step one

[psymin]

so ive been playing music for most of my life and now I want to start recording it. I figure computer based recording is best so im going to go with a computer based DAW for my first set up. the only problem is I need help deciding what computer to buy.

ive narrowed it down to two.

computer 1: a Dell XPS 9000,
processor = Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
memory = 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
OS hard drive = 500GB
storage hard drive = 500GB

computer 2: Dell Studio
processor = Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9400 (6MB L2, 2.66GHz, 1333FSB)
memory = 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4DIMMs
OS hard drive = 500GB
storage hard drive = 500GB

wich should I go with? the price of computer 1 is $100 more than computer 2 and its mainly because it has a newer processor, you think its worth it?

now one more question

Im pretty sure both of these have enough speed and power to record but after I have one of them im gunna need a way to get the sound in and out. Ive heard an audio interface is what I need for that purpose but ive also heard your computer's sound card can act as an audio interface. which is the better route?

thanks, for any help

[5454stevef]

so ive been playing music for most of my life and now I want to start recording it. I figure computer based recording is best so im going to go with a computer based DAW for my first set up. the only problem is I need help deciding what computer to buy.

ive narrowed it down to two.

computer 1: a Dell XPS 9000,
processor = Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
memory = 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
OS hard drive = 500GB
storage hard drive = 500GB

computer 2: Dell Studio
processor = Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9400 (6MB L2, 2.66GHz, 1333FSB)
memory = 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4DIMMs
OS hard drive = 500GB
storage hard drive = 500GB

wich should I go with? the price of computer 1 is $100 more than computer 2 and its mainly because it has a newer processor, you think its worth it?

now one more question

Im pretty sure both of these have enough speed and power to record but after I have one of them im gunna need a way to get the sound in and out. Ive heard an audio interface is what I need for that purpose but ive also heard your computer's sound card can act as an audio interface. which is the better route?

thanks, for any help

About the interface, I would suggest getting a dedicated interface instead of using the built-in card. Most built-ins are nothing special, putting it kindly, and are made more for gaming and casual mp3 listening than anything approaching decent quality. Even a $100 interface will blow the doors off the average sound card in terms of noise, etc. Plus the sound card won't have a mic preamp or phantom power, etc., and some of them won't even have a way for you to monitor as you record.

I'm not qualified to comment on the two comps mentioned, but you might spend some time on the web looking at DAW benchmarking info for the two if you have decided on a specific software package.


SF

[michaelhoddy]

Both computers are plenty (overkill?) powerful for audio work, and you've got your second hard drive for audio, so you are in decent shape. You could use USB, PCIe, or Firewire for your audio interface, although the second two are preferred for any sort of robust track count.

[Dave Burris]

I've recently moved to i7 platforms and can't say how pleased I am with how much bandwidth I've added. Stuff that used to challenge my older P4HT systems now seem like nothing. The tailoring of the i7 for I/O bandwidth really shows with Cubase 5.

[robertallen]

I'd go ahead and fork over the extra $100 and get the i7 system. I'm so jealous right now.

Which DAW system are you looking at?