New PC, what bits?

[ampassasinbirmingham]

im having a pc custom built. here are the specs so far. is there anything else i need or should change and what sound card is most suitable between the £200-£350 marker.

Heres the specs so far

Processor: Intel P4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz fsb
Motherboard: Asus P4B800S
HardDrive: 2 X 80GB SATA
Graphics: Dual Monitor Graphics card(any suggestions)
2 X 19" CRT monitors
Memory: 3 X 512MB PC400

[massplanck]

im having a pc custom built. here are the specs so far. is there anything else i need or should change and what sound card is most suitable between the £200-£350 marker.

Heres the specs so far

Processor: Intel P4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz fsb
Motherboard: Asus P4B800S
HardDrive: 2 X 80GB SATA
Graphics: Dual Monitor Graphics card(any suggestions)
2 X 19" CRT monitors
Memory: 3 X 512MB PC400

Maudio 410 firewire?

[ampassasinbirmingham]

price?

[Stuart]

I'm a MAC man. I don't like using PC's. Maudio definately Billy the new one is the Bomb.

Check out this external sound card. Firewire for speed.

http://www.audiomidi.com/audiostore/images/fw410_front_back.jpg

[massplanck]

price?

well someone I know just paid 500 euros for one so that would be about 300 of your majesties pounds.

[ampassasinbirmingham]

i was thinking m audio, how much is this?

isnt it better to get an internal soundcard?

[massplanck]

i was thinking m audio, how much is this?

isnt it better to get an internal soundcard?

Nope. Its will be a massive cost saving if you every want to play live. Just rob a laptop from someone and plug it into that.

[Antinoise]

Thoughts:

-First of all it all comes down to budget....

Video Card: Matrox line of cards are the best for dual displays.
Their software and drivers rock for adjusting the dual display capabilities.
I have the P750 (which is a bit expensive) running 3 displays. It rocks.
For 2 displays you can use get away with their older line of G-cards. G550
or G450... (Both are really cheap now and are considered the standard
by many for dual displays users).. .... All that said, if you want to use you
computer for gaming as well as audio, I'd stay away from the Matrox
cards. They are not gaming cards. Many cards now days have dual
display capabilities and work for gaming (NVIDIA ir ATI..wide range
depending on $)..

Hard Drive: Consider the new Raptor SATA drives from Western
digital. They are 10,000 rpm and the fastest that there is. Capacities are
36gb and 72 gb and are at least twice the price of 7200 rpm drives.. but
the performance is killer right to the end of the media. (Don't fret if that’s
out of the budget though.. 7200rpm will make do)

Sound Card: Everyone will have an opinion on this.. but RME 9632
is the reference for low latency. If 8 i/o is needed then there are tons of
options. (M-audio, Emu,.... ).. . Better to get an internal PCI based card
with a breakout box if you are building a pc. (Firewire is an overpriced
Mac based creation)

Add-ons: If you really want to make an audio computer.. do it
right, sell your mothers stove and get a UAD-1 card.

**Good job building a PC rather than getting a mac.. It will be cheaper,
you will get more, there is more software.. .. and I don't care what
anyone sais... as long as its configured right and you did not throw any
crap parts in there... a 3ghz, 800fsb PC will smoke the mac.**

Building your own pc=Techno
Buying a overprice MAC=Yuppy

[Antinoise]

interesting timing...

A new article posted today on Toms Hardware guide (The ultimate
resource for researching computer parts incase any one does not know)
about Dual Display Cards

http://www20.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040216/index.html

This would represent the expensive range of dual display gaming
cards from ATI and NVIDEA. If its not for gaming (or CAD) I'd go with the
Matrox G550 (or450) as i mentioned before.

[dan the acid man]

i have to agree on the raptor drives there fantastic, a bit pricey though

[hiroprotagonist]

who here would say to spring for a 3.0 ghz p4 with hyper threading over a 2.8ghz with none? does it make that big of a difference? what can i do if theres no firewire support on my laptop that i can see? i cant add it on before they manufacture it...

