Anybody building an audio PC recently?

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:40 pm

just looking for configurations that have worked. Keeping budget in mind. Not looking for cutting edge on anything... Stability is way more important to me than performance.

specifically motherboards, cpu, and interfaces that work well with audio?

I'm thinking about getting something to run Ableton Live and/or Reason and will need a new PC for that.

I'm leaning to a Intel based board, probably a core 2 duo. I've heard alot of folks like Asus, Gigabyte and MSI boards for audio.

Anybody doing fine with Vista, or is XP the way to go for OS?

Need just a small interface for recording, something like a M-Audio audiophile or Delta card with midi, or maybe an EMU card. Recs? I've got an older DAW for recording bands if needed, so don't need high input counts. This is more for me messing around with composition.

Is 2 Gig Ram probably enough for this?

Any recommendations appreciated for anybody that's done this in the past 6mo to year. thanks in advance.

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 567

the main problem on pc config is that you never know before you try it if the soft you choosed to work with is well compatible with the combination of audio driver and os etc...

many try with config and differents drivers can save you 50% of the time on many soft.

2 go is enought for music you just need more if you plan to make 3D studio as a pro or are a fanatic gamer, i can say that if you make a project that need more than 2 go of samples and vst/i it would be hollywood studio music...

i use an asus p5b motherboard than is 7.1 and hd compatible with windows vista premium home version, everythings and all my recents software are working perfect except that vista is not good with midi because of uncompatibilty with a lot of midi kit...

it's a question of time and money if windows will update well windows vista for midi and old midi usb modules.

If you need to work with midi 2 norm i advice win xp service pack 3 (sp3 is amazing for midi) and a soft like sonar, cubase or reason for semi pro purposes...

good luck man

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:01 pm

i'll just give you my system specs and then explained some other bits:

PC Type & Board: HP Pavilion w/ standard board (i think perhaps GeForce, since most everything else is)

Processor: AMD X2 64 +6000 (3.0GHz dual core)

Memory: 4 GB

Power Supply: 500 W

Soundcard: EMU 0404 (have also used M-Audio 101LT)

OS: Vista 32-bit

Software: Reason 4.0, Recycle 2.1, Sonar 7 Studio, Izotope Ozone 3 (everything runs fine!)

Controller: M-Audio Axiom49

ok, my PC didn't come like this, of course. Laughing

i opted out of building my own after checking out the prices. i stripped the OS down to the bare microsoft stuff, getting rid of all the HP crap. i upgraded the processor from a 2.6 GHz to a 3.0 GHz, although there was no need. it came with 2 GB DDR2 RAM, but it was on sale for 2 GB for $80 when i got the machine, so i upgraded. 2 GB with Vista is fine, but with Albeton you might want to spring for the extra gig. Vista is a heavier, bulkier OS compared to XP, let alone '98 or 2000. most of it has to do with the new graphics, which i'll comment on in a moment. Reason is relatively light-weight when using it alone. in combination with other software it becomes more taxing, but that is more due to whatever piece of software your using it with. versions of Vista out now are SP1, which i find has made the OS more stable (i've been using this machine since oct 2007). you just have to kind of make sure that any software you want to install is compatible, and make sure the hardware is. with Vista, it seems that nothing drives it over the edge quicker than incompatible hardware. a buddy of mine in STL, MO who runs the same setup and i can tell you that for sure. Laughing

i've learned to actually prefer Vista over XP over the last months. i used XP every day at work and find Vista to have some upsides. i won't bore people with it, though.

as i mentioned, i upgraded the processor. one thing to look out for it you go the route i did, which is get a stock PC from Best Buy or wherever and modify it to your own needs (dude, it totally works, but take some patience), is the processor speed versus power supply. going from 2.6 GHz to 3.0 GHz increased the power usage at least times 1.5. many stock PC's only come with a 250 W supply, so just spend the $70-$80 for a 500W-750W supply. spend the extra money for a better quality, name brand supply. i've had mine for 5 months and it already has a noisy bearing. keep in mind that you'll have perhaps a controller attached via USB, and that you'll be have a soundcard installed. you probably know all that kind of stuff, though.

i prefer AMD processors. i've looked into comparisons between intel and AMD, and when running software that is very intense on resources like games, audio and other things i'd relate to DAWs (haven't found any performance reviews with and DAW applications...would love to read some so please post anything you find). Intel seems to be great for intensive software like office software and multitasking while running several applications. i've also heard and read many comments on how AMD runs cooler and quieter. until Dell purchased Alienware, the gamer PC manufacturer, AW used AMD processors for this very reason. they run quiet and stay cooler under stress. plus, they are less expensive than Intel processors of the same speed. supposedly with games, due partly or in whole to the qualities just mentioned, AMD processors with lower speeds will out perform Intel processors that are hovering in the 3.0 range.

