The Computer Thread

Works0fheart

Works0fheart

Active Member
Aug 21, 2008
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So yeah, I know this may not be one of the best places to go for advice on this, but I'm doing it anyways for hope of answers that aren't sarcastic or negative. Dream big right?

Well anyways, I'm looking to build a computer. I'm not the most Tech savvy of people so this is where you guys come in. I'm looking to build something that I can use to start putting together music. I have my mind set on about 1Tb and 8 gigs of RAM. I'm not sure what motherboard/processor I should be looking for or anything really though. I don't want to destroy my wallet. I'm looking to spend around 1000 dollars or so.

I've been using both Pricewatch and Newegg. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.




On a side note I figured that a thread for computer shit may not be a bad thing. :p
 
Not necessarily 1000, I just don't want to spend a dick ton of money on something really that does way more than I need it to. If it costs me more than 1000 to put together something that would work great for making music then so be it, I just don't want to go too overboard if you know what I mean.
 
it depends what kind of music too. If it's just guitar/bass/drums/random keys... you don't need 8gigs of Ram, i would recommend buying a good interface instead
 
vikk said:
it depends what kind of music too. If it's just guitar/bass/drums/random keys... you don't need 8gigs of Ram, i would recommend buying a good interface instead
Click to expand...

No, it would definitely expand to more than just guitar, bass, drums and keys. Although I listen to alot of metal it's not really what I had in mind. As far as making music goes I want to combine all of the things I like or to just do them separately when I feel like it. To give you an idea, it would be music layered with lots of instruments, kind of like Hans Zimmer, Equilibrium, Daft Punk, Wintersun. I just really would like to be able to make music of any type other than just metal. That gets way too boring.


CliffBurton said:
.
Click to expand...

It doesn't seem that hard since I'd seen stuff like that on both Pricewatch and Newegg for about 800 or so. Like I said, the money isn't really a setback, I just want to get as much as I can for as little as I can. Pretty common consumer mindset.
 
Go for an Intel CPU, avoid going below 2.6ghz and 4 cores is the current standard, make sure you note the chipset(LGA775 is old, avoid it) so you don't end up with the wrong mobo. Mobowise just check up on specs to make sure it supports your RAM and CPU's chipset and speeds, DDR3 is standard in RAM atm, priced the same as DDR2 atm so no reason not to get it(at least here in norway lolz).

if you get an i7 or similar CPU, your mobo will be triple channel. That means that 8gb will be inefficient. Either go for 3, 6 or 12gb(6 is more than enough) and make sure you place them correctly in the slots. think 3x2GB sticks in each respective channel, it will work faster and more efficient this way.

Get a GFX card as well, the internal one will not be sufficient for anything worth mentioning, and you're better off taking the load off the motherboard and onto a card. Any low to low-mid tier will work fine for music and erryday stuff. If you want to game on PC, go mid to mid-high, high is a waste of money.


Either get an interface like Vikk says, or an studio internal PCI card like me. The latter can be harder to work with, so go with an interface, im sure Vikk or someone else can recommend a good one for you.

For everything else, there's this classic image:

guidez.png
 
Thanks Muffin. I really appreciate it. I'm going to piece together some stuff on Pricewatch and post it here to see what you guys think. I don't want to waste my money on something that ends up being obnoxious just for the sake of being obnoxious.

Also, Ensi, thanks for the link as well, I thought we had a computers thread but I wasn't sure and I'm too lazy to search lol. Also, somewhere down the line I'd like to know what it is that you use for recording and so on with your computer. I'm pretty sure you don't have an amp right? You just use some sort of amp modeling I had thought.

But yeah, I'll see what I can slap together real quick on Pricewatch and post the specs and see if you guys approve.
 
Seem would be keyword, but thanks... I think lol?

Like I said, I could just go and throw a bunch of things together and waste my money, but I'd rather not go any further with it than I have to.
 
My computer has been broken for over a year solid. I've replaced everything.

When I turn it on, it always posts. Sometimes it doesnt go beyond the MOBO flash screen for a while, and tells me to insert a proper boot device. Takes a few tries to start it up.
Sometimes everything on windows slowly freezes untill I get a BSoD.
Sometimes, it works perfectly for days.
 
Dude, it could be much worse lol. You could have my piece of shit. My friend put it together for me claiming he built computers for a living etc. When he first gave it to me it didn't have a video card so watching just youtube would cause horrendous lag. A few days later he came over, installed the video card, we turn on the computer and it actually was running even more slowly. We opened up the computer again and the brand new video card was melted and looked like a limp Fruit Roll Up.

It's only gotten worse as I've used this thing too. It's randomly deciding to delete shit off of itself. I can't have a desktop background for more than a minute because it seems to just decide to disappear. Pretty much the only thing I use it for is communicating with my friends from time to time.
 
Okay, here's what I came up with trying to go with the information you gave me Muffin. Feel free to let me know if something sounds a little off or if you have a better idea, etc.

