Best Motherboard etc.

[MARKEG]

I'm about to upgrade my computer. Does anyone have any advice for the best m/board and system spec? Do I get a celeron or pentium?

I really want to get this right this type as my last computer was a nightmare.

PS I have a MOTU 828 that I want to run on firewire.

[Barely Human]

Asus boards are gererally rated as the best. As for cpu, dont get a celleron, they are a crap pentium basically. Id go for the petium, although an athlon would probably do the job a lot better. Its a gamble with athlon systems wether they will be stable. I have an Athlon 1800 running in one of my boxes, and that stays swithched on for mounths without crashing. So i guese thats up to you :eh:

[Antinoise]

First off.. get a p4. I have several systems with athlon’s.. They are finally solid but it took a long time of swapping parts before everything was finally copasetic. P4's are less hassle and currently faster.

If you’re building your own computer never skimp on the motherboard. THE MOTHERBOARD IS THE ROOT OFF ALL PROBLEMS (potentially). For p4 get an Intel (875 or 865) chipset motherboard rather than the cheaper VIA or SIS based options. Best look at www.tomshardware.com for reviews of current motherboards in the chipset you pick. They do great side by side testing and picking their winners have never led me wrong yet.

latest Intel 875 and 865 motherboard reviews in one article..
Awards: Gigabyte GA-8KNXP (Intel 875P) and MSI Neo 2 (Intel 865PE) (http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030707/index.html)

Obviously get a m/board that has firewire built in for the Motu.

All this said.. if you are building your own system your getting a better price over a pre-built machine. However there is always the risk of problems and then your stuck in diagnostics hell. If your not savy with building and/or don't have the time to do so... Look at getting a Dell. Their service (3 years on site) is great. Your computer breaks one day and a guy is at your door the to fix it the next.

[gustavo]

i have asus p4pe (with firewire)intel845chip)and its great proc p4 3.2
my advice is to buy the latest asus board of this series and the top p4 at the moment.
a lot of the people/producers in the music scene say that the way
p4 processors do algorhtymic calculations is more adequate to music data processing (besides mac)dont know ...
works for me...
also hdisk ibm7200 is certanly a good buy

a lot of people dont know this site (it help u configure xp in daw environment- essential)
http://www.musicxp.net

[DJZeMig_L]

I'm not a computer wiz so bare with me ... I wouldn't get the latest CPU 'cause changes r there won't b all that much dif from a 3.2 to a 3.4 in terms of speed and 4 sure there will b a big $ dif. So I would get a little bit more that the standard and def. Invest in the best RAM I could get my hands on. I got an old computer with RIMM 800 Mhz that stuff works like a bastar*. I don't know if rimm is still a good option in terms of compatibility etc... but if u get 2gb of 800mhz Rimm it will fuc** FLY!!!

Z

[Jimfish]

i have an asus ic7 in mine and it runs like a dream with my 828 and cubase sx2

it never ever ever crashes

[Jimfish]

i have an asus ic7 in mine and it runs like a dream with my 828 and cubase sx2

it never ever ever crashes

[Jimfish]

what?
why does this keep happening?

[Jimfish]

what?
why does this keep happening?

[DJZeMig_L]

It might b related 2 the DCS*....





*Double Click sindrome


ehehhehe :P :doh:

Jus pullin yer leg! :lol: ;)


Z

[Tyrisia]

INTEL P4 3.06 GHZ PROCESSOR
INTEL D845PE MOTHERBOARD
CARILLON UM320 ULTRAMUTE PSU
80 GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA HARD DRIVE
1024 MB DIMM DDR 333 MHZ RAM
ATI RADEON 7000 64 DUAL HEAD GRAPHICS CARD
ZALMAN ALCU CPNS7000 PROCESSOR FAN
SILENT SYSTEMS DRIVE CASE
MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP HOME
CARILLON UPGRADE CHARGE

That's a current Carillon Spec that I got the other day for upgrading mine, might help, they always work..

[MARKEG]

OK so here's what I'm getting... (minus my motu 828)

• Antec Sonata Piano Black Silent computer case with 380W quiet PSU
• ASUS Main board, P4P800 Deluxe Intel 865 chip with Firewire, USB 2.0, SATA, & IDE connections.
• Intel Pentium 4, 3.0GHz, Hyper Threading processor.
• 2X 512MB DDR400 memory.
• 1x 36GB 10,000rpm “RAPTOR” SATA HDD
• 1x 70GB 10,000rpm “RAPTOR” SATA HDD
• MATROX G550 Dual Head graphics card
• Sony DVD-Rom drive
• Sony DVD +/- RW with NERO S/W
• Floppy Disk drive
• Windows XP Pro
• Labour

What's this spec like then?

[Barely Human]

Looks good to me mate! Who makes the ram tho? And personally id ditch the sony drives for plextor. ;)

[Kevin Gorman]

looks like a good box there Mark!

[DJZeMig_L]

get a 450w box and double the ramm...

Get a good brand of ramm !!


