SenPi Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Not sure if this should go here or in help/newbies, if it doesnt belong here, please move it Anyways I'll post what I want, then the list of stuff im considering, then a few questions that people might be able to help with. Alright, so I need a new pc anyways, and I am going to build it myself, and since im not really a hardcore pc gamer kinda guy, I figure ill build it for music/production instead since I need a good pc for that anyways (currently I am using my laptop for music production) Anyways, here is my list of parts I am considering. RAM: OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit Motherboard: ASUS P5E-VM HDMI mATX LGA775 G35 DDR2 PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 PCI SATA2 RAID Sound HDMI VGA Motherboard Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box Power Supply: OCZ Stealthxstream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive Audio Card: M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio Card 24BIT/96KHZ SPDIF Midi (http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496-main.html) or M-AUDIO Delta 1010LT (http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Delta1010LT-main.html) Tower: Thermaltake SopranoRS 101 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT No PSU Side Window HeatSink: Scythe Ninja Copper 6 Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S478 S754 S939 Limited Edition ok so, first off, should I go for the quad core, or should I just go for a really good dual core? More Ghz vs More Cores? Whats your take? Now, as for the sound card. I dont want a usb/firewire thing because I would rather have something directly connected to my motherboard. At first I thought about the Audiophile 2496 since I for sure want MIDI in/out as well as some audio in, but then I started thinking that I would definitely like some Mic inputs, as well as more audio in/out ports so I could possibly record multiple things at the same time (thats what its for right?) This is why I figured I might go for the Delta 1010LT. Any info on either of thems would be helpfull as well. Any other suggestions for any of the parts Ive chosen would be very helpful. If you have experience with any, or can suggest better ones for what I want, that would be awesome Again, anybody that can offer me any info, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! It will me very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylance Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 You should think about getting a cheap vid card too just so your processor won't have to think about any GUI stuff. Even just some bargain basement $20 will do. Also, while the Audiophile is good, there really is no problem with firewire audio interfaces. Even the most expensive "professional" gear is firewire. If you want mic inputs, check out the presonus firepod, it really is dirt cheap now and has 8 inputs on the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenPi Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 hmm I looked at that, but they were useing some weird inputs. I need something with simple mic inputs, regular midi in/out (the 5 pin thing), and regular audio in/out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box Rather, get the Q9450 - it's just a little bit more. Also, get an X38 motherboard. Quad is not a problem; audio is trivial to parallelize (games not so much). Audio Card: Consider the Audiophile 192 instead of the 2496. The 1010LT is also an older card - I don't know if M-Audio will announce something new in a week or 2 with the Musikmesse. since I for sure want MIDI in/out But that's not necessarily the job for the soundcard since USB MIDI interfaces are really cheap and come with more ports . This is why I figured I might go for the Delta 1010LT. I'm not a fan of the RCA (cinch) inputs. I'd rather consider a good mixer using 2 good stereo outputs or a 19" rack with all the inputs instead of having it dangle behind the computer, which isn't the prettiest place anyway with all the electric interference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenPi Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Rather, get the Q9450 - it's just a little bit more. Also, get an X38 motherboard. Quad is not a problem; audio is trivial to parallelize (games not so much).Consider the Audiophile 192 instead of the 2496. The 1010LT is also an older card - I don't know if M-Audio will announce something new in a week or 2 with the Musikmesse. But that's not necessarily the job for the soundcard since USB MIDI interfaces are really cheap and come with more ports . I'm not a fan of the RCA (cinch) inputs. I'd rather consider a good mixer using 2 good stereo outputs or a 19" rack with all the inputs instead of having it dangle behind the computer, which isn't the prettiest place anyway with all the electric interference. Hmm.. well im more thinking if I should get more GHz rather than more cores. Like I said, im not a big computer gamer. Also, I didnt want the 192 since I dont really need digital outputs or whatever. For midi, I only really need 1 midi in/out for