PC reccomendations?

[robnokshus06]

After 5-productive years, the ol' PC gave up the ghost last night. Hard. Fortunately, I had just done a thorough backup only a few days before, so no major data loss. Whew!

Of course now I must start looking for a new workhorse, desktop/tower most likely. Anyone have any good reccomendations on what and where to purchase? Would like to stay (well) under $1,000. As always, I appreciate your input.

Thanks!

 

[SirRoxalot]

Wow, the silence is deafening. That's a statement about the PC business these days, isn't it?

I haven't bought an off-the-shelf PC in years. Assuming that you're not comfortable building your own, let me make a few suggestions:

Look for something with an actual Intel motherboard and Intel processor - and NOT a Celeron. Anything from a Core Duo on up should do nicely. It's hard for a software manufacturer to argue "incompatibility" if you're running all Intel. Some have built-in raid controllers for setting up mirrored hard drives.

Hard drives aren't so easy to recommend anymore. The two big boys are Seagate and Western Digital. Both make some excellent drives - and some real junk. Most of Seagate's low end drives have been relegated to the Maxtor name since they bought out Maxtor. Seagate Barracuda series and Western Digital Caviar drives are the "best rated", but I've seen both fail. The best answer is BACK UP. Buy an external drive for backup - and DON'T rely on external drives as a primary drive. Another option is to buy an Adaptec Serial ATA 1210SA controller, two hard drives, and set up a mirrored raid array. The controller is less than $50, and hard drives are cheap. It gives you hardware mirroring, which doesn't affect program performance. Best of all, they're SIMPLE.

You want a hardy power supply - 350W would be the minimum, and I'd go 450W or more. If you have a local PC builder who's been around for more than a couple of years, I'd talk to them. If not, STAY AWAY from the low end of the consumer line. Go to the "business" series with real, full size cases, or even the low end of the server series. If you aren't installing additional cards, rack-mount server series machines might be a great solution.

 

[OttoM]

Wow, the silence is deafening. That's a statement about the PC business these days, isn't it?

No, I’d say it’s a statement that this post was put on the Production board and that’s why there’s been little response. Post it on the Engineering board and you’ll likely find it would get more responses.

Look for something with an actual Intel motherboard and Intel processor - and NOT a Celeron.

With all due respect Rox – I had to check my calendar because I thought we were back in 1999. Your Intel-only & avoid-the-Celeron assertions were certainly true ten years ago but a LOT has changed since then.

AMD makes some pretty darn good chips these days and even the “lowly Celeron” is available in a dual-core version. So it's no longer necessary to stick to the Intel-only-no-Celeron school of thinking.


Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me give you some suggestions you can ACTUALLY use.

You said the old computer was five years old. That means it was likely a Pentium 4-class processor running WinXP and perhaps Audition 1.5, Protools LE or the first version of M-Powered PT.

As you probably know Microsoft has officially released Win7 - and while you can still find computers with XP on them(or are loaded with Win7 but include an “ XP downgrade”) it won’t be as easy (and WILL be more expensive). So the FIRST thing you need to do before buying a new computer is to make sure it can run those older programs – or if you plan to upgrade you need to add in the cost of those upgrades to your budget.
Once you get that sorted out THEN take a look at new hardware.

If you want to go big with a quad-core and 8Gb of RAM, that’s fine – but remember many apps aren’t designed to take advantage of multiple-core hardware so in most cases you won’t get any immediate tangible benefit from such a configuration.

Another lower cost option is to fix what killed the old computer. Was it the motherboard? Power supply? Hard Drive? In most cases you can get the old machine up and running again for a LOT less than a new computer – and you won’t have to worry about software compatibility issues with this approach.

 

[robnokshus06]

Thanks fellas.

Rob: The old PC was an AMD machine with XP. I run the Sony suite of softwware (Vegas, Acid, Sound Forge) all of which work fine on my Vista powered laptop so I'm not too concerned with compatibility issues there. I've also noticed that some suppliers are offering Windows 7 with an optional XP downgrade although I don't know much about it.

I hear what you're saying about fixing the old computer and that is still an option, though I would probably just pass it along to the kids and get dad a brand new box anyway. Could use the write off too!

I will follow your suggestion and post this on the engineering board as well. Thanks.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Mr. Stutson,

My experience with the purveyors of "custom software", or software designed for a limited (vertical market) audience, is what prompted my "Intel only" advice. I can tell you from VERY recent experience that some software developers will use ANY excuse to avoid fixing buggy programs - and AMD is an excuse that they consider "valid".

