I have the omni studio and I am looking to upgrade my system. Is it okay to get sdram? would i be better off getting lots of sdram or less ddr? Are abit motherboards or asus better?
If your building a new machine now, I would go DDR, not SDRAM. 256MB of DDR works for me and most I'd say. 512MB might work better for you if you're involved in video work as well.
I use to deal with a lot of ABIT boards, I found them to be quite good quality products. However I haven't seen them for many years, seems they changed their distribution method. I guess they are still around, but I can't comment as to whether they are still any good.
ASUS on the otherhand, I do know a bit about. For a PIV based system, I can guarantee you that the P4B266 will work fine for you with the Omni Studio. The AMD platform, the ASUS A7S333 or the Microstar 6561. Both are based on the SIS 745 Chipset.
Do video cards play any role at all in recording?
To a point they do. If it is has little memory it may have problems rendering graphics while recording / playing back, this might interfere. If it has poorly written drivers, you might run into problems. Most cards these days are 32MB minimum, so that is never an issue, poor drivers still are though. The Nvidia based cards, Ge-force series are a safe bet. Microstar, Power Color make some quality ones. You don't need to spend a bundle on a video card if you're just doing recording. The Nvidia based cards - MX400's, 440's are more than sufficient. < $100 USD.
Does a higher wattage of tower = less noise? Thanks very much!
I wish that were the case, but no. Higher wattage power supplys just mean that you can provide adequate current to all the devices connected without it catching on fire. 300W is enough. A good quality power supply is essential.
Usually a good quality case = a good power supply. Cheapo generic cases will come with a cheapo generic power supply.
As for noise, best to buy a good case and then replace the power supply with a quieter one, such as the enermax ones.
www.asus.com.tw
www.msi.com.tw
www.in-win.com
www.enermax.com.tw
www.nvidia.com
www.powercolor.com.tw
