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help me buy a PC

i have been looking for a PC to buy for production and recording.

what i need to use this PC for is to download tracks, browse internet, record mixes, produce music. i dont play games. i need to use softwares like Live, Cubase, Fruity Loops, Sound Forge, and similar programs.

is this enough power to start with? is $850 a good price for it? what else do you guys recommend to add on this? what sound card is the best bang for the buck?

in the near future, im planning to buy an access virus c, some decent keyboard and other things. any recommendation is welcome

This is an HP PC
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 3800+

1GB PC3200 DDR Memory
250GB SATA Hard Drive
Double Layer Light Scribe DVD+R/RW Drive
128MB ATI Radeon Express 200 Integrated Graphics
9-in-1 Memory Card Drive
USB 2.0 & Firewire


thanks

I'm actually going to help you... Do not get a PC, get a Mac

quote:

Originally posted by IKKI-ZUVK I'm actually going to help you... Do not get a PC, get a Mac

Oh man....here we go again!

funny, you forgot about the soundcard!

ahahaha

the rest seems good enough

quote:

Originally posted by wood0292 Oh man....here we go again!

I was just thinking the same thing let's help him out with his PC configuration and leave the PC/Mac debate to that thread

If I were you I'd stay away from a lot of the pre-packaged consumer PCs (from HP, Dell, etc). A lot of them come loaded with tons of software that'll just bog the system down from the get go. If you have the know-how, I'd suggest sticking with just building it yourself from the ground up. It often gives you more bang for your buck, and it's easier to customize.

The processor you chose is a good one, but keep in mind that not many programs are optimized for 64-bit processing yet - particularly audio applications. The only program I can think of offhand that can take advantage of that boost is Cakewalk Sonar. So even though it's a great chip, you're not going to everything you can out of it from the get go.

1GB of RAM is a sufficient starting point for audio work, but if you're doing some more intense stuff and a lot of multitasking, you might want to invest in more a couple months down the road as you see fit.

And as djsphere said, a good soundcard is always a must for serious audio work. The M-Audio website is always a great place to start if you've never shopped around for a sound card before.

How many of these threads do we need before people learn to (a) use the search or (b) do their own research?

Set a price range for yourself and get the best hardware you can afford. It's that simple. And don't buy consumer-level PCs from big companies like Dell, HP, Gateway, or eMachines - ever.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut And don't buy consumer-level PCs from big companies like Dell, HP, Gateway, or eMachines - ever.

id have to disagree with that a bit...

if you know what you are doing, and wait around for awhile...youll find that dell offers some crazy ass deals on hardware (lcds included). once you get a cheap pc from them..you can always strip the unnecessary shit that dell puts in

but yeah building your own pc gives you so much more pride and joy

quote:

Originally posted by qiushiming id have to disagree with that a bit... if you know what you are doing, and wait around for awhile...youll find that dell offers some crazy ass deals on hardware (lcds included). once you get a cheap pc from them..you can always strip the unnecessary shit that dell puts in but yeah building your own pc gives you so much more pride and joy

Thats because theyre usually recertified you just don't know it ;P

Besides, dell are shit in general everyone knows they buy the dodgy batches...

Dell uses commodity-based purchasing, which means they buy massive quantities of whatever happens to be the best value at a given time in order to build their systems. They don't care about performance or reliability.

This approach has actually proven better in the consumer market than HP, Gateway, etc., because those other companies don't even care about value, they simply buy the cheapest components they can find (often end-of-line or nearly-end-of-line) and cut corners wherever possible. That is why their pricing is so "cheap".

Compaq and IBM do a better job in the server market. When it comes to consumer-oriented PCs, though, the only big company I've seen do a decent job is Alienware, and obviously the smaller computer stores.

Don't buy mass-marketed consumer PCs, for any reason, under any circumstances. And if you do, don't say I didn't warn you.

found a better unit, i believe


http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid...ication.do#tabs

how about something like this, custom made though.

i didnt forget about the sound card. but for now, sound card is a later addition probably.

p.s. what decent sound cards do usually electronics store sell? or is it better to purchase a specific one online?

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut Don't buy mass-marketed consumer PCs, for any reason, under any circumstances. And if you do, don't say I didn't warn you.

+1,000,000,000,000

Research what EVERYTHING in ur computer does, spend a couple of weeks doing this, reading as many articles and reviews as u can, dont just jump on here and ask "will this do".

