mentioned, you'll definately need a bigger hard drive (a second one, instead of just a bigger original one, would be ideal for recording). Go with the gig of RAM if possible. I manage with 512, but I really really wish I had a gig. Hyper-Threading is very good, like Five mentioned, and I was amazed when I first saw how much it helped. Also, I haven't used Cubase much, but I'm a big fan of Home Studio.

Hope all this helps!