Starting my Home Studio...?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JonathanRay
  • Start date Start date
Hey Jonathan,

Looks like you've got a pretty good handle on what you want and need. So disregard my ramblings above. The Soundcraft would be a good choice. Only thing in the Mackies that comes close is the Onyx. I have used both live and like them both. A $500 PC that will run pro-tools well is a tall order however. And PT seems to like Macs better anyway. Maybe shop around and make an offer on a used G4 as suggested above?
 
According to this DUC post, I could go to my local PC Shop and have them build a PC using this list (below) that could handle PT.

The Allenstein Machine

Aspire X-Dreamer II case with 350W PSU 54.00

Asus K8V SE Deluxe Motherboard-Retail 114.00

Athlon 64 3400+ 2.4Ghz , 1MB L2 (see www.pricewatch.com for this low price) 161.00

Micron PC3200 512 MB DDR SDRAM CT6464Z40B x2 (1GB total) = 104.00

ATI Radeon 9600 256Mb DDR 8x Dual Video Card 49.00

Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM 8MB CACHE Hard Drives 58.00 x 2 = 116.00

Lite-On DVD/CDRW Dual Drive 49.00

Total = approx. $650.00 US
 
512 megs of RAM is pretty light for a DAW, a gig or more would be better.

I'm serious about the used Mac thing, you can get a great computer for ProTools for about $500. Check this link out:

http://computers.listings.ebay.com/...ocmdZListingItemListQQsspagenameZmeQ3afQ3acat

A dual 500/G4 or a G4 733 would be great for running ProTools. Check out the dual 533/G4 here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51034&item=5787093393&rd=1

These are just a couple of examples, I see some pretty good Macs going for cheap these days. G4's are excellent machines, although I would say don't go below a dual 500 or a single 733.
 
So it would be better to purchase a $500 used G4, then having a $500 PC built? The 002R and PT would run better on the G4 than the PC, right? Do the people that sell these used G4s usually format the computer, as to erase the personal files and installed programs?

Would this be an example of a good G4 for the 002R & PT?

Thanks!
 
I think it depends on the seller, as far as formatting. I've seen some Macs on eBay that were clearly being sold ProTools guys, so you might even be able to get them to leave the OS as is, and just install your PT over it.

When you say "better" that's a tough call. Different people prefer different setups. But if you are going to be using Digi software and hardware, it's hard to beat a Mac in my opinion.

My feeling is that having a PC built will cost more than $500 once you have it built to the specs you really need. And you'd need to have someone put it together for you that has built ProTools systems before, just to feel confident that it is going to work. By the time you are done you will have spent as much on that as you would on a decent used Mac that will work out of the box. At the very least, you should price out some custom built PC systems from a few different makers to get a real idea of what the prices are going to be.
 
That should work out alright. I have almost the same machine. I recently upgraded the processor to a 1.4 GHz which helps with the plugins some; but I ran with an 800 MHz processor for a long time and just worked with it. I have an 002R and just upgraded to OSX 10.3.8 and PT LE 6.9. Note that Digidesign still doesn't list support for OSX 10.3.9, but a guy over at the PT forum has been running it without problems so it's probably ok.
 
My Dads fear of placing a big on that G4, or any used computer, is that it could have a faulty mother board, or some other problem. He feels it's too risky to purchase a used computer off ebay. :(
 
I guess you never know for sure, but I'd be surprised if that were the case.
 
I understand that fear, and of course there is a certain amount of risk buying anything off eBay. However, if you read the auction notices carefully I think you can *usually* sort out whether the gear is going to work or not. I'd certaily suggest emailing the seller of any computer you are considering and asking any questions you might have. If they don't seem knowledgable, or are evasive, or simply don't respond, then you would avoid that auction.

That G4 you linked to would be a good computer for PT. That's very similar to what I use except that I've got dual processors.
 
ebay & paypal

JonathanRay said:
My Dads fear of placing a big on that G4, or any used computer, is that it could have a faulty mother board, or some other problem. He feels it's too risky to purchase a used computer off ebay. :(
Click to expand...

dang, you can't find a used PC somehwere around the home turf?
i'd have to agree with your dad... i just had a friend get stiffed on ebay for $190...

i never had a problem, but its high risk. the price better be at least 50% off.
if its a small company, you may only be out return shipping.
if its a private party...

i've had some good purchases on ebay, but i went against logic.
 
I'd love to use a PC instead of a Mac. If I can get a PC that will handle PT for $500 or less I'll be happy. I'll check in with my local PC Build/Repair Shop and see what they can do.
 
That's cool, just beware of hidden costs. Get more RAM and hard drive space than you think you'll need. I guarantee you'll use it up a lot faster than you imagined! Also, make sure the builder knows it is for a ProTools Digi 002R setup. If built right it should work fine.
 
So if I'm looking into getting a PC built, I need...

Tons of RAM
Tons of hardrive space
A fast hardrive (7200 RPM +)
Big, Fast Processor

Is that it in a nutshell?
 
Yes, but ideally you'll have two hard drives. One you'll use for the system and the application, and the other to record audio to.
 
Gotcha, is there anything else I should consider in a cutom built PC? Does the motherboard determine whether or not I have firewire?
 
If you are planning on using the Digi 002 the PC must have firewire. When it comes to the specifics of building a PC I can't be of too much help. This is why you need to have the thing built by someone who has built Digi-oriented PC's before and knows what they are doing. I can almost guarantee that the PC will cost substantially more than $500 if it is configured for what you really need.

I've done the comparison shopping a number of times, when looking into Giga systems. There's really little difference between Mac and PC prices once you spec out a custom built PC with everything it needs. I'm not talking about a home office consumer PC, but a DAW specific design.

Here's a couple links to custom bult PC's that DigiDesign recommends on their web site:

http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/systems.php

http://www.spectralcomputers.com/

The thing that's handy about the Spectral site is that they specify what chipsets are being used in their computer. So that should give you an idea of what you need.

Also, go to:

http://digidesign.com/

Follow the link to "support" and then follow the link to "compatibility". Then follow the links to Digi 002/PT LE and Windows XP. There you'll find Digi's requirements for what the PC needs to be. Whatever they say, that is exactly what you must do.
 
The Creation Station Tower seems pretty decent, and I think the price is more realistic as to what a starting PC system is really going to cost you.
 
SonicAlbert said:
The Creation Station Tower seems pretty decent, and I think the price is more realistic as to what a starting PC system is really going to cost you.
Click to expand...

I just want to try to put things in perspective here... This guy is just starting out, clearly is not very informed about the world of computer recording. He's planning to use a 002r. Out of the box, that's a max of 8 tracks at a time (4 being line-level sources). Unless he's cutting drums in his bedroom, I'm guessing the max he'll ever record at once is 2 tracks. Are you trying to tell me a $500 dell won't be able to suit his needs? Why spend $2000 on a decked-out system if you are recording your buds playing guitar in your bedroom? If you argue that the system will be able to expand with his needs, my response is that the system will be worthless in 2-3 years anyway, so why throw away the money? I think if you are running a commercial recording facility and have no concept of building and maintaining your computers, then companies like spectral are great. However, being that this is the HOME RECORDING site, I think it makes much more sense for folks to get the best value for their dollar. Just my opinion, of course :)

PS - one last point and I swear I'll shutup about the dells... If you can wait to buy your computer for a month or so, the weeks before school begins are typically chocked full of great computer deals - especially on the dell front. Just tune into the "hotdeal" sites (fatwallet, anandtech hotdeal forum, etc) to see what's what.
 
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