I want to build an amazing PC, but I need help

[kidgloves2]

I'm a musician with little computer experience. I feel like I'm missing out. I have been playing around with the Arturia and Imposcar demos and I'm in love with both companies.

So I'm ready to build a computer. I don't want a Dell or the like. I have been looking at an online company that builds custom stuff.
http://www.actonlinestore.com/

I'm planning on getting the works, but I don't know what to do about sound/audio cards. What's the difference between sound and audio cards anyway? I want to do music production, soft synth stuff, watch dvds and play video games sometimes too. Do I need a soundcard AND an audio card? As long as I have low latency for the soft synths. ASIO 2.0???

I have a hookup with Steinberg and MOTU, so I want to get my audio stuff from one of them. I'm guessing the Steinberg VSL2020 might be what I need (link=
Steinberg), but will a MOTU 828mkII (Link=
MOTU)do the same thing even though it's external?

I'm lost. I just want to make music. LOL

Also, are there better places to build a computer?

Thanks in advance.

[ATS]

What is wrong with a dell?

[kidgloves2]

Nothing, but I feel I can customize more for a lot less somewhere else. Their computers are great though. But what do I know lol

[VitaminD]

ehh audio and sound cards are the same thing.. both produce audio (sound)

though I think most people mean pro audio when they say 'audio card'


what is your music setup like? do you have keyboards and synths you need to hook to the computer? or do you just want asio for the heck of it? hehe

if you are just starting out.. you dont really NEED something as big as a VSL 2020.. something like the audiophile 2496 or emu 0404 at half the price of the vsl would be right up your alley.. though if you have the bucks.. go for the good(er) stuff

I have a revolution 7.1 which is more a consumer/home theatre card than a recording card.. but it does what I need in that it has ASIO drivers as well as plays all my games..

You *SHOULD* be able to do games and dvd's with just about any audio card though.. some though have hardware acceleration (directsound for games) while others dont (like my revo - its software based) and if it is software based, its going to work but require a little bit of extra processing power to function.

and if you REALLY wanted a seperate card for gaming, you could always have 2 soundcards in the machine at once..

[Jeremy_NSL]

if you are a computer newbie (and it appears by your message you are), I'd strongly recommend either:

1.buying from a local dealer with a really good service reputation. ask around.

2. If you can't find one, just buy a dell.

Buying parts from a cheap place on the net will most likely just get you in trouble. If you have hardware problems, RMA numbers, shipping, and restocking fees are a bitch.

As for the soundcard, I second VitD's recommendation: Emu 0404 or Audiophile 2496. There isn't any reason to get anything more unless you need a TON of ins/outs.

[gizmo]

The thing is, you can't really know what you want from your system until you've got more experience with doing music on computers. You could get something very customized but what if you zig and then later want to zag? Also, the software technology is really developing and changing rapidly. Given how powerful systems are now you might just get a higher end system from Dell and then get a good or great soundcard and the best monitors you can. There's also room treatment to contend with if you want your CDs to sound decent, mastering software, etc. If you've got the bucks it doesn't matter but otherwise you might think of the custom DAW as your second computer not the first.

[ATS]

I'm a musician with little computer experience. I feel like I'm missing out. I have been playing around with the Arturia and Imposcar demos and I'm in love with both companies.

So I'm ready to build a computer. I don't want a Dell or the like. I have been looking at an online company that builds custom stuff.
http://www.actonlinestore.com/

I'm planning on getting the works, but I don't know what to do about sound/audio cards. What's the difference between sound and audio cards anyway? I want to do music production, soft synth stuff, watch dvds and play video games sometimes too. Do I need a soundcard AND an audio card? As long as I have low latency for the soft synths. ASIO 2.0???

I have a hookup with Steinberg and MOTU, so I want to get my audio stuff from one of them. I'm guessing the Steinberg VSL2020 might be what I need (link=
Steinberg), but will a MOTU 828mkII (Link=
MOTU)do the same thing even though it's external?

I'm lost. I just want to make music. LOL

Also, are there better places to build a computer?

Thanks in advance.

hey man for music just make sure if you buy a computer today to get at least a 3ghz processor and 2 gigs of ram.

[kidgloves2]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

VitaminD, right now I have a keyboard controller plugged into a MOTU Fastlane then into my laptop. I'm playing with the soft synth demos and the latency is terrible, and I can't lower it that much or the sound becomes terrible. I'm definitely ready to make the commitment for a powerhouse.

Since I last posted I thought about possibly getting a good soundcard for my laptop with super low latency. Is that possible?? And what are some good ones? That way I can use vst instruments with my band live.

