Help me build a Computer for production!

[ORANGE_J]

Hi,
I have been DJing for years and have been getting into production lately. i am going to build a computer strictly for production needs. I am looking for insight as to what hardware i should use. A friend of mine builds computers and can get good deals on parts. So i ask you what do i need (try and keep budget around $1000 )

It will be a PC and i will be using the following software:
-cubase sx-3
-ableton live 6
-Various VSt's (smaple tank, battery)
-Serato scratch live (i also have a seperate lap top to run this prog)

thanks

[n00bstorm]

I would try to get a good CPU say the E6600 and good memory... dont warry about what videocard you get if you are not going to use it for gaming... 6600GT its great and its very cheap as its old videocard nowdays.

[ORANGE_J]

yea i was thinking i would not spend top dollar on a video card. i will need a good prrocessor, sound card (possibly m-audio), and plenty or RAM (1 or 2 gigs??), 300gig HD??

any more suggestiions...?

[hk_andyc]

buy a core 2 duo cpu
a asus mother board
2gb of ram
m-audio audiophilie soundcard with multi-inputs
shitty g-force will do
buy a 100gb hard disk
there u go

[dav_mt]

well, if i would buy a pc for production rite now
INTEL CPU CORE 2 DUO E6600
2gigs of RAM
and an EMU-Sound Card 1616M PCI (PCI is better than firewire and USB)
and last but not least a Sata-II Hard disk of around 400gb(important that it is at least 7200rpm not 5400rpm like most laptop hard drives)
+ a good keyboard midi controller either Novation SL Remote, Emu Xboard or M Audio Axiom

[miNibUZz]

make sure the sound card is low latency otherwise you will get audible delays when playing vst instruments live

i've used m-audio products before and they are usually ~5ms but at the moment i have a creative x-fi music which has latency of 1 or 2 ms - with this card when i play vst synths live the delay is not noticable

[Arcana]

Lemme give you a huge tip:

Use AMD ... not Intel boards =P

Intel just absolutely SUX.

[Soulmax]

Weather you choose AMD or Intel just be sure not to spent too much money on the graphic card if you dont play much games .

AMD is launching new chipset very soon ... i would wait a bit on your place and see what do they offer.

Another thing ... hard disks are not expensive anymore so i would sugest something around 300 GB of space coz multimedia eats free space in a minute.

MBO - take Asrock , Abit or DFI ...

2 GB of ram is a must specially if you install Vista which will need a lot of memory ...

Qualitty LCD for your healty eyes and ergonomic keyboard & mouse as well is needed ...

Tell us what did you bought at the end :)

[ORANGE_J]

thanks for the input guys. I already have a view sonic 19'LCD monitor and a m-audio axiom 49.
so for now i will be looking for ;
-AMD duo core processor
-2gig ram
-300 gig HD (7200 rpm)
-m-audio audiophilie soundcard with multi-inputs and rca otu puts
-plenty of fans to keep this system running cool

i will post pics and specs wheni have the final product.

still open to suggestions

[dstroy]

thanks for the input guys. I already have a view sonic 19'LCD monitor and a m-audio axiom 49.
so for now i will be looking for ;
-AMD duo core processor
-2gig ram
-300 gig HD (7200 rpm)
-m-audio audiophilie soundcard with multi-inputs and rca otu puts
-plenty of fans to keep this system running cool

i will post pics and specs wheni have the final product.

still open to suggestions

i think it´s a good idea..i prefer amd before intel.. i think amd processor give more features that intel..its only a mark..

So you should think about buying some midi keyboard and a good monitor amplifiers... it´s an important part if you don´t have goods speakers.

There are a pair of gemini auto amplifier very goods..but i believe it´s use in djing..i can´t give you information about good speakers to producction!!:)

[soundakilla]

Core 2 Duo
2 GB of RAM
M-Audio Souncard, muti-channel & preamp
2 HD (use 1 HD just for virtual memory)
Extra fan
Midi Controller
Pasive Speakers (Monitor) - don't use active or hi-fi speaker

:D

[ORANGE_J]

thanks again guyg.., my friend who owns a computer shop is going to get me some really good prices on the parts. I should have it within a month or so. I am looking at some paradigm monitors, any thing else?

