Recommend a good high-end PC

[ghettosynth]

I agree. This obsession with cpu performance misses the big picture. Macs have not been reliable for me, so I've stopped buying them, but, the 27" iMac tempted me as a music machine.

However, keeping your points in mind, this is why I'm suggesting seeing the big picture if one goes with building their own system. If an iMac with it's never-current cpu is sufficient for years to come, then so is a mid range cpu that's been out for weeks.

Of course a mid range cpu is perfectly valid, but that won't cut for me. I want good design, good screen and superior hardware. Too bad Macs didn't went good for you. I had about 5 systems and the only lemon was the Power Mac G5.

Like I said, I almost went with one on the last music computer refresh. I've just had a ton of problems with them both with my own systems and at work. In fact, I've never had so many problems before, or since.

So good screen is easy to get, even with a PC. Design, that's more of a challenge. But as far as superior hardware is concerned, I don't think that macs really have that edge. In fact, for me, that's been the problem. The hardware has been substandard, and expensive to boot.

But as far as the pain factor goes, I think that it's good advice for a music machine and I still think that OS/X is a better OS than windows.

[george]

I also find the new HP Z1 all-in-one concept very nice http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaig ... tures.html not as slick design as the iMac but seems it has better components.

[zerocrossing]

So, I'm coming into a little windfall and after a brief fantasy of using it to buy some expensive instrument, I realized I'd be way better off getting a kick-ass music PC to replace my older Dell. It's an OK computer... I think it'a a dual core duo 2 running at 2.5.

The good thing about it is I can plug both my old MotU 828s into it (firewire) and they run flawlessly (though which one will boot first is a crap shoot!) So I'd need something that has a Firewire on the mb or can get one with a Texas Instruments chipset.

Don't say Mac. I'd love one but I have too many plugs at this point that are PC only that I use all the time.

Well, I think it could help to say how many cash are you going to spend.

Yeah, it would help me as well. I actually don't know yet. I'm guessing between 1 and 2k usd, but the truth is I have no idea. This is all just fact finding so that when it happens I have a lay o' the land.

Okay, my recommendation is to get the best iMac your money can get. Years ago it was important to get a good and powerful custom high-end PC, but nowadays, actual quad core computers with 8 or 16 GB RAM can please most musician needs for years to come.

I'd way until they get USB 3 probably on the next model refresh this June to plug some hi-speed external hardware if needed.

If you don't like Apple operating system just install Windows on another partition and there you go. Best of both worlds.

Nah, that's not how I roll. I'd never buy a non portable (ie iPad or laptop) that was an all in one. Also, I've become quite taken with a few plugs that have no Mac build and probably never will. I guess I could learn to live without them, but I've paid for them... anyway, I have a Mac. An old G5. I use it for some audio work (Digital Performer) but mostly graphics. It's actually still a kick ass machine. 8 core PPC running at 2.5 ghz with a 8 gig of RAM. Won't run Crome but it will run Adobe CS3. I need a Tower PC.

[ghettosynth]

I also find the new HP Z1 all-in-one concept very nice http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaig ... tures.html not as slick design as the iMac but seems it has better components.

Nice, I hadn't seen those. It will be interesting to see what they street for. The add your own hardware feature is nice. Seems like an odd cpu selection though.

Also, I couldn't tell if they had glossy or a matte display. A matte display probably would have tipped the equation in the iMac's favor for me.

[ghettosynth]

...

[george]

Nah, that's not how I roll. I'd never buy a non portable (ie iPad or laptop) that was an all in one. Also, I've become quite taken with a few plugs that have no Mac build and probably never will. I guess I could learn to live without them, but I've paid for them... anyway, I have a Mac. An old G5. I use it for some audio work (Digital Performer) but mostly graphics. It's actually still a kick ass machine. 8 core PPC running at 2.5 ghz with a 8 gig of RAM. Won't run Crome but it will run Adobe CS3. I need a Tower PC.

Won't a logical step be getting a Mac Pro? Those monsters can last about 6 to 8 years. Still overpriced in my opinion.

