Where to buy a DAW PC or have one built?

[Lavely]

First off, this is my first post here. I'm looking at buying a PC setup that will help me get some ideas/songs recorded. It doesn't have to handle the latest & greatest, it doesn't need 27 track inputs (more like 3 max), and it doesn't need to be on the cutting edge.

I see lots of discussion here about which PC components are best, fastest, quietest, etc. My main question is this - where do you guys buy this stuff? Or, better put, if I wanted to simply buy a completed PC for audio recording, where would I go to do this? I'm guessing Dell is not the answer. Do some of these PC vendors allow you to build with specific pieces, per some of the suggestions on this board?

Thanks in advance. I will have more newbie questions, I'm sure!

Lavely

[Sonic Valley]

http://www.dawbox.com/

[Lavely]

Thanks! These look to be in the $1,900 range, including a DigiDesign M-Box. Is that about right? Or, is there a lower-end, cheaper way to go. I do want to maintain a certain quality level, but I don't need the latest & greatest.

Lavely

[lpdeluxe]

I have had 2 computers built for recording. The first one was my first one ever, in 2000, and I had to depend on my son-in-law to help me with what I needed. That was 4-1/2 years ago, and it lasted until February, when it burned up (apparent power supply failure). By then I had learned a lot about what I needed so I went to a local shop and had a new one built in the old case.

First, a disclaimer: I'm not a geek. I don't give much credence to persons who tell me I "have to have!" this or the other motherboard or whatever. Likely you will hear from those who obsess over such things, but I'm a musician, not a propeller head.

1. Do some research and figure out what kind of software you are likely to use (I use Adobe Audition) and what sound card has the features needed to do what you want to do (number of inputs, analog breakout box, whatever). Then check on the manufacturer's websites for known incompatibilities with motherboards and processors. It also helps to search places like this for people's experience with the gear you are thinking of buying.

2. Find a local shop and do the usual, checking out references and so on, and ask if they have any experience with computer recording. You may find someone knowledgeable this way. If they check out, have them build a PC with hints from #3 below.

3. You'll want several essentials: a fast motherboard and processor (P4 or equivalent), at least 512MB of RAM (audio files are huge and you run low on RAM pretty fast), and 2 hard drives, probably a 40Gig for the boot drive and an 80 for the audio drive. This will allow you to save your songs and recordings to the large drive and avoid conflicts when your operating system feels like doing something else while you are recording. Go with XP. Home edition is fine, and it is 'way more stable and dependable than Win98SE (I have 3 computers here, and all are now XP).

4. After that, we're talking bells & whistles. Mine has a generic CD burner and a Plextor Premium CD burner, for different tasks, and USB 2.0 ports for my 3 external hard drives (used for backup), and that's about it. I use a Tascam US428, a Logitech trackball and an IBM keyboard, all of which use USB rather than PS ports. It is also important that you restrict yourself to audio on this computer. You'd be amazed at the conflicts that can arise when some innocent little program is running in the background while you're trying to record. If you do a lot of recording, get an LCD monitor. No radiation to add noise to your signal cables, and they take up a lot less space.

5. Make sure you get all the manuals, CD-ROMS etc that come with. You'll be surprised what you can learn by delving into manuals, even when you don't think you understand enough to do anything.

This all essentially describes my recording computer; it cost $700 plus XP upgrade, the Plextor, and the peripherals (and they used my old case). It has run like a freight train since I got it. I just spent a week in the Austin area with it recording in 10-hour sessions every day and there were NO problems, and none after I returned and set it up at home.

Good luck.

[Joe Hannigan]

If I had to start from scratch, with a $2000 budget, I"d pick up the phone, and call Dawbox for the best deal and hardware available.

Judging by his posts here and impressive website, hes' the go-to guy for a custom built top of the line machine.

You can scrimp and save and squeeze every penny out of your budget, but I personally don't always have time for that. Save the aggravation and have a pro handle it.

[Titus]

Check it these web sites.

http://www.digitalaudiowave.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=353

http://www.centralcomputer.com/emerchant/systems/Pro_Audio/system.asp

[Sonic Valley]

Dude...he was looking for a pro box....lol. Just ribb'n ya.