I don't know alot about recording, but i do know quite a bit on building a computer. so here we go... just trying to help out those planning to purchase a computer. i'm gonna list a few routes so there's more of a variety.
1) CPU + motherboard
Intro: the core processing of your computer. other than that, it don't do much. everything get plugs in the mobo, CPU does all the work.
a)
Intel core 2 duo E6300 or 6400 (under 200, the E6300 is 150)... this chip is a great OCer. i would get the E6400 for the higher multipler and OC that thing to about 3.2-3.5 on air if possible. and a E6400 @ 3.2+ghz is VERY fast... how fast? VERY VERY fast, it's like nothing you've seen before. Mobo you can get the DS3, or the ASUS PBN delux (i think that's the model)... these goes for 150-200+ making the total 300+ to 400. most likely you'll end up at 400 with
the E6400 + mobo
b) AMD opteron single core or 3400+ single core. this is the cheapter route... newegg has a combo running for this. 3400 socket 939 + ECS extreme lite for 99 dollars. This combo will OC to 2.7-3.0 out of the box... the mobo is very nice... again cheap way out. it's not as fast as the intel duo core. but it's still VERY fast... if you ever used a P4 @ 4ghz... this combo is even faster... and if you used a P4 @ 4ghz you know how snappy it is.
Conclusion: those are the only 2 chips i would recommend. I don't wanna recommend AMD dual core because as of their price right now, the intel duo core woop it's butt in term of performance. Nor do i wanna recommend the celerons, the cache true does kill performance on these intel chip... i've had them before and that's my verdic on it.
2) Heatsink
Intro: it cools your CPU... that's it, a block of metal that gets clip on. the efficient is gonna depends on the size and the design.. there's quite a few in the block you can look at
a) the ninja (just search for ninja heatsink)... big block of metal... if you can find it for under 40, it's quite ok
b) the thermal take big typhoon... again big block... cools quite well cuzz it's big. and this is a cheap one. only 25 bucks pop up here and there at newegg
c) the artic cooler 64... i KNOW this one is good from reviews... word is it's also very cheap (around 30)... i looked at the design and the fans on this sink will probably give problems later on. i don't recommend it.
Conclusion: i recommend the thermal take big typhoon, it's cheap, it's not the biggest dog in the yard, but it's dam near the top... the essential when picking these out is that 1st and foremost it has to fit the socket you're putting it on (775 or 939)... 2nd you need it to be able to hold 120mm fan for the lowest noice production possible, you do not want fan noise when you record.
3) RAM (other wise know as memory)
Intro: ram are getting expensive... they might drop later in the year, but none the less you still need them... atleast 1GB or 2GB...i would go for 2GB
a) if you picked the intel duo core chip then you MUST go with DDR2... 2 GB in dual channel (2 identical stick) rated at PC6400... i can't stress it enough, you can get cheap ram, but these things can be reuse over/over and over again, just dive for the good stuff. it'll last you a while
b) if you picked the AMD single core chip then you MUST go with regular DDR... again 2GB in dual chanel rated at PC4000+... you need the speed to OC these chip..
Conclusion: prices are driving up mad for ram. we're looking at 150 for a pair of DDR and 200+ for DDR2... i would browse anatech forum or those techy forum where those guys don't need ram and willing to sell it under market price. ram are one of the parts you can buy use as long as it's from a reliable source, it's got no moving part. and if it break it won't work... there's no in between with RAM.
PSU: (other wise known as power supply)
Intro: well it converts your hosue electric to DC to use in the computer
a) the cheap route is the 600W ultra... you can get this for 20 after rebate. it's not known in the PSU community as a "great" performer. but ultra makes alot of computer component. they're ok. the PSU is modular (if you dont' know what it is, do a search for it, basically you can plug in only the cables you use, leaving the case less clutter with cables)... this thing is pretty beefy. and for 20 bucks i don't think there's any other one in the price range that will beat it.
b) expensive route is the more reliable purchase... 500W+ from brand name like antec, OCZ, fortron, sparkle, silverstone ect... these goes from 80+ to 150+... and YES they are more reilable that the ultra
Conclusion: people always talk about the reliability of PSU because if that unit go crazy, your computer is gone with it. it's not the Watts rating that's impressive when looking at these. it's the brand... that's all it matters. I would recommend the ultra for cheapness and decent performance. VS the top dog for about 5 times the money
Video card:
Intro: ask yourself, do you wanna play games?
a) you DO want to play games... well that calls for a beefy video card...right now the X950 or the 7800 is toping out. these goes for quite a bit, you can always step down from that and go with
the X850 or 6800... in any rate. go to tom hardware (search at good)... the site has a VGA (graphic card performance) chart, that will tell you the model and it's performance in tests. then head over to newegg and check out the price, see which one is right for you.
b) you dont' game? eh, just grab the cheapest PCI-E you can find. about 128MB or 256MB will do. ANYTHING as cheap as possible... i recommend the 6600GT lol, it's cheap, u can get it for about 60 bucks as gamer upgrades their rigs. that's a really good card, i bet u can stil play alot of games with that thing.
conclusion: you're recording, nothing from the graphic card matters much, with the exception of onboard graphic (included graphic card in the mother board) it sucks CPU power, and u might take a performance hit when you are putting on filters/effect.
