New PC......

T

thewaiter

New member
Guys,
Thanks for all the comments on other posts I have read quite abit on what I should be looking for for a dedicated DAW. I'm even thinking about building my own after reading the www.prorec.com article, I am still amazed that a celeron 566 is better for music than a more up to date processor !!?? why is that I understand partly because the FPU is more stable is there amything I should know. (is it a case of the software around at the moment doesn't need anything faster??)

I would like some advice on a mastering package I use cakewalk audio 6, what software should I be looking for to enable processing on my PC. I obviosly need to start with getting the sound into the PC some sort of Audio card ?


thanks in advance

Kevin
 
First of all, a Celeron 566 IS an "up-to-date processor." It is being manufactured as we speak.

Why are they so cheap then?

The Celeron is a processor with a Pentium II core, but it's crippled to run on a 66Mhz bus (as opposed to 100Mhz) and only has 128K cache (as opposed to 256K). Intel produces this chip to compete in the budget PC market.

The good news?

Intel is very good at making the PII core. This fact has made the Celeron one of the most easily overclockable chips on the market. How do you overclock a Celeron? You bump the bus speed. Most Celerons will run on bus speeds between 83 and 100Mhz, greatly increasing their clock speeds and closing the gap between themselves and the PII (remember one of the key differences between a Celeron and PII is the bus speed).

Just so you know: CPU speed = fixed multiplier * bus speed. So, a 400Mhz Celeron has a fixed multiplier of 6, because it is designed to run on a 66Mhz bus. What happens when you crank the bus speed to 100Mhz? You have a 600Mhz CPU running on a 100Mhz bus. Aside from the cache, you have a 600Mhz PII :) Of course overclocking results may vary. I have my 400Mhz at 500Mhz via an 83Mhz FSB.

What if you're not into overclocking?

The Celeron is still a great performer for the price. It will perform, with many applications, similarly to early PIII processors (non-coppermine), which were just PII processors at higher clock speeds.

What about the small cache?

Cache is not too important to realtime multimedia applications. The CPU's design (esp. FPU) and clock speeds are a bit more important. You will see the impact of the smaller cache in business (desktop) grade applications.

What else should you know?

If you buy right, you can upgrade from your Celeron to a faster PIII if you buy a good motherboard. I still kinda recommend a SLOT1 motherboard, even though it requires a riser for both the newer FCPGA PIII's and PPGA Celerons. The "risers" or "adapters" are only 10 bucks.

The point is that staying a year or two behind the fastest shit on the market will save you big bucks, and still offer up great performance. Unlike the early 90's, hardware is advancing much more quickly than software....

Except when it comes to audio processing. The CPU is most important when it comes to using realtime effects and currently the best effects are such hogs that it doesn't matter if you have a Celeron or a PIII, they're going to suck your machine dry after just a few instances...and they'll still sound "worse" than standalone boxes. However, many of us are satisfied with "lesser" plugins that still sound great. With a 500Mhz Celeron CPU, expect it to handle say 20-30 instances of "typical" DX effects (blueline, fasoft, average VST) on 10-20 16/44 tracks without choking. (fewer effects will allow you to work with more tracks, yes) Those are my results with my oc'ed 500Mhz Celeron, 160MB, 7200RPM hard drive, and Win2000 anyway.

I realize I've been rambling. There are other important things to consider in your new PC. Follow the advice offered in Roll Your Own 2000. But for the love of pete, don't use Windows 98 or Windows 95.

Slackmaster 2000
 
thanks slackmaster,

A couple of questions, is it necessary to overclock the processor cakewalk audio 9 only needs a 250 processor to work ?
What does the 'slot 1 ' represent ?
Also when you compare 'lesser effects plug ins' what stand alone units would you compare them to, say, the lexicon MPX100 or MPX 1

thanks again in advance

kevin
 
Overclocking isn't necessary but a cheap way ov increasing performance. Why not have an 800MHz instead of a 566MHz when all it takes is changing a setting? It's basically that simple with pre-tested processors and fan packages available.

Slot1 refers to the socket that the processor goes into on the motherboard. The Celeron is really a "Socket 370" but there are adaptors available.

/Ola
 
You really don't HAVE to get a SLOT 1 board. Most Intel processors today are either FC-PGA or PPGA which both use Socket 370. However, there is no such thing as a SLOT 1 to Socket 370 adapter which means that you can't use a Slot 1 (SECC) processor if at some point you want to (e.g. you find a good deal on one down the road). This is the only reason I suggested SLOT 1....you'll be able to use ALL current Intel processors.

Unfortunately there's a lot of confusion over PPGA, FC-PGA, SECC (Slot 1), Socket 370, etc etc...especially when it comes to retailers who often interchange the chip form factor with the type of slot it fits into...hell, even I get confused. So you'll be looking at processors on some website and they'll be listed like:

Celeron 400 (Slot 1)
Celeron 400 (PPGA)
Celeron 566 (FC-PGA)
PIII 450 (SEP)
PIII 600 (SECC)
PIII 600 (FC-PGA)

Wow! There must be 5 types of sockets for Celeron and PIII processors? Nah, only two. Socket 370 and Slot 1.

When we talk about PPGA and FC-PGA we're talking about the characteristics of the processor itself, and not its pinout. With PPGA the core of the processor is buried while with FC-PGA the core of the processor is exposed and comes in contact with the heat sink for greater heat disappation. Do you need to know this? Nope. Just think PGA = Socket 370, regardless ... SEP, SECC, SECC2 = Slot 1, always.

As for your other questions...

Unfortunately there's no way to scale an effect on terms of "goodness". I think some of the cheap DX effects do a great job. But then my recordings aren't that great to begin with. Basically, if you're not going to use any DX effects, you don't need a super fast processor, but you also don't want to limit yourself. That's why I'd recommend starting out with a medium grade cheap Celeron (466-500Mhz) which can later be upgraded to a PIII if you feel it necessary. Do NOT skimp out on your processor, especially with Celeron's being under 100 bucks.

After your processor, the next most important thing is memory. You need 128MB. No less.

After that you need a 7200RPM hard drive, either UDMA/33 or ATA/66 it doesn't matter. The RPM's of the drive are what is important. And believe me, the difference between 5400RPM and 7200RPM is considerable.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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