What computer to buy-I will buy you all lunch

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Walter Tore

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I am going all the way on the computer recording idea. My wife and I currently share a 3 1/2 year old HP Pavilion, and I am going to get my own computer, whose main job will be music recording.
I record solo and with my band. We are a simple outfit, that records in the old school style, live, with a few mics strategically placed in the room, no overdubs, or add any effects, other than a little reverb and or delay. I don't need a lot of horsepower that a lot of todays music demands.
I have just ordered a delta 66 sound card so I can import music from my DAT recorder, which I use to record us at clubs, parties, etc.
My needs are these:

1. computer and software to record/burn cd's/go online
2. cd burner in it
3. monitor (cheapo is fine)
4. keyboard

Here is my recording set up:


Cool Edit 2000(can upgrade to CE pro with a new system. my current is windows 98)
Delta 44 66 soundcard
Yamaha MG10/2 mixing board
Behringer Virtualizer Pro - for reverb
AT 3035 condensor mic
MXL V57 condensor mic
Core Sounds binauarl mic


I live in a pretty big city that has Gateway, circut city, best buy, etc. Is it wise to buy one from these guys/on line/a package deal/ put your own together/etc. I am new to all this, and just need a set up that will last me awhile for what I do. Your suggestions are most welcomed. Thanks! Walter

Walter Tore's Spontobeat - 1 million songs and growing

http://www.spontobeat.com/
 
Walter
The single most important part of your new computer is the motherboard.
Someone else posted a link to the best ranked motherboards http://www.motherboards.org/rank/Intel/total/motherboard-rank.html

Personally I would go for the Asus P4P800. This will take a hyperthreading Pentium 4, it's got dual channel ram and an 800Mhz front side bus.

After that just make sure you get a decent 120GB hard drive (or 2 if you can afford them) with 8MB cache, at least 512MB of ram and pick your own dvd/cd burner.

A 17" lcd monitor would round off your system nicely
 
Walter, I suggest you take a peek at www.tigerdirect.com before you do anything.

This place has alot of cheap prices, and carries damn near anything you'd ever need.

I've purchased from them, almost everything in or with my computer, and I can say everything came as said, and I've never had a problem with the equipment I purchased, this being almost 2 years ago.
 
from a TRAINED engineer

this will give you plenty. DONt spend big on motherboards BECAUSE the technology speed wise is changing with more aggressive computer architectures downstream.
499 bucks
amd 2500+ processor, 512 ddr ram, 2 * ata fast hard drives 7200 rpm. and all the usual junk. get magix audio studio or powertracks or n track or read my other posts on the bbs etc.
total daw cost - less than 600 bucks for 48 tracks. or more.
by the way i'm a trained computer engineer, and i dont mean a kid down the block thats build a few clones for friemds in his basement.
 
some other tips

1. go with more power supply than you need.
be carefull some people skimp on this and it can cause problems.
2. make sure DMA is enabled on HD's. audio needs this.
3. your fine with 98. save the money. most sound cards work fine with it. because sound card vendors KNOW the largest installed base is 98/95.
just make sure before that the sound card works under 98.
4. DONT get HUGE hard drives. if you can two smaller fast hard drives is plenty anyway. RATIONALE. the OS can spend time so ive heard from other techs maintaing where everything is located ie: files/data etc. think of a stack of pointers. bigger harddrive = more pointers for the OS to search through.
5. RATIONALE for amd. audio NEEDS high speed floating point
processing capabilities. AMD processors are very good at floating point. do a timed test in CE2000 on batch noise reducing
a number of files using AMD and INTEL. and you will see what i mean. do a timing study. the AMD processors are very cheap on the performance you get. versus cost. any horror stories you hear are because people do bad configuring jobs on their systems. amd/or load up their systems with games and junk
and loads of dll's and drivers for things like scanners, and other stuff. KEEP YOUR DAW for audio ONLY.
 
Thanks for all the information guys! Since I am new to this stuff, I would ideally like to buy one ready to go. Putting one together, like a Frankenstien monster, scares me too much. I am a player, not a tech. My skills in this area are non existent. Do any of you have a in the box, ready to go suggestion? Or better yet, since you guys already know how to do this stuff, can anyone here put one together for me? If so, you can contact me on my email glosh@ap.net, and we can discuss the price. Thanks so much! Walter

just added this

PS: My wife just reminded me she has a guy who works on our computer, and who builds them for customers. I will call him and see if he can put together one of the packages you guys described here. I am sure he will understand your suggestions much better than I will, and he is local.
 
For a ready to go solution, in my experience you can't beat a Gateway. I've owned four Gateways the past 6 years or so and when I got my computer recording setup up and running, it was pretty much plug and play.