[zerocrossing]

Nah, that's not how I roll. I'd never buy a non portable (ie iPad or laptop) that was an all in one. Also, I've become quite taken with a few plugs that have no Mac build and probably never will. I guess I could learn to live without them, but I've paid for them... anyway, I have a Mac. An old G5. I use it for some audio work (Digital Performer) but mostly graphics. It's actually still a kick ass machine. 8 core PPC running at 2.5 ghz with a 8 gig of RAM. Won't run Crome but it will run Adobe CS3. I need a Tower PC.

Won't a logical step be getting a Mac Pro? Those monsters can last about 6 to 8 years. Still overpriced in my opinion.

Not for me it isn't. Again, I'm not going to mess with dual boot systems just to use my windows software. Maybe if I could get mDrummer to do a Mac version... but probably never. I'll always keep a Mac around for graphics, but for a pure DAW machine it'll be windows based.

[zerocrossing]

So, here's why I am... I'm considering two things. First, just flat out letting someone else put it together for me...

http://www.studiocat.com/3/index.php/Pro_Studio

Does that seem like a horrible deal?

Or should I delve into DIY...

like so?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBund ... mbo.864972

or even cheaper...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBund ... mbo.864966

Though, those don't seem to come with video cards or a Firewire TI chipset card.

It really seems to me like even the DIY bundles are either for IT pros building machines for their office, or people wanting great performance from Crysis.

Also, I'm writing this on a HP 7400 Xeon W3520 and it seems damn quiet to me, though I'm in a big office space. Is the Xeon a lot better than an i7? It sure seems to cost more. The more I look at all this stuff the more I want to just pick up something decent at Best Buy.

[ClubHo]

i7 CPUs are Xeons with the extra cores disabled.
They don't support ECC memory though.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/63696,64596,63698,63697

I live in the bay area and wouldn't mind helping you put your system together for free.

-Club Ho

[zerocrossing]

i7 CPUs are Xeons with the extra cores disabled.
They don't support ECC memory though.

I live in the bay area and wouldn't mind helping you put your system together for free.

-Club Ho

I might just take you up on that! I'm in Emeryville though and you know how it's often easier to get to Vancouver than it is to go from the East Bay to the peninsula. I did take your parts list you did many pages ago and I'm considering using it as a template to build my system if I go that route. Thanks, it's a really generous offer.

[ClubHo]

Cool man. PM me if you ever decide.

Club Ho

[tenshin111]

i think most implementations of pci-e have far lower latency and way, way, way, way more bandwidth than firewire, even in it's latest editions, is capable of.

the firewire chipset running on top of the pci-e bus will just be addition of latency. the pci-e latency should be so low as to be indifferent compared with it being another component on the bus of the main chipset.

Not necessarily. I have a PCI-e Firewire card and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP audio interface and can work easily with 128 samples buffer. The overall latency is only marginally higher than when I was using RME HDSP 9632 (PCI) with the same buffer settings. Yes, I was surprised myself when I tried it the first time!

And bandwidth is not an issue unless you want to record something like 16 or more channels of high-resolution audio simultaneously.

[justin3am]

At work I use an HP z800 and a Dell T3500, at home I use a MacPro. The HP has dual Quad-core Xeon processors and 16GB of Ram, the Dell has a single 6-core i7 processor and 32GB ram and the MacPro has dual 6-core i7 processors and 32GB ram.

In terms of build quality, I'd put all three in the same category. The MacPro performs the best but you'd expect that based on the difference in specs.

These were all in the $5000-$7500USD range and in my opinion, worth every penny. Very quiet machines, easy to open up and work on. I've gotten great support (and on an occasion or two not so great support) from each of these companies.

I've used Firewire and PCI-e audio interfaces on each of these computers and have yet to experience any popping or clicking, even with very small buffer sizes and tons of tracks. That said I don't push any of them them as hard as I could. Each one is a very nice computer in it's own right.

[zerocrossing]

These were all in the $5000-$7500USD range and in my opinion, worth every penny.

If I were freelancing again and responsible for spitting out my own video and 3d graphics, or even if I did more game music, I'd spend that much, but for my messing about there's no way I'd spend more than $2K on a computer.

[aciddose]

Not necessarily. I have a PCI-e Firewire card and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP audio interface and can work easily with 128 samples buffer. The overall latency is only marginally higher than when I was using RME HDSP 9632 (PCI) with the same buffer settings.

not necessarily what? that's what i said in the first place.

don't you mean, "yes."