- QUAD CORE Q9650 DDR3 WINDOWS 7 COMPUTER

- Asus P5g41t-M/Csm Intel G41 Lga775 Ddr3

- 8gb Ddr3 2x4gb 1333mhz Pc3-10600 Memory (They also had 4x2gb so whichever may be better)

- 1tb 1000gb 7200rpm Sata Hard Drive

- Pny Geforce Gts 250 1gb Dual Dvi Pci-E

- Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Pci

Also I'm going to assume I probably need a network card too. Here's the link to what I was working with if it makes it any easier.

http://www.ascendtech.us/customkititems.asp?kc=DTWINDDR3Q96501

I ended up with a total of 1059. That's not too bad really, or it doesn't seem so imo.
 
Enmity5566 said:
Also, Ensi, thanks for the link as well, I thought we had a computers thread but I wasn't sure and I'm too lazy to search lol. Also, somewhere down the line I'd like to know what it is that you use for recording and so on with your computer. I'm pretty sure you don't have an amp right? You just use some sort of amp modeling I had thought.
Click to expand...

I use this: http://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_pod_studio_ux1.htm?sid=7a1caf85eef4087513817caed22e49b7

You can also get it in GX (1 guitar/bass input), or UX2 (2 mic inputs, 2 guitar/bass inputs). UX1 being 1 mic and 1 instrument input.

Enmity5566 said:
Okay, here's what I came up with trying to go with the information you gave me Muffin. Feel free to let me know if something sounds a little off or if you have a better idea, etc.

- QUAD CORE Q9650 DDR3 WINDOWS 7 COMPUTER

- Asus P5g41t-M/Csm Intel G41 Lga775 Ddr3

- 8gb Ddr3 2x4gb 1333mhz Pc3-10600 Memory (They also had 4x2gb so whichever may be better)

- 1tb 1000gb 7200rpm Sata Hard Drive

- Pny Geforce Gts 250 1gb Dual Dvi Pci-E

- Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Pci

Also I'm going to assume I probably need a network card too. Here's the link to what I was working with if it makes it any easier.

http://www.ascendtech.us/customkititems.asp?kc=DTWINDDR3Q96501

I ended up with a total of 1059. That's not too bad really, or it doesn't seem so imo.
Click to expand...

I'll throw in some recommendations/tips.

Get Western Digital harddrives, they're super reliable, I've been using my WD Blue 300gb disk for years and never failed me, still hasn't.

And I upgraded now recently to a WD Black 1tb (1tb = 1000gb).

Green: Eco-friendly low-power-storage disks.
Black: High performance disks.
Blue: A mix between the two.

Also heard good things about the SpinPoints, but I personally would recommend WD.

If you're gonna get a recording interface like mine, you can just use that as a sound card, eliminating the need to the X-Fi.

About the RAM, I know that more sticks = better than less. But not entirely sure beyond 2 sticks.

Intel CPU's are much higher in price than AMD's in the same clock range. While I haven't tried any high-end Intel's, I have used my AMD (AMD Phenom II 3ghz quad) for a long time and it's pretty awesome. You can look into the new AMD hexacore CPU's (6 cores) if you want to try that out.

GTS graphics cards aren't the best. Get GTX, or you could get ATI's HD series (4890, 5770, 5890 etc.. depending on your price). But yet again I do not know (haven't read thread so closely) if you want to use this for gaming as well.
 
question.

what is your intent? just for playing around? or to record something and release on your own, with quality?
 
The CPU is fine, mobo is fine(It has an ethernet controller, so if you use a cable from your router to the computer, you wont need to buy any network cards. Besides, using a wireless connection for a desktop computer is full on retarded)

The mobo runs dual channel so wether you go 4x2 or 2x4 shouldn't really make a huge difference, but personally i'd go for 2x4Gb

I have no experience with Ascendtechs HDD's, but it should be sufficient. 1tb shouldn't cause you any troubles(when you start going over 1.5tb, the discs are either tightly packed or plenty, big chances of mechanical failiure if the manufacturer knows jack shit)

Your motherboard will also come with a internal sound card, it's not amazing but it should suffice for your everyday needs besides recording, which is the interface's job

Ensi said:
Intel CPU's are much higher in price than AMD's in the same clock range. While I haven't tried any high-end Intel's, I have used my AMD (AMD Phenom II 3ghz quad) for a long time and it's pretty awesome. You can look into the new AMD hexacore CPU's (6 cores) if you want to try that out.
Click to expand...
Yes and no, they have entirely different architectures and cacheing structures. He won't have any use for a hexacore whatsoever.
And AMD sucks dick :p

GTS cards are more than enough for music and browsing, but as Ensi says, if you wanna take games for a spin you're better of going for a GTX card
 
Muffin said:
And AMD sucks dick :p
Click to expand...

DURRRR INTEL IS BEST AMD IS FINISHED XDXX PROBLEM POORFAGS???

No seriously, mine was dirt cheap, it runs everything super fast, I don't see how paying twice the price for an Intel can be justified when you can get an AMD which is just as good.

If you disagree you are a faggot and overtechnicate things.
 
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