Online source for building a quality DAW?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guernica
  • Start date Start date
Guernica

Guernica

Active member
Hi guys,
......anyone know of an online source for building a nice DAW. I might be interested in undertaking the chore if i can find some information intended for the computer stupid.:D


much thanks in advance, Mike
 
Hey Stealth,
......thanks for those.....

......Im off to read.............:)
 
hey guernica,

i just built a new daw last month. followed the directions from the tomshardware site and it took about 4 hours total time to get it up and running. very stable, very fast.

Here's the parts list. Shop at newegg.com, fast reliable service. They got it to my door in three days!

1. coolermaster ATX midsize case. aluminum, w/four fans! stays very cool.
2. Intel D845PEBT2 motherboard - very stable, very fast, supports serial ATA when they come out, supports Hyperthreading when that's actually affordable, supports DDR333 ram
3. Matrox G450 - stable, dual head video card
4. Enermax 350 watt powersupply - get the FC. silent, and very cool.
5. Intel 533FSB chip of your choice. I got the 2.4 gig. make sure you get a retail boxed version and not OEM.
6. 512 megs Corsair XMS pc2700 DDR ram, CAS 2.0 latency
7. cd burner of you choice
8. Seagate barracuda IV hard drives. at least 2, one for audio, one for OS
9. OS - no reason not to get winXP.
 
Hey Eric,
.......how cool is this...... ....a friend "in the know".:) Mind if I ask you how much all of this cost you? It sounds like a winner. Im obviously not a comp tech guy, so ive got a million questions that i wont get into now........ but this is a great place to start.

thanks alot, Mike
 
Just priced out the system at newegg.
looks like about 1200 before shipping. see below. this does not include a monitor or a sound card or recording software. Monitors are pretty cheap. I would get at least a 19" although 21" is ideal. Software and soundcard are a matter of discussion that can go on forever. Personally I use Sonar and Echo for those. You could probably save some money below by buying a cheaper case and smaller hard drives but I wouldn't. You'll regret it later. Also, not included below is a keyboard and mouse. I use wireless but that's up to you. The reason I like wireless is cause when I'm all setup to record and I gotta hit the record button I don't want to have to be right next to the computer, then run over to my chair or recording position or whereever. Saves time.

Also, think about your power protection seriously. I use a furman strip.

Then there's backups. You can backup your projects to CD-R or... if you have another computer in your house, just buy and extra hard drive for that computer and network the two together and save your projects to the other computer.

