Building a PC and Advice

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Member Since: Nov 04, 2005

Well, sure looks like there are some Builders out there. Well, I am thinking on two fronts here. I want to get one up and going, soon. I was thinking of buying a Pheriphial Computer, (excuse my spelling) allready to go, disabling the sound card, installing a seperate sound card, making it as noisless as possible, or building a noise reducing case to put it in. If I don't decide on that, then I want a Rackmount, or a Tower case CP, but I haven't decided on that because I heard the smaller the case the hotter it gets, and a Rackmount might get a little two hot. But I don't see the big deal. I have decided not to get a Mac. If I do build one, I probably want an Intel. But I have heard that the AMD's run cooler. So what the heck! Anyhow, if I do build one my main concern is getting the Motherboard and Case, first off. I want a fast computer with good FSB, a good processor. That is my main starting point. Then I can worry about the RAM and such. But the Motherboard to me would be the most important starting point. I don't know why there is so much information put on Processors, Harddrives and RAM, when the Motherboard is the Mother of it all. So, I need a Motherboard to support the RAM, the Processor, and all the other goodies. The case is second, and I would prefer a RAckmount. So all I want to do is build a computer for recording music. And I need a Rackmount case and a Motherboard to start. Does anyone know of a good Motherboard and Case to start off with. I know Form factor is important here. If you have a Rackmount then what is the form factor and what Motherboard is needed. You know I'll be honest, with all the interest in Building DAW's I haven't seen any good information (current information) on building a DAW. Where is it?

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Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Nov 10, 2005 08:30 am

I have a rackmount case, it's 3u high and I don't have any heat problems at all and only have one or two internal fans. It's pretty quiet as well. The rackmount case I have is here www.dealsonic.com/skyhip194ura1.html it's reasonably priced and very well constructed. As far as a motherboard, well, by the best Mobo for the CPU you want. Build around a CPU, not a Mobo. I prefer AMD for it's cost/speed ratio, it's not as fast as Intel, but it is so much less money one can usually afford to buy a better one.

It's hard to get a Mobo without a built in sound card, network jack, and no even video built in is very common. So, when you buy, buy a reputable brand (I am a fan of Asus myself) and make damn sure that the BIOS allows you to disable the sound chip, and maybe video chip if you have a fav video card. If you don't plan to do any video work, a built in video chip using a good chunk of shared RAM could likely do the trick. If you go that route, be sure to get at least 1 GB of RAM so you can share 128 MB or so with the video chip.

The speed RAM you buy will be dictated by the mobo and CPU you choose. As far as hard drives go, you will likely have SATA drives on any system if you build it with all new parts...get one with high RPM and fast seek time.

The Eternal Student
Member
Since: Oct 08, 2005


Nov 10, 2005 10:39 am

When buying a motherboard, don't get a no-namer, get one from a company that's been in the business a long time. I prefer AMD to Intel CPU's as well. More bang for the buck, and I think they're more stable as well, though I have nothing to prove it, just from personal experience.


Member
Since: Aug 12, 2005


Nov 11, 2005 09:08 am

Agree on AMD. I hardly see any reason for buying Intel these days. You get so much more for the money with AMD. Also agree with kennethwsmithjr, go for a well-known MB brand, Asus, Abit, Gigabyte are all good.
Yes, smaller cases will get warmer, but it also depends on how it's designed. I reckon a decent rack case should have good cooling capablities. As far as dealing with noise you might want to look at getting a fan-less PSU. In my experince the PSU-fan is usually the worst noise culprit. Happy hunting!

The Eternal Student
Member
Since: Oct 08, 2005


Nov 11, 2005 10:12 am

I have an ABIT and have had absolutely no trouble with it. I'd like to check out the Gigabyte boards because most of them have built in 1000/100/10 mbps ethernet (which would free up a pci slot)....lol.

I think I'm going to tear my case apart this weekend and take some case fans out of there. See how my CPU temp is affected, if at all.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 11, 2005 06:47 pm

I run an MSI mobo with an AMD Athalon XP 3200+ Barton core and it is the most rock solid set up I have had. Although my old PIII Coppermine on a Tyan mobo which I got from dB years ago still can dish it out as well and runs solid as long as I dont do something stupid to it.

The AMD seems to work better for the softsynth stuff though, no gliches at all.

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