new DAW. see specs. please advise

Posted on Mar 08, 2009 05:29 pm
RichyRich
Member Since: Mar 08, 2009

I am in the process of having a computer put together. Computer/ DAW to be dedicated to recording music. No gaming, etc. I need help. I’ve gotten suggestions over the last few months. I have a fragmented idea of what I want but need to have it fine tuned as I am ready and anxious to purchase

For starters…
I'm a musician (drummer mostly) who jumped in to recording. I'm not a computer wiz - troubleshooting, when the need arises, is very painful. So I'd like to keep it as simple and painless as possible.

this is what I currently have...
Presonus FireStudio Project - 10 x 10 Firewire interface – 8 XMAX PreAmps
Cubase Studio 4
ToonTrack - EZ Drummer w/ Superior drummer 2.0 crossgrade and dfh Expansion -
VExpressions drummers dream for Roland TD12.
Behringer B2031A external monitors

I'm trying not to spend over $1200 (or 1400). Probably will run on XP.

Here is what it mostly has come down to…

Processor – Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9550 (or Q9300… also considering the XEON X3360)
Gigabyte motherboard (P45 chipset with TI firewire chipset)
HD 1 – for system – 250GB Seagate SATA HD
HD 2 – for audio, samples and storage – 500GB Seagate SATA HD
(Two) monitors – 22” - LCD 22inch -Asus 21.5 inch -BA31245 $177.99
Memory - 4GB DDR2 Ram
Graphics Video card - GeForce 8400GS dual-head
Power Supply –
Optical Drive - 22X DVD-RW Lite-On
Fan – Cooling - Zalman CNPS9500 AT
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3
Tower – Antec Take 4 - rack mounted case (or Antec Sonata III)

Any suggestions on what I have… or recommendations?
Here are other suggestions that people have come up with… thoughts???

Processor – Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz 2x4MB L2 Cache
HD 1 – Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200 rpm 8MB Cache IDE
HD 2 – Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
(Two) Monitors - ???
Memory – 4 GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Graphics Card – GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-Bit DDR2 Fanless Heatsink Design (Noiseless)
Power Supply – 610 Watt Silencer
Optical Drive – LITE-ON 20X DVD +-R DVD Burner Black SATA
CPU Cooler – Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3
Tower - ???

Processor – ASUS P5Q-EM intel g45 chipset micro ATX form factor • CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.0G (1333Mhz)
HD 1 – WD 160gb WD1600AAJS SATA300 8mb 7200rpm (bare drive)
HD 2 – WD 500gb WD5000AAKS SATA2 16mb 7200rpm (bare drive)
(Two) Monitors - LCD 22inch -Asus 21.5 inch -BA31245 -$177.99
Memory - Kingston PC26400 800mHz 4GB kit (2GB x2) -BA25117 -$42.99
Graphics Card – XFX Radeon HD 4350 512MB -3001706 $46.99
Power Supply – Antec 650 watts Earth Watts (silent and power efficent) -BA25455 $81.99
Optical Drive – LG (IDE Interface) -AA73272 $21.50
CPU Cooler – Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3 AA15070 $133.99
Tower - PC Case -Antec Three Hundred -BA25453 $54.99

Thanks for all input. I am quite anxious to get moving on a new DAW/ Computer soon… and any suggestion is greatly appreciated. Rick

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