OK, so I'm building a computer...

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Special K

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Another boring topic, but here is the proposal:

Athlon AMD 2000+ XP
512 MB RAM
A7V133 Socket A Motherboard VIA KT133A ATX + RAID No Audio
DVD-ROM
CD W
80 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm HDD (dedicated audio)
20 GB 7200 7200 rpm HDD (applications, OS)
Digi 001 Factory
Yamaha MSP5 monitors
8 ch generic preamp
SM 57
SM 58

Will this kick some ass, or are there a few missing/wrong components?

This is the system I am currently going to buy...

I DON"T WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE!!!



K
 
Special K said:
Another boring topic, but here is the proposal:

Athlon AMD 2000+ XP
512 MB RAM
A7V133 Socket A Motherboard VIA KT133A ATX + RAID No Audio
DVD-ROM
CD W
80 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm HDD (dedicated audio)
20 GB 7200 7200 rpm HDD (applications, OS)
Digi 001 Factory
Yamaha MSP5 monitors
8 ch generic preamp
SM 57
SM 58

Will this kick some ass, or are there a few missing/wrong components?

This is the system I am currently going to buy...

I DON"T WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE!!!



K
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I'd go with the Delta 1010, and little more ram. What sort of video are you going with?
I'd probably go with two 80's in raid rather than a 20 and an 80. Seagate 80 are going for what, about 150 bucks these days. You should get enough of a speed boost off of raid zero that it will outweigh the advantages of having two seperate drives(admitiadly, I havent played with ASUS's raid, so thats in theory). DVD write is down under the 300 mark, the money you could save going with the Delta would pay for that(or other stuff), and it would be great for archive.
 
What brand of motherboard is that? Have you looked at the Gigabyte GA7DX+? It uses the AMD chipset, which would be preferrable to the VIA chipset. Check over at the Digi forums for what other people are running.
 
Sounds to me like it WILL kick lots of ass, but depending on what kind of recording you are doing, I might try to get some additional mics besides the 57 and 58.
 
It seems like a dream system, but I would definitely cut back on the computer, and buy a non-generic 8 channel mic pre, and better mics. You could run as many tracks as you want to on a computer half that fast.

If you want your audio to sound good, it doesn't matter how fast your computer is. You need good mic pres and great microphones, along with good instruments. This is my suggestion to you...

I hope it helps.

Darth
 
elevate said:
What brand of motherboard is that? Have you looked at the Gigabyte GA7DX+? It uses the AMD chipset, which would be preferrable to the VIA chipset. Check over at the Digi forums for what other people are running.
Click to expand...

Its an ASUS motherboard, and I would deffinately go asus over gigabyte. Via chipsets arent a problem anymore, and havent been for some time.
 
I would deffinately go asus over gigabyte
Click to expand...
I would have said the same thing a year ago.
Via chipsets arent a problem anymore, and havent been for some time.
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When was that 4-in-1 driver fiasco? Seemed like it was just a few months ago. VIA has improved their chipsets, but an AMD chipset is still the chipset of choice, as far as I can tell.
 
Yes. The "Force" is strong within him. Heed his words. :cool:
 
If you are decided on the 001, do yourself a favor and at least peruse the PC section of the DUC. Triple dog check on comments on your mobo chipset selection.

If you get it right the first time, this will be a great PC setup.

And like the others said...don't skimp on the mics and pres!

Take care,
C
 
Eventually, I do not want to skimp on the mics and pres, but at this stage, they are the only ones I can afford...once I have paid for the system, then I will invest in some quality mics.

My question is- should I buy 2 mics, the SM57 and the SM58, or should I splash out and buy 1 quality condensor (keeping in mind I DO intend to expand the collection as soon as finances permit)

And another silly question, when one dedicates an 80 gig drive to audio, what is the process? I understand that 80 gig is in-efficient, so I will need to partition it, but what is the most effective way of doing this, making sure the drives are dedicated audio? (is it as simple as only storing audio data on the drive, or is it way more complex?)

Also, what motherboard do you recommend for an athlon xp 2000+? I know the digi is recommended for use with a mobo with a VIA KT133A....I don't know much about hardware construction and compatiability, but are there any suggestions that work specifically with this chipset?

K
 
get a sm57 and a Marshall mxlv67M ($99)......

what sources will you be recording that you need 8channels of preamps...you may get better quality if you settle on less channels.......
 