The difference between the Celeron and main-line processors is the amount of cache. For applications with lots of I/O, the little savings that might be realized by going the Celeron route will haunt you for the life of the system. If you've got a grand to spend, there are better places to save cash than cache size.

You need an Operating System capable of taking advantage of multi-core processors. That's one of the problems with XP - and among the reasons that Vista and Windows 7 have redesigned kernels and HALs. Most software manufacturers have caught up with both the hardware and newer Operating Systems by now - or at least offer "work-arounds" for their software. Otherwise, you are correct. You might as well replace the bad component(s) of the old machine - and wait for the next part to fail. Keep in mind, though, that there aren't too many pieces of a 5-year-old computer that aren't going to say Sayonara soon.

 

[OttoM]

The old PC was an AMD machine with XP. I run the Sony suite of softwware (Vegas, Acid, Sound Forge) all of which work fine on my Vista powered laptop so I'm not too concerned with compatibility issues there. I've also noticed that some suppliers are offering Windows 7 with an optional XP downgrade although I don't know much about it.

If you're getting full compatibility with Vista then there's probably no need to buy the "XP downgrade".

One other issue I neglected to mention would be whether or not you were using a separate sound card in the "dead" computer or the on-board audio. If it's a third party card make sure it's Vista/W7 compatible.

Mr. Stutson,

My experience with the purveyors of "custom software", or software designed for a limited (vertical market) audience, is what prompted my "Intel only" advice. I can tell you from VERY recent experience that some software developers will use ANY excuse to avoid fixing buggy programs - and AMD is an excuse that they consider "valid".

Sir Roxalot,

First of all - my name is Rob. No "mister" needed.

Secondly - if you're dealing in 2009 with a software vendor - ANY vendor - who still clings to THAT excuse for their products not working - take your business elsewhere. That tired argument is totally unexcusable. Period.

The difference between the Celeron and main-line processors is the amount of cache. For applications with lots of I/O, the little savings that might be realized by going the Celeron route will haunt you for the life of the system. If you've got a grand to spend, there are better places to save cash than cache size.

I stand by my argument. Celerons (especially in DIY custom builds) offer a lot more than a "little savings" and very little impact on performance with currently-available software. And - as Rob (the OP) noted - he's been running an AMD for five years now without problems.

 

[bobbybooey]

You mention running the Sony products (as do I), just wanted to mention that the upgrade to SoundForge 10 (which is Windows7 compatable) is on sale for $100 off til the end of October (download version is like $139 right now for the upgrade)... ordered mine this weekend, looking forward to playing with what's supposed to be a really improved time-stretching feature.

I believe I've also read that the Professional version of Windows 7 has an XP mode, so you can run older software.

 

[VODood]

I "went big"... P4 Quad Core with 4GB RAM, for 32bit programs. I can expand beyond 4GB (up to 16GB) but would have to jump to 64bit, and most of what I use wouldn't be compatible. My custom built pc cost me $1200 and change, all pieces from Newegg.com

That was over a year ago. I don't believe you can get a quad core desktop to this day anywhere near $1200.

Running Sony Vegas 9, Sound Forge and Acid, plus Adobe 1.5 and 3.0. ALL Waves packages, plus the UAD-1 pak (PCI)

 

[robnokshus06]

I can expand beyond 4GB (up to 16GB) but would have to jump to 64bit, and most of what I use wouldn't be compatible.

OK, I have to know about this, what would not be compatible at 64 bit? I'm looking at a quad core 64bit machine with 8gb of RAM, 1tb hard drive running windows 7 for $599. I already know my scanner isn't compatible with Vista (so I assume not with Win7 either) but other than that, what would not be comatible?

 

[whit979]

Mac.

 

[jefflaurence]

Jeezamama are you guys recording platinum CD music projects..or scoring for films? Chuck that sounds like a great box for a great price..We only "upgraded" to the Dell Precicion series Core 2 boxes last year..and with 4G of ram we're pretty well set..at least as far as using AA3 goes. Our Macs are G5's and they hum along with our old, but very strong ProTools 24 systems..

Only question I have (Emmett?) what is the best value for a good sound card (PCI-X) ?

We're still using Delta 44's in most everything, and they are still good, but if there is something better, we'll buy at least 4 of them for now..

Emmett?

 

[VODood]

I'll weigh on on my card. Simply an Echo Mia PCI. Paid $150 five years ago. Works great.

I've always wanted a Card Deluxe... are they still considered a good card? Emmett?