quote:

Originally posted by damnuok Hey guys, I'm going to buy a new pc, to get more serious into producing. I'd like to hear some opinions about what should I buy... cpu - ? motherboard - ? soundcard - ? graphiccard - ? hdd - 2x250gb? ram - 2gb ? etc - ? I have 1500 € thx. ps: probably this topic has been discussed hundred of times before, but really, I need to know what should I buy with the cash I have...thx

Apple Mac:

cpu - 3.0 Ghz Dual Core
motherboard - N/A
soundcard - Delta 2496
graphiccard - Doesn't matter.
hdd - 2x250gb? - At least 250 GB
ram - 1gb is fine for starters
etc - Good monitors and good DAW software, Reason or Logic. (Logic is preferred if you are on a mac. Good all-in-one solution with lots of potential to grow).

OR

PC:

cpu - 3.2 Ghz Dual Core
motherboard - anything that doesnt have an Intel 945 chipset. (Intel boards are good, just avoid the 945 chipset)
soundcard - Delta 2496 (cheap and good enough for starters)
graphiccard - Doesnt matter
hdd - 250 GB at least
ram - 1gb is fine for starters
etc - Again, good monitors and good DAW software. Reason is good if you are just starting out, Cubase 4 is good is you know what you are doing.

hey mate, thx for the fast reply but I'm not really a 'starter'...
I've been into producing for over 6 months :P
I'm using ableton.

I'd love to get some feedback with real stuff instead of that 'good enough for starters' :P

thx mate!

Huh, well 6 months seems like just starting out to me, but then again, I've been doing this for 10 years, so my timeline might be a little different than yours.

anyway, I digress....

Generally If I'm buying a new computer then I would initially put the money into things that cannot be replaced. That means getting the fastest processor you can. Ram and disk can always be added later when you have more cash, but its more difficult to replace your processor.

If I were in your position, Id go with this:

Apple Macintosh G5:
2 3.0 Ghz Intel Xeon Dual-Core processors, 2GB Ram and 2x500 GB hard disks.
Graphics card doesnt matter and with Apple, you do not get to choose a motherboard type.

That will run you about $3200 US.

As for soundcard, that will depend on if you have a lot of outboard hardware. If you do, you'll want something with lots of ins and outs, such as a M-Audio Delta 1010 ($400 US) or a MOTU 24IO (expensive). The 24IO is about $1500 US.

If you do not have much or any outboard hardware, then something simple like a Delta 2496 ($99 US) or a Motu Ultralite ($550 US).

Definitely go MOTU if you are on the Apple platform, MOTU and Apple work great together.

Don't forget to get decent monitors if you dont already have some. Mackie HR Series are very popular, but a tad pricey (about $1000 for a pair). I have heard good things about the M-Audio BX5a (about $350 USD).

Personally, if I were 6 months into it in today's world, I'd just go with the Apple Mac, Logic Pro, a MOTU audio interface and some Mackie HR624/824's. WIth today's VST instruments and the quality of the built in synths and plugins you get with Logic, you wouldn't need much else.

If you are sticking with Ableton, you may want to invest in some third party VSTi's or FX, such as the Waves plugins (awesome, but expensive) or a UAD-1 card (awesome, but can get expensive). I like the Ableton built in FX< but they aren't as good as Logic's, IMO.

Hey mate, thx for the fast reply!

anyway, I'm not used to mac...so I really dunno if I should get one or not

btw, I've been talking with some mates, and the final conclusion I got was (PC):

Motherboad Asus Striker Extreme
Intel CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4 SKT775 FSB1333
2x1GB DDRII Kingston 800MHz
XFX Geforce 8600 GT FATAL1TY 256MB DDR3 PCi-x
M-Audio Audiophile 2496
+500GB HDD

For PC thats a good machine, That should take care of you for a while. Good luck, and post up some of your work so we can hear what you've dome with all that hardware!

quote:

Originally posted by damnuok Motherboad Asus Striker Extreme

High-priced gamer/overclocker motherboard, uses NVidia chipset. I'd be more inclined, personally, to check out the Intel DP35DP. It'll cost you alot less money, it uses the new Intel P35 chipset. Intel boards are quite stable. I'm a big fan of a good, simple, stable real Intel mobo.

quote:

Intel CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4 SKT775 FSB1333

Q6600 is a 1066 FSB chip.. whatever the case, this is a good choice.

quote:

M-Audio Audiophile 2496

You might consider using the money you saved not getting the expensive gamer motherboard to get a higher-end sound interface. The 2496 is not a bad interface, but lacking a breakout box and balanced ins/outs, you are more likely to get hum, especially if you have a big flat-panel or two buzzing on your desk.