Just don't use the Gateway soundcard. They all ship with Soundblasters of some sort. Shell out some cash for a decent soundcard/interface.

This is just my personal experience with Gateway. I haven't used any other systems but when I installed Cubase SX and my Firewire 410 no adjustments were needed and I was recording audio tracks within five minutes.

Get some other Gateway opinions though, I may have just been extremely lucky. I'm off to work now but I can post the exact system specs later from there.
 
be aware that once you open up the box and install your new soundcard you will lose the warranty on your pre-built computer. i would get parts and learn how to do it, or maybe if you find a parts place lots of them will assemble for like 30 quid which is still cheaper than buying off the shelf.
 
Any of these any good?

I am very appreciative of all the support and enthusiasm given to me to build my own computer. The problem is my head hard drive is about overloaded with learning to record right now, and this local guy who builds computers may be too expensive. I checked tiger direct and pulled this page up. Are any of these good for my needs? Remember, I am a simple player/recorder, with no plans to get fancy. Will the Delta 66 fit? Thanks again! Walter


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ck_slc.asp?CatId=6&category=Desktop Computers

this one seems to fit a lot of the specs you guys gave(as far as I can tell. I need a monitor too. I see you can customize your order. Any suggestions (if this computer is worth it for me)?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=572475&Sku=SYX-XP-036044 S
 
walter

if it were me i would possibly consider the systemax solution.
but there is no info on the motherboard. you need to check whether the sound card you choose works well with this systems motherboard. i think possibly by using a used monitor and dropping the dvd/rw you could find an athlon system around 499.
 
Re: walter

manning1 said:
if it were me i would possibly consider the systemax solution.
but there is no info on the motherboard. you need to check whether the sound card you choose works well with this systems motherboard.
Click to expand...

Any idea how to do that? It says it is a Biostart Nforce2 .
You have been very patient and kind to me. Thanks! Walter

website for Biostar. I couldn't figure it out.

http://www.biostar.com.tw/
 
Last edited:
Hi,
Ive been doing alot of research myself, goodluck! If I come across something I'll let ya know.

One tip I can give you.. Do your price search via froogle.com, or newegg.com. Ive gotten better (cheaper prices) results from those than the above mentioned tigerdirect.com

Oh yeah, on froogle.com you can click on a link (left side of webpage) that will bring your item up starting with the lowest prices first!
Hope this helps in your search a bit.
 
Maybe you should go with manning1 on this one..

"499 bucks
amd 2500+ processor, 512 ddr ram, 2 * ata fast hard drives 7200 rpm. and all the usual junk. get magix audio studio or powertracks or n track or read my other posts on the bbs etc.
total daw cost - less than 600 bucks for 48 tracks. or more."


Heres the trick! Call around to different computer shops, tell them you already have all the above parts. Let them know YOU could put it together yourself, but you just dont have the time. Ask them if you could drop it by their place for a couple of days, and pick it up once you get the time... Then ask how much it will cost...ya never know...maybe thell do it for $100...maybe a little less, maybe a little more.
Ya might catch someone when they are slow, or someone that will figure all what the hell, I'll just put it together in my spare time..
Its worth a shot, and this way you avoid the mark up on the parts!
 
Last edited:
IMHO

Build it.I agree Asus P4P800 nice,Tigerdirect too

You can get so much more that way.

Consider

nf72 as low as $65
2x256 corsair 140
2800+ barton 100
maxtor 40gb 7200/8mb/ata133 $40
an old floppy
a cheap 20 dollar case and an over powered psu 60
cd drive 40
440 bucks
www.newegg.com
 
walter

if it IS a biostar motherboard in that systemax then contact
the maker of the sound card - maudio in thiscase - and ask them.
i was surfung the internet and found barebones kits minus drives
around 212 bucks.
frankly i like bullyhills pricing in last post.

walter its all chance. i put a system together for myself
and it works perfect , someone else even experienced and it screws up.
one rule of computers. anything can go wrong.
no guarantees - its life !!
but at some point walter you dive in like the rest of us,
and after some tweaking get something that works.
 
Re: some other tips

3. your fine with 98. save the money. most sound cards work fine with it. because sound card vendors KNOW the largest installed base is 98/95.
just make sure before that the sound card works under 98.
4. DONT get HUGE hard drives. if you can two smaller fast hard drives is plenty anyway. RATIONALE. the OS can spend time so ive heard from other techs maintaing where everything is located ie: files/data etc. think of a stack of pointers. bigger harddrive = more pointers for the OS to search through.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I would avoid Win98 if I were you. It has been EOL'd by Microsoft (no support of any kind). The installed base may still be in the Win9x/ME realm, but new hardware and future hardware may or may not work properly under these OSes.

