new computer advice

[snowgie]

Digital audio newbie here. I've gotten bored with MIDI (Cakewalk Home Studio) and want to take it up a notch, but I'll need to do the same with my computer. What is most important to consider when buying a new PC? RAM? Processor speed? Hard drive size? What are some specs I should shoot for.... or if anyone can recommend a site or article to learn more, that's awesome too.
Thanks,
Brian

[Justin]

Well, it depends on what you're shooting for as the end result.
You say you want to take it up a notch, what do you mean, do you want to record audio from other instruments, get a software synth/sampler, get a loop-based editor?
You're pc configuration will depend on what software you're looking to run.
What gear do you currently own? Are you wanting to stay on a PC or would you consider getting a Mac system if the suited your need better? There are a ton of new options out there right now for either OS, just give us an idea of what you want to accomplish and we can help give some guidance.

[TeeCee]

How much time do you have on your hands? Do you want someone to tell you what's best or do you wnat to know why it's best? Are you planning on building a new PC or buying one?

Lot's of time, want to know what's best, building it yourself or not, go to Tom's Hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/) and start reading about motherboards and processors.

No time, want to be told what's best, and don't want to build it? There are PC-DAW makers these days that will sell you a complete solution. Look in an Electronic Musician, Keyboard, or Remix Magazine. I can't say that you'll get your money's worth, but they typically do look nice.

I believe Sweetwater can sell you a Mac. I'm not big on Macs, but I doubt you'll get what Sweetwater can offer you from anyone else, this forum being just a part of their real support. I wish they sold PCs so I could recommend them to friends.

[snowgie]

Thanks for the replies. I would prefer a PC. My Pentium II just isn't cutting it anymore but I don't want to learn on a Mac. I'm looking to get SONAR since I'm comfortable with the Cakewalk way of doing things. I'm a brass player so I'm only really interested in recording horns along with my voice. I checked out Tom's Hardware - impressive site. Not sure that I want to attempt to build my own PC though. Just looking to understand what makes for the best audio performance.
Brian

[TeeCee]

Well, you've made a wise decision to not try to learn enough about a PC to build it. Your time is probably better spent doing other things.

The problem is that a PC with the same specs bought from different places can perform incredibly different. I'm an AMD Athlon guy, but I know a lot about what's out there that's good and bad and can be sure to build a good machine. You could buy something like a Dell and not realize that they are selling you a system with slower RAM than you would buy for yourself or built in video that's not up to spec.

The "built for DAW" systems I've seen out there tend to be all Intel which makes me think that they don't really know what's up. When an equivalent or better system can be built for less with an Athlon. I'll scan a few sites if I get time to see what's out there.

I honestly can't recommend a single PC manufacturer. You had a chance with Mac because I trust the Sweetwater guys will back there work. I have no experience with them and Macs (but I have purchased things like my mixers from them in the past). I sent an email to a mail list I'm on asking if anyone is building PC-DAWs for resale at the moment. If anyone hit's me back and there product looks good, I'll pass on the information.

As for general specs as an upgrade and not the biggest baddest post production PC on the planet:
Almost any CPU still being made is fast enough for a lot of work. 1.8MHz (or equivalent) or better is fine. More CPU will let you do more soft synths and more plug in FX.
512MB RAM - no more if you insist on running Win98. More will likely not do you a whole lot of good unless you want to get into heavy duty soft sampling or Acid.
Two hard drives, both 7200 RPM IDE's should be fine.
Dual monitor video cards sell for about $100 from Matrox (G550). The expensive nVidia stuff is mainly for gaming. ATI's All In Wonder series does video capture and usually has a TV out if you need that.
IDE CD-RW's seem to work these days. It may get tricky if you try to burn from an IDE device on the same chain. Maybe more technical than you want to hear. For this reason, I recommend RAID cards or on-board RAID, but not to use the RAID features, just for the extra IDE ports. DVD-ROMs sell for under $80, CD-ROMs less than $40. Take your pick.

Hope this helps and I hope to have more usable and less detailed information for you soon.

[TeeCee]

Just in: Studio Cat (http://www.studiocat.com/) sells AMD based PC-DAWs. The Home Studio and Pro Studio both look good. You'll have to call for pricing. Also ask them if they are now using the Matrox G550. Not that big a deal if they aren't. Their site lists the older G450. You do want Windows Xp Pro. It does some things audio right where Windows 2000 does not (24 bit audio handling and MIDI device limits).

[EphICanIMite]

Just in case y'all are still checking this post, Sweetwater now does sell PC's. In fact, i'm in the process of getting a quote on one of their Carillon PC's. Of course these are top end PC's with a cost about on par with the Macs but strictly built for audio/midi and nothing else. Check 'em out. They are said to be totally quiet and they even come in a extremely professional strength (and professional looking) rack mount chassis. I'm psyched about it and looking forward to experiencing a machine such as this. Now if i can just be patient.

[jeharris]

Snowgie:

Well, so far, I know that Sweetwater has a great site and I'm sure that I'll be purchasing somehthing from them soon. I do also know that they DO know how to put together a DAW (I know people who have purchased Mac based DAWS from them).

Now that they're selling PCs, you should talk to them about what you need and have them to quote you a price. Also, I'm an Athlon guy, as I have no intel machines (I have 8. 5 for business apps and three are DAWS). Athlons are cheaper processors, they generally beat intel in speed and they can run your software. Why pay for the label "Intel Inside"?

Some things to keep in mind when specifying your custom DAW:

Memory - Get as much as you can afford. I suggest nothing less than 1GB
Processor - Get a fast Athlon XP Processor.
Drives - UltraATA. At least ATA-100. I use Maxtor UltraAtA and they come with a Promise card that allows them to run ATA-133. All of your drives should be 7200 RPM or better if you decide on SCSI, which is more expensive. Get one drive for the OS and apps and another, preferably a larger one for the audio.

Reference Monitors - Here's where do you not want to skimp. What you hear is what you get, and you do not need "color". M-Audio SP-5Bs are compact reference monitors and they can shake walls without breaking up. Also, www.musiciansfriend.com has the nerve to be practically giving them away at $199.99 a pair. They normally go for $299.99 a pair.

:D