SOMEONE SAID MORE RAM I HAVE BETTER SOLUTION

I WOULD SUGGEST GOING WITH DDR RAM ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS EXPENSIVE YOU GET A LOT MORE BANG FOR YOU BUCK I HAVe 1gh of ddr and its equivelent to 2.1ghz of sdram its SO FAST! id go with ddr cause it looks like you got the money to drop on it otherwise i dont have too many other objections and your question about partitioning it partition it as a secondary slave so you get your full 80 gigs if your gonna partition it like a master drive you may lose quite a bit of space....example i had a 3 gig hard drive partitioned as a master and i could only store 800 mb on it... it was of course more efficient with the 800 but for storing mp3's that was not good, so i repartitioned it and got 3 gigs which is still not good so i got a 20gb hard drive and im filling it right up with mp3's from my band and other songs from other bands
later
 
If you are only buying two mics, then why have an 8 channel mic pre?

I honestly suggest cutting the computer down a bit, getting a good mic pre, and some good mics.

Please let us know how everything works out for you. I hope all goes well.

Darth
 
the 8 channel pre is for recording the drums live with the other line-in instruments. Really I don't have a lot of money to burn, but I would like to buy a computer system that holds up for a while while I get some more funds to buy *better pres* and *better mics*. In reality, I will NOT need those 8 channels of pre-amplification, but I know that I would have the shits if I went to record a contracted band, which had three singers and some congas, and ALAS!, I don't have enough pres to do the job, and therefore sacrifice that live sound I'd been looking for on the album.

The sound of the pres is not that bad. Question is though: do the digi 001 pres hold their own, or are they not so good? Because if that is so, then this whole experience is a shambles. (PS: I have already bought the pre and the 001, which is why I am a bit attached to them :) )



"I WOULD SUGGEST GOING WITH DDR RAM ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS EXPENSIVE YOU GET A LOT MORE BANG FOR YOU BUCK I HAVe 1gh of ddr and its equivelent to 2.1ghz of sdram its SO FAST! "

The digi 001 needs to run on win 98 second ed, or win me. Now I have heard that having excess of 512 mb or RAM on these OS is pointless, cos the OS can't handle it. Say I double the RAM from 512 to 1024 MB, the performance difference will be VERY marginal, and not worth the extra money. Is this true?

K
 
While I have nothing against VIA as a whole, I would recomend staying away from any mobo with a KT133a chipset. Buggy plus getting outdated now anyways. The 266A is a much better chipset. Don't know anout the 333...

I put up a number of posts about my own hellish Athlon upgrade, you might want to check them out.
 
I've had lots of quirky trouble that comes down to my sound card and MoBo not playing well together. I finally got it figured out, but it was months of hassle. I highly recommend first choosing what card you want, then contacting the tech support and asking them what board works well with that particular card.

As for mics, it is hard to say without knowing what you plan to record. But, the 57 and 58 are very similar, so I'd recommend one or the other (probably the 57) and get a nice condensor. I second Gidge's suggestion of the v67 if you want a good vocal mic. Otherwise, a MXL603 or ECM8000 both get great reviews here. Each can be had for less than $100.

If you are looking to cut costs, I'd get rid of the DVD-ROM
 
the VIA KT133A is the recommended mobo with the Digi 001, the card I have already bought.

Where can I get the v67 online, or read reviews about it? My local is very 1-2 brand oriented, so I don't really get a feel of the market that well.

K
 
the VIA KT133A is the recommended mobo with the Digi 001
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This really just says Digidesign hasn't taken the time to revamp their system requirements to reflect modern hardware. KT133A motherboards are old. Have a look over at the Digi user's forum and you'll see plenty of people using VIA 266 and AMD 761 based motherboards.
 
This really just says Digidesign hasn't taken the time to revamp their system requirements to reflect modern hardware. KT133A motherboards are old. Have a look over at the Digi user's forum and you'll see plenty of people using VIA 266 and AMD 761 based motherboards.
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I second this.

There's no use in buying already outdated components. PC133 RAM is going the way of the dinosaur, and DDR RAM is almost the exact same price now. (Pricewatch as of 5/4/02: 256MB PC133 $26, 256MB PC2100 $30) Not that I'd buy that low-grade RAM, but just so you get an idea of where the prices are at.

In which case I'd go with either an AMD 761 chipset mobo or a VIA266a chipset mobo. (make sure it has the "a" on the end of the "266" if you get VIA)

I went with:
AMD Athlon XP1900+
Soyo Dragon Plus (KT266a)
512 MB Kingston DDR RAM

WATYF
 
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