Building a PC

[Keregioz]

Hey guys, I'm thinking it's time to get a new Pc system. I'm going to use it for both home recording and some gaming. I've been researching into components for the PC, reviews, opinions etc for hours and I got a headache from all the information and options...here's what I've ended up with:

CPU: Intel Core i7 930
CPU Cooling: Zalman CNPS10X FLEX
MB: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) Kingston DDR3 PC10666 1333MHz
VC: Gigabyte Radeon HD5830
HD: Seagate 750GB + an external 500Gb I already got.
PSU: Thermaltake 750W

Any suggestions/advice/observations/comments?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Get a 5850 or higher for video.

And I'd consider a dedicated hard drive for audio work. I just picked up a 500 gig drive for $65.. they're cheap & well worth the small extra expense.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I would recommend to stay away from external drives to use for audio, for data storage that will be moved around on multiple machines they are great, but they are slower than SATA II, and since they are movable and can get knocked around, they have a higher failure rate, so if you plan on only using a drive on one machine, its just CHEAPER and EASIER to use a second internal drive.

For games yes a 5850 like Glenn said would be better, it can be slower on extreme games on extreme settings but for the money is a beast.

Everything else looks good though, just need a case and a 64-bit OS of choice. I would recommend, although a bit more expensive to dual boot an XP 32-bit and 7 64-bit setup to make life easier on compatibility, which is something I am glad I did because I have had some issues in 7 that were not there is XP and vice versa

 

[Keregioz]

Actually, I've been thinking that I'm not ready to switch to 64bit OS yet...so I'll just get 4GB of RAM and maybe upgrade in the future.

I never planned to use the external drive for audio...still, I am considering getting two internal drives now that you guys mentioned it. Especially since it seems I will only be getting 4gigs of RAM so I have an extra 100euros to spend.

edit: oh...and here's the case I'll get http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCYQ8wIwAg#

 

[TheWinterSnow]

There is nothing wrong with a 64-bit OS, the problem that you will run into are a windows 7 thing, since it is still new and nothing has been developed for it, drivers are still "dodgy" and software has a tendency to not want to work right particularly in cheaper interfaces.

 

[Keregioz]

There is nothing wrong with a 64-bit OS, the problem that you will run into are a windows 7 thing, since it is still new and nothing has been developed for it, drivers are still "dodgy" and software has a tendency to not want to work right particularly in cheaper interfaces.

Yes, that's why I'm going to stay clear of it for a while longer...

 

[aortizjr]

Looks good to me. +1 on the extra drive for audio. Lately I have been considering also getting another drive for sample libraries since they eat space and bandwidth.

The only thing I would consider (and have been considering) is going with an NVidia card. Then you can use CUDA for things like Nebula Reverbs and Convolution/Impulses.

http://www.liquidsonics.com/software_reverberate_le.htm

Then there is another free one out there soon, can't remember the name of it though.