"Proven" configs for DAW (mobo, cpu, etc

[sean maru]

I am considering buy/buidling a DAW. I am trying hard to keep my budget between 500-800 (not including monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc). Unlike most I am not trying to get bleeding edge performance. I am only trying to get enough horsepower to run a moderate number of VSTs. My plan is as follows:

A few thoughts questions:
1)I am thinking of taking advatage of the newer AMDs introduction and buy "last years" technology (i.e. a 939 based fx procession say a 3800)
2)MOBO wise I am reading that Nforce2 or 3 are proven to be reliable for a daw-sound right to you guys? Any specifc
3)Power supply-is 400 watt enough for a 2 hd system?
4)the sweet spot for HDs nowadays seems to be 320gb. I plan to buy 2. one for system and one for music. What can I do with the extra space on the OS drive? What is the smartest way to utilize that space?
5)I read that a somewhat dated AGP graphic card is actually preferable to a newer non agp card (for daws). I am thinking of getting a dual head matrox.
6)DVD+R/CDRW combo drive no 2nd drive. I don't think I will be burning CDs while I archive my HDs…is there another reason.
7)I currently use logic 4.8 on my win 98 se system. Does anyone have experience with 4.8 on win xp pro?
8)I will most likely be using my maudio 2496 card and since i am losing use of my dman 2044 (no drivers for xp) I will probably get a delta 44 at some point and run both cards.
9)if I am off course in my thinking of the above…please provide a quick sketch of your "proven and reliable but NOT bleeding edge DAW" config.


Thanks in advance.

[Justin]

I'm a little biased of course...but I'd say look at our CSTowerLE or CSTowerPlus. It's a little more than your price range, but they're ready to go out of the box and compatible with almost everything.

http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/systems.php

I don't know if the PC version of Logic will run in XP. They're not supporting it anymore, so if it's not stable, you'll be on your own.

AGP cards work fine for audio. You really don't need much of a video card for your DAW. I'd recommend something with a small cooler, or passive cooling. The newer cards with the blower style coolers tend to be too loud. I've built quite a few systems using Geforce 5200's and Radeon 9600's, they'll give you dual monitors with low heat/noise.

For an AMD DAW I'd look at the nForce chipsets. Avoid SiS and Via. I'm not sure if the NForce4 works well for audio or not. I think the 2 and 3 are fine. Check with your software and interface vendors compatibility pages to be sure though.

[sean maru]

Thanks for the info. I have been reading the same thing (that the n force 2 and 3 work well for audio). I appreciate the info. As for my sequencer I may consider cubase. I am thinking that maybe i could get sx3 cheap since 4 is out.

I want something that has a very efficient workflow...in terms of building midi tracks and handling my samples (lots of time stretching, and chopping etc).

any thoughts..not to get sidetracked. haha

sean

[Justin]

I'm mostly a hardware guy. For deep software questions, I'd say talk to one of our sales engineers. They have more hands on experience with all the different programs. They'll be able to give you a better comparison.

We currently have both Cubase SX & 4 in stock.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CubaseSX/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Cubase4/