Pls suggest a PC brand

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:35 pm

Again, I don't mean to start a holy war on Intel vs. AMD, as both make great chips. However, I do have to take issue with any notion that Intel is "better for media" than AMD. The fact is that AMD has had superior designs for their chips for years, and they have been pushing the envelope in terms of speed and sophistication. Intel wouldn't innovate as quickly if not for AMD. Also, for years, the floating point capabilities of AMD chips have been better, which is why DAWs with AMD chips have had better performance than Intels.

So I repeat that both companies make great chips. And now that we're at a point of 4ghz speeds per chip, you can do so much with either company that both are good options. But let's not stear people away from AMD by making those kinds of statements...AMD has been the design and performance leader for a while, and their chips are a lot cheaper.

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:10 pm

Well if it was AMD vs Intel at this very moment, then I'd definitely choose AMD, but as I said, I'd prefer to wait for the next gen Intel core, since they've finally scrapped the (relatively) archaic P4 and gone for a more efficient, shorter pipeline. I fully appreciate what AMD have done for CPUs - they play the 'small market innovater' very well. Just like Apple to Microsoft, or AVR to PIC (if you are in embedded electronics you'll know what I'm talking about....). Companies like that generally push innovation more then anyone else. What I specifically said was that Intels are better for transcoding. Which they are. Try looking at some benchmarks for transcoding... I would only recommend Intel on their next gen CPU anyway, there current one is a behemoth of short-sighted engineering. Sorry for derailing, back on topic now....

Don't get a Dell. My personal experience with them is that their driver support will mysteriously dry up about 12 months after you buy your computer... if there's still problems with the drivers (there was with my Inspiron 8200) then you're on your own. Do you have a friend that can help you put together a computer? Has anyone used a desktop barebone, like those ASUS ones that are like an ASUS mobo already in a case? That could be a tad easier for a non-tech head. Then again, DIY could still be a bit much when it comes to choosing components...

arushmusic · Post by **arushmusic** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:25 pm

Brand Suggestions:
- Motherboard - ASUS, Abit, or Gigabyte
- Chip - Get a dualcore Athlon, say the Athlon64 X2 4600+
- RAM - Crucial, Kingston, or Corsair (stay away from any of the "value" lower ends)
- Hard drives - Western Digital or IBM; try to get 8 - 16MB of cache on each hard drive, and definitely get 7200 rpm drives
- Video Card - I don't really care about brand...I usually stick with an Nvidia chipset
- Audio Card - MiaMidi for PCI; Edirol for USB; EMU 1616m or RME for Firewire
- Case - Altec Sonata - a very quiet and well-designed case and the power supply is quiet.
- DVD Burner - Sony or Plextor

Look for low noise fans for your CPU and inside your case.

Hope this helps.

Thanks this is great information to start with, and i will be staying away from dell....i'll keep you posted. Thanks again!

Markeyz · Post by **Markeyz** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 5:00 pm

I started a similar thread about name brand vs. custom PCs at Harmony Central awhile ago. I'm kind of in the same position, trying to get some cheaper horsepower. There were some comments there you might find helpful.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/for ... id=1102130

Gygaxian · Post by **Gygaxian** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:12 pm

My averatec lap works quite nicely with Live. Its AMD and its pretty steady. No problems.
good luck

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:51 am

Damn, I was thinking of getting a dell...looks like I'm going back to the drawing board.

does anyone have any experience with red sub machines ? www.sub.co.uk

I detailed two systems, just to compare, the dell one weighed in at 5000 euro, and the red sub equivilant (although more silent, and boasting a 75 gig 10000rpm hard drive) weighed in at 10000 euro.

Cheers nebulae for that list of components, I'll make sure to check it out. I'm no way computer literate (beyond using the programs that run on them, and tweaking) but maybe building my own pc is the way to go....

any knowledge the PC vets are willing to impart will be most graciously received