I appreciate everyone's advice here, especially those who answered my primary questions, you've definitely cleared that issue up for me, many thanks.

I had already decided to go the pc route after doing a bit of research, it just seems like the Macs are kinda limited when it comes to upgrading if I ever choose or need to do so.
Without going into great detail and starting another Mac vs PC thread, I can definitely respect the people who have Macs, they seem like great machines, just not what I'm looking for.

This is what I have so far for specs...

Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz - 2 DIMMs, Intel Pentium 4 processor 640 (3.2 Ghz, 800 Fsb), 160 GB ATA Hard drive, Windows XP Pro....

I'm still debating what soundcard to get, any recommendations?

Oh, one more thing, this computer is specifically for composing music, NOTHING else.

___________________
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Last edited by DJMiakoda on Feb-17-2006 at 07:10

quote:

Originally posted by acell 1. A Mac is an option to anyone who's looking at buying a PC (Personal Computer for thoes playing at home) so it's a very vailid.. 2. Who is forcing? No one.. again, just an option 3. Did someone drop a mac on your head or something when you were yong? 4. Forget Mac vs Pc, It is proven without a shodow of a doubt that Mac OSX kicks the fuck out of XP (and lets not get started on Vista *cough OSXVista* so just chill out.. let people have there opionions and don't flame others for not sharing you opionion..

Are some people here just pretending to be as dumb as they are?
1. it is not valid. Topic starter is buying a pc. not a mac. if he was considering a mac he would have mentioned it.
2 half true. But again, it obviously seems it is not an option for topicstarter.
3. 2 actually.
4. thanks for actually giving me decent answers without going into the pc vs mac discussion.

And yes people are allowed to have their own opinions, but it is darn annoying to see 'get a mac' in every thread even when the topic starter doesn't want to get one. Opinions without a use are just as usefull as not posting at all. That would clearly make way for usefull information instead of these stupid dicussions you and me are part of.

It is the same as telling someone whom uses logic to start using cubase when he's not interested, or taking it up a notch, it would be me telling you should not be christian because I'm an atheist, where's the sense in that?!?

it all comes to this (again):
Obviously the topic starter wants a regular pc. 1 get a mac post is enough, if he was in doubt he would have asked about it. no need to get all nasty on me for pointing out the rude way he doesn't want it. Could be his loss, could be his gain, that's up to the topic starter to decide, not you 'get a mac' guys. Go make yourself usefull in a mac thread now, please. Your knowledge we obviously don't seem to share is way more usefull there in most cases, not every one, but most.

@miakoda: Looking pretty good there!
I don't know as for the mainboard you've chosen, but make sure there are some pci slots in there instead of the newer pci-express. The pci-express audio cards are ery limited. As for the audio card I could recommend something alike the m-audio audiophile 2496. A very compact and cheap but strong audio card (about 100Euro). Only minor side is you'll need cinch cables instead of jack.

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Last edited by Storyteller on Feb-17-2006 at 12:37

get the m-audio 2496 soundcard. very good value and very user friendly.

i think its sub £60

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quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller Are some people here just pretending to be as dumb as they are? 1. it is not valid. Topic starter is buying a pc. not a mac. if he was considering a mac he would have mentioned it. 2 half true. But again, it obviously seems it is not an option for topicstarter. blah blah blah..

man.. you are a wanker.. haha

in your own words "get a life"

wow the best arguments I've read thus far!!

At least I'm posting relevant stuff for mister topic starter.

___________________

Storyteller Website | Storyteller @ Facebook | Storyteller @ Beatport | Storyteller @ Soundcloud | Stephen J. Kroos - Europa (Storyteller Remix)
Anthony Mea - Get It On (Storyteller Remix)

quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

quote:

Originally posted by DJMiakoda I'm still debating what soundcard to get, any recommendations?

What do you need as far as I/O? If you don't have hardware synths/instruments I would probably go with the one suggested above or see one of the other threads about cheaper but efficient soundcards. I just got a MOTU traveler which I like alot, but I have alot of gear and needed all the Ins/Outs. Before that I had the Echo Mia which I liked alot as well.

The mobo is a tricky decision, you want something that lets you rearrange your IRQ's in the BIOS rather than having them unchangable, forcing you to physically rearrange how your cards are plugged in so that your sound gets the priority, it would be better to arrange your cards to separate them as best as possible and reduce noise then assign the IRQ's in the BIOS. Windows is kinda bitchy regarding IRQ's, and without tweaking it will arrange them to scroe high on benchmarks but not the benchmarks that are important for our purposes. Seems you also need a PCI sound card, personally I am wanting an maudio delta 1010 but I am not going to be in this market for a new machine for another couple years, something different could come out within that time.

