The right computer setup.

[99teeth]

I'm going to get Nuendo some time in the next month or so and I've seen all sorts of various computer setups for running a studio to take advantage of that kind of powerful software. My studio will be a home studio that will start to evolve with regards to the outboard gear over time (as will my own nous hopefully) but I want to get a good PC hardware setup to get the ball rolling.

I know there are some other questions similar to this one on the board but I haven't found one (that's readily understandable at least) on the several boards I've looked at that gives a full 'newbie friendly' understanding of this 'first cab off the rank' so to speak and it would no doubt help a lot of people taking the plunge besides just myself.

I'd like experienced users to give a setup that will no doubt be influenced by their own system but pretending that they are starting from scratch, so correct anything in hindsight that you think might've been done better and add anything that's come along since that you think would be good stuff and please briefly explain (or provide links to explain) the reasons for various components of the setup like 'dual RAM' or separate hard drives for the operating system and the virtual studio etc.

Also I'm thinking if a few people respond then please take budget into account and give a few options on hardware (or alternate ways to set up) that creates some financial bandwidth without sacrificing too much class.

One more thing, please at least expand all acronyms (and even explain or give a link if you think it would be helpful) and treat all other computer jargon in the same way. That way if this post does nothing else for anyone but myself it will still be an excellent glossary (of sorts) of computer language which I'm finding personally creates a wall to my appreciating a lot of what I'm reading on this board and others and I'm sure that there are plenty of home studio guys starting out out there in the same boat.

I think this is a good idea. Here's hoping.

 

[BrettB]

I'm plann,ing to buiy a new PC next week and after a lot of searching on the net and among friends I made following setup:

Asus A7N8X with nForce Shipset
AMD 3200+ with Barton
512 Mb Ram Corsair
2 Western Digital harddisks
DVD writer Lite-On


The MAD 64 processorsd are a bit stronger, but cost way more. This setup will be used with Pro Tools, that's also why I don't use a P4, because PTLE doesn't support Hyper Threading.

I would suggest: don't go under 512 Ram and use a seperate HD for your audio!

 

[ocnor]

If you could give a ballpark figure as to your budget it would be quite a bit better than listing components that you can't afford.

 

[apl]

Check out these guys. They're tight with Nuendo. They have a bargain and clearance page, and can even send you a PC kit if you want to put it together yourself.

 

[minofifa]

hey teeth

i am thinknig along the same lines as ocnar about your budget and how much experience you have with homerecording. I'm not trying to be rude at all but it sounds like you are just getting into the world of computer based recording. Nuendo is a pretty sick program to start out with, it may be to compicated and or expensive for your needs right now. If you are set on getting it, it is a soid piece of software for sure. Keep in mind that you will need a good sound card as well. I would suggest:
audiophilie 24/96 (www.midiman.com
delta 1010LT (www.midiman.com)
aardwark q10
motu
e-mu

Those are just a few, as there are many many great soundcards to choose. Do you want to do multitrack recording or just one or two tracks at a time? This will help you determine what kind of sound card you want. Do you have any preamps? If so, you may want to check out the Delta 1010 (that's what i'm gonna get, it's different than the delta 1010LT listed above).

The more info you provide, the bette we can advise.

 

[99teeth]

Thanks for the response guys.

As far as budget goes I'm not really sure at this point but it doesn't really matter I'll find what I need but what's most important to me is understanding what I'm putting together. I'm in Australia so the cost of computer hardware over here is going to be more I'd imagine (and I don't just mean in terms of exchange rates) than say the states which would be the cheapest by far if my shopping online for all the studio stuff is any indication but getting things sent from there is going to take a bit of jumping through hoops from what I've seen with the music gear at least because they wont deliver outside of the states. I've got a bit of checking up with the computer hardware here and overseas as far as costing goes so just give me your list with a few options and comments on the options and I'll take it from there and please remember to expand acronyms as a lot of them I don't know and even a little bit of explaination if you're feeling generous, that'll help heaps.

Yeah I am new to the engineering side of things but I've been around music most of my life. I studied piano as a kid and then went on to study at a conservatorium once with classical piano and then again with jazz and I've always from the start loved composition. I've got a small studio here at home which started back in the early 90's with an Atari STE and C-lab software and I just stayed with that for a long time recording everything as MIDI and going to a local studio and putting it down as audio. I got into the PC side of it pretty late but I eventually got a Pent3 system with 256MB RAM and 1 GHz speed along with a 40GB 7200 HD and added to that an Audigy Platinum soundcard along with all the bottom of the rung Steinberg software that came with the bundle. I wouldn't call my setup anything but completely rudimentary but I'm not totally lost with audio, although there are huge gaps in my understanding. The reason why I'm getting a full on piece of software like Nuendo is because although my engineering knowledge is out there somewhere waiting for me to arrive my composition is at a high level and I could quite easily (in a musical sense at least, the schmooze and business is another matter) do film and TV work and I want software that'll make that attainable. Also I'd like to make the studio generate some money down the track when I get a good handle on using it and having something tasty like Nuendo would be a good way to start the approach to that challenge.

Soundcard choice is leaning towards the E-mu 1820M, I like the idea of having the sampler with it and 'SampleCraze' who gave me his link on 'the rack' section gave it what looks like a thorough workout and passed it with flying colours, although I haven't completely made up my mind, I's originally thinking about an Echo Layla. I might as well tell you what else I'm looking at, for a mic AT4050, for a pre I'm considering splashing out on a Sebatron 2000e, for editing I'm going with Wave lab 5. All these with Nuendo and a decent PC along with my other gear (Proteus 1-XR and a digital piano) should be the bones of something pretty nice I think, although I'm still pretty much in the 'paralysis by analysis' stage and any opinions you have here are most welcome. I'm looking forward to making some definite decisions in the not too distant future.

Thanks again guys, all advice is greatly appreciated.