Computer People, chime in here.

[CrispyDelicious]

A guy on my local Craigslist posted an ad for custom computers. I think to myself "Neat. I can have him build me one specifically for home audio recording." I tell him I want a comp that can handle programs such as Protools, Ableton, etc. I also state that it must have no unnecessary crap - a machine specifically dedicated to home audio recording. Well, it seems he did just that, but, man oh man, I think he went a little overboard:

__________________________________________________ __

"Here's my initial estimate for your home recording studio. It's a Core i7 based machine which means a good deal of power for audio conversion and mixing etc. It has a 1 TB harddrive giving you lots of room for your music libraries. Also has a mid-low range 9800 GT, a simple DVD drive and a mutli-card reader to cover all the media bases. The motherboard has 4 PCI-E and 2 PCI slots so there is plenty of room to add more audio and video cards plus it already comes with 7.1 HD audio build in. Windows Vista 64 is included with a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out soon (supposed to have improved multi-tasking performance). Lastly and most importantly it has a M-Audio Audiophile card with a good number of input formats.

This isn't exactly the most basic of machines but it covers the bases for most everything I think you will need. At any rate if you see any changes that could be made we can still customize it further. I haven't included any periferals like speakers or a monitor as some people already have these but let me know if you would like these added.

The sub total before tax and build fee (both 5% as I will order parts from out of province) is $1598.34.

Let me know your thoughts by email or phone and we'll work on making this as perfect as possible."


Intel Core i7 920 Quad Core Processor $309.99
EVGA X58 ATX $326.45
EVGA E-GEFORCE 9800GT 55NM 600MHZ 512MB $111.99
Western Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black 1TB $104.99
OCZ Gold OCZ3G1600LV6GK 6GB DDR3 $119.99
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 1366RT Heatpipe Cooler $77.48
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD $34.48
Corsair TX750W 750W ATX $114.99
nGear Flash Card Reader $18.99
Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower $112.99
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64BIT with Windows 7 Upgrade Offer $152.99
M-AUDIO Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio Card $113.01

Sub Total: 1598.34


_________________________________________________

I won't deny I'm pretty much a luddite, but I know enough to know that this is way more than I need (or can currently afford). Is this guy trying to take me for a ride? Or am I daft, and this is pretty much what I will have to buy in order to make in-home demos and whatnot (aside from the necessary hardware and software)? I assumed that by going with this guy, I could get something specific to its purpose and thereby avoid any unecessary costs. Now I'm thinking I should just go to Best Buy and be done with it.

Thoughts?

[KPAX]

I'm a neo-luddite. That way I know my ludes are fresh.

[CrispyDelicious]

That clears it up

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

Now I'm thinking I should just go to Best Buy and be done with it.

I got a kickin' Gateway at Best Buy for $450. Intel 2.5Ghz quad core, 4GB of RAM, 640GB hard drive. On board video and audio though, which is fine for me.

More power than I will need, so I love it.

-Mike

[UncleFluffy]

That's a pretty high-end system.

To be honest, you're probably better getting a mid-range regular Dell box, upgrading the RAM, and adding an external USB2.0 audio interface. It won't crunch stuff as fast as that custom system, but you'll end up spending half as much.

[CrispyDelicious]

That's what I was hoping to hear.

[Happynoj]

Well, to me it looks like that is a machine dedicated to recording and stuff. However, it is using all of the newest stuff out there. You don't need a computer that fast to run ProTools or Ableton. You can build a computer that will easily handle those programs for much less money by going for lesser spec stuff.

[CrispyDelicious]

What's a reasonable price range for something to satisfy those needs?

[UncleFluffy]

how many channels do you want to be able to process simultaneously?

My instinct is that you should be able to put together something pretty meaty for under $1k. "Good-enough" for under $600.

[Happynoj]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

What's a reasonable price range for something to satisfy those needs?

I put together my PC (including monitor) for about £400 (~$700) about 2 years ago. It runs Cubase SX3 and Reason 4 and Line 6 Gearbox simultaneously with no problems. If I wanted I could spend another £40 to double my RAM but I don't really need it at the moment. It also runs relatively recent games such as Medal Of Honour Airborne with no trouble (I don't know how it would handle really recent stuff - Airborne was the last game I bought).