Then you have gfx cards, basically you want something that isn't going to hog the bus away from the audio, something that supports double monitors if you want to do that, and you're going to need it to have whatever graphics power will be needed for vista should you upgrade to that in the future. That is tricky, articles I read seem to indicate that an AGP card is best for audio, but there aren't many new AGP cards coming out anymore.

OS shouldn't be much of an issue, get whatever is suggested by the software that you want to use. Get more than one hard drive(probably didnt even need to mention that) Actually alot of those websites for the programs you might be using include some suggestions for what hardware to get, might be worth looking in those places.

Processor, RAM and OS seem to be the only things you have picked so far, do you have the other parts already?

I like how PC's are so modular, some people need a simple preconstruccted thing that gets out of their way, some people need the ability to take things apart and re-arrange and upgrade. I really like to tweak stuff and break things and feel limited by a mac in the way I am forced to do things their way or not at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller wow the best arguments I've read thus far!! At least I'm posting relevant stuff for mister topic starter.

This isn't a shot @ the topic starter in any way, shape or form:

Topic: Looking to buy a new computer (could be PC or Mac)

It's also fair to say he/she's fairly new to the wonderfull world of a personal computer by this statement, "what's the difference between SDRAM and RAM", so then, buy giving them a "straight up, un-sugar-coated answer" by just saying buy a Mac, i think ansers the post very very well..

and, if he or she is new to Pcs, then wouldn't buying an all-in-one wonder iMac be a good start? then pissing around with components that may work well or might not...?

open your fucking eyes, and read what the original post was asking before you get on your high horse and start flaiming other people..

j

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0915 I like how PC's are so modular, some people need a simple preconstruccted thing that gets out of their way, some people need the ability to take things apart and re-arrange and upgrade. I really like to tweak stuff and break things and feel limited by a mac in the way I am forced to do things their way or not at all.

Now Storyteller, that is how you post critisism to someones post regarding a Mac..

not "get a life"..

Thats a fair call Zombie0915

quote:

Originally posted by DJBo2 This is exactly why he should get a Mac! Everything works perfectly out of the box, no fannying about with anything, everything is so simple & well designed. Saving countless hours of frustration that you get with windows & PC. Which means you can get things done a lot faster, leaving you with more time for your life. I have never looked back since choosing Apple. Windows is sh1te, full stop.

Considering that OSX is running a freeBSD core, really you're endosing UNIX.


But then there's always the Apple switch to Windows:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1923151,00.asp

quote:

Originally posted by acell This isn't a shot @ the topic starter in any way, shape or form: It's also fair to say he/she's fairly new to the wonderfull world of a personal computer by this statement, "what's the difference between SDRAM and RAM", so then, buy giving them a "straight up, un-sugar-coated answer" by just saying buy a Mac, i think ansers the post very very well..

Just not the kind he is looking for.

quote:

and, if he or she is new to Pcs, then wouldn't buying an all-in-one wonder iMac be a good start? then pissing around with components that may work well or might not...?

Generally the kind of pc question is the first one to be asked. Not the last. If the topicstarter is referring to a pc I would take it that the question has already been answered in the context.

quote:

open your fucking eyes, and read what the original post was asking before you get on your high horse and start flaiming other people..

Right back at you.

quote:

Originally posted by acell Now Storyteller, that is how you post critisism to someones post regarding a Mac.. not "get a life".. Thats a fair call Zombie0915

Thank you for proving me you haven't read properly. The only criticism I have is you tell someone to get a mac when he wants something different. Plain simple. No other arguments necessary.

It frustrates me (and other people) to see get a mac posts in every pc thread. One is enough, you don't have to come in clusters mac fans (i mean, what is the value of 3 exactly the same posts?!? could you be any more constructive?!). And to repeat myself over and over untill you do seem to get it: If it was an option to the topic starter would have been asking you questions instead of ignoring you. Clearly it is not an option in this case, although it may seem like an option to you, it isn't for the topic starter whom we're talking about.

___________________

Storyteller Website | Storyteller @ Facebook | Storyteller @ Beatport | Storyteller @ Soundcloud | Stephen J. Kroos - Europa (Storyteller Remix)
Anthony Mea - Get It On (Storyteller Remix)

quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

Last edited by Storyteller on Feb-18-2006 at 13:23