Plus, the above stated performance problem is something that is specifically limited to the way that FAT32 stores file table information. If you had Win2K or XP (XP preferably, and especially if you're buying an OS anyway) it's a non-issue (presuming, of course, that you use NTFS when you install).

Lastly, $140 is WAY too much for only 512MB of RAM. You can get two 512MB DIMMs (1GB total) for $154 from NewEgg. And yes, this is also Corsair memory so no cheap junk.
 
manning1 Is correct, it may not be a glitch free build. I'd give you some tips if needed with setup.

I agree with Marquis and 98 support, you could upgrade for a 100 if you have 98 to xp home or download a free OS though compatibility issues may arise.(linux)

I don't however agree with his statement regarding memory. 140 is not a lot for the fastest memory on the planet, sounds like an ad or something, OCZ hass some fast mods also. Cheap memory sucks and may cause problems Take a look at ( I hate to quote others so I'll just say) the others here that recomend good quality mem mods, e.g even some of the moderators here suggesting crucial,micron etc.... Geil is a little cheaper, there high end stuff is good.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...145-451&catalog=147&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

I'm sorry I meant 115 dollars for memory and misread Marquis post but will leave the above to stress the importance of memory second to mobo
I'd like a link for that corsair 2x512 sticks from ...well anywhere?
Maybe you wern't considering the fsb frequency but you should get pc3200 the barton core easily handles it mine is at 415mhz with 6/2/2/2/1t tight setting. Also if AMD is your choice, which I will not say is better or worse then Intel, you will want to use it in dual ch mod slot 1/3. If the memory is not matched(twinx) they won't stand behind it's functionality.

Marquis send me that link I'll buy it if it'll run dual ch.
 
marquis

marquis. sorry but i dont agree about the end of 98.
yes ms will drop support. however its good for quite a few years yet. ive worked for three computer companies in my life.
and i KNOW ONE THING. vendors TARGET INSTALLED BASE.
and the biggest installed base is 98/95. if your a soundcard
manufacturer believe me, or any other vendor your not going to ignore such a huge market of millions and millions. XP IS A GOOD OS. BUT theres lots of life in the older OS yet. if support is dropped , guranteed other players will step in to fill the breach. anyway strategically it might be a good idea to stay 98 now with PROVEN DRIVERS then wait
for XP's successor longhorn to shake out and be nice and stable then buy that. one reason i stayed away from XP, marquis in the early stages was a new OS always takes time to shake down and new sound card and other peripherals driver versions sometimes lag a new OS introduction.
in summary - always lag the technology curve with proven solutions and let the other guy get arrows in the back.
 
Bulls Hit said:
Walter
The single most important part of your new computer is the motherboard.
Someone else posted a link to the best ranked motherboards http://www.motherboards.org/rank/Intel/total/motherboard-rank.html

Personally I would go for the Asus P4P800. This will take a hyperthreading Pentium 4, it's got dual channel ram and an 800Mhz front side bus.

After that just make sure you get a decent 120GB hard drive (or 2 if you can afford them) with 8MB cache, at least 512MB of ram and pick your own dvd/cd burner.

A 17" lcd monitor would round off your system nicely
Click to expand...

Well this advice is from a 15 year PC technician veteran who now helps administer one of the biggest WAN's in the country....

Get the MSI 875P Neo - FIS2R.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=434

I have been been impressed with MSI for about 3 years now. When I worked in a super busy shop here in southern california, we built many systems with MSI, ASUS, Tyan, Shuttle, Intel, and other boards. I built 25 - 50 of these systems per week, and repaired all makes and models. Of all the boards we sent out, in 2 years time, I never had one MSI board come back for RMA. On the other hand I had COUNTLESS Tyan and Asus boards returned for warranty. This is HUGE in the computer industry. If the board does not die within warranty time, it usually will last years. The 875P Neo board has the following configuration.

Intel 875 chipset.
Support for this hardware:
800MHz front side bus
AGP 8X
Dual channel DDR400
Onboard Serial ATA RAID (Serial ATA hauls ass)
Intel Pro 1000 NIC
Supports P4 X.XGHz C(Hyperthreading) CPU

I installed this board with 2.6C, and 512MB PC400 DDR. The parts cost under $500, and This system screams. Hands down, this is the fastest system I have seen thus far. When I install the SATA drives and get the second DDR channel stick I am sure it will make my head spin.

I don't know much about MAC, and I know they are industry standard, but take it from me. PC products are far far cheaper, More versitile, and most importantly, more upgradable. At least with PC, when a faster CPU comes out you can replace the part and not the whole damn system.

My configuration is the PC above, Tascam US-122, Presona Tube Pre, using Nuendo 2.01 for the DAW software. I am 300% satisfied.

Hope this helps!!!
 
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