Accessories - Cable - Round
ROUND, 24-Inch, True ATA133, IDE, Color: WHITE Cable for IDE Hard Drives, CD ROM, DVD ROM or CDRW, 3-Connector, 33/66/100/133, 24 Inches Long. Please see image for the actual look. more info>
N82E16812881016 $7.00
$14.00
Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
COOLOER MASTER Model# ATC-200-MX (SILVER/BLACK) ALL ALUMINUM MID-TOWER PC CASE - RETAIL
Entire case is constructed of Aluminum to conduct and disperse heat like a huge heat sink, slide-out chassis, and Tool-free assembly/disassembly for quick and convenient maintainance or upgrades.
Specifications:
Material: All Aluminum Alloy
Drive Bays: External 3 X 5.25" - 2 X 3.5" Internal 4 X 3.5"
System Board: Standard ATX Mainboard
Expansion Slot: 7 Slots
Standard Fan(s): 2 X 80mm (front) 1 X 80mm (rear) 1 X 80mm (top case)
Dimensions: 19.567" (L) X 7.717 (W) X 17.8" (H) ***No Power Supply*** more info>
N82E16811119004 $148.00
$148.00
CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA/SW 40x12x40 CD-RW - OEMThe PlexWriter delivers exceptionally fast performance in a professional 3-in-1 CD solution
Specifications:
Interface:E-IDE (ATAPI-4)
Speed:40x CD-Write, 12x CD-ReWrite, and 40x CD Read
Buffer:4MB Burn-Proof technology eliminates buffer underrun errors
Random Access time:120ms
MTBF 60,000 POH
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP Compatible
Mac compatibl--* Works With PC & Mac *-- more info>
N82E16827106212 $95.00
$95.00
Hard Drives
**This item is NOT REFUNDABLE, exchange for same exact item only!!**
Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB 7200RPM ST380021A Hard Drive OEM
Specifications:
Size: 80 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Seek time: 9ms
RPM:7200
Cache 2MB
OEM(Drive alone) 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty --* Works With PC & Mac *-- more info>
N82E16822148004 $103.00
$206.00
Memory (System Memory)
CORSAIR MEMORY XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 512MB 32MX8 PC-2700C2PT With Platinum - Silver Heat Spreader OEM
Specifications:
Speed 333 MHz
Organization 64M x 64
CAS Latency 2-3-3-6-T1
Memory type DDR
Part number: CMX512A-2700C2PT more info>
N82E16820145412 $185.00
$185.00
Motherboards - Intel
Intel Motherboard for Pentium 4 Processors, (Blue Mountain 2) Model# D845PEBT2
Specifications:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 processor (mPGA478)
Chipset: 845PE
RAM: DDR333 support
Slots: 1x AGP(4x)
Onboard 6 channel Audio
Serial ATA RAID
ATX Motherboard
ATA100/66 and 2 Channel Serial ATA Raid 0 and 1 Support
Pro/100 Network Connection
more info>
N82E16813121162 $131.00
$131.00
Power Supplies / Inverters / Converters / Strips
ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FC). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4. Fan on/off controlled by M/B ~ Real "Sleeping Mode" support. Meet AMD K7 and Intel 2.03 Version. Dual cooling fan design : 9cm fan intake heat, 8cm exhaust hot air. Gold-coated terminals for high performance and faint resistance improvement. Fan speed monitoring by M/B - Ball bearing fan with Thermal Control function. Cable Tube Tied for neatness. Elegant gold-coated fan guards. Retail box. more info>
N82E16817103409 $52.00
$52.00
Processors
►Thanksgiving Blow-Out! Intel Pentium 4 2.4BGHz 512K 533MHz CPU Northwood P478 Processor Retail Box
Specifications:
CPU: Pentium 4 P4 2.4BGHz Northwood
Type: Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 533MHz
Socket: P4 478
Retail Box (with Heatsink and fan) more info>
N82E16819116139 $193.00
$193.00
Software - OS
**This item is NOT REFUNDABLE, exchange for same exact item only!!**
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 1 - OEM Full Version Designed exclusively for home computing. Windows XP Home Edition puts the exciting experiences of the digital age at your fingertips. From digital photos, music, and video to building a home network, Windows XP Home Edition brings you into the digital age with ease. Built on the solid foundation of Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition also sets the new standard in efficient and dependable computing. A new visual design, reliable Windows engine, and new Internet security features combine with capabilities for sharing your computer, to give you the most dependable Windows operating system yet. *Must be Purchased with Hardware!!* more info>
N82E16837102014 $93.00
$93.00
Video Cards
MATROX G450 32MB DDR 4X AGP - OEM ffering unprecedented 2D & 3D image quality, a full suite of display options and a host of real-world productivity features including DualHead, the Millennium G450 graphics card will change the way you work and play
Specifications:
Chipset:Matrox G450
Memory:32 MB DDR
RAMDAC 360 MHz
AGP 1X, 2X, 4X
Support for OpenGL and DirectX
256-bit DualBus
OEM Version Does not include cable or Software DVD! Mfg Part#G45FMDHA32DB more info>
N82E16814106143 $79.00
$79.00


Subtotal » $1,196.00
Shipping and Handling Charge »
>How Newegg.com calculates shipping< $
APO/FPO - Military ONLY FedEx Standard Overnight FedEx 2Day FedEx Express Saver Choose which State to ship AA AP AE ALASKA ALABAMA ARKANSAS ARIZONA CALIFORNIA COLORADO CONNECTICUT DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DELAWARE FLORIDA GEORGIA HAWAII IOWA IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MASSACHUSETTS MARYLAND MAINE MICHIGAN MINNESOTA MISSOURI MISSISSIPPI MONTANA NORTH CAROLINA NORTH DAKOTA NEBRASKA NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW MEXICO NEVADA NEW YORK OHIO OKLAHOMA OREGON PENNSYLVANIA PUERTO RICO RHODE ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH VIRGINIA VERMONT WASHINGTON WISCONSIN WEST VIRGINIA WYOMING
Grand Total » $ 1,196.00
 
Wow!
Thanks a ton for all of that great information Eric..... ...I feel like I should pay you for it....:)
....if you ever need a bass line....Im there for ya. :cool: :)

Thanks Alot!

