BleepingComputer.com: Purchase Template PC for audio recording

Hi,
I would sure appreciate some input on what I would need to build the ultimate audio PC.


TEMPLATE

My budget for the new computer is: $1000.00

What are the primary uses for this computer (IE: mail, web browsing, programming, games, etc)? Recording, mixing, and playing back live music

What software do you intend on using on the computer? Various audio software, (Audacity, Guitar Pro, Isus)

Do you play games? If so, what type of games? No.

Do you tend to have a lot of programs running at the same time, or do you close every program when you are done using it? Maybe 3-5 programs running at once.

Do you store a lot of pictures or music on the computer? Yes

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Bryan

I moved your post because you said you were building a computer
Is that your intention?

For $1000, you will get a good PC that can handle audio very well.

Case: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000SNA Silver 0.8 mm All aluminum made ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Since you're not running a gaming PC, you only really need a Mid-ATX case. Aluminum cases are a little more expensive but are lighter and often times better made. $79

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - This motherboard can handle the newest of AMD's processors and can handle the new DDR3 RAM. Because this is a budget board, it only has a single PCI-express X16 slot, but you're not a gamer so that isn't too much of an issue. $84

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB - You don't need a powerful card for your tasks, but this one can handle most things thrown at it. $89 (Before $10 mail-in rebate)

Power Supply: RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W - This is a solid power supply that can power everything in your PC with plenty to spare. $49 (Before $10 mail-in rebate)

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - AMD's best triple core processor, it has more power than a dual core, but is less expensive than a quad core. $139

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - This is more than enough RAM for most users. $59

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb - This is a very large and fast drive. $99

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - You only need a basic drive such as this, it will read and write most optical media. $23

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar D2 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Ultra Fidelity Sound Card with Complete Dolby/DTS Sound Technologies - A few years ago, I wrote off Creative cards because of their bad drivers. Now, I have two of these. This is considered a pro-sumer card and has excellent audio. Sometimes, it can be flaky with games (I haven't had any problems) but this is not much of a concern since you're not a gamer. $197

Operating System: Windows 7 RC1 64-bit - You need a 64-bit operating system to use 4GB or more of RAM. Normally, I would suggest Vista but since Windows 7 will be out on October 22nd and the RC is available now for free, I say get the RC then buy the retail (RTM) edition when it is released. You can download the RC until about July. Note that since this is a very stable pre-release, it will expire in March 2010 so you have to buy Windows 7 or Vista by then.

Total Cost: $806

garmanma, on Jun 4 2009, 12:58 PM, said:

Yes, with a little help. Sorry about posting in the wrong place.

To DJB. Thanks for the quick and thorough reply. Do you think XP would do the trick as far as OS's go?
I'm still a little gun shy about new operating systems. I'm kind of new to this recording and mixing onto a computer so please bear with me. I want to record live drums, vocals and guitar directly into the PC so I'm just making sure that this is really all I need? Minus mics and cables etc.
Thanks again.

This PC will handle audio recording very well. It can also handle light gaming if you choose to take that up. XP has left mainstream support at Microsoft and has entered the extended support phase. This means there will only be security updates to that OS but no more service packs or enhancements. In 2014, XP will fully leave support. I wouldn't get XP seeing how, since you will have 4GB of RAM, you will need the 64-bit edition to run with all the memory. XP 64-bit is not good at all and you should either go with Vista 64-bit or 7 64-bit given their compatibility enhancements with that platform. At the core, Windows 7 is Vista with a new UI and enhancements so you don't need a high-end PC to run it. Most people consider 7 to be "Vista done right". I've been running it since beta. If your programs will run under Vista, they will probably run in 7. You can certainly purchase the Vista Home Premium 64-bit for $99 now and choose not to upgrade to 7 until it too leaves support like XP will be doing in a few years. Or, you can buy the 64-bit version of XP for $129 and be forced to upgrade in five years. I've never done any audio mixing myself but the audio card has plenty of connectors so you should be good to go on the hardware end, all you need now is the software. If you're buying all new software and do get 64-bit Windows, try to get the 64-bit version of the software (if there is any) since it can take advantage of faster instruction sets and increased memory limits in x64.

Hi DJBPace07,
Thanks a million for the advice and info. Now all I need to do is to sell my proposal to my CFO ...um... wife.
Thanks to you and all the people in this community that help folks like me.
Bryan

Hi DJBPace07,
You were right on the money with all of your suggested PC hardware. I had to bolt down the dang thing to keep it from flying away. Thanks again. Now if I can only get my Netgear to find an IP address.