Building a Recording PC

[Drumman082]

Hi all! This summer I am planning on building a new computer for recording and composing purposes. I will be running audio through a Presonus FIREstation, and plan on having Cool Edit Pro 2.0, ACID Pro 4.0, and possibly GigaStudio 96. I'll also have some sort of pro video editing software for film soundtrack purposes with the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro video card.

I have been researching several possibilities for motherboard/CPU combinations and still haven't come to a conclusion other than the motherboard must have firewire ports. I was looking at either a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (533 MHz) with an ASUS P4G8X motherboard, or some sort of AMD CPU/motherboard combination. Does anyone have suggestions on what I should go with to maximize my speed and minimize latency issues that might arise running multiple apps simultaneously?

Dan

[Drumman082]

Also, would it be beneficial to have a separate sound card (such as Audigy 2) for general computer purposes, or can I just save the money and run all computer audio through the FIREstation and studio monitors?

Dan

[Segueway]

Hi Drumman!

I'm also in the same boat as you.
I'm currently in the planning phase trying to pick my compnents and searching for the best proces I can find.

Many of my choices so far are very simlure to yours.
I also plan of going PIV-2.54\533FSB, except I decided to go ALL INTEL(MOBO-CPU)going the RAMUS memory route.(Maay I suggest delaying your MOBO purchase since the newer 833FSB's are just being released and the 533's should start dropping in the nexr 3 weeks)

I also love the ATI video cards and am eyeballing the 9700PRo as well. But they are just about to ship the 9800PRO so the prices should also be sliding in the next few weeks.
I also plan of both USB2 & Firewire but I'm also adding a 3in\3out optical interface since I would like to work in a pure digital realm. And I also am including an AUDIGY2 for it's digital 5.1 THX cert. output and general system related audio.

As for the recording aspects(I also edit digital video) I am going to use the optical ins & outs for a Behringer ADA8000 for now(8 indipendant AD\DA channels@24\96) direct to the optical interface. Later I will be adding the Behringer DDX3216 adding another 16 indipendant AD\DA channels for a total of 24 digital tracks. OH!! And the good news here is that by using the optical direct to the PC as your connection to your AD\DA unit, you will have ZERO latency even when you have 8 tracks recording at the same time.

Otherwise,on the software side of things, I'm going the Nuendo route and VST-SX(since I'm already on VST24 on my current and aging PIII-600..

P.S.>>>
The only thing I'm not sure about is the Synth option. I would like the best internal synth I can get, and the audigy isn't too bad, but I would really like to find a better internal full function Synth audio card. Otherwise, I'd still love to have a Kurzwail 2000 module.

P.S.>>> Anyone have any idea's for a superior synth card so I can use a high end soft synth... I wish Kurzwail made one!

[bassdude]

Originally posted by Segueway:
P.S.>>>
The only thing I'm not sure about is the Synth option. I would like the best internal synth I can get, and the audigy isn't too bad, but I would really like to find a better internal full function Synth audio card. Otherwise, I'd still love to have a Kurzwail 2000 module.

P.S.>>> Anyone have any idea's for a superior synth card so I can use a high end soft synth... I wish Kurzwail made one! [/B]


Depends how much you want to spend. If you don't have much dosh then maybe sticking to vst instruments is the go.

Otherwise, one option, try http://www.creamware.com for hardcore I/O and synths.

[wolfpuppy]

I will start out with one piece of advice that has saved me plenty of headaches: Do not get any hardware component or piece of software that is newer than 4 months. In the computer world you might have already learned that 'brand new' usually means 'undiscovered bugs'. Let other people be the guinea pigs.

Whether you get an AMD or an Intel will not matter much these days, except if you want Hyperthreading: then Intel is the choice. There have been cases where Hyperthreading actually slowed down performance, such as Sonic Foundry's Vegas 4.0, but these will usually be fixed with software patches if they haven't already.

Since you're getting such a beast-of-a-video card don't forget you will need a hefty power supply to keep everything working smoothly - I recommend 400W as a minimum. There have been issues this card and an underpowered computer. Also, if you opt for any of the dual-channel memory boards make sure you get high quality RAM. Even though this is always recommended it is even more so here. Some places will offer dual-channel packs. These are more expensive than buying two seperate sticks, but the packs have been tested in all dual channel boards and are guaranteed to work. The RAM will also be covered with heatspreaders for added thermal protection (at least it should be).

If you are doing audio and video work I'm curious as to why you would want to buy such a high-end 3D gaming card? Just curious.

[Polaris]

"If you are doing audio and video work I'm curious as to why you would want to buy such a high-end 3D gaming card? Just curious."