Spending the 3 weeks doing this will prove invaluable

quote:

Originally posted by IKKI-ZUVK I'm actually going to help you... Do not get a PC, get a Mac

Exactly wha i said in my head when i read the thread ! GET A MAC..

^ can't you read the previous replies?

May i remind you of this topic:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...15&pagenumber=1

now please get out of here instead of posting stupid shit. The topicstarter doesn't want a mac. I'll contact you once anyone is askin for your opinion about a mac, untill that time please stay away from your pc/mac (or whatever) to avoid any more of these stupid low-intelligence kind of posts. Thank you.

And now for some usefull content. As said, hp isn't the best place to buy. As I'm looking through your specs it looks nice BUT you have no description of the most essential part... the Mainboard, which type is it, what FSB speed has it got, what kind of chipset. If the mainboard isn't good you can spend tons on upgrading all other stuff, but the actually advantage will be near to 0%. Thus: make sure you have a good mainboard and cpu to start with.

As for the soundcard, I wouldn't buy one from a regular store, they would probably recommend something along the lines of the creative audigy, which could be the beginning of an era of blue screens as I had. I would personally recommend to stay away from creative, you can buy cheaper but better cards if you look in some other threads in this forum.

quote:

Originally posted by retrobyte The processor you chose is a good one, but keep in mind that not many programs are optimized for 64-bit processing yet - particularly audio applications. The only program I can think of offhand that can take advantage of that boost is Cakewalk Sonar. So even though it's a great chip, you're not going to everything you can out of it from the get go.

The fact that it is 64-bit is nothing to do with anything. 64-Bit is the future and all processors being made now by Intel and AMD are 64-bit compatible and work perfectly fine with 32-bit applications. They have advanced intregated memory controllers, thus making them alot faster in the long run. Athlon 64s are some of the most powerful desktop processors you can get at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by CJConstable The fact that it is 64-bit is nothing to do with anything. 64-Bit is the future and all processors being made now by Intel and AMD are 64-bit compatible and work perfectly fine with 32-bit applications. They have advanced intregated memory controllers, thus making them alot faster in the long run. Athlon 64s are some of the most powerful desktop processors you can get at the moment.

Id have to disagree, first of all on the part of all pentiums being 64 bit, which just isn't true, the amd processor has a 32bit emulator. Pentium hasn't. So no 64bit pentium processor would work on your current version of windows as it does on the AMD's. (actually it is the other way around, the normal windows xp wouldn't work on the pentium 64bit.)

so after further reading, i found out not all softwares work with the athlon 64 x2. cubase, fruity loops, sound forge... do any 64 owners run any of these programs? its really not worth buying this processor if i cant run these important programs.

p.s. does anyone know of the windows x64 or something?

LOL

Everything does work with athlon 64 processors, even if it is 32 bit.
With Pentium this is not the case.

If you plan on going with windows.

Build your own PC its alot cheaper then buying a brand new one from the shop.

I build's mine its just like putting lego together.

Buy a AMD DUAL CORE X2 64 4800 1mb cache, 2gb ram, asus sli motherboard and a good soundcard and ur sorted trust me dude this machine runs like a beast, i have ran loads of vsts and obviously u wont need that many but its great u haven't gotta worry about cpu problems or anything unless u use mega overload of instruments then it might break up a touch hehe but i got 1 of these pcs a few weeks back and i love it Ryan g has just brought 1 also and he recommends it. www.ryangrenz.com

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut Dell uses commodity-based purchasing, which means they buy massive quantities of whatever happens to be the best value at a given time in order to build their systems. They don't care about performance or reliability. This approach has actually proven better in the consumer market than HP, Gateway, etc., because those other companies don't even care about value, they simply buy the cheapest components they can find (often end-of-line or nearly-end-of-line) and cut corners wherever possible. That is why their pricing is so "cheap". Compaq and IBM do a better job in the server market. When it comes to consumer-oriented PCs, though, the only big company I've seen do a decent job is Alienware, and obviously the smaller computer stores. Don't buy mass-marketed consumer PCs, for any reason, under any circumstances. And if you do, don't say I didn't warn you.

my pc is a dell, never had any bother with it nor has any1 i know with a dell.

Just wanted to say that a PC can't be fast enough for audio or video production. I thought I had it all sorted getting the fastest bastard I could find but I'm still very limited in CPU power. Don't be in a hurry to get a reasonably fast comp for a few bob less cash, save up for the real deal.

for 3k ill build you the ultimate music PC. Well providing you live in the states.

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