computers

Thread Starter

doinky

Joined Jul 19, 2011
12
I know this site is for electronics in general. But, i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on building my own PC. I am a musician as well as a electronic buff, and I was thinking of a DAW, digital audio workstation/sound is the main factor. I am open for many possibilities and experiments and/or theories. Could be any ideas at all. I did build a computer once, in fact I am using it now. So I have a little experience under my belt. Of course I want to go as cheap/price wise as possible but without losing to much in quality.
 

Thread Starter

doinky

Joined Jul 19, 2011
12
Thanks for the link. Don't know anything about lynux, but it looks interesting. Do you know if it effects your current OS, such as XP. Or do you have the option of using both OS's.
 

nerdegutta

Joined Dec 15, 2009
2,684
You have also the Ubuntu Studio distro

http://ubuntustudio.org/

Most linuxdistros are build to work together with another OS. You are asked that during installation. You partition your harddisk, and linux is on one partition and your existing os is on the other. When the machine boots, you get a question of which os to boot. Some linux distros, like Ubuntu and Opensuse, lets you try the os on the machine before you decide to install it. Its called LiveCD or LiveDVD.

Or were you thinking more about hardware suggestions...?
 

SgtWookie

Joined Jul 17, 2007
22,230
Various flavors of Linux are more stable than Windows; on the flip side, there is much less software available for Linux/Unix platforms. Many Windows programs will run under wine.

You need to consider the software that you want to run before you decide on what OS and peripherals you will need.
 

Thread Starter

doinky

Joined Jul 19, 2011
12
I'll check it out. But I think I will probably build me another PC. It's kind of fun! Then I'll have two PC's. Been checking out some boards and CPU's. I think I can build me a decent DAW for around 6 or 700 bucks excluding a monitor. I think I'll go with an Intel board and CPU. I may use linux on it.
 

kubeek

Joined Sep 20, 2005
5,794
Various flavors of Linux are more stable than Windows; on the flip side, there is much less software available for Linux/Unix platforms. Many Windows programs will run under wine.
On the other hand, drivers for linux might not be available at all. Especially older soundcards like my Inca 88 aren´t supported in anything else but windows.
 

iONic

Joined Nov 16, 2007
1,662
AMD processors are very comparable in performance and are generally cheaper in price.
You can certainly have both Windows and Linux loaded as a multi-boot system. A wider variety of software will be available for the Windows OS though. I suspect your most important purchase will be the sound card.
 

Thread Starter

doinky

Joined Jul 19, 2011
12
I would only try Linux as an experiment, or trial and error thing. Most information I have read concerning DAW's (digital audio workstation) recommend Intel motherboards and processors. I use AMD on this PC, I built around 5 years ago. AMD processor is not compatible with SP3. Works fine with SP2. The only issues I had after installing XP, was the HD and the memory. I had a heck of a time with the HD's. First one was a western digital, I bought it from newegg, it did not work. Sent it back to manufacturer, got another one, worked for several months then it quit working. I finally went with a Seagate, works like a charm. The memory sticks I had sucked. Again I bought them from Newegg. I bought corsair, they worked for a while then quit. I will never buy from Newegg again. I installed kingston memory DDR2 sticks, they work great. My pC works fine now, but I think I will build a stand alone PC for my Audio. I will again use XP, because my software is the old stuff, but good enough for my tastes. I won't need anything to fancy, just powerful.
 

iONic

Joined Nov 16, 2007
1,662
I use AMD on this PC, I built around 5 years ago. AMD processor is not compatible with SP3. Works fine with SP2.
Well, that's a new one. Never heard of any OS having trouble with a Processor, especially AMD. I have had several AMD processors run XP SP3 with no issues.

You might consider separate HD's, one for the OS and read/write operations and a second primarily for storage of completed work. And in my opinion, just as current limiting resistors go together with LED's like hand in glove, so do HD fans and HD's.

The real POWER in the new systems is not merely the processor speed. In fact that speed race has been stifled by the Dual-core, Quad-core, Octo-core processors that still only run in the 3+GHz range. They may process information a bit faster, but not much unless you get the 64bit OS and 64bit software to go with it. This is where the real POWER comes in to play. So the old software, which requires the old OS never really takes advantage of the available POWER out there for purchase.

On the other hand, a new and clean system, dedicated to the DAW would be a step in the right direction.
 
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Thread Starter

doinky

Joined Jul 19, 2011
12
Not sure about the Jack thing. Is it some kind of software. Application, utility. I'll look into it. It was AM2 that wasn't compatible with SP3. I have AM2 Athlon 64/940 pin. It may be compatible now. Thanks for the 64 bit tip. I definitely need to check on the software issue and 64 bit. If that means better performance then I may need to change my software or see if I can update it.
 
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