-hiro

[g]

imo (or, in my world) lack of firewire would be devastating.

but then apparently i am just a mac-using yuppie. :roll:

[Antinoise]

who here would say to spring for a 3.0 ghz p4
with hyper threading over a 2.8ghz with none? does it make that big of a
difference?

Hyperthreading is best if you are multi-tasking (running several apps at
once)... However, if you are only using one app at a time... multitasking
actually slows your computer down slightly. (Great for buiness apps, not
necessary for audio apps)


what can i do if theres no firewire support on my
laptop that i can see? i cant add it on before they manufacture it...


You can add firewire with a pcmcia card.

[hiroprotagonist]

thanks for the tips.
ive decided that on my student budget im gonna swing for a dell
5100
p4 2.6ghz / 20gb hd (120 gb external @ 7200 rpm) / 1024 mb ram / a nice monitor and then a guy who wants me to collaborate with him so he can manage me making melodic electronic commercial music will probably buy me a m box setup.

what else would you reccomend?

[ampassasinbirmingham]

what is an UAD-1 card.

and should i really go 4 an internall? i could go live with an external but will it be worth cutting back just for the sake of an external card.

also, it will not be used for games, music only.

and is 1536 mb ram enough?

[Antinoise]

What is an UAD-1 card.
Universal Audio... Runs efx on the PCI card
http://www.uaudio.com/products/digital/UAD-1/index.html...
killer compressors



and should i really go 4 an internall? i could go live with an external but
will it be worth cutting back just for the sake of an external card.

If your going to go live then you are looking at a laptop rather than a
desktop. Walk before you can swim.... get a killer studio computer
(desktop) with a great soundcard (don't comparmize on external
firewire)... worry about live later.



and is 1536 mb ram enough?
thats overkill if anything

[Antinoise]

thanks for the tips.
ive decided that on my student budget im gonna swing for a dell
5100
Dell is the best for people who aren’t down with building and
troubleshooting. Get the three year onsite warranty! Also...
look at the dell refurbished (outlet) section. They are cheaper with the
same guarantee and warranties. I have a refurb dell laptop.. My next
laptop will be a refurb Dell laptop.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/Desktops?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

[jake]

how much was your UAD greg? cant beat a vst 1176

[Antinoise]

how much was your UAD greg? cant beat a vst 1176

I bought it on ebay for used for 415 if I remember correctly. It normally goes for more (475-500 used) but the guy had (0) rating. He lived in LA though so I could do a local pickup. I’d never buy off an ebay’r with a (0) rating otherwise. …. Then I dropped another 300 for the Cambridge EQ and Fairchild Comp plug-ins from the UAD website (recommended!!).

The only bitch with the card is that in CubaseSx 1 there are delay compensation issues. I have to manually adjust timing. This has been fixed in SX2 I hear. I need to upgrade.

[Stuart]

i was thinking m audio, how much is this?

isnt it better to get an internal soundcard?

That one is £349 from sound control.

It is better to have an external one coz you can use it on different machines and all the knobs are on your desk so you aren't always on your hands and knees pluging stuff.

As someone else said if you ever decide to play live you will need an external one.

[ampassasinbirmingham]

What is an UAD-1 card.
Universal Audio... Runs efx on the PCI card
http://www.uaudio.com/products/digital/UAD-1/index.html...
killer compressors



and should i really go 4 an internall? i could go live with an external but
will it be worth cutting back just for the sake of an external card.

If your going to go live then you are looking at a laptop rather than a
desktop. Walk before you can swim.... get a killer studio computer
(desktop) with a great soundcard (don't comparmize on external
firewire)... worry about live later.



and is 1536 mb ram enough?
thats overkill if anything

thats what i mean. i want pureley a studio computer, so any advice on any internal sound cards?(price, sites)

[Antinoise]

thats what i mean. i want pureley a studio computer, so any advice on any internal sound cards?(price, sites)

Do you need multiple ins and outs?.. or is a stereo in and a stero out fine? (Do you have external gear and mix through a mixing board or do you work all within the computer?)

