Advice on buying a computer for recording

[RootExposure]

I'm on a very tight budget so planning on building up my equipment slowly. VERY slowly. I was planning on doing more PC recording. I was wondering what would be good desktop for this, a good laptop for this, and/or the types i would be looking for in a computer to do this. I'm planning on getting a commercial brand rather than a custom built computer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

RootExposure

[everett_chris]

If you can be more specific about what your doing, I can probably provide more useful information, but here are some guidlines....

Desktops are better than laptops. More bang for your buck, pure and simple.

Pick what software you want, and build your system around that.

Building your own PC can save you a lot of money, and it's really quite easy.

[xxFT13xx]

yeah...build your own...you can have a kick *** system for $500 if you make it yourself..

check out www.pricewatch.com for good deals

-Sin
http://zwap.to/ft13

[MuZiKUnHeRd]

I must agree with the 2 on the fact that building your own isn't difficult at all. I must say that i bought a DELL computer back before i was intersted in computer recording. I have to say that when you buy a computer from a name brand company they don't really have the audio enthusiast/hobbiest in mind.

For one the sound card that comes with a computer is basic at best! Of course you don't need a sound card at all, you can use a controller like the Tascam us428 which doesn't have any mic preamps but has a low amount of latency. I think that an upgraded sound card in the price range (and i hate break down a product by it's price) of around $400-$600 is studio quality as far as latency goes. For that price it should come with some kind of audio/midi interface. But i think in your case you might be looking for a more bang for you buck type deal, in which the us428 is an affordable and efficient controller.

Now as far as ram goes, in my opinion anything above 512 is over kill. I have 640mb in my pc at home and i've never even came close to 512mb in any recordings i've done! All though my computer is quite quick for internet use too!!! :p

Which brings me to another point, if you're going to be using your pc for more than your recording needs. Internet and, well, i don't suggest games and all of those sorts on your audio computer, but internet is fine as long as you keep your cookies cleared out and YOU HAVE A SECONDARY HARD DRIVE! I have a 20 gig drive for my OS and other programs i may be using and 40 gig 7200 rpm drive for my audio needs. This is a very important rule if you're using you're computer for more than audio.

Now for my processor i'm using a 1.3 gig pentium 4 which does the trick for me. I've seen all the way up to 2 gigs of processing in which i feel is a luxury more than a necessity. 700mhz and up would be ideal!

From this point on you should have the ideal computer setup. It's your choice as to what you want to go with for sequencing and multitrack programs. Also a host of plug-ins is always fun too.

And let's not forget a 2 track recorder such as a cd-burner!!! At least a 4 speed because you never know when you're gonna have to make a whole bunch of copies for maybe a demo use or the such.

Thanks,
Jus10

[AcousticPro]

I would absolutely agree with this in theory. However I have a couple of questions. If you build the computer yourself where do you go when something goes down on the system? Do you just replace the component? I'm also curious how stable and appropriate the machine can be for $500? I have been custom building machines for Gigastudio and have found that if the machine is built properly and with the best components for the job that this is not a realistic number. (This of course is taking into account the fact that you want to have someone standing behind you to help if the system goes down and you can't make music as a result) Service will always be the great un equalizer. :)

[everett_chris]

The problem with retail PC's is that they are not built for recording, or any other "continuous stream of data" application. They usually use cheap memory, 5400 rpm disks, cheap motherboards...... And service and support...sounds good, but in practice the support from most PC makers sucks. Buy components with warrenties, use caution during install, and you'll be fine. Most people will save $200-$400 buy building a computer themselves, IF they have an old one they can use for parts. However, I agree that $500 is low.

The last time I bought a "normal" system was 1993. Since then I've purchased a remanufactured desktop, two remanufactured laptops, and built two sytems, reusing what I've had before.

The system I am building now consists of

Case/Power supply(Enermax)...$115
512MB memory (crucial DDR) ...$175
Motherboard (Abit KR7A Raid)...$125
Processor (Athon XP1800+)...$195

Keyboard, mouse, monitor,Operating System, and video card I already own, and so do most people, so they would not need to buy a ones. I'm also reusing my old disk drives, but if you needed new ones you could add about $200 for two drives.

==$810 for a solid system.

[AcousticPro]

Thanks for the post Chris. I think you illustrated what I was headed for and that it's fairly involved. I wouldn't recommend a stock supplier for computers for anyone wanting to do digital audio. I see them come through here all the time and they are trouble 90% of the time. I don't make much on the custom machines we have put together either. Even your figures were over the $500 mark and took into account using many of your previously used (and warranty expired items) if your doing this for a hobby you're probably thinking that down time isn't as crucial. I don't get to do it full time like I used to either, that makes down time even more crucial to me. Perhaps I'm the only one? So as best I'm figuring for a good motherboard, approved processor, operating system, appropriate fans and heat sinks, power supply, case, faster drives, video card, monitor, mouse, RAM, and keyboard, you would easily be talking over $1,000 based on Chris' numbers. If you're okay with canabalizing a machine and not using it for the hand down to the kids or for doing the bookkeeping and keeping your machine dedicated to audio like it should be, well... that still may save you a little over buying a custom configured machine from a "value added re-seller" but is it worth it? Maybe...

[everett_chris]

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend someone "roll there own" if their buisness depended on it, and they weren't really comfortable with the process. For me, I can build a computer quickly, and I can't find what I want for sale anywhere. The process of building a computer in itself, is easy, and anyone really can do it, BUT, the process of choosing what you should buy, finding the places to buy it, and so on, is a different story.

I guess this puts a lot of people between a rock and a hard place. The options for most people, the way I see it are:

Buy retail---Cheap, but junk, not good enough for even basic audio work

Buy on-line---Requires more knowledge than retail, but a better product, albiet at a higher price

Build your own---Cheap, but you need to know what your getting into.

Buy custom-built---Best option but most expensive.

Buy a Mac---:) Expensive, but removes a lot of question marks.


The good and bad of the PC world is selection, and lots of it. There is a boatload of absolute junk on the market, and that's what causes people problems. And unfortuantly, there isn't anybody making a real preformance PC right now. Micron used too, but no more. Maybe, at the end of the day, it should be said----------If you don't understand what's going on with a PC, how it works, and how to build one-----Buy a Mac.

Our topic starter seemed to be really concerned with saving money, which is why I recommended it in the first place. On further thought, maybe not such a good idea.

[AcousticPro]

Here, here! I would agree with everything you said except that custom build machines are the most expensive option. I have a supplier that is doing this for my customers (actaully is one of our customers) and keeping it fairly close to the cost of doing it yourself obviously plus the minimal labor it takes him to actually do the work putting it together. Thanks again for the post! This type of discussion will continue to be helpful to all involved.