Help in Building a DAW

[Patre]

I have all the components picked out to build a DAW, but I'm not sure if they're all compatible and will work efficiently with each other. Could anyone please take a look at the specs & see if these will work out? or if I need to make changes?

 

1) AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.8GHz Socket AM2 Processor

2) ASUS M2N-E SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

3) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

4) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

5) Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails

6) CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Desktop Memory

7) CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

 

8) GIGABYTE GeForce 8600GT GV-NX86T256H Video Card

9) SAMSUNG 20X DVD

[ggm1960]

I've always preferred Intel over AMD but that's just personal preference at this point. There was a time, and I can't remember the details now, when AMD was not as well suited for music production. Been a couple years ago though.

[alphajerk]

i prefer intel as well... but AMD is cheaper.

 

why the 3GB RAM vs just getting 4? RAM is so cheap now, i would go with 2x2GB now to expand to 8GB on the Vista move.

 

unless you are going to game on teh machine that video card is WAY overkill... and probably make sure its a passive heatsink.

 

dont know how much that antec case is but nice [all metal] coolermaster cases run @ $50, check the centurion5 case.

[Dylan Walters]

The Core2 Duo (quad, etc) is the best CPU right now, but the AM2 AMD64 X2's are no slouch by any stretch. I have one in my Media Center/Gaming system and it's perfectly fine. If you go with AMD make sure you get a 65 watt CPU. I've built a handfull of these systems and they run damn near silent! I also agree with Alpha to stick with 2GB increments. It doesn't make much sense to max out your 4 RAM slots with different sized modules. Plus, it might make running in dual-channel a bit more complicated to configure. DDR2 800 is the same price as slower DDR2 RAM, so you might as well go for that. You might also want to stick with a non-SATA burner. I installed a SATA burner in on my new system and either the Windows CD or BIOS wouldn't support booting from it, so I had to install an older IDE DVD drive to setup Windows. Finally, unless you plan on gaming on this system, paying the extra price for an SLI board is not worth it.

[alphajerk]

be careful about the 800mhz RAM however as some boards dont play nice with it... especially with nominal voltage.

[elsongs]

 

I've always preferred Intel over AMD but that's just personal preference at this point. There was a time, and I can't remember the details now, when AMD was not as well suited for music production. Been a couple years ago though.

 

 

That was in the late '90s-early '00s, things have changed A LOT since then. Actually the problem was no the AMD processor per se, but the VIA chipsets in the motherboards, which at the time were the only ones that supported the AMD processors.

[Patre]

Thanks Dylan, Alpha, and all for your insight....I'll be using the Gadget Labs 824 card with Sonar 7 and this being my first attempt at building a PC, I'm very appreciative of all the tips you're all providing.

Dylan, regarding the 65 watt CPU.....could you please expand? (I googled the AM2 AMD64 X2's and couldn't find these specs on it). I've made the changes you've reccomended and would appreciate any other tips in building this daw. My main concern is:COMPATIBILITY ...

Thanks again all!!!

Patre