Perfect - the PC will be audio ONLY. The PC won't even be connected to the internet, except for updates and what not.
Right now I'm looking at a Shuttle with two HD's a graphics card for dual monitor output and a CDR drive. And I'm thinking about using a MPC 1000 for some sequencing but mainly to clock both the PC and the MAC. I'm hoping for TIGHT miditiming with the MPC groove. So far Live lacks the groove in my opinion, even with the MPD 16. I don't understand how people are using it as a drum machine...
I'ld like the PC to host Live, FLStudio, Audiorealism Bassline, Spectrasonics Plugins, Plugue Bidule, and ESPECIALLY Wavelab and soundforge.
Looks like I've found my summer project!!
I heard of terrible latency issues with PC's though...looks like I'll need to do a lot of research to make sure I pick the best components.
What's the general consensus here - P4 or AMD?
PC on the horizon for this Mac user
Well...
Six months ago I would've voted AMD for sure in a shuttle as it was the only platform that supported dual channel memory...
However with the newer shuttles they've bumped the MB specs back up to current available tech for the Intel chips as well.
I'd say it comes down to a few different factors...
A) how much will you need to worry about heat issues? IE are you going to be gigging with this?
If so I'd look at the power specs for a set of processors...
With some of the shuttle cases, you can get away with *no* graphics card and still get a dual headed system as some of the cases support dual graphics on board already... if you don't need to throw more components into the case I'd try and avoid it for heating reasons...
B) do you *really* need two drives, again, think about the size of the case and airflow?
personally I have found the system I have (that I use for both gaming and audio) to be cooler than most of my other larger case systems. Still, if you are going out gigging with this you have the heat issue... I would suggest using an external drive for any extra storage requirements.
C) DVD Burners are falling fast in price...
I would consider putting a CD/DVD burner into the unit as you'll be able to do much larger backups to DVD if necessary. As a warning... I've read of issues with newer DVD burners not being backward compatible with certain slower media...
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I have had no real latency issues with either my intel or AMD setups. I've been using a MOTU 828mkII hooked up through firewire and been able to get my latency down to around 2.5ms and it runs incredibly stable.
If you're not tech/pc savvy though this could be difficult. You'll want to consult www.blackviper.com to make sure you remove any services not necessary. As well, I tend to disable anti-virus software on my system to increase performance. You may not want your system on the network at least while doing audio for this reason.
If you've got any particular questions email or post here, I'd be more than happy to try and help you out.
However with the newer shuttles they've bumped the MB specs back up to current available tech for the Intel chips as well.
I'd say it comes down to a few different factors...
A) how much will you need to worry about heat issues? IE are you going to be gigging with this?
If so I'd look at the power specs for a set of processors...
With some of the shuttle cases, you can get away with *no* graphics card and still get a dual headed system as some of the cases support dual graphics on board already... if you don't need to throw more components into the case I'd try and avoid it for heating reasons...
B) do you *really* need two drives, again, think about the size of the case and airflow?
personally I have found the system I have (that I use for both gaming and audio) to be cooler than most of my other larger case systems. Still, if you are going out gigging with this you have the heat issue... I would suggest using an external drive for any extra storage requirements.
C) DVD Burners are falling fast in price...
I would consider putting a CD/DVD burner into the unit as you'll be able to do much larger backups to DVD if necessary. As a warning... I've read of issues with newer DVD burners not being backward compatible with certain slower media...
----
I have had no real latency issues with either my intel or AMD setups. I've been using a MOTU 828mkII hooked up through firewire and been able to get my latency down to around 2.5ms and it runs incredibly stable.
If you're not tech/pc savvy though this could be difficult. You'll want to consult www.blackviper.com to make sure you remove any services not necessary. As well, I tend to disable anti-virus software on my system to increase performance. You may not want your system on the network at least while doing audio for this reason.
If you've got any particular questions email or post here, I'd be more than happy to try and help you out.