While I'm on the subject of playing vst instruments live, what's the best way to switch between instruments on the fly. So that I can preprogram setlists and stuff?

I have so many questions.

[Jovica Storer]

Before you buy a new audio card for your laptop, what kind of card is in it now? And did you try out the asio4all driver (http://michael.tippach.bei.t-online.de/asio4all/)? This one is really good and allows low latency on almost any soundcard... just try it

[ambe]

There is nothing wrong with getting a Dell and I considered getting one as they are so damn cheap. I was pretty impressed when my dad had one earlier this year and it was pretty darn quiet. Unfortuanatly they only sell complete systems with monitors and keyboard...if only they sold just base units I would have had one. With the extra cost of the monitor it is cheaper to upgrade myself.

Added to the fact that my motherboard recently gave up and have to purchase a new one, all I had to do then was get some ram (done ) and new processor (should be getting one soon)

[daizo]

www.monarchcomputer.com - Monarch Computing Systems - you can get a very powerful PC custom configuration and setup, burned in. They build the best workstations for the lowest prices ive seen.

[kritikon]

Cheap production line PCs are definitely good value, but the trouble is they are often not set up for music production - they generally require a bit of tweaking and upgrading the RAM, hard drive, soundcard etc. But the upside is that they are cheap and can do other stuff too.

As for music - you need a minimum of 512MB RAM (and because it's so cheap at the moment, probably 1Gig is sensible - personally I think 2Gigs is a bit of overkill) - very few off the shelf models have 1Gig RAM. Not all off-the-shelf models have the right processors - Celerons etc are notoriously unstable for music - P4s or AthlonXPs etc are better. (As high a speed as you can get).
Hard drive is very important too - you need a fast access one and as high a rev count as you can get (7200rpm is the standard for music) - Many off-the-shelf ones have poor HDs (although not all).
Soundcard - even more important - a standard gaming soundcard can be used for music, but many of them have crap latencies or no ASIO capabilities (you'll need ASIO2 for a decent soundcard).

So you weigh up the basic price and the fact that high selling numbers means the shop ones get their parts at knock down prices against the fact you often pay higher parts prices when you get one custom made.

Another consideration following on from that is that if you have one made up, you can reduce the price by excluding a few things that you don't need, such as a floppy drive - they still seem to be standard in shop PCs - I haven't used one in years though. You can save on the graphics card too - music doesn't need the latest greatest video card. You won't need PC speakers for PC music either, so you save on that.....you're better to use your HiFi speakers than crappy PC speakers, so don't buy them if you have one made up.

If you've got a 2nd PC of some sort (even a crappy slow old one) keep that and use it for internet access - then you can save on buying a modem etc for your music PC - no internet access means that much more safety for your precious music. Many of us have dedicated music PCs not connected. That also means you don't have to worry about antivirus programs crashing your music app (which most will do if they are running while doing music.)

I'm pricing up things at the moment for my PC. I need to upgrade mine (and also the second PC). I can upgrade both of them, but it actually works out around the same price to just use my present music PC as the house toy, and get a whole new one made up from scratch (with motherboards etc that I know I can later slot a new CPU in....which I might have difficulty with on a shop-bought one). Then I can swap the modem from the old crappy one into my present one, and swap my soundcard from the present one into the new one etc. Not alot in it really, but at least if I get a custom made PC, I have the peace of mind knowing I have a PC that is specifically going to run well with music. And music is a notoriously CPU and HD intensive process - other processes can bugger up a music PC with ease. Games have been known to f**k up music PCs.

So price everything up carefully - you'll save on a shop bought one, but you will have to upgrade some parts of it to get a smooth running music machine. And after that is done, the price will be very similar to a custom made music hotrod.

[uncadave]

i'm sure you'll do fine on your setup without my help. i just want to say that you are going to have so effing much fun...no lie. i just discovered this stuff about a year and a half ago and i am having a blast.

[Entheogen]

kritikon i just have a question: how does installing game X or program Y affect music programs?

[Sascha Franck]

kritikon i just have a question: how does installing game X or program Y affect music programs?

Usually they don't - anymore that is. These are like myths from the past.
My last "non-music-only" machine performed absolutely the same with tons of programs and netstuff installed (mind you, no gaes though). But then, I turned off around everything running in background automatically, such as virus scanners, MS word indexing services and what not.

I use a more or less music only machine though (the only other things on it are Word, a Firefox browser and Antivir, in case I need to scan something), but basically that's just because I can afford it and file housekeeping is a tad easier (there's simply no "downloads" folders or three screens worth of installed programs).
Apart from that there's no reason. Yes, sure a virus could bring your machine down in case you're net connected, but that's what proper virus scanners and another browser than IE are for.