Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 I need a new computer. At first I was considering a laptop, but I think I'd get way more for my money just getting another desktop. I don't want to go overboard here though. I just want some help picking out how fast of a processor I should be looking for and how much ram I'll need.... should I use vista or XP? I will use the computer for other things too, but I won't bog it down with a bunch of unnecessary things. It's main functional use will be for recording. What's the least amount of $$$ I can realistically hope to spend to get a pretty good desktop pc for recording? Again, at first I was looking at using a laptop.... but I could get a much more powerful pc for a lot less money, so that's probably the way I should go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalfanat1c Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Well I use a Dell and my bands' producers use Dells as well, fwiw. I got an Inspiron 531s for $799 with a 2.10 ghz athlon x2 64, 2gb ram, 250 gb hdd (you'll probably want more) a good dx10 video card, and onboard sound (24 bit 192khz, also plenty low latency for recording) Probably the best PC purchase I've ever made. Hope this helps ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Well I use a Dell and my bands' producers use Dells as well, fwiw. I got an Inspiron 531s for $799 with a 2.10 ghz athlon x2 64, 2gb ram, 250 gb hdd (you'll probably want more) a good dx10 video card, and onboard sound (24 bit 192khz, also plenty low latency for recording) Probably the best PC purchase I've ever made.Hope this helps ya. That sounds pretty damn good for only $800. I haven't really looked at specs of new desktops in a while. I guess I won't have to spend all that much money, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BerkleeBill Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 For recording, avoid Vista and config the OS with XP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeracuda Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Check out a Mac Mini. They're about $650 and if your using it for "music only" it can be a pretty powerful tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalfanat1c Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 That sounds pretty damn good for only $800. I haven't really looked at specs of new desktops in a while. I guess I won't have to spend all that much money, eh?Yeah, I forgot to mention the video card's name... it's an ATI Radeon HD2400 PRO... 256 mb DX10 capable.PCs are getting cheap, my friend. Snag one up before gas prices affect them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TOOL_5150 Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 You can get really good HP computers with XP on em [Pro, not home!] on ebay for under $450 brand new in the box.I bought a pair of awesome computers for some customers and I was really impressed at how fast they were. Check out ebay- make sure they say they are NEW and check their feedback, and if you pay by paypal - youre covered! ~Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 What about hard drive here? Should I look for a separate external hard drive or will internal be okay? what kind of disc speeds should I be looking at for low latency? By the way, I want this to be capable of full music production.... lots and lots of simultaneous channels... I know I will have to get a DAW as well, but I want to make sure the PC is up to the task before I start looking at which DAW to get... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Building your own will get way more for your money. I configured a computer the other day from a friend that would cost 1200 from Dell that costs 800 from NewEgg, 0 price shopping on the components. I'd run XP-- it'll have long term support because of the slow uptake of Vista, still has more sophisticated drivers at the moment, you can always upgrade, and it is less resource intensive which is good for a recording computer. For recording, I'd go 4GB of RAM and an Intel dual core processor with the 4MB of L2 cache. Video card will matter only in that it exists, really, so I'd go for something like an 8600GT if you're buying new, but you can certainly get an older card like a 6800GT and be more than fine and save a ton of money that way. I wouldn't worry TOO much about harddrive latency-- in a year if it's an issue the price of SSD should come down far enough that you can throw in a 16-32GB drive for lower latency for the current files being worked on, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 For recording, avoid Vista and config the OS with XP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CaViTaTioN Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 don't.get.vista. while overall its not as bad as everyone says it is; I have found no luck finding the hardware and software compatibility that I had hoped for; even though Vista has been out for a while. there are things that work; but xp compatibility is WAY more prevalent. trust me. I have been on this recording quest for a bit now and I finally just wiped the Vista and went with XP. now I can get on with recording and stop sifting thru spec sheets on sweetwater and musiciansfriend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Building your own will get way more for your money. I configured a computer the other day from a friend that would cost 1200 from Dell that costs 800 from NewEgg, 0 price shopping on the components.I'd run XP-- it'll have long term support because of the slow uptake of Vista, still has more sophisticated drivers at the moment, you can always upgrade, and it is less resource intensive which is good for a recording computer.For recording, I'd go 4GB of RAM and an Intel dual core processor with the 4MB of L2 cache. Video card will matter only in that it exists, really, so I'd go for something like an 8600GT if you're buying new, but you can certainly get an older card like a 6800GT and be more than fine and save a ton of money that way.I wouldn't worry TOO much about harddrive latency-- in a year if it's an issue the price of SSD should come down far enough that you can throw in a 16-32GB drive for lower latency for the current files being worked on, etc. Can you help me price something out really nice on newegg? I'm willing to spend in the $750-$1100 range. Seems like I could get quite a lot for that much money... more than I expected to.