i'll stop there, but if you have any further questions, let me know. i wish FaceFitz had internet access at the moment so he could tell you about his setup! Laughing

he dropped some good dough on it. not sure on most of the specs, but it was purchased from a place that custom builds PC's for audio production. somethings i know. he has an Intel Quad Core (roughly 2.0 GHz, i think?), XP (64 Bit), 4 GB of RAM. i think he spent way more than you're probably thinking of, though. Laughing

it sounds like a great machine, though.

good luck! Very Happy

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:16 pm

oh, one other thing...

when i got my machine, the M-Audio Delta 1010 LT didn't have a Vista driver available. once it was, i removed the EMU 0404 i had purchased in an emergency (live 15 min from Musician's Friend warehouse and clearance store

)and put the Delta, thinking it would be so much better. even though the EMU installation was kind of tricky for a while (driver installation, that is), i found that the Delta was a little weaker in the mid-range and the EMU had a much better all-around sound for a non-High Def card. others may disagree. i had been using the Delta since 2005.

oh, here's a link of performance tweaks i got from Sweetwater tech support that have made using Vista a much better experience than it was before them. of course i don't use all of them and some i go back and forth on, depending on what i'm doing...PC Optimization Guide for Windows Vista Cool

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 567

hoho gorgatron is back in massive forum message strikez...i wouldn't guess that topic would make your hungry eyes commanding so strongly to your unfatiguable guitar player fingers...i have a new mic i will make that whislte song for you when i can gorg...

ps : i will be honnest i didn't read all your presents words in this topic i blocked before so much compact science Laughing

jack in the pot Cool

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:44 pm

np. i laid it on pretty thick. Smili knows what he's getting himself into. Laughing

i should have sent it as a PM. lol

sorry Smili!!!!! Very Happy

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 567

yes you are talk as much than the devil gorgatron, and most of the time you are as impressive than him ^^

kidding

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:19 pm

i read what PPB was saying about XP and midi. i concur that XP is better. with Vista i'd recommend a newer controller. a new controller will work much better with Albeton and/or Reason when using Vista. i've used both an older controller (M-Audio radium 69) and newer(the Axiom49 i mentioned in the big post). i had loads of problems with the older controller. M-Audio had designed a universal driver for Vista that you could use for most of their controllers, including the two above. when running both controllers, i'd end up with an absurd amount of latency. now that i use only the newer controller, everything works fine.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:04 pm

Thanks for the tips all, appreciated.

This is my 3rd or 4th build, so I'm not completely new to it, but it is the first time I've looked at the tech in about 3 yrs. All sorts of new terms and issues to be concerned with.

I am going to try to build this one from scratch though. Previously I've started from a bare bones setup with the mobo already wired up, so that'll be a little adventure this time. I always get frustrated with the setup, but am glad I go through it every time I build becuase I tend to know how to fix stuff now when something goes wrong.

I'm reading all over. I put the P5B on my watch list. I almost bid on a recent but used MSI board on ebay a short while ago, and sortof wish I would've just so I could move onto picking out the other parts. I've had a couple Abit boards in the past and I see several that interest me out there in addition to the Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI models.

Looking at ebay there are lots of cheap drives out there, and some good prices on audio cards too.

I've kindof decided on an Intel CPU this time around because I've had some glitches with audio on AMD boards before. It could've been the Via chipsets of something else, but there's nothing more frustrating than jamming out and the machine hiccuping on me. I want stability and am hoping Intel and Intel chipsets will bring that. For the same reason of stability I'm going to go XP too. It's older, but again - surely they've got the XP drivers hashed out by now... The newsgroups are full of issues with Vista and audio and I just don't want to deal with it at the moment.
I'll be sure to download SP3 like mentioned (thanks!)

thanks also for the comments on the EMU interface. I had on my list, but had almost decided on the M-Audio Audiophile card. I'll give the EMU stuff another look.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:18 pm

np. have fun and good luck! let me know on the side when you get albeton and how you like working with it. it's been a while and i'm curious what someone with more experience might think.

do you have a Microcenter near you? we have one in the KC area and you can always finds loads of goodies on clearance if you're looking to put a PC together. you can sometimes find RAM a stupid low prices. you can get 500 GB SATA hard drives for something like $70. you probably have some place similar around there, though. ok, again, have fun! Cool

Anybody building an audio PC recently?

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