HDD (harddrive)
Intro: this is where u store your stuff (data, music, vid)... my favorite set up is gonna be 2 drives + so do read this part carefully. pretty much all drives are gonna be in ATA (or known as IDE) or SATA format.
a) Primary drive:
i) Raptor 74GB or 150GB... the reason for this drive as primary is that it's FAST... very fast loading time, SATA format, the FASTEST consumer drive besides SCSI drives. But they're expensive... about 200+ for the 150GB version. i did not list the 36GB version because that thing has less cache than these 2. as for the price right now, i'll go with the new version of the 74GB that has 16MB of cache... again they're expensive but you'll really feel the snappy action from these. also notice they're quite loud spinning at 10K RPM
ii) Seagate Perpendicular drive 320GB or 400GB... SATA drive. these are the FASTEST drive for consumer right after the raptors. new tech... 7200RPM so they are quieter. i would recommend this one as it's giving you more storage for less. the 400GB version goes for 100 bucks
iii) Seagate Perpendicular drive 320GB or 400GB... ATA drive.. same as above. the only advantage it has is that it's an ATA drive. and i'll discuss why in the conclusion. this is my absolute favorite pick for primary drive.
b) Secondary drive (and after) there's only 1 drive i would recommend in this
i) Seagate Perpendicular drive 320GB or 400GB... SATA drive no IDE... MUST be SATA.. recommeding 4 X 400 for a total 2TB system
Conclusion: the reason for IDE drive as the primary drive is because of the difficulties installing window on an SATA drive you need a floppy drive OR a sliptream version of window. This is neither hard or time consuming, but it's a pain in the ass.. and you got to do this EVERY time you install window in a drive. with the IDE drive none of this is gonna happen. Window Vista might fixed the problem already, but FOR now, i recommend IDE drives for window drive. And the reason i recommend SATA drive as secondary drives is because since you already got into window, the drive isn't an issue as much as point and click click... boom everything will work, SATA drive at this point gives better air flow in the case, no need to set pins.. ect... much better than ATA drives.
Sound card:
intro: for the recording system, the sound card is essential... there's quite a few that's been recommending on the forum, but like I stated before, i don't know crap about recording and have only had a few sound cards... so i'm gonna say what i think is most appropriate some basic understand
DAC = digital to analog coverter = your output to speakers
ADC = analog to digital converter = your input to record (probably more important for recording cards)
SNR = (signal to noise ratio).. this is the rating system for the DAC and ADC.. the higher the better... All card will have these ratings, the more expensive will mostly carries higher rating
Most of these cards will be in USB/Firewire/PCI format
USB = enough says, usb, i don't like it, slow transfer (but don't matter much when you're doing freaking sounds lol...)
Firewire = same as USB, a bit more stable
PCI = fastest bus on these flatform, the normal recommendation is that if you're working with alot of tracks at the same time, then this is a better flatform because it's got the highest data transfer rate. other that that the USB/Firewire is recommended.
a) the famouse M-audio 2496 and the 192 (PCI)... these are essentially identical card with the 192 being a little more expensive, and their plugs for input/output is slightly different. note that the 192 is balanced an the 2496 is not. doesn't make a big difference though. These however have no built in preamp. so you NEED a mic preamp to get this thing to work properly... they run from 100-120.. the 2496 can be have for 90 at musician friends.
113dB input and 108dB output
b)
E-MU 0404 USB 2.0 Recording Interface... no idea, i'm gonna assum that it's the 0404 in USB flatform A/D: 112dB, D/A: 117dB 200 bucks. enough says lol
c) E-MU 0404 PCI 100 bucks. same as the one above, amazingly the rating is slightly different 111dB (A/D) and 116dB (D/A) (1db lower lol)
d) M-Audio FireWire 410 300 bucks, firewire.. never used before but the rating is this D/A 101.5 dB, A/D 99.6 dB (lower than the E-MU 0404)
e) M-Audio Delta 44 D/A 103 dB, A/D 99 dB 150 they do come with a break out box...
f) M-Audio Fast Track USB D/A 100 dB, A/D 100 dB crappy USB interface, only 100 bucks though
g) Creative Audigy 4 Pro... by this time i'm already hearing WTF this dude talking about? a creative recording card? YES... here's the rating
CS4398 (DAC) (120db) <<< same one in the E-MU 1820 and
the E-MU 1616M
TI/BB PCM1804 (ADC) (112db) <<<< same one on the EMU 0404
plus this thing has a break out box and the cost? 90 bucks lol.
Conclusion: as you can see there's quite a variety, USB/Firewire flatform are more expensive, personally I like PCI even though i don't need the higher speed, but they are cheaper. and some of these PCI cards comes with breakout box, so it's not like it'll be a big hassel to plug stuff in. As i do stated, the 2496 is very very good, it's got a wooping 113dB input and 108dB output for only 90 bucks. that's the best price/performance ratio among all those cards except for the audigy 4 pro. my favorite pick for price/performance ratio is the audigy 4 pro. I have one... it's kicks butt.
Case:
Intro: what you gonna house the whole dang thing in, for recording purpose. i will only recommend 1 case. the AntecP180.. in the "quiet" case categories, this one beats out everyone in style/function and price. it's 90 bucks
a) antecP180 <<< as describe above
I'll update this as more info comes, comments are welcome as well as suggestion. i don't know everything, and this might be of help to people who does not know what parts to pick for their new computers.
And a better box to boot!