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Can you help me price something out really nice on newegg? I'm willing to spend in the $750-$1100 range. Seems like I could get quite a lot for that much money... more than I expected to.... Yeah I definitely can. Maybe I even have the 800 dollar PC saved and I can make a couple of changes I would have made to go to 1k. Let me check it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 What about hard drive here? Should I look for a separate external hard drive or will internal be okay? what kind of disc speeds should I be looking at for low latency? By the way, I want this to be capable of full music production.... lots and lots of simultaneous channels... I know I will have to get a DAW as well, but I want to make sure the PC is up to the task before I start looking at which DAW to get... I think SATA is the way to go , very fast , you want at least 2 maybe 3 hard drives , 1 for the system , 1 to write music to as it records and the 3rd is for storage . Stuff is cheap these days but the good software is not . I use Cubase 4 , Ez drummer , Wavelabs , sound forge , cd architect , Pro disc defrag , etc.etc.The money is also in the converters , RME , Lynx , cost $ but sound quality goes up . Also with 2D stuff like mixer windows and such , you don't need a video gammer card , rather a good card for 2D stuff , high res. card that doesn't tax the system , like Matrox p650 , dual monitor w DVI , roughly 200 bucks , also the newfangled computers are PCIe and may only have 3 or 4 slots for cards , and if you went with a video card , and audio card leaves room for few additions . I myself use a older system , with a Intel 2.8ghz p4 , and it's a real workhorse , heres my system . Gigabyte GA8GE667pro motherboard, 2.8 ghz Intel p4, 2 gb ram , Lynx L22 , Matrox P650 , UAD-1 x 1 , C4v. 4.1 , Xp Home sp2 .I run 30 + tracks at 4ms. latency and very low processor usage . This system is rock solid and a serious music machine , also XP likes to be tweaked and this means taking it off line , turning off everything it doesn't need like eyecandy , virus protection , anything that runs in the background So old machines kick ass too . Lastly back to the convertors , there will be a million opinions about interfaces , I use the Lynx but this is only 2 XLR in , I could hook up a mixer if I needed too but would need to submix , if you need more than 2 inputs at a time then get ready for a tough choice on interfaces . But I say go big with RME or Lynx . than look at MAudio Whatever you invest , it's worth it just don't buy junk , and blue printout the machine if at all possible . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lndianScout Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 agreed, avoid vista, I dual boot both vista and xp and vista is just a pain in the ass.. also make sure you get a good sound card creative or m-audio, onboard sound is crap for most recording or guitar rig type programs also any extra ram you can afford to stick in it, do it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Here is what I would do. This is $958, and still short a sound card. You may also want a non-stock CPU fan (30-50 bucks) and potentially will want to fill out the fan slots or buy better fans for the case. Sound card is a huge choice on a recording PC and I default to people more serious about that kind of thing to tell you what to get. Again, straight Newegg, no price comparisons really. You could get a cheaper video card by going used and older, but this is open box, new, pretty good, and not that expensive. Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price1 LITE-ON 20X DVD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 I normally don't suggest that people buy cases that come with power supplies and recommend a separate, better power supply, but that'll also up the price a bit more and we're already peaking at your range at the moment. It is something to keep in mind, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Man, I just found this company AvaDirect and their PC's look AWESOME. What do you guys think of the first two on this page? http://www.avadirect.com/Desktop_Systems/High-Performance_Workstations Specs look blazingly fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mavesicles Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Man, I just found this company AvaDirect and their PC's look AWESOME. What do you guys think of the first two on this page? http://www.avadirect.com/Desktop_Systems/High-Performance_WorkstationsSpecs look blazingly fast Get a Dell, they come with Quad Core now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kyle DiSanto Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 First figure out what program you will be using, then look into CPUS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 First figure out what program you will be using, then look into CPUS Probably Nuendo, but I'm not sure yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=9445 I'm thinking about pricing out a system here instead of newegg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 Probably Nuendo, but I'm not sure yet...Nuendo , is really geared towards post production these days and it's $$$$$$ , go Cubase 4 for multi-tracking audio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted February 10, 2008 Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=9445I'm thinking about pricing out a system here instead of newegg... It's still more expensive from less looking at their base configurations, from what I can tell, but feel free. There are a lot of similar services out there, typically 150-200 dollars mark up for assembly. Sometimes you can't pick the best components this way, sometimes you can. There are a reasonable amount of options on that site, I haven't looked into detail, but my advice is always build your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoshuaLogan Posted February 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107503 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107516 These two look awesome too... can get them for about $1000 somewhere else.... seems like a good deal for everything it comes with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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