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/PCI/Gina3G/index.php

Not all that expensive, and provides alot... 6 balanced analog outputs on TRS jacks, 2 balanced universal ins on XLRs with auto-sensing mic preamps and phantom power, SPDIF in/out, ADAT in/out.

ADAT can be really handy... Connect it to a mixer with an ADAT interface, and you suddenly have 8 more ins and outs, all on a hardware mixer. This is quite handy to deal with hardware goodies... outboard efx, etc.

The Gina also has a built-in headphone output.. The 2496 will not drive headphones without an external device (it's outputs are line level)

quote:

+500GB HDD

Get two, mirror them. You will not be sorry when one of them dies. Drives are cheap. Loosing a drive is not cheap if you value your time and work.

Last edited by MERiDiAN5i2 on Sep-03-2007 at 06:00

The only very important thing actually is the RAM and a decent processor, you dont need a 3+ processor, I have been using a 2.4 since two years and 512 megas of ram, I used to have a giga, but switched to DDR2 and it became useless, because mine was DDR 1, anyway I have managed to produce all very good with this, my sound card is integrated, as soon as I have the chance will get more ram and a simple 16 bit soundcard, dont get to complicated getting new hardware for your Pc, but RAM is mandatory, and a decent soundcard for the latency, even when now with ASIO4all u can get a good latency, just use smart all your effects&synths&polyphony.

Kopi =o.

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quote:

Originally posted by damnuok Hey guys, I'm going to buy a new pc, to get more serious into producing. I'd like to hear some opinions about what should I buy... cpu - ? motherboard - ? soundcard - ? graphiccard - ? hdd - 2x250gb? ram - 2gb ? etc - ? I have 1500 € thx. ps: probably this topic has been discussed hundred of times before, but really, I need to know what should I buy with the cash I have...thx

so what about a brand new iMac. If you don't like mac OS, you can still install boot camp and winxp on there.

And regarding hd's, I recommend getting a pair of 250 or 500 drives and make a softRAID 1 with them. Raid 1 means you always have a backup whatever happens

L.

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quote:

Originally posted by Lolo And regarding hd's, I recommend getting a pair of 250 or 500 drives and make a softRAID 1 with them. Raid 1 means you always have a backup whatever happens

Bad idea man. It only protects you from hard drive failure, which is a relatively unprobable issue these days. FYI, you're better off having a completely separate, external, HD and backing up manually - protects you from viruses & power surges etc. We used to get IT "experts" bringing their raid 1 arrays into work to see if we could recover anything after a power surge killed both of them at once. "We thought raid 1 was foolproof!"

Anyway! To OP: I cbf researching for you, but don't get sucked into the "I'll pay a bit more to get something that LASTS!" mentallity. As someone who has worked in retail IT for too long (and used this as a sales weapon), it is the worst thing you can do. Find the sweet spot for everything (bang vs. buck) and don't expect to get the fastest stuff out there. Otherwise you will end up paying twice as much, but only get like 20% extra performance!

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J motherboard - anything that doesnt have an Intel 945 chipset. (Intel

I'm also looking for a new system, what's so bad bout this chipset?

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hey mates, thx 4 the replies.

about the cpu,

Intel CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4 SKT775 FSB1333 - 329€
(2.40GHz, 4x2MB, 1066MHz FSB, Socket T - MPN: BX80562Q6600)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (3,0Ghz) FSB 1333 4MB - 329€
(3.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775)

both have the same price....which one should i get ?

mboad: yeah guys, you're right, I'm not going to play games, so I don't need such mboard.

what about a Motherboard Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus ? or Asus P5K3 Deluxe WIFI ? or Asus P5K-SE ? or Intel DP35DP ?

graphiccard:
Nvidia 6800XT ? or Asus GeForce 6600 ? (I'm not going to play games)

soundcard:
MERiDiAN5i2, gina3g... dunno where can I buy it, its price and if it's that good ?

1 guy told me to check out E-Mu 0404 USB 2.0...dunno anything about that card.

also, what do you guys think about m-audio cards?

well, I'm not using almost any hardware gear (not enough € ;(), so which card should I get ? I'm really confused and I really dont know which one should I get...:$

about case and power, I'm going to get a good and silent one, with 600w.

lolo, I don't think I have enough money to buy a good iMac... or?

thx.