Questions on specing a custom PC (sorry)

[andydes]

I've been saying this a while, but this time, it's definitely time to put my old P4 to rest.

Looking at getting a self or custom built Quad Core PC. Something like this:

Q9650 3.0GHz Quad 12MB cache
MSI P45 Platinum motherboard (picked almost at random cause it sounded fancy)
4GB DDR2 1066Mz Ram (2x2GB to allow room for expansion)
2 x 500GB hard drives, 7200rpm SATA obviously (maybe one 10000rpm)
Some kind of decentish but not top end Video card. ATI 4870 maybe?
XP Pro (maybe try Win7).

Needs firewire for my Presonous Firebox.

This is primarily a music machine, but would like to hook up to net just for software upgrades etc. Maybe the occasional game.

Have a few questions though

Ram:

How much difference does RAM speed make for music applications? I assume DDR2 is fine, but will DDR3 make much difference? It's a bit pricier.
Is it better to spread the load between the slots, and get 4 x 1GB. If difference is negligible, I'd prefer to leave the space for expansion later (Win 7, *cough* 64 bit Live 9 *cough*).

Motherboards:

OK, FSB speed and ram speed are key here, right? Plus max ram, what ports etc. Does chipset make much difference P43, P45, G34 etc? Kind of lost on all that. I hear MSI and Asus are both good. Any other issues I should look out for? Think I remember someone saying not to get built in network cards or anything.

Cooling:

What causes the most noise? CPU fan, GPU fan or power supply. Looked into quiet fans and power supplies, but not much point if I then get a graphics card that sounds like a washing machine on spin cycle. But then, I'm not doing acoustic recording at the moment anyway, so maybe I should worry about all that as and when. Never had a problem with my dell causing excessive noise.

Graphics:

Sure I've heard something about graphics acceleration causing potential glitches with sound cards. Anyone know anything about this? Any particular cards cause issues? Or do I just turn graphic settings down if I have a problem?

Firewire:

I'm guessing firewire on the MB is preferable. If necessary, I'll get a PCI (TI chipset)

Processor:

Anyone know much about the i7 processors? Much improvement over a decent quad.? I thought Live didn't support hyperthreading, so seems a bit pointless and they're still a bit pricey.

Anything else I should know about? Maybe I'm worrying too much about all this, I just don't want one shoddy component crippling an otherwise decent system. If so please tell me so I can stop fucking about and get on with it. Reviews on computer geek websites bring me out in a cold sweat.

Thanks for taking time out from photoshopping APCs to read this.

Des

PS. Before anyone says it, I looked at Macs and ruled them out. Thanks anyway.

[3dot...]

RAM : live will use only 3.5GB as it's 32bit application...
still new Windows OS taxes a lot of RAM for it's own smooth sailing...
and once lives goes 64bit.. you'd be set
better be on the safe side and get more (I have 8gb...)
besides...RAM is dirt-cheap nowadays...
I think DDR2/3 is neglible...

MB : get a good one ! search the forums for reviews...
FSB speeds / MB power schemes /overclocking options are what you're looking for...

COOLING : I find it neglible...
never had any issues where
"that noise is killing me"... as long as you keep a high SN ratio...
I found the most noisy to be the CPU fan...if that helps...

GRAPHICS :
got a Sapphire 4850...pretty happy

FW : standard on every MotherBoard..

i7 still overpriced imo...

I've got almost the same spec PC you're getting and it friggin' ROCKS...
btw...
if you're a gamer...with this spec everything runs at FULL DETAIL...

CHEERS

[adventurepants_]

I've been saying this a while, but this time, it's definitely time to put my old P4 to rest.

Looking at getting a self or custom built Quad Core PC. Something like this:

Q9650 3.0GHz Quad 12MB cache
MSI P45 Platinum motherboard (picked almost at random cause it sounded fancy)
4GB DDR2 1066Mz Ram (2x2GB to allow room for expansion)
2 x 500GB hard drives, 7200rpm SATA obviously (maybe one 10000rpm)
Some kind of decentish but not top end Video card. ATI 4870 maybe?
XP Pro (maybe try Win7).

Needs firewire for my Presonous Firebox.

This is primarily a music machine, but would like to hook up to net just for software upgrades etc. Maybe the occasional game.

Have a few questions though

Ram:

How much difference does RAM speed make for music applications? I assume DDR2 is fine, but will DDR3 make much difference? It's a bit pricier.
Is it better to spread the load between the slots, and get 4 x 1GB. If difference is negligible, I'd prefer to leave the space for expansion later (Win 7, *cough* 64 bit Live 9 *cough*).