Z

[MARKEG]

Why the 450w box? Is that quite important is it??

[Barely Human]

It can be. If your pulling a lot of power on a low rated box, then it can cause stabilty problems. 380 will do fine in my opinion, but Z's usually right ;) :lol:

[Antinoise]

A better solution is to get a 400w supply and then get a battery UPS that it plugs into. That will condition and regulate the power that gets fed into the box.

Even if you have a 500W+ power supply.. it will still crash if the power fluxuates. This is a common cause of computer malfunction. The battery solution helps with power dips and protects against spikes. My 3 computer rig runs much more stable since I have it all plugged into a big mother battery backup. Coincidence?.... I think not...

[DJZeMig_L]

antinoise has given' ya a great tip! UPS is the best thing u can do u can even get 1 with like 5 m power backup so if for some reason u get a powercut U have enought time 2 save yer work, powerdown and wait for the lights 2 come on again...

the prob with power suply is the amount of stuff that keeps draining power from yer pc, like usb/ firewire7 plug the normal components.. so make sure they have enought power for it all!

Z

[MARKEG]

right well i've just been back in touch with the bloke. he's pretty adament that the 380W case is the one to go for. He says they've repeatedly built systems like this with them and they're really good. so i'll hold him to it and just get a UPS battery backup. if anything goes tits up then it's going straight back. hehehe..

i mean i'm only running a firewire card and a mouse and keyboard.

re: memory - it's samsung. is this reputable?

really excited about this. yet again this forum has given me some great advice - something that my have had 400000 reponses on the cubase site had been simplified quickly and easily by you guys.

let's just see what it's like when it gets in the studio!!!!

*fingers crossed*

[DJZeMig_L]

Nice ;)


Ramm ?? sorry can't answer that 1 :(

Z

[miasma man]

Matrox aren't meant to be the best graphics cards anymore, a few years ago they were.

You could probably get a better performing graphics card from ATI or Nvidia Geforce. Worth considering. A lot of the mid to high spec graphics cards from these guys all have dual headed capabaility as standard.

[MARKEG]

the matrox cards are the ones most music ppl recommend as far as i'm aware. don't know exactly why this but i feel the one's you've mentined are more games cards???????????

most music pc specialists actually go with matrox. there must be a reason..... :eh:

if anyone knows otherwise i'd love to know - i only have about 2 days to go before my pc is built.

[MARKEG]

but yes mate i know you are a graphic designer and would know about these things. you've got me worried now!!! ARRGGHHHH!!! LOL.

[miasma man]

Yeh, that seems to be true actually - I don't know why musicans seem to use Matrox graphics cards more. I upgraded my PC last summer and I though Matrox was meant to be the best and checked a few out but was told by the friendly computer guy in the shop that Matrox aren't meant to be that good anymore. He said for the same or similar price you can get a better performing card from ATI or Nvidia.

I don't really know, does anyone know why Matrox seem to be the preferred choice for musicians PC's?

Will the choice of graphics card affect the music side of things? I tend to think not, but I'm no computer expert?

[Barely Human]

The Nvidea cards ore the ones to get at the moment. But just remember, if your not running games, then there is not much point in getting a stupidly good graphics card. Most graphics cards are fundamentally the same when it comes to running desk top applications, they only make a difference when you are running 3d objects.

[Antinoise]

Something I wrote in another post:

"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 $).. "
....

Of all the computers I have, the matrox handels dual/tri displays the best. There drivers and software are tops and the cards are streamlined. It's still the choise for audio and video editors running dual displays...Get and NVidia or ATI if it will also be used for gaming or CAD. They are more expensive and due to all the bells and whistles they tax the system a little more.. but if you need the power then thats the way you have to go.

oh... and my matrox machine runs things like photoshop just fine as well.. its only gaming and CAD I have use my graphics power machine.

[Antinoise]

re: memory - it's Samsung. is this reputable?


It should be.. You mainly just want to stay away from generic ram.. However if you are searching for the top type of RAM, that would be Corsair. They have a top of the line brand that is called TwinX (or XMS Series). They are matched pairs of chips. So 1024 ram would get you 2 tested matched 512's. There are also different latencies in RAM. CL2.0 is the lowest. ......

TWINX1024-3200LLPRO XMS3200 1024MB 2-3-2-6 2x184 DIMM Black XMS ProSeries - Would represent the best thing you could get....

I’m not sure how expensive that particular ram is.. Any of the XMS series with a “Low Latency-LL” title would be stellar.

links
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html#twinx
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/products/specs/twinx1024-3200llpro.pdf

[MARKEG]

Well what can i say, you guys are being an amazing help. If and when i get mine working fine (pleeeeeeeeease god !!!!!!!) i'll post the final spec on here of course (hehehehe). but a few things:

Is Samsung OK for memory or should i go and kick up a fuss for this for this Corsair stuff?

Is Matrox OK or should I go for something else?

Send me links guys as to why ppl say these dont work....

Anyone?!!?!

