Members Rollo10AD Posted January 4, 2007 Members Share Posted January 4, 2007 I am about to get a start-up computer-based DAW system ($1000 - $1500), and want to choose the right computer, which I will use SOLELY as a dedicated music machine, for the job. Is there a "best" CPU for computer recording? There are so many different processors out there these days, it's confusing to say the least. I don't want to spend more than $500 - $700 for the computer, if I can help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hush Posted January 4, 2007 Members Share Posted January 4, 2007 I think currently the best bang for the buck is the core 2 duo. Check out the e6400 2.13ghz. Not the fastest one out there but good price/performance. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rlindsey0 Posted January 4, 2007 Members Share Posted January 4, 2007 It would probably be to your advantage to optimize the computer for recording as much as you can, and to that end, you may want to consider buying from a place that specializes in setting up computers for audio, rather than Best Buy or whoever. It probably would cost a bit more but might save you some time and trouble. It's not that these computer audio specialists do stuff that's totally impossible for you or an adept friend to do, but a good one will have a lot of experience with helping people achieve the goals you want to achieve. If you go this route, you don't have to go through the optimization routine yourself (though who knows, you might enjoy it!), and you increase your chances of getting something that works the way you want it to right from the start. I'm not saying you're screwed if you don't going this route. I'm just saying it can ease things along if you don't feel like getting under the hood and doing the tinkering yourself. A place I've done business with and could recommend is www.dawbox.com. But there are a number of others, and I couldn't say which is the best. From what I've heard, the Core 2 Duo is probably the "best" processor overall, but you could still do a whole lot of stuff with systems based on other processors. Mine is AMD-based, and I haven't come close to stressing it out yet. You don't always need to get the best if what you get is more than good enough for what you need it for. But Core 2 Duo systems seem to be pretty well priced these days, so why not go for that? But keep in mind that your actual real-world performance will be strongly influenced by non-processor factors as well, such as RAM, Windows configuration, and using a separate dedicated HDD to record audio files (very strongly recommended). Another place I've heard recommended is this one: http://www.samplebytes.com/ though I have no personal experience with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted January 7, 2007 Members Share Posted January 7, 2007 we build ours with intel mobo/chipsets as they have the least compatiblity issues over AMD and nforce chipsets. there are a lot of parts to consider which consume a lot of our time looking into and testing so be prepared for a big pond to swim in if you build y our own. getting a dell [or whatever] is worse however [DEFINATELY NOT a compaq/hp who literally need to DIE]. you can build a pretty solid machine for $1000-$1500 in parts plus a lot of your time researching them and building the machine and then tweaking it [although that is getting less necessary now, you should see what i am tormenting my machine with now testing out what it can handle... i have audio, video, and design apps all loaded up, plus internet and gaming... and have run it all at once] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members venkiee Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 Rollo10AD, Take a look at this thread..My configuration is there in RED...If you like you can try this... http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1500544 The Price is USD 1700 with 2x17" Acer LCD's in addition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rollo10AD Posted January 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 Wow, thanx for the responses, guys! Venkiee, thanks for the link, that's amazing we're both trying to build a DAW studio at the same time. It should be very helpful bouncing ideas off one another here. I'm curious why you specify "w/o internet connections"--how are you going to upgrade your software? I recently called an old friend who just happens to have his own business building PCs. When I get the specs together, I'm going to have him go ahead and build me a dedicated music computer. Workin' on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I'm curious why you specify "w/o internet connections"--how are you going to upgrade your software? Sneakernet. I don't have any of my studio computers on the internet. If I need to do a software update, I download it on one of my internet machines, virus scan it, stick it on a thumb drive and carry it to the studio... where I scan it again (can't be too careful - that's why they're offline ) and then install it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members venkiee Posted January 14, 2007 Members Share Posted January 14, 2007 Wow, thanx for the responses, guys! Venkiee, thanks for the link, that's amazing we're both trying to build a DAW studio at the same time. It should be very helpful bouncing ideas off one another here. I'm curious why you specify "w/o internet connections"--how are you going to upgrade your software? Workin' on it... Ok..The point is it is required if you need to update the windows OS. This can be even done offline too. The reason for not hooking up to the internet is the vulnerability of virus & worm attack.... Then the Internet will eat up some of your memory (I was told) and the bandwidth of your processor... I have a laptop to do this ..hence keep the audio pc out of internet was a better solution as per my own view... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rollo10AD Posted January 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2007 Thank you, Phil and Venkiee. I'm learning, slow but sure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members venkiee Posted January 15, 2007 Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 Also to mention, if you have an internet connection on your audio pc, you must have an antivirus protection also along with firewall on. So, this will eat up the RAM and bandwidth. I have seen in most of the audio forums advise to deactivate the antivirus while recording...Why to take all this risk.. It's better to keep the PC away from the internet.. Am I right ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rollo10AD Posted January 15, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 Yes, that does sound right. I will certainly keep that in mind! No internet for my new audio pc! You guys have convinced me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members venkiee Posted January 15, 2007 Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 Rock n ROLL man !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members numrologst Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 amd x2 or opteron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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