Motherboards:

OK, FSB speed and ram speed are key here, right? Plus max ram, what ports etc. Does chipset make much difference P43, P45, G34 etc? Kind of lost on all that. I hear MSI and Asus are both good. Any other issues I should look out for? Think I remember someone saying not to get built in network cards or anything.

Cooling:

What causes the most noise? CPU fan, GPU fan or power supply. Looked into quiet fans and power supplies, but not much point if I then get a graphics card that sounds like a washing machine on spin cycle. But then, I'm not doing acoustic recording at the moment anyway, so maybe I should worry about all that as and when. Never had a problem with my dell causing excessive noise.

Graphics:

Sure I've heard something about graphics acceleration causing potential glitches with sound cards. Anyone know anything about this? Any particular cards cause issues? Or do I just turn graphic settings down if I have a problem?

Firewire:

I'm guessing firewire on the MB is preferable. If necessary, I'll get a PCI (TI chipset)

Processor:

Anyone know much about the i7 processors? Much improvement over a decent quad.? I thought Live didn't support hyperthreading, so seems a bit pointless and they're still a bit pricey.

Anything else I should know about? Maybe I'm worrying too much about all this, I just don't want one shoddy component crippling an otherwise decent system. If so please tell me so I can stop fucking about and get on with it. Reviews on computer geek websites bring me out in a cold sweat.

Thanks for taking time out from photoshopping APCs to read this.

Des

PS. Before anyone says it, I looked at Macs and ruled them out. Thanks anyway.

i7 is sexy as hell, about %25 faster at the same clock speed than Quad Core. Not worth the extra money just yet.

10,000 rpm drives can be LOUD.

DDR2/3, not that much in it unless youre trying to squeeze extra frames out of games.

I had a driver conflict between a Nvidia 8600 and a Firebox, even with a TI firewire add on card. Used generic driver, problems went away. Win 7 runs great on a Quad 2.4, it will scream on a 3Ghz.

and any 32 bit application can only ever access 2GB Ram even if the system can see up to 3.75.

[andydes]

Cheers guys, pretty much confirms what I thought from my half arsed research.

I'll read up on MBs a bit more to be sure.

Gamer? Never liked that term, but I'm not adverse to taking an hour's break from music to blow some shit up. Sure my musical productivity will increase if it's a smooth experience.

Really, my main goal is just to run a shed load of instruments and effects painlessly. Something I don't really have at the moment.

[3dot...]

Cheers guys, pretty much confirms what I thought from my half arsed research.

I'll read up on MBs a bit more to be sure.

Gamer? Never liked that term, but I'm not adverse to taking an hour's break from music to blow some shit up. Sure my musical productivity will increase if it's a smooth experience.

Really, my main goal is just to run a shed load of instruments and effects painlessly. Something I don't really have at the moment.

smooth as a shaved baby...

[bosonHavoc]

Cheers guys, pretty much confirms what I thought from my half arsed research.

I'll read up on MBs a bit more to be sure.

Gamer? Never liked that term, but I'm not adverse to taking an hour's break from music to blow some shit up. Sure my musical productivity will increase if it's a smooth experience.

Really, my main goal is just to run a shed load of instruments and effects painlessly. Something I don't really have at the moment.

smooth as a shaved baby...

gaah your making me horny

[Incy]

i built a quad 3.0 system just two months ago with the same chip your looking at. this is why i'm happy... i had a mega set struggling at 67% cpu with a P4 3.0. audio would drop, there'd be distortion, and it took 15 seconds to add or delete a track. I got my Q4 up... 19% cpu tops... no audio artifacts or glitches and it handles chains and racks packed with samples and fx spread over sixty tracks routing into each other...

get the fastest cpu you can afford... i'd say everything else is splitting hairs...

be careful about your mobo choice. consider sata, ide, various pci, firewire or any ports you need or may need. make sure the reviews are glowing. just get the appropriate ram, don't fuss much. i picked up a gigabyte.

also consider quiet cpu fans and power supply. noisy fans won't let you hear reverb tails and such.

[3dot...]

whats quad 3.0 ?

[adventurepants_]

whats quad 3.0 ?

3Ghz

[djgroovy]

Regarding noise, i can definitely recommend these guys:

http://www.paqt.co.uk/

I had my custom pc built by them, but they also sell just the cases.
It makes virtually no noise, even the ear next to it, it's very hard to know if it's on or off.