[CrispyDelicious]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

how many channels do you want to be able to process simultaneously?

My instinct is that you should be able to put together something pretty meaty for under $1k. "Good-enough" for under $600.

Channels? As in how many tracks at a time? One. It'll be all me, one track at a time.

[UncleFluffy]

If it's just one at a time, you can go pretty basic - CAD500 PC should be adequate. Throw as much extra RAM in it as you can afford, don't worry about the video card, use an external audio interface.

(The reason I say use an external interface is that the inside of a PC is a very electrically noisy environment).

[Absentia]

save 500$ buy the parts he has listen, put it together yourself and download windows from the info net.

It isn't rocket science its just like plugging in a nintendo.

[MakiSupaStar]

You dont need that MAudio stuff. First off, I'm not that impressed with their stuff, but second off, the stuff can only record multiple tracks at a time on ProTools. If you're running Ableton (which is what I run) you're better off buying an interface that is external (bring it with you and use it in different environments) and it runs the same on all programs. I spent 500 bucks on an MOTU 8Pre which allows me to record 8 tracks at a time. You'd be better off buying a medium box (if you must go PC) and upgrading as you go with external HD's and RAM. Plus with externals you're portable and backed up. There's another significant amount of overhead you're not factoring into this and that's the hardware required for recording (mikes, cables, interface etc).

[curandero]

Just FYI, I have had numerous headaches running audio apps on Vista 64 bit system. Most software developers have resisted embracing it for some reason. Hopefully that will change with Windows 7, but right now I have a system loaded with RAM that goes to waste because I have to use 32 bit apps that do not recognize anything over 2gigs.

I built it like 9 months ago, but had I known what I know now and it was strictly for audio, I would have stuck with Windows XP and a cheaper system until software companies caught up.

[need4mospd]

That power supply, case, and cooling is overkill. The markups he's putting on the chip and motherboard are a bit much as well. i7 920 is $280 and the motherboard is around $240. The graphics card really isn't needed at all.

I bought my Dell i7 920 with similar specs 9 months ago for $999, though their motherboard isn't as nice as an EVGA.

They've got one now with a 20" monitor for $899 if you go through here....
http://bensbargains.net/deal/113822/

Beware, my Dell only has ONE PCI slot. So plan appropriately.

[SuperDuck]

The computer is almost irrelevant - almost any modern computer can record audio just fine, especially if it's just you. I record stereo channels all the time using a computer with 512 MB of RAM and a (single!) core 1.4 GHz processor.

Buy whatever's on sale at Dell and something like this.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...ace?sku=241710

If you're running a professional recording studio with dozens of channels and processor-intensive plugins blazing away, yes, you might need something more stout. But you don't need a supercomputer to get the job done, and whatever you do don't let people try and convince you that Macs are somehow more magical for recording audio.

[Tama]

Originally Posted by KPAX

I'm a neo-luddite. That way I know my ludes are fresh.

NO !!! I said I DIDNT have any ludes....LOL
Cheech & Chong still make me laugh.

[UncleFluffy]

For interfaces, I usually recommend this or this, depending on how much you want to spend and how many channels you need.

The little Behringer is so cheap you can use it as a starter and upgrade when you know more about what you need.

The Edirol digital mixer does all the 16 channel interface stuff plus all the normal PA/studio mixer stuff.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Save yourself some money and go with an amd phenom quadcore in the lower-middle price range. They should be more than able to handle your needs. About 2gb of ram would more than adequately cover the entire system for single track audio memory usage, 4gb if you plan on doing a lot of multitasking.

Get a cheap video card. You don't need a 9800gt for audio apps. I suggest an internal card reader instead of external for sd/mmc/flash/ etc... cards. Faster transfer rates.

This guy either doesn't know where to get his parts cheap, or he's doing markups. I'm certainly going to agree that he went the route of overkill. He should have done a bit of research on the applications you wanted to run, and then tailored the system to meet your needs, but also to keep within a reasonable budget instead of just picking the newest stuff available. He should have also asked if you were on a budget.