Some questions about buliding a Computer

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caleb2438

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Hello I have some questions about computer parts and their importance in regards to recording. 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? Do video cards play any role at all in recording? Does a higher wattage of tower = less noise? Thanks very much!
 
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
 
Thanks alot Emeric, I hope I can help you in the future.
 
DDR is faster and not outdated like sdram, 512 for DAW works well but more is better to a point with bios versions... a gig and over will cause issues with older bios systems, a flash can fix this if the board is a newer model/make...

video drivers can be a pain to config and find at times, ATI is a pain along with nvidia but they are the top cards at the moment, a gaming system should record audio nicely if the drivers are set up correctly...

its not so much the card as the driver in most cases i've seen... and new hardware isn't always the best hardware till the bugs are worked out....tweak, tweak, and then some...

i run GF MX $25 cards from newegg refurb section without issue, finding a desent driver was a pain though... many tries to find a good one that didn't conflict with system or appl...
 
Technology moves fast:)
RDRam provides much faster data transfer with P4 architecture.The i850 chipset also offers significant advantages.If you want to know about the P4 and how to make yours hum see

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001120/index.html

It is about matching the componentry so that the slowest bottleneck is minimised.This could be in any number of areas e.g slow hard drive, and a good hardware consultant will be your best bet to a good match when you are ready to lay down the dosh - good luck
 
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