PC Purchase Ahead...

[schust]

So what are people buying, PC wise, these days that's impressive? Links? Brands? It's just for personal use, but I'm sick and tired of my piece of crap Dell (AMD dual core) getting buried with just a few tracks of ampsims and Superior. Any info would be appreciated!

 

[FIXXXER]

buy only if you really have the cash, any compromise makes
chances higher that something will not work out nice.

do not buy cheap hardware of any kind!

 

[Wrecknine]

Don't have your applications, samples and audio files on the same drive. AT least try things out with a separate sample drive and see if there's an improvement. Have your latency set to max when you mix. Does your software allow Freezing like Cubase? If not, just mix tracks down as you work so it's not so taxing.

 

[chdrummer]

I've always preferred Intel over AMD even though it is a little bit more expensive.

 

[brianhood]

it's well worth it to learn how to build your own PC. Plenty of guides and videos online

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

^ Build it yourself.. I thought about posting my build in a thread with tips on simple optimization etc.. I might just do that today..

 

[UncleBob]

Just ordered an AMD FX 8350 with 16gigs Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz ram and a good MSI mobo (usb 3, TWO pci slots etc etc all the other usual stuff), should be pretty "bitchin", it's not going to be used for gaming so I don't care if The Intel outperforms it a bit.

 

[heshian46]

Get an i7, or equivalent AMD. The more processing power, the longer the computer will hold up as technology progresses.

 

[miguelrx10d]

^ Build it yourself.. I thought about posting my build in a thread with tips on simple optimization etc.. I might just do that today..

that would be pretty cool dude

 

[schismatic]

Get an i7, or equivalent AMD. The more processing power, the longer the computer will hold up as technology progresses.

+1, this is very true.

 

[colonel kurtz]

i would really recommend scouring newegg for one of their parts bundles

i got an AMD 6-core, the motherboard, RAM, and a 1 TB HD altogether for cheap as shit a couple years ago...bought a case/fan for it all, then used the video card/external HD/FW card from my old PC, and ended up with a pretty solid recording PC for $400

it's a little intimidating to build your own computer the 1st time around, but honestly the instructions w/ the motherboard and processor are very specific and well-explained, and it's really just not all that hard.

 

[Sloan]

If your not planning on doing any gaming etc, you can get away with using a motherboard with on-board video, this may save you a few bucks until you feel you need a video card. Also, I've always preferred having on-board video for video card troubleshooting purposes as well.

 

[schust]

i will definitely check out building my own. HP has a quad-core i7 for less than 800. not bad. although, mem is only 8Gb. my OTHER big concern is i'm seeing most stock machines come with Windows 8. Anybody have experience or heard anything on this? Sounds like a real shift in paradigm for Windows interface...

 

[MatrixClaw]

You can build a hackintosh to the specs of a $3500 Mac Pro for like a grand.

 

[UncleBob]

I just upgraded to Win 8 Pro 64 bit last week Monday and I REALLY don't know what all the crying/whining is about, it's 98% Windows 7 with a couple kool new additions here and there, like to the Task Manager and My Computer (with My Computer it's 99% the same just with a few new toolbar additions), and I actually like the new Start Menu/Metro whatever, I never really used the start menu anyway so for me, over all, I was a bit disappointed as I was expect some "whole new thing" based on all the cry-babying but it was practically not worth the upgrade, think of it as Windows 7.1

Everything works perfect had no hassles (except my usb wifi adapter drops suddenly now and then which is new.....still checking into that)

 

[Mashreef]

from i5 3rd gen to i7 3rd gen...
is there much diff??

 

[mstone564]

I'd recommend building a PC, as well.
Figure out what your budget is, what YOU want (and need for it to function), then watch some videos on how to put it together if you don't know how. It's a pretty general process.
Just don't skimp on a nice motherboard, CPU, and get enough RAM. Everything else should be to taste.

 

[SethTheGreat]

I just upgraded to Win 8 Pro 64 bit last week Monday and I REALLY don't know what all the crying/whining is about, it's 98% Windows 7 with a couple kool new additions here and there, like to the Task Manager and My Computer (with My Computer it's 99% the same just with a few new toolbar additions), and I actually like the new Start Menu/Metro whatever, I never really used the start menu anyway so for me, over all, I was a bit disappointed as I was expect some "whole new thing" based on all the cry-babying but it was practically not worth the upgrade, think of it as Windows 7.1

+1 here.

I've been using it on my laptop (not on my recording rig) for about a month now. It's basically Windows 7.1

I did read somewhere that there was a slight ASIO performance drop after Windows 8 but more than likely that was a specific configuration issue. If not, it wasn't a big deal, and it will probably be fixed in the next year with driver updates, etc...

from i5 3rd gen to i7 3rd gen...
is there much diff??

As far as I understand, no, not much difference. An i7 just has hyperthreading which most audio applications don't take advantage of anyway.

 

[Chainsaw Calligraphy]

I've always been a fan of AMD for custom built computers. If you're looking to spend £300-400 on the latest top of the line processor the Intels have better benchmarks, but £ for £ you get more for your money with AMD. Another thing is that Intel seem to design a new motherboard socket every time they release a new line of processors, whereas AMD design their processors to work on the same socket (as well as making thier newer models backwards compatible with the previous generation of motherboards) so 3 or 4 years down the line you can drop £150 on a new processor, pick up some more RAM and bring your computer up to speed for under £300.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

You can build a hackintosh to the specs of a $3500 Mac Pro for like a grand.

+1

Just remember though, if you build a Hackintosh, all the troubleshooting is basically up to you and other hackintoshers