Picking the right computer for music making

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/desktops_and_workstations/productView.htm?quicklinx=3K6C
(flashy but maybe a bit naff and not what I need?)

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/notebooksandtablets/productView.htm?quicklinx=3LQ3&mc=5
(Laptop - don't know if it's got the rght specs or not)

There are umpteen PCs on Dabs but I'm really worried about getting the wrong thing and being disappointed.

A laptop would be cool for remote stuff, as long as it was high-powered and stable (for instance, I could never use my Dell laptop that I got a year or two ago for recording because of memory and overheating issues).

I'm going to go look for a link to more info...more later.

This article will give you a lot of worthwhile links, and scare the bejeezus out of you pricewise. Still, it gives you some idea of what to look for...

http://emusician.com/mag/emusic_daws_us/index.html

If you never go online, this isn't an issue.

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/desktops_and_workstations/productView.htm?quicklinx=3M2H

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/desktops_and_workstations/productView.htm?quicklinx=3l8n

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/desktops_and_workstations/productView.htm?quicklinx=3L4H&mc=5

I've used PCs for years for music recording, manipulating and mastering. Computer viruses have never been a factor. If you are a ninny, I suppose they could be. And the system is very stable for my purposes.

I sell computers and Digital Audio Workstations for a living. The whole Mac versus PC thing is a strawman. Windows XP works perfectly fine, as does Mac OS X. It's really down to what software you want to use, as there are music programs that are platform-specific.

One thought on the mac mini and the various minitowers. Don't limit your ability to expand/replace components. It might make you sad at a later date...when they invent some new USB/Firewire and nothing uses current tech anymore.

This is my biggest caveat about the Mac Mini. OTM.

Here's some things I learned:

- Don't buy into the "Mac is superior" argument. A Pentium 4/Win XP is comparable on every level. Don't buy a Celeron. There are distinct advantages to the bus speed on a Pentium 4.

- A high-end laptop makes for a good live unit, but getting a desktop will give you far more upgradability. I've swapped out soundcards and replaced my CD burner with a DVD burner with no problem. Laptops are expensive to upgrade.

- If you decide to go Mac, don't go for the Mac Mini. There are a lot of early indications that it doesn't make for a good DAW.

- John Justen is OTM above.

- Don't buy an OEM PC (Dell, Gateway, etc.) Get one built if you can, and specify that you want to use it as a DAW. They may have components that will improve your machine (Sturdy chassis, noiseless fan, etc.)

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200504.ars

Sure. If money is no object a Mac will give you stabilty out of the box, but a properly built PC will be just as stable, will cost much less, and will be much more upgradable.

sorry, i have nothing sensible to add to this thread at all. it's just it was obviously going to descend into mac v pc part 3,547,124 after approximately one second, and i thought i'd have a look to see how it was going.

right. i'm off again now.

The system specs are important, obv. (especially RAM), but the moment you try to record or trigger anything w/ MIDI, it doesn't matter what your specs are if you don't have a good ASIO soundcard. The latency on most stock soundcards is so bad that if you have monitoring turned on in your host program, you can play a note, then hear it doubled well afterwards. Makes it hell to sync anthing up.

http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/glyph/

Do I buy into it? Hmmm. Not really. I suppose if you've got the money, the hot-swap deal might be cool...and if your noisy hard drive is the biggest problem in your studio, you're doing better than anybody I know. As for using the highest quality components...funny, that's what EVERYONE says about whatever product they're shilling.

I've had good luck w/my lacie 160 GB, for what it matters. I don't archive to HD anyway...

Thanks again :-)

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From what I've gathered I need:

- Processor: Athlon 64 (not P4 or Celeron or Duron or anything else)

- PCI-E & PCI (sorry to be thick but what is this?)

- Firewire (and what is this exactly?)

- USB 2.0 midi interface

- sound card which can be turned off (so I can replace it with a better card - an Audiophile 24/96 in the future)

- minimum 512Kb ram (or less and then I can buy extra seperately)

- A processor of some sort (not sure about this)

- A decent HDD with a good RPM and pref 80Gb memory or more if possible. A SATA drive is good for what I want. I may need two HDDs, a smaller one for the operating system and a larger one for music files and stuff.

- DVD writer (I can add this later but I will need one)

- Video - not too important as I am not doing any gaming or anything. Just music applications.

- Monitor - Don't care, although in the interest of space I wouldn't mind a TFT but of course this can be got secondhand from somewhere.

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Can someone help me get my notes a bit clearer here and pref add anything else I need like casing etc. I know a lot of this may sound really obvious to a lot of you but I'm new to this, having only ever used PCs, not fixed or built them.

Cheers!

http://www.sub.co.uk/

i say spend $50 or so on a kvm switch and forget about a new monitor, keyboard, mouse. you can get those later.

if you can, get a video card with two outputs. if you someday have the $$ to run two monitors, you'll find it is especially handy for music work. it's common to be running multiple programs that you want to be able to see simultaneously

under no circumstances should you have less than 512 RAM.

are you sure you shouldn't just invest in a mac mini/second-hand G4? i'm being deadly serious here. this just sounds like so much horror when, you know, you're wanting to make some music, not get yourself a degree in engineering. i know you said upthread that you'd prefer a PC, but believe me: after you use OS X, there's no going back.

believe me, i'm not trolling/being a twat. this is absolutely my last word on the matter. but having just spent a miserable afternoon flitting betwixt mac and PC, i really couldn't let this one go.

good luck, whatever you decide!