BrainChild

But consider that XP (32bit ver) only allows a maximum of 4g memory total of which only 2g can be allocated to any single app and 600k is reserved for Windows why wouldn't you want to have an OS that can address 64g or more of memory (granted only a few server boards allow that much)? All of the Vista comps I have built run fine on 1g to 2g and the 8g quad extreme I built is an animal.

MS announced they are pulling XP in June so stock up, but remember when everyone moves on to 64 bit you're history.

My FP10, Cubase, and Vista rocks so why would I want to go back to XP?

Using newegg I spent $3200 instead of $7000 on a new quad/8gig/XP64 setup. I would also check out www.tomshardware.com for many answers to lots of questions. If you just want to buy a cheap computer and record then I can say it is hard to beat Dell's low end pricing and reliability. I have ordered about 25 Dells in the last 2 years with zero problems, repairs or failures.

My Media Player rips fast. It may be your drives read rate that is slowing you down.

You can pick up a Computer Shopper from Borders and find the latest crop of low price wholesalers. Different vendors will have better prices on different items so you need to shop around a bit, otherwise Newegg is not a bad place for an overall buy. Try some of these to see if they have what you want.

zipzoomfly.com
frys.com
outpost.com
monarchcomputer.com
tigerdirect.com
mwave.com
pcclub.com
ncix.com
microdirect.com
directron.com
buy.com
pcmall.com
cputopia.com
hitechcafe.com
outletpc.com
axiontech.com
supergooddeal.com
ascoutlet.com
tomshardware.com
cpu.com
techbargains.com
cost.com
microcenter.com
cdw.com

Originally posted by ZKAUdio
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your preference for intel is not a good one in this case, the dual core intels have been outbenchmarked left and right by amd... despite their higher transistor count. that said, whichever you go with, I'd stay away from dual processor setups if you aren't computer saavy. The dual core chips will suit you just fine. Make sure, however, that you don't pay extra for "hyperthreading" as most audio apps don't like it. From my understanding, the dual core is especially effecting with DAW's due to the need for processing power from the plugins and host at the same time... this way each gets its own cache to draw from.
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While there is nothing wrong with AMD you need to stay current on your reading as AMD's have not been keeping up with Intel procs for over 3 months now and probably won't catch them them for another 6 months at best. Intel is on it's 65 nm die now compared to the 90 nm AMD and when AMD's 65 nm hits the market here soon Intel will be printing 45 nm. We are also in the quad core, not dual, world now with 8 cores on the near horizon. Even with all the speed, CPU power is still not that big a deal though. Buss transfer and hard drive speed is the key to high resolution and high track counts.

And for our New Egg proponents they are good but even they aren't the cheapest and I don't buy from them too often.

quote by wooden

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I hopw its around $600

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$549 at MF

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=241880