Yvon said:
For the sound card, like I said I already have an M-audio.
Also I don,t want cheap stuff, I like to get good, popular hardware. So I don't have any incompatibility problems.
If it's a little more expensive it's ok. I already have a pretty good machine, but the kid's computer just died and I will give the one I already have.
I look on Dell web site, but on dell.ca they don't really have any specials this week and it would cost me 1600 canadian. (about 1450 USD)
The sound card makes a huge difference, man. Dont overlook it. Using whatever M-Audio equipment you have through on board sound would be like pouring a $200 bottle of wine into a dirty glass. If you have onboard sound, youre going to get all of the crosstalk (interference) of the surrounding circuits. With all of my old onboard sound solutions, if I turned the volume all the way up, you can actually here it when you move your mouse.
As for the compatibility issues... not so much. Cheap hardware is still compatible with more expensive hardware. I dont think it would be wise to specify hardware which you really dont need just because its more popular. As long as the computer is tested and works, everything should be fine. You could buy a motherboard for $200+, but do you need it? depends what youre doing. You could buy a motherboard for 50 bucks and still get the same performance (not technically, but you cant tell the difference). I think you should go with whatever hardware proves to be the most reliable. In most cases, this equates to more mainstream hardware, but not in all. For instance, if youre not a gamer or doing lots of work with visual components, youre not going to need "good" memory. The cheap stuff will do fine.
Also, find the most cost effective cpu solution. Having 2 cores is neat and all, but you wont see any performance differences unless youre doing things which require multiple threads at high speeds.
In addition to that, cpu prices make no sense, so sometimes its not wise to spend the extra 100 bucks for a hundred more mhz or so.
A budget below 1 grand should be fine, and even give you some wiggle room in terms of what components you get, but in any case.. you should probably go with a small independent builder if you want to specify what hardware you want (and have it be cost effective).