[Glenn Marlow]

make sure the sound card is low latency otherwise you will get audible delays when playing vst instruments live

i've used m-audio products before and they are usually ~5ms but at the moment i have a creative x-fi music which has latency of 1 or 2 ms - with this card when i play vst synths live the delay is not noticable
hmm i got the same audio card, bit a higher latency(around 40 ms..) how can that be? system?

[Montana]

buy a cheap video card :) , look for m-audio products for sound card, keyboard and also monitor, 19'' lcd, at least 1-2 gb ram

[Dartflare]

Motherboad ASUS...
Processor AMD... I would buy AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core 2.2GHz, 2mb, 2000MHz FSB
Memory at least 1Gb... ideal is 2Gb
HD... As much space as you think u need
M-Audio Soundcard
Video card... at least 128mb (ATI or NVidia)

[xplovibe]

i suggest Core 2 Duo + good motherboard...go for the Core 2 Duo that's not very expensive (it's very good already) so you can buy extra stuff...
then 19'' LCD monitor, a good and cheap 24/96 soundcard (try M-Audio),
go for an Apple keyboard, good optical mouse (a must for using with lots of knobs)
250 GB Hdd, DVD RW, 1 GB ram and other accesories

i wish you good luck

[Anubis CRO]

You should get yourself AMD 64 dual core, get as much of memory as you can minimum 1Gb,cause for cubase sx3 minimum conf. is 1Gb i think,big HD 100 GB or bigger,and soundcard M-Audio.

[Bu_man]

make sure you get a good sound card, a fast dualcore processor and a so much ram memory you can afford!

[daveB]

I have the sound blaster X-fi Xtreme music and it's quite good, but for more in/outs a m-audio soundcard would be better (and the x-fi has only 3,5" jacks :( ).
1,5 gigs of 667mhz ddr2 ram serves well, but the cpu I have is a bit slow (amd 64 3500+), so dualcore/X2 indeed.
Hard drives are enough (1*160gb + 1*250 gb) - for now :).

[ORANGE_J]

hey all, thanks for all the input. This is taking forever to get done since im waiting on my friend who gets the parts for cheap. Everyday i keep changing my mind on processors etc. But i will forsure have atleast 300gig HD and 2gig sdr2 RAM.
I think im going to order m-audio audiophile sound card with 2 sets rca jacks. I already have a nice 19" monitor aswell as M-Audio Axiom 49 midi key and a few VSTi''s to install.

I have been in studio that is running off mac G5 and Digital performer 5. It is takin me soem time to get accostomed to. But i cant wait to have my own set up in house!!

will post pics when complete

[Creashinn]

Even though people say get two gig of ram, you should also look at how fast your rams are gonna be running. Not all rams are created equal. I could be wrong.

[welchy]

[quote=M-Audio Axiom 49 midi key and a few VSTi''s to install.

[/quote]

what VSTs are you going to use

[notNEWjay]

Core 2 Duo
2 GB of RAM
M-Audio Souncard, muti-channel & preamp
2 HD (use 1 HD just for virtual memory)
Extra fan
Midi Controller
Pasive Speakers (Monitor) - don't use active or hi-fi speaker

:D

Is that what will help that problem?

I have a new gateway 1.6x2 processor, 250 GB HD, 2K ram, usually run sonar, atmoshere, wavelab, & stylios. I use the computer for nothing else, and constantly got the virtual memory error warning.

Took it back to the store, they changed a setting was okay for 2 or 3 days, then happened again. took it back again no help, called gateway and they said it needs a new mother board. So I sent it out, only to have it returned with nothing done (they said the board was fine) and that I should upgrade to 4GB ram to fix this.....Grrr

[levap]

For produsing 300 gb hard disk is not enoth at least 500 gb and above.J hade a production one time that took mor then 30 gb on one song. And ofcourse good MIDI keybourd