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Thread I hope I got the Computer configuration right !!?

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1 I hope I got the Computer configuration right !!?
Hi everybody ,

I went through most of the stuff on the various forums of this site ( and a few others).... and after a long and tedious investigation I finally settled on the following configuration
(this is keeping in mind what level of recording/mixing I planned to do AND what hardware was available here in Delhi, India).

As of now these are my requirements:

1. I plan to do LIVE guitar (acoustic and electric) and Vocals
2. Rest ALL and whatever else I can manage.... through MIDI

So its gonna be basically a solo performance ... maybe sometimes jam with one of my friends, but no chances of recording a BAND.


And here is what I shortlisted. There are still a lot of issues with this configuration so I thought of getting the final seal of approval from you guys....

1. CPU (P4 2.8 Ghz, Hyperthreading enabled)
Confused about the Hyperthreading bit.... what I gather is that some s/w could really benefit from this, but I hope it does not SLOW down the CPU in other cases....

2. MOTHERBOARD ( Intel 865PE chipset)
I don't really know much about motherboards except that I read that Intel 865 supports dual channel ddr400... I hope this means its good.

3. SOUNDCARD (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro External)
I thought of getting the best in soundcards at least, that I could lay my hands on... I didn't want it to become a bottleneck. Brands like Aardvark and Yamaha (SW1000XG) are not available that easily here in Delhi. The reviews that have gone thru for this soundcard (Creative) have been good...yor views

4. OPERATING SYSTEM (Windows XP)
This is almost settled ...except that I want to go for Dual Boot system ( Internet & Music)...I hope that won't be much of a problem with XP.

5. SD RAM ( 1GB RAM)
Should I go for two sticks of 512MB each or just one stick of 1GB ram...? I read somewhere that for Intel motherboards, havng 2 same size ram sticks give better performance rather than a single big one.


6. HARD DISC DRIVE ( SATA )
I am confused about whether I should go for the plain old IDE or SATA hard disk, are SATA not much reliable yet in terms of working with music? I realise that 7200rpm wuld be good.


Thanking all in advance.....

Satendra
2
What you've got going there should get you what you're hoping for.

Quote: 1. CPU (P4 2.8 Ghz, Hyperthreading enabled)...I hope it does not SLOW down the CPU in other cases....

Hyperthreading does not harm you in any way. It is just more expensive.

Quote: 2. MOTHERBOARD ( Intel 865PE chipset)
I don't really know much about motherboards except that I read that Intel 865 supports dual channel ddr400... I hope this means its good.

Yes, it means it is good!

Quote: 3. SOUNDCARD (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro External)

Well, i guess it is more than an O.K. soundboard BUT you could get an Audiophile 2496 for less money, and i'd go for that if I where you.

Quote: 4. OPERATING SYSTEM (Windows XP)
This is almost settled ...except that I want to go for Dual Boot system ( Internet & Music)...I hope that won't be much of a problem with XP.

Handy OS and no probs whith dual booting.

Quote: 5. SD RAM ( 1GB RAM)
Should I go for two sticks of 512MB each or just one stick of 1GB ram...? I read somewhere that for Intel motherboards, havng 2 same size ram sticks give better performance rather than a single big one.

Two IDENTICAL ones (get Kingstons if you can afford it).

Quote: 6. HARD DISC DRIVE ( SATA )
I am confused about whether I should go for the plain old IDE or SATA hard disk, are SATA not much reliable yet in terms of working with music? I realise that 7200rpm wuld be good.

ATA 133 / 7200rpm drives do the job! No need to spend more on a technology that is not yet widely supported.

Hope that helped. Cheers!
3
Thanx a lot for the suggestions, everybody ... really helped me out !!

And oh Boy I never knew Creative was so BAD !!
Anyway thanks again for opening my eyes on that...

As a result I did some more research and finally managed to find out two distributors for M-Audio here in India.

Depending on my financial constraints I have zeroed on 3 cards :
1.Delta 66 ( 2nd hand)
2.Audiophile 2496
3.Delta 44

Delta 44 and Audiophile 2496 are almost equal in price and though Delta 66 is costlier, what the distributors are giving me is a "2nd hand card, in very good confition, from our in-house studio".... so the price is comparitive to the other two cards....

Should I go for this 2nd hand stuff..( i don't personally know these guys, so I can't really vouch for their claims on the condition of the card). what I mean is that is the delta-66 really that good that I should go for it even though it wuld be a risk ( 2nd hand)?

considering my recording requirements:
1.solo guitar
2.solo vocal
3. all the rest midi
I think audiophile-2496 could easily suffice or maybe the delta-44....
i might not really need a delta-66.


One more important consideration here... midi performance and support
since i wlil be relying heavily on midi sounds to create the whole song... which of these cards gives the best midi performance and manipulation..?

Thanx again ... and also in advance ..!!
4
hi .. where did you get the Audioplile 2496 in delhi. Can you plz tell me the dealer or shop address ( how much did you pay for that) . I coudn't get hold of one. Thanks.
5
I'm no home recording expert but am an IT pro, The set up you have is WAY above my own and is pretty darn powerful. HT means the processor can do 2 things simultaneously as if it had two processors. If the bios let you set HT then it is a dual channel board. MS have just released a 64-bit version of win XP you should consider it (don't know if stable, wait a while and get reports from IT mags). Cakewalk do an HT version of there software. SATA drives are faster than IDE (PATA) drives and overall you have a good lag-killing system. No changes required. I can't comment on soundcard as I am not up on them.