What CPU to go with for new system?

M

Mongoo

New member
Looking to build a new system for around $800. Should I go with AMD or Intel, how fast should I need it to be for simultaneous multi-tracking like 8 tracks +, and handling large VSTi's like Ivory and Orchestra Gold.

While I'm at it, what Hard drives do you recommend for sample libraries like those and for sonar.
 
in a daw i prefer intel some of the amd motherboards give you chipset problems so you have to be careful which choice you make.(waiting for the burning from the amd users:D)
i had one that had problems with my motu 24i/o card
check any hardware you have for chipset problems

that said amd are as cheap as chips at the moment especially the Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 6400+ which you can pick up for £130 ,alot of chip power for little money.

i would have 2 hard drives one for the vst instruments other for the daw and operating system,there is alot of umming and arring if you need 3 the other being audio drive(i use 3 1 for windows+backup projects 2 for projects 3 for vst)

playback of the vst's eats less cpu power than trying to do them live,i get this with bfd triggering it of the pads uses 2 to 3 times as much cpu power as playback

anything above a dualcore 2.4 should handle what you want.when building a system i tend to set my budget to about £150 less than i want to spend choose the components then upgrade some of them with the remaing cash. try building two virtual systems one amd and the other intel and see what you get for your money , after doing that post them with what hardware you are using somebody will proberly have a similer system and let you know if there are any problems , and which is the better system.
 
An Intel Core 2 Duo will fit your budget, perform well and provide you with a good upgrade path. Many Socket 775 boards that run your Core 2 Duo will also support a Core 2 Quad.

Make sure to get at least 2GB of RAM if you're using heavy VSTi's and samples. You'll probably want 1 hard drive for your OS and related files, 1 drive for your audio, and 1 drive for your samples. Opinions vary, but you can't go wrong with Seagate or Western Digital.
 
I also say if you go dual core, go intel core 2 duos. You spend less, to get more performance than the counterpart amd.
 
Not to mention that the new Penryn based C2D's are extremely power efficient due to the new gate material they are using so run very cool (makes for a very quiet machine). Toms hardware had one overclocked to over 4 GHz using air cooling (!), not that I am recommending you do so :D, but it makes the point.

I would go with the Intel P35 chipset (no need for dual 16x for a DAW) with maybe a E6580 (3.0 GHz, 1333 FSB, $279 @ newegg)
 
What About...

would a core 2 duo chip at 2.2ghz with 800mhz front side bus be too slow? It's suppose to be a good value @ $127

I'm putting this together for a friend and trying build him a DAW computer for like $800ish

or what would you do?

$2500 is the max, for everything excluding a crt monitor which he already has and software. Less than $2500 is better.

Here's what he wants. A new computer for recording a minimum of 8 tracks simultaneously to be used for keyboard synths, acoustic violin, grand piano's, and other acoustic instruments. He wants the computer and audio interface to be keepers out of this, and everything else can grow from there. I've recommended he get entry level monitors and a matched pair of entry-mid level SDC as well so he has something in that area.

So given that, for $2500 what would you get him? Needs a Computer (for multi-tracking & large VSTi's), audio interface (8 simultaneous record min) (a control surface would be ideal as well but not necessary) Monitors, and Mic's (at least one mainly for acoustic's piano/violin/room).
 
Mongoo said:
would a core 2 duo chip at 2.2ghz with 800mhz front side bus be too slow? It's suppose to be a good value @ $127

I'm putting this together for a friend and trying build him a DAW computer for like $800ish

or what would you do?

$2500 is the max, for everything excluding a crt monitor which he already has and software. Less than $2500 is better.

Here's what he wants. A new computer for recording a minimum of 8 tracks simultaneously to be used for keyboard synths, acoustic violin, grand piano's, and other acoustic instruments. He wants the computer and audio interface to be keepers out of this, and everything else can grow from there. I've recommended he get entry level monitors and a matched pair of entry-mid level SDC as well so he has something in that area.

So given that, for $2500 what would you get him? Needs a Computer (for multi-tracking & large VSTi's), audio interface (8 simultaneous record min) (a control surface would be ideal as well but not necessary) Monitors, and Mic's (at least one mainly for acoustic's piano/violin/room).
Click to expand...

that processor would work extremely well. just make sure to stick 2gb's of ram in there and yo should be good to go.
 
altitude909 said:
I would go with the Intel P35 chipset (no need for dual 16x for a DAW) with maybe a E6580 (3.0 GHz, 1333 FSB, $279 @ newegg)
Click to expand...

Yeah I'd build a new rig around the P35 chipset. Asus do a budget P5E-VM mobo for $125, onboard video & firewire. Or go larger if you need more slots. Then get an E6750 for $195, couple gig of ram and you good to go.

Also check out Toms for the Intel v AMD cpu shootouts. Pick any test - the Core 2's & quads almost always occupy the top 10 slots
 
I went Intel C2D and haven't looked back.

If your software supports it, and you have money to burn a Quad core would be good too!
They are not nearly such good value though.
 
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