I agree. I hope you have some plans for isolation, because between a 400w PS and the gamer AGP, your PC's going to sound like a 747 taking off.

If you really have to play games on the same computer you record, you might want to look into the ATI 9000 based cards. You can get 128MB DDR of ram, and it runs Jedi Outcast very smoothly, but they don't have a fan.

I just built another computer with a Powercolor ATI powered card, and it runs Outcast really well. ANd the card was $90 from Newegg.com.

[This message has been edited by Polaris (edited 04-30-2003).]

[Drumman082]

I was planning on purchasing that video card mainly for DVD production purposes, as it is the same card that my associates use in their workstations. However, if there are other comparable ones that would require a smaller power source, I am all ears. I already thought about the noise factor, and a friend of mine recommended quietpc.com for near silent power supplies and fans.

How much more expensive are the dual memory cards? If they are worth the extra money, I'll have to look into them. I wasn't planning on going the Hyperthreading route simply because it is relatively new, and don't want to find loads of problems with it when running programs.

This is the first computer I've completely built myself and all of your inputs have been invaluable so far. Thank you for your replies!

Dan

[wolfpuppy]

I hope I haven't lost you because you mentioned 'dual memory cards'. I was referring to dual-channel Motherboards. The boards need (or work better with) two seperate sticks of RAM instead on one. In my part of the world they're actually double in price (as compared to buying two seperate sticks). If you were to go this route I would recommend paying the extra money. (By the way, the board you mentioned - the ASUS P4G8X - is a dual-channel board).

Personally I have computers with AMD and Intel CPUs, using both dual-channel memory controllers and just the regular kind and I don't notice any difference. Only when I actually benchmark the systems using one of the multitude of software benchmarks can I see that the dual-channel is faster. So if you're on a budget then I would say don't bother with dual memory. If you have a few bucks to spend and can afford the luxury go ahead.

In regards to your choice of video card, I'm not saying it's a bad choice, just that for video editing it's overkill. This card will improve almost nothing in 2D video editing. All of the rendering you will do is done by the cpu on the computer. If you were told that you need a card like this for video editing then you were told wrong. If you are going to use any of the 3D programs like 3D Studio Max then it'll come in handy. It's also great for all the latest 3D Games (which is what it is really made for). Otherwise get a cheaper card and spend more on Memory and more powerful CPU.

[Arthur]

Hello Segueway:
I am new to this site as of 5-1-03, and posted my questions last evening, and after reading several misc. entries, it appears that you may have a similar setup that I have acquired and possibly you may know the answers to my questions regarding configuring my system... If you read my message and can assist me, I will appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Arthur


Originally posted by Segueway:
Hi Drumman!

I'm also in the same boat as you.
I'm currently in the planning phase trying to pick my compnents and searching for the best proces I can find.

Many of my choices so far are very simlure to yours.
I also plan of going PIV-2.54\533FSB, except I decided to go ALL INTEL(MOBO-CPU)going the RAMUS memory route.(Maay I suggest delaying your MOBO purchase since the newer 833FSB's are just being released and the 533's should start dropping in the nexr 3 weeks)

I also love the ATI video cards and am eyeballing the 9700PRo as well. But they are just about to ship the 9800PRO so the prices should also be sliding in the next few weeks.
I also plan of both USB2 & Firewire but I'm also adding a 3in\3out optical interface since I would like to work in a pure digital realm. And I also am including an AUDIGY2 for it's digital 5.1 THX cert. output and general system related audio.

As for the recording aspects(I also edit digital video) I am going to use the optical ins & outs for a Behringer ADA8000 for now(8 indipendant AD\DA channels@24\96) direct to the optical interface. Later I will be adding the Behringer DDX3216 adding another 16 indipendant AD\DA channels for a total of 24 digital tracks. OH!! And the good news here is that by using the optical direct to the PC as your connection to your AD\DA unit, you will have ZERO latency even when you have 8 tracks recording at the same time.

Otherwise,on the software side of things, I'm going the Nuendo route and VST-SX(since I'm already on VST24 on my current and aging PIII-600..

P.S.>>>
The only thing I'm not sure about is the Synth option. I would like the best internal synth I can get, and the audigy isn't too bad, but I would really like to find a better internal full function Synth audio card. Otherwise, I'd still love to have a Kurzwail 2000 module.

P.S.>>> Anyone have any idea's for a superior synth card so I can use a high end soft synth... I wish Kurzwail made one!

[Drumman082]

Thanks Wolfpuppy.

Yeah you did kinda confuse me there, but the two sticks of memory was what I was planning in the first place! Thanks for your advice with the video card as well. I'll probably just go with a lower level card and buy Rambus instead of DDR. Thanks again!