Recording PC, Please check these 2 builds,

groovking · #1 11-08-2009, 12:56 AM

Hi I need to get a new pc and found these 2. Any comments appreciated. Basically one is 32 bit with dual xeon and veliciraptors, the other is a 64 bit
Product Specifications Xeon first>>>>>>>

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
Processor (2) Intel® Xeon Processors
Processor Speed 3.2GHz
Level 2 Cache 2MB Level 2 Cache
Front Side Bus 800MHz Frontside Bus
RAM Installed / Max RAM Supported 4GB DDR2-400 RAM
Memory Configuration (4) 1GB DIMM Memory Modules
Memory Slots Available (4) Available 240-pin DIMM Slots
Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive
Hard Drive (2) 74GB 10000RPM Serial ATA Hard Drives; (1) 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Multimedia Drive 22X DVD+/-RW
Display Type Display Not Included
Video Card NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400 PCI Express
Video Card Memory 128MB
Sound Card Integrated Audio
Network Features 10/100/1000 Gigabit Network
Ports and Connectors Front: Headphone, Microphone, and (2) USB 2.0, (1) IEEE 1394; Rear: (6) USB, (1) Standard Serial Port, (1) Parallel Port, PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse, (1) RJ-45, (1) Audio in, (1) Audio out, (1) IEEE 1394
Expansion Bays (3) External 5.25" Bays; (5) Internal 3.5" Bays
Expansion Slots (1) PCI Express x16 Graphics Slot, (1) PCI Express (x8 Mechanically, x4 Electrically), (1) 133 MHz PCI-X Slot, (2) 100 MHz PCI-X Slots, (2) Legacy PCI Slots
Input Device USB Standard Keyboard, USB Optical 3-Button Mouse
Manufacturer Warranty 90 Day Limited Warranty

Here is the 64 bit below which breaks the 4 gig barrier, has vista 64 yuck, big fsb.
I'm not sure which would be best for the purpose of recording audio. I run sx3 and 3 firepods, use wavelab etc. My curent rig is an Hp P4 2.8 ht 4 gigs , sata drives at 150 mbps and it is time although it has held up well .
>>>>>>

Product Specifications
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
Processor Intel® Core(tm) 2 Quad Processor Q8200
Processor Speed 2.33GHz
Level 2 Cache 4MB Level 2 Cache
Front Side Bus 1333MHz Frontside Bus
RAM Installed / Max RAM Supported 8GB DDR2-800 SDRAM
Memory Configuration (4) 2GB DIMM Memory Modules
Memory Slots Available (0) Available 240-pin DIMM Slots
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive
Multimedia Drive LightScribe SuperMulti DVD Burner
Display Type Display Not Included
Video Card NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS
Video Card Memory Up to 2558MB Total Available Graphics Memory
Sound Card High Definition Audio Chipset
Sound Output Mode 7.1 Channel Surround Sound
Network Features 10/100/1000 Gigabit Network
Wireless Network Features 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless Network
Ports and Connectors (1) PS/2 Keyboard Port; (1) PS/2 Mouse Port; (2) Front USB 2.0 "A" Port; (4) Rear USB 2.0 "A" Ports; (2) FireWire IEEE 1394 Ports; (1) RJ-45 Network Port; (2) Microphone Ports; (1) Headphone Port; (1) Audio Line In Port; (1) Audio Line Out Port; (1) Digital Audio In Port; (1) Digital Audio Out Port; (1) Rear Speaker Port; (1) Side Speaker-Out Port; (1) Center/Subwoofer Port
Memory Card Reader 15-in-1 Memory Card Reader
Supported Flash Media SmartMedia, xD, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital (SD), Mini Secure Digital, Compact Flash I, Compact Flash II, IBM Microdrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, RSMMC, MMC Mobile, MMC+
Expansion Bays 2 (1 free) External 5.25" bays; 1 (0 free) External 3.5" bay; 2 (1 free) Internal 3.5" bays
Expansion Slots 1 (0 free) PCI-E x16 Graphic Interface Slot; 2 (1 free) PCI-E x1 Interface; 1 (1 free) 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI Slots

>>>>>>thanks all !

Fletcher Lanning · #2 11-08-2009, 01:23 AM

Why are you going with older Operating Systems? Windows 7 is out and in really shows Vista up as the POS that it is.

As for the hardware, the first one seems fairly outdated. Though it has a 10,000RPM HD, the overall space is small unless you have a modular drive that you will be offloading files to. The processor is not the best for the types of applications you will be using anyway. Most of the higher end recording programs are fully capable of taking advantage of a multi-core processor and dual threading.

Also, make sure you're not planning on running any sound through the built in audio chipsets.

Most of the computer manufacturers are selling computers with Windows 7 now and some are even giving it away for free to people who bought computers with Vista this year. It really is 100% worth the upgrade.

groovking · #3 11-08-2009, 02:21 AM

ya that first one has 2, 74 gb 10k drives and 1, 160gb drive. big psu ,,I thought the dual xeons would be better, but I wasnt sure. will the xeon build handle windows7?

my p4 is great recording 24 tracks but not too many plugins, not bad but i would want more. My vst performance always shows the processer maxing over, nothing else does as I run a dedicated system drive for audio , dual boot and a 1.5 tb to send files to. the only weak point is my processing power. it
so you think the second choice ey, thanks.