now. I'll take a look at that mother board though. Also about the first reply, that thing about the gfx card is probably a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Might want to go with a dual core that is more bang for your buck. Save the $100 or so from the cheaper CPU and buy a bangin' quad in a year or two. And yes, get some weakass graphics card - look for a cheap passively cooled one (no fan, just a big heatsink) to keep the noise down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenPi Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Ok, so here was the original idea, complete with approx prices. OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit 2-5 Business Days 25352 $104.99 $104.99 ASUS P5E-VM HDMI mATX LGA775 G35 DDR2 PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 PCI SATA2 RAID Sound HDMI VGA Motherboard In Stock 27499 $143.99 $143.99 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box Limit to 2 per customer. In Stock 22211 $269.99 $269.99 OCZ Stealthxstream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black In Stock 23934 $74.99 $74.99 Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive 3 Year MFR Warranty In Stock 16141 $69.99 $139.98 M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio Card 24BIT/96KHZ SPDIF Midi Retail BOX(US41500) In Stock 11779 $103.26 $103.26 Thermaltake SopranoRS 101 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT No PSU Side Window In Stock 25668 $59.99 $59.99 Scythe Ninja Copper 6 Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S478 S754 S939 Limited Edition In Stock 27687 $54.99 $54.99 Check to delete an item YOUR TOTAL $952.18 I think the above prices are a little off, due to some random deals that went on when I first chose those parts. And here is my alternate setup. ASUS GeForce 6200LE 350MHZ PCI-E 64MB 32BIT DDR2 256MB Turbo Cache VGA DVI-D TV Out Video Card In Stock 23427 $32.90 $32.90 OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-4-4-15 DDR2 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit In Stock 25352 $129.99 $129.99 OCZ Stealthxstream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black In Stock 23934 $77.22 $77.22 Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS Hard Drive 3 Year MFR Warranty In Stock 16141 $79.43 $158.86 Thermaltake SopranoRS 101 Mid Tower ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT No PSU Side Window In Stock 25668 $73.53 $73.53 Scythe Ninja Copper 6 Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S478 S754 S939 Limited Edition In Stock 27687 $69.99 $69.99 ASUS Maximus Formula LGA775 X38 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI 2GBLAN SATA RAID 1394 Motherboard In Stock 27037 $271.12 $271.12 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail *Limited Qty* Combo Deal (27037) 2-5 Business Days 27784 $233.20 $233.20 Check to delete an item YOUR TOTAL $1,046.81 And... With Audiophile 192 its $1246.76 With Delta 1010LT its $1296.76 Now, if I dont go with an M-Audio, then I dont know what I will get. As far as my sound card budget goes, I think 300 is gonna be my max. So either the 192 or the 1010LT is what Im going to get I think. So, does my first or 2nd setup look better? I like how the dual core is 3.0 GHz, rather than a quad at 2.4 or whatever. More processing power. Also the vid card I chose seems to be pretty good for its price. I think the mother board also comes with like 7.1 surround, so maybe one day I can make some 7.1 surround music ..... or 5.1.. lol yea.. anyways. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 For audio I would go for a faster dual core over a quad core. I believe the best on the market is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 Also, your storage is weak.. get more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenPi Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 haha that dual core you suggested was on my 2nd list . Also, 500 MB is goo enough.. :S. Its 2, 250 GB drives not 1. Anyways, yea I think the 2nd setup is more what Im looking for . As for the maudio thing, I think i;ll get the core system first, and then try and find more info/etc on sound cards and the such and buy one later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannthr Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My philosophy behind building audio computers: I like CPUs that run on 65watts. They're quiet and easier to cool. My cases have at most two 120mm fans mounted on rubber gromets, they're whisper quiet. If you're building a sample machine/slave then you want to focus on fast hard drives and lots of RAM. If you're building a master computer for recording and stuff, you want good CPU power and reliable storage. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fray Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 For audio I would go for a faster dual core over a quad core. I believe the best on the market is: Yeah from what I understand, unless you're using Sonar, most DAWs don't take particularly good of advantage of more than 2 processors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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