[ampassasinbirmingham]

thats what i mean. i want pureley a studio computer, so any advice on any internal sound cards?(price, sites)

Do you need multiple ins and outs?.. or is a stereo in and a stero out fine? (Do you have external gear and mix through a mixing board or do you work all within the computer?)

i really need mutiple ins and outs becuase although i work within the comp now i hope to buy a mixing board soon.

cheers for all the help ant, you will take over from z migl soon:):)

[Antinoise]

i really need multiple ins and outs because although i work within the comp now i hope to buy a mixing board soon.

Within the budget:

EMU: I'm really liking this new product that EMU is releasing (1820). Its feature packed and the price seems right. Multi i/o with the same protools 192khz A/D converters in their new HD system. Mic preamp.. Midi.. etc. $599.. but its being offered for $399 from retailers. Since it’s not out yet there are no reviews so I'm not sure on the driver implementation and latency. (It claims ultra-low latency... ) Emu have also created a software sampler based of the engine of their flagship hardware samplers (with the same killer filter algorithms).. It requires the 1820 and uses the 1820 DSP’s for efx.
1820: click (http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?product=2210&category=754&maincategory =754)

M-Audio: There are few multi i/o options. The main option is the Delta 1010. There is a rack version (1010) and there is a lite version (1010LT) that just has a snake hanging out the back of the CPU.. but otherwise, its the same. The rack is prettier in the studio but it adds to the cost. 1010=$599, 1010LT=only $279 (street price)
1010/LT: click (http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces)

Terretec: also have a line of low priced i/o options.. I have no experience with them though..
Phase Series: click (http://produceren.terratec.net/index.php?pgid=1)


Out of the Budget:

RME: For multi i/o the Multiface is the best option. RME are known as the reference in low/latency. This goes for $900 though.. so that’s prob out of the budget.
Multiface: click (http://www.rme-audio.com/english/hdsp/multifa.htm)

Lynx: The Lynx Two cards are $900ish and only have 4i/o but are the best thing for high end a/d converters besides getting a $3k external A/D box. This is my next purchase for setting up a high end i/o efx chain.
Lynx-Two: click (http://www.lynxstudio.com/lynxtwo.html)


**I don't want to get down on firewire cards too much as I let on before. There are some cool products coming out... but the fact of the matter is that you pay more for the same or even less. They are great for laptops and macs…

[DJZeMig_L]

If u r computer based the sound card is the heart of the system, do not compromise .. RME MULTIFACE with PCI interface anyday, anywhere! :)

damn' that was snobish! :P

If u ain't ready 2 fork out so much for now then go with the RME 9632!!!


If u want the Sampler & soundcard I must say the emu really looks a treat!! :)

Z

[azerom04]

RME everytime, bought the HDSP 9632 and I was not disappointed. Crackle free in cubase all the way upto 100% ;) Quality bit of kit.

[ampassasinbirmingham]

i think i might go 4 the EMU but is it worth saving for the RME?

[DJZeMig_L]

If u want D soundcard, this is the sherman tank of souncards with the performance of a race car! ;)

Z

[Basil Rush]

I still being impressed with the sound out of the M-Audio Audiophile 100 quid job ... only two ins and outs but still difficult to fault ... (bet someone finds one now :) )

[Vin-iLL]

Is EMU better than M-Audio ?

I'm looking for a new sound card as well...
I've got a 300 euro budget.

[DJZeMig_L]

Hard 2 say something as absolute as that, but on a 300 budget I think M-Audio is the way 2 go!

Z

[Vin-iLL]

Thanx Ze !!

I think i'll buy the Delta 66 (http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=7b5e9745e0f7ae16f782 0ac8da409680) next week ! :dance:

[Antinoise]

On paper the EMU kills the M-Audio. However the EMU is just being released and no reviews are out yet. So its really hard to say either way at this point. It should be out any day now and reviews will follow.

One thing of note (that I just noticed).. It appears to be a PC product only....(XP and 2000)

[ampassasinbirmingham]

On paper the EMU kills the M-Audio. However the EMU is just being released and no reviews are out yet. So its really hard to say either way at this point. It should be out any day now and reviews will follow.

One thing of note (that I just noticed).. It appears to be a PC product only....(XP and 2000)

that suites me