Buying a new music PC any experts here?

[N.U.G.]

Hey gang,

Making music is what I want to do with my life for at least the next 10-20 years or so and I've decided that I'm going to use all the money that I had saved up for my future and invest it in myself and my music.
I figure if I play the game properly, then I can make this money back and more whilst doing what I love.

My first investment is going to be in a new Music PC / DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and I'm wondering who here knows much about this. I plan on sharing all the knowledge I discover to help others who wish to buy a decent music PC but would also appreciate advice from any members here that may be able to contribute.

I'll gather some info and post it later but in the meantime, please reply if you know much about music PCs and maybe let us know how you became knowledgable in this area.

holla

 

[Mcrob]

I suggest you get a pc, with a intel pentium 4, at least 512 ddr ram, at least a 80 gigs or higher, windows 98, 2000 or xp, a good motherboard (asus, msi) and make sure and I mean make sure that you got a very good soundcard.

 

[N.U.G.]

Hey Mcrob, thanks for the tips. I've been researching what to get for a new music PC and you are spot on with your recomendations. By the way what soundcards do you recommend?

This is what I'm most likely going to get. Anyone else that's interested in getting a music PC can use this as a guide, although I still recommend shopping around and researching to find what suits your needs best.

Motherboard: ASUS P4B533-E

CPU: P4 2.66G 533

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 80Gb 8M ATA V (x 2, getting two of these)

Ram: 1GB DDR Ram

Operating System: Windows XP

Soundcard: M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX or
TerraTec DMX 6fire 24/96

Video Card: undecided

If anyone has any comments or questions please let me know.

 

[Fade]

Well I'm not expert on building a PC, but I'll tell you to not skimp on anything. Get the best that you can (within your budget). From what you just posted ^^ it looks dope. I think getting 2 HD's is a great idea, and definitely go with Windows XP.

For the soundcard, since you're focusing mainly on music, I'd stay away from the Soundblaster. It's ok for listening to music, but for MAKING music, go with the M-Audio, it's very good.

 

[Mcrob]

In my opinion I would get a ATI RADEON for the video card because it is excellent for games, designing graphics and websites.

Soundcard I do not know right now. I just got a new computer and I am going to a music store and find out which one is good....

I have
80 gigs seagate
512 ddr ram
asus P4PE
ATX CASE POWER SUPPLY 350 WATTS
ati radeon 9000 pro 128 ddr
petium 4 (2.4 ghz)

Afterwards I am going to get some synths, samplers etc.

ps Get a custom build pc......it's worth the money

 

[N.U.G.]

sounds good Mcrob, let us know about your Soundcard research. I think Fade is right about the M-Audio being a good option but I'm still interested to hear other opinions.

As far as the Video Card goes, I'm only going to be making music on my new PC so I won't need anything too fanct, just something basic that does the job.

 

[Cosmonaut]

Ok you have 2 choices Amd or Intel P4 as far as i've seen there is no difference besides price I have a P4 I use for internet and my girl uses it for home work I have ran Logic and cubase on booth the amd and P4 system there is no real difference other than I got 2 extra reverb plugins to run on my amd before logic wouldn't play anymore. For now the AMD is my dedicated sequencer I may ended up getting gigasampler and running on the P4 with some other software instruments.

+AMD Daw+
Amd xp 2400 - 3000 (your choice faster is better)
Asus A7V8x-x this is a pure via chipset compatible with protools
Or Asus A7V8x-x/r/ this one has raid support
Case with 350 watt + power supply
1gb PC2700 ram
Ati Radeon 9000 dual head Video card you will need Dvi to vga adapter
Couple of 80gb hardrives 7200 rpm
Cd/Rw fast is good but when burning masters burn it slow less errors


+Intel P4+
Intel P4 2.8ghz-3.2ghz
Asus P4c800 motherboard has raid support
Case 400 watt power supply
1gb PC2700
Ati Radeon 9000 Video card need a Dvi to vga adapter
couple of 80gb Hardrives 7200rpm
Cd/RW drive

Any pair of monitors will do I suggest getting a 17 true flat model the Lcd joints look nice but they are still expensive. CtL makes a nice 17" model number is 770vf I think I payed 120 each for them.

Sound Card is kinda up to you depends on what you need analog outs ins or what every. Echo Gina, Darla, and layla are all good choices. Not to be over looked M-Audio's Delta series of cards are real nice. I guess the only thing I can really suggest on this topic is figure out what sources you need to get into your daw and go from there.

Software is kinda another sticky thing download all the demos you can and decide what you like cause you have to work with it. Some people like Sonar others cubase they generally do the same thing minus some features plus other features so find one you like. Oh last thing use Windows XP it's the best for music sequencers Logic, Cubase, Sonar, all run flawless under it.

Other stuff you will need midicontroller keyboard they are fairly cheap these days. Maybe a midi interface depending on which sound card you choice since alot of the ones with break out boxes include them.

Last thing if you decide to record vocals in the same room you have your pc you might want to look into quieter fans and power supply other that that you should be solid.

If you have any questions post here I'll check back.

out

 

[HaZwaiOh]

i suggest a fast harddisk with enough cache. mine is a western digital and has 8 megs. intel cpus are better for studio environment for one simple reason. amds get very hot and therefore need massive fan and cooling kits, which will result in a noisy computer.

 

[N.U.G.]

great advice, thanks guys

 

[Cosmonaut]

Well not necessarily Amd use to run real hot but theres lot of solutions for that. More slower fans takes care of my problem with any pc though noise will be a problem only if you are recording in the same room. It's preference the amd system will run you around $700 to 800. The intel runs around 1000 to 1100 shop around though always deals on pc hardware. Like said though I have booth and either will be find the main source of noise will be your power supple so get a quiet one either system.

 

[N.U.G.]

One question I do have for anybody able to help is: what's the real difference between PC2700 and PC2100 RAM, in terms of in what way will getting one type of RAM over the other effect the performance of my music PC?

:help:

 

[drew_petti]

not trying to go against the grain

but I have nothing but problems with XP. I still make due with it, but that shit has a mind of it's own...that being said, you're probably better off with a mac with g4 processor...people out here use digital performer, and pro tools primarily...