Mike
 
does it make a difference if you use an Athlon or a pentium chip?
are there any advantages to either of them?
 
hey g. all i did was cut and paste and you're offering a bass line! that's so cool. i'll definitely take you up if i ever write something that i don't hate.

the other thing not in the list above is a floppy drive. i just don't use em anymore. kinda like fax machines.

monstertruck, you're opening a big can of worms with the athalon vs. pentium debate. i am not the expert on this. but i do have a semi educated(in the street sense) opinion

i've used both and so far i prefer intel. for the following reasons, but mind you this is just my experience, on my machines. and i don't work for either company, and i'm not a professional at anything, especially not with computers:
1. intel's stock fan is 10000% quieter then the AMD
2. intel runs about 25 degrees cooler
3. when i slapped the components together the intel fired up and worked right away. with the amd i had to hunt the bulletin boards for a while to find out how to get the damn thing to run at full speed.

as far as raw performance, seems that the intel (2.4g/533) i have handles a bit more plugin wise than the amd i have (xp1900+/266) but it's also faster and has a bigger cache.

so my experience has been this: amd = faster, hotter, but frustrating, intel = fast enough, cooler, no frustration so far.
 
Hey Eric,
...this post was up a few months back. Im getting close to getting my dedicated audio computer and was wondering how that system you bought (above) is still treating you. Ive done a little research since my last post here and am impressed w/ your choices.
 
Just built mine, so I'll throw in my 2cents. I bought all my parts from newegg.com and they were great.

Intel i845GEBV2 motherboard with LAN, video, onboard sound

2.4Ghz P4

512Mb Kingston RAM

52x Lite-on CD-RW

80Gb WesternDigital 7200rpm 8mb cache hard drive

The above parts cost me $450.

I'm transfering over my EchoMia soundcard and 60Gb audio drive from my current machine and I had already bought a case locally.

Took me about an hour to build and works great. I've already tested out my sequencer (N-Track) and have run 30 24bit tracks with the PC only hitting 8% cpu usage.

I'm very, very happy!
 
Just built mine too! Egghead came through for me - shipment came the next day (I'm in so. cal like them) I went for highest performance:

* Intel P4 3.0 Ghz CPU with the 800 Mhz front side bus
* Gigabyte 8KNXP motherboard with dual channel DDR support (Intel canterwood chipset - over 6 Gigabyte/sec bandwidth to memory), onboard IDE raid (4 seperate IDE connnectors), 8 USB2 channels, Firewire interface, onboard SATA raid, Gigabit ethernet, etc.
* 1 gigabyte of 433 Mhz Crucial DDR memory
* 120 Gig 7200 RPM 8meg buffer Maxtor disk for the OS
* 80 Gig 7200 RPM 8 meg buffer Maxtor disk for scratch data
* 2 removable 80 Gig 7200 RPM 8 meg buffer Maxtor disks for audio data
* Enermax 550 watt power supply
* Plextor Premium CD writer (52x32x52 - also has a special mode where it writes over 900 megs to regular disks)
* Sony DVD writer (supports -R, -RW, +R, and +RW)
* Matrox G550 video card (has two monitor outputs built in)
* US Robotics modem
* 2 NEC 17" monitors
* keyboard, mouse, floppy, cheapo ($19!) case

Its a rock solid screamer so far. I paid about $2600.

-lee-
 
....hey, do any of you folks have any knowledge or experience with regards to intel's "hyperthreading technology" as it applies to audio? It seems like the next big thing, and i was wondering if it really is a substantial performance improvement.

much thanks
 
Hyperthreading only kicks in when the software supports it (and I'm not sure that ANY program does yet.)
 
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