[gustavo]

Is Samsung OK for memory or should i go and kick up a fuss for this Corsair stuff?
thats hard to answer(my personal view is)i take things seriously and will buy the best "i can afford"
corsairs better than samsung so its up2 u.





Is Matrox OK or should I go for something else?
(i have g550 dh for 1 year and 0 probs)
(i agree with antinoise post i doubt anyone willmake a better post on that(graphics)

[Antinoise]

Re: Ram...
Its hard to say.. I mean its definitely splitting hairs at this point. You are building quite a bitchin machine and either way you going to be rockin. Samsung will be fine... but the Corsiar XMS would squeeze the last bit out of the system possible. We are not talking about the different in a 1ghz and 2ghz system though. We are talking about a fraction of a % to maybe 1-2%.

When you’re in a heavy tax the system session it might be where it makes the difference. I mean.. you would have a better performance gain if you got the newest Intel 3.4ghz. But the same issue applies of getting the newest top thing is quite a bit more expensive for fractions of gain. The xtra stability of the high grade matched pairs might be the real important issue here. Just question the computer maker about possibilities and price. If its $ issue... then go Samsung and don't sweat it. Your fine!

[StoQ]

mniam, nice config, sounds really good Mark

[dan the acid man]

i would personally go for corsair memory, and i agree with replacing the sony drives, iv'e had some real problems with sony's not reading some cd's.

[audioinjection]

OK so here's what I'm getting... (minus my motu 828)

• Antec Sonata Piano Black Silent computer case with 380W quiet PSU
• ASUS Main board, P4P800 Deluxe Intel 865 chip with Firewire, USB 2.0, SATA, & IDE connections.
• Intel Pentium 4, 3.0GHz, Hyper Threading processor.
• 2X 512MB DDR400 memory.
• 1x 36GB 10,000rpm “RAPTOR” SATA HDD
• 1x 70GB 10,000rpm “RAPTOR” SATA HDD
• MATROX G550 Dual Head graphics card
• Sony DVD-Rom drive
• Sony DVD +/- RW with NERO S/W
• Floppy Disk drive
• Windows XP Pro
• Labour

What's this spec like then?


I thought you used Mac?

[MARKEG]

yeah i do also.

re: memory. here's what the bloke e-mailed me and told me:


Dear Mark,

Have noted your instructions .

Re Corsair memory - this type of memory is really meant for overclockers. It is fast but in my opinion not necessarily stable. I think your need is stability inn as much as it is power (as opposed to speed). I would not really recommend it.

what do you reckon.

[gustavo]

i reckon u could have 10 guys sayn that and 10 sayn the opposite

i mean of course i think its not being samsung or corsair wich will make the diff betwen being top prod. or not
or betwen havin superfastsyst or not

if u really want u must guide yrself by specs comparisons ,independent tests regarding perf and stability.

its hard cause there r millions of possible software configs (even with the same hardw)works for some doesnt for others u know...

i mean if yr hesitant bout spending more buy samsung if it suits yr needs great if not patience happens to all

[dan the acid man]

it is an overclockers memory but im pretty certain its as stable if not more so than samsung memory, of course if it's overclocked its not going to be as stable. At the end of the day though samsung is still very good memory so there's not much in it either way. sorry if thats confused you :scratch:

[miasma man]

Regards my previous post about Matrox vs ATI / Nvidea I was thinkin of graphics applications (CAD, animations, 3D etc) so yeah the post from Antinoise seems to be knowledgable enough (more than I know).

Good luck dude - hope you're not gettin too confused with the differing opinions out there.

PS - I think TDK or Philips are meant to be the bestest CDRW & DVD burners and readers etc. They are also meant to be the best manufacturers of CD's as well...

:neutral:

[MARKEG]

wicked thanks guys!

isn't this just so complicated. i mean you buy a mac and you know what you're getting. just a shame about the availability of software. if it wasn't for that i'd be 100% mac.

[Antinoise]

Don't sweat the memory.. Like I said before. You are down to splitting hairs.


isn't this just so complicated. i mean you buy a mac and you know what you're getting.
ya.. on overpriced under powered machine that has a degree in marketing and a minor in computing. This new machine will smoke in speed and 'mac' will soon be a distant memory for you.

[MARKEG]

:)

[Antinoise]

Mark.. how did the new PC turn out?

[heavy beats]

another asus owner here.

top quality stuff. don't mess with anything less.

[MARKEG]

it's amazing. it's running so well i can't understand how i made do with such crap for so long!

i'm really firing ahead with tracks now - like never before.

by far the best 1000 quid spent in the last two yrs.

[DJZeMig_L]

shhhh.... don't jinx it m8!!! ;)

lol

Z

[dan the acid man]

shhhh.... don't jinx it m8!!! ;)

lol

Z

hahaha, totally agree here, i opened my big mouth the other week saying how good and easy the music pc's i was building for work where and the next one i built just would not sodding work, it ended up being a dodgy ide cable :oops: