PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic New Computer Recommendations?

It's all pretty confusing....
32 bit vs 64 bit? Core2 vs Dual core vs quad core? Intel vs AMD?
Integrated sound? DDR2 vs DDR3?
Forget Vista!! How much RAM can XP see?
SATA drive?

Any ideas would be appreciated!!

Thanks,
Mick

Mick,

I bought a new laptop about the middle of '08. Even though I did a ton of research I found out that I did not ask the right questions. You are very wise to check with the people on this form. Let me tell you what I found out.

1. My firewire interface board was not compatible with Vista 64 so I had to purchase a separate 32 version.
2. My firewire brand that was used by my laptop was not the best to use for recording audio. (It needed to be Texas Instruments)
I even bought a firewire card to insert but it did not override what was already installed so it did not help. During recording
sessions I loose the firewire signal many times and have to reboot.
3. Even though Vista Ultimate operating system itself seems more staple than XP I had fewer issues when I used XP.

In my opinion the intel core 2 is the way to go.

I would also get a large hard drive with at least 7200 speed

Make sure you don't make the mistakes that I did. Since PC's use parts from many different companies research every possible brand that will be used in you recording process and choose the computer that has those brands in it. If you are going to build your own computer you would be able to put the components in that you wanted instead of what the manufacture wanted.

I hope this help,
Steve

"Quadzilla" deal looks like a lot for $700US...

I've been very happy with my new Z systems that I got thru Cosco. XP Pro, for about $600, do a search for Z system computers. Then compare.

I'm using a dual-core 2.4 gig machine with 3 gigs RAM, and a 320gig HD. It's running on Vista Home Basic [ yes-basic ] SP1. It's a 32 bit system. I use this only for photography and music, so it has never been hooked up to the internet. If I need an patch or upgrade, I use my internet XP machine or laptop to upload. I use an external DVD-RW, CD-RW, box for burning, as the burner on the machine is not very fast, 24X I believe. I also use an external 7200 RPM HDD through a USB 2.0 bus from time to time, even though the box has 2 Firewire ports. I don't have any firewire equipment yet.

It boots up in 26 seconds and shuts down in 8 seconds. The dedicated machine runs without any anti-virus or ant-spam software. I searched the net for some sites that offered a bunch of tweaks to Vista for best performance for music and photography. This very forum has been very helpful in that regard also.

Shop around, as the current economy is begining to spawn some great deals.

I just got an HP quadcore 640GB HD and 6GB ram with Vista for around $650.00 from Newegg.

The onboard sound is adequate for my weekly devotional, but I'll be looking to upgrade it. (When the recession is over )

Don S.

I haven't had the time to sit down and play with my new computer as far as making music, but Vista Ultimate SP1, AMD Phenom II 3GHz CPU, Asus mobo and sound card, two 500 GB Western Digital hard drives, Asus DVD burner, Thermaltake Armour Case, Seasonic 700 watt power supply, ATI Radeon 4850 video card in slot one, ATI Radeon 2600HD in slot two, NOT Crossfire, M-Audio 2496 in one of the PCI slots, and the Asus sound card in one of the PCI-e slots.

BIAB and RB seem to run okay, Sonar seems to run okay, haven't tried PTW yet.

This is a 'custom build', i.e., I turned the screws. You can get just as good. You don't need this much, but it's nice to have it.

Gary

Thanks for the feedback.
I would imagine 64 bit is the "new & improved" standard?
If so... that requires Vista. Is it stable? Is it the hog folks say it is?
What's the alternative?

At least with XP, I have relatively few problems. (now)
Microsoft's "Newest & Bestest" always scares the hell out of me!

Mick

Get SP XP3 or wait for Windows 7 release.

Have you looked at netbooks. I have an Asus EeePC1000HD that I love.

The new model 1000HE was just released and is currently on Amazon.com for about $375.
http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Pr...6085&sr=8-1

I run Akoustik Piano software on mine. I installed 2 gigs of Ram. Asus is the easiest to upgrade of the netbooks.

Are XP3 or Windows7 64 bit?
Does a 64 bit CPU run 32 bit apps?
(told you I was confused...)

Quote:

---

Are XP3 or Windows7 64 bit?
Does a 64 bit CPU run 32 bit apps?
(told you I was confused...)

---

Hi Mike,

No problem with the 32 bit apps. I don't know about the XP3 or Windows 7.

Don S.

Mick,
To clarify, and help you understand.

In the simplest terms, 32 bit and 64 bit are 'widths.' There were also 8 bit and 16 bit OS's as well. Windows 3.1 was a 16 bit OS, if I recall correctly, and Windows 95 moved to 32 bit.

More data can move in a wider pipeline. So, more information can be transmitted from one place to another, more data crunched for a given amount of time.

There is a 64 bit version of Windows XP, stay away from it. There are no drivers written for it by just about anyone.

Vista was the real first commercial OS from Microsoft that used 64 bit processing, and really took off. However, you have a choice of running either 32 bit or 64, depending on your hardware. (get to that in a minute)

Windows 7 will be available in either 64 bit or 32 bit, also.

Hardware requirements. You MUST have a 64 bit processor to run a 64 bit Operating System. BUT, you *can* run a 32 bit OS on a 64 bit CPU, and it will work just fine. Of course, honestly, I don't think you *can* find a new 32 bit CPU.

A 64 bit OS like Vista or Windows 7 will run older software, even if the software is not optimized for 64 bit. Of course, if you DO have software that is 64 bit enabled, such as Sonar 7 Studio Edition, it will run faster. Not only is Sonar 7 either 32 bit or 64 enabled (it asks which you want to install when it detects a 64 bit OS), it is multi core aware as well, and will use as many cores as you can give it.

With running a 64 bit CPU on a 64 bit processor, I'm not jumping through any special hoops at this time to get what I want. It just works.

I can go to Costco Online and use their HP custom configuration program and for about $1,450 build a very nice HP system with an AMD quad core, 64 bit OS, two 500 gig hard drives, 6gb of RAM, 22" widescreen monitor, DVD burner, no sound card, you'll need to install something of your own (not Creative) and a few other things, like a half way decent video card if you want to do some light gaming.

You can also go to CyberPowerPC.com and configure an AMD to be a very nice computer that's real close to the Costco one and it'll come to about $1,300

* CASE: ($20 off Mail-in Rebate) Xion III Gaming Mid-Tower 420W Case with Side Window (BLACK COLOR)
* Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
* POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: 650 Watts Power Supplies (Corsair CMPSU-650TX - Quad SLI Ready)
* CPU: AMD Phenom™II X4 920 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
* COOLING FAN : Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
* MOTHERBOARD: ASUS M3A78-T AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB DDR3 PCI-Express DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
* LCD Monitor: 22& quot; TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (ViewSonic VA2226W Widescreen WSXGA 1680x1050)
* HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
* Data Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
* Optical Drive: (Special Price) LG 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
* Optical Drive 2: 16X DVD ROM (BLACK COLOR)
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
* NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
* KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BLACK COLOR)
* MOUSE: PS2 INTERNET MOUSE W/ WHEEL (BLACK COLOR)
* Cable Wiring: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU
* USB PORT: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
* OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
* FREEBIES: FREE! (Microsoft® Flight Simulator X Deluxe) Game
* SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* RUSH SERVICE: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS


Gary

Mick,
I've been looking, and found a couple of others that are less expensive, but should do nicely for you, as well, provided you aren't going to use it as a gaming system.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103152

By the way, I just picked up one of those monitors. It's really nice. Real close to my Samsungs.

You might also look at something like this if you wanted a little more 'ooomph' for gaming stuff.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229063

Add a good sound card to it like the Asus Xonar D2X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132005
and a second hard drive would still put you about $1,100, wouldn't be too bad.

Gary

Wow Gary, thanks for all the info. (and everyone else too)

My biggest concern was having a 64 bit CPU & not being able to use my programs or my EMU0404 soundcard. (That's what I have in my desktop.) I also don't want Vista, although if Windows 7 proves to be a good OS, I'd probably upgrade later from XP.

I could use my Presonus Firepod with my desktop as long as it has a Firewire port.

I have been using my laptop to record, but will probably just use that for mobile recording when I get a new desktop. (also maybe for Mr Sax T & WIVI)

As for gaming? Not my bag.

Thanks again.
Mick

Mick,
As I've said, the 64 bit version of Vista, on a capable computer like the one from CyberPower would run your applications very well. From what I've seen with Windows 7, it's a great OS. Understand, 7 *is* Vista, tweaked, cleaned up, slimmed down and looking nicer, but the basics are Vista.

Many of the new motherboards are coming with Firewire ports as standard, but there's no way of knowing if you'll have the correct onboard chipset to run audio via Firewire.

You can run Windows XP on any of those computers I've listed, but you totally lose the 64 bit advantage. As to running a 64 bit CPU, with the exception of my laptop, all my CPUs for the past few years have been 64 bit, even though they've been running 32 bit OS (Win XP Pro) on them, so there's no worry there.

The Emu 2.1 driver will support XP 32, XP 64, Vista 32 and Vista 64 bit OS's, so you *could* go with Vista 64 bit and run your applications with no issues. I don't know if the Firepod has drivers for 64 bit OS, although I would think they would.

Gary

And just to make things possibly more confusing, early reports from some users of the release candidate for Vista SP2 liken the performance gains to Win 7. Apparently we are in a crossover period, where some of the new features being worked on for Win 7 are now available for Vista.

I moved to Vista 32 last summer and have been quite happy with it. I'm looking forward to the full service pack 2, since it is only in release candidate form now.

Hi
Have you ever considered swiching to Mac. I have resently bought an iMac and I've never tried anything running so smooth . And yes, - you can run BIAB, since it's possible to install Windows on the Mac, you just choose which OS you want when you start the computer.
Kind regards
Lindbjerg

Lindbjerg,
My feeling on an iMac is this. Yes, you can run bootstrap, or Wine, or whatever it is you want to run Windows in, but I believe it's still all emulation, Windows is running on a virtual machine, which slows everything down. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Secondly, the iMac only has a 320 gb hard drive, so if you are running both OS X and Windows, and the emulator, then on top of that, trying to do audio work, it's going to be a bit hard. You can't add a second drive to it. Yes, you can use an external USB drive.

You are restricted to the sound card that comes with the iMac...not a bad choice if you're using external A/D and D/A converters that support Optical S/PDIF. But, if you're using the analog, you're restricted by the quality of the sound chip.

Much of the same goes for the PowerMac. You can add additional internal drives, but there are no PCI slots, only PCI-e. So, if you're looking to expand your sound card capability, you need to find a sound card that is PCI-e capable, AND has Mac OS X drivers. Both the Creative series of cards, as well as the Asus PCI-e cards only have drivers written for the PC, which I guess is okay when you're using WIndows on your Mac, but how about when you want to go 'native?'

For not much more than you're entry level iMac, I can have a very nice PC which will give me a number of solutions, will run either dual or quad core processors, will have a 22" monitor, and will run a 64 bit OS.

I'm not dissing the Macs, I think they're great computers, but dollar for dollar, and bang for the buck, Macs aren't in the competition.

Gary