Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (
More info?)
Hi Mike.
I'd prefer to keep this discussion on the group, as it allows others to
ingest it and add their own input and/or alternative viewpoints.
Your requirements don't seem all that daunting. I'll tell you how *I*
would handle it, but with this important disclaimer:
Personal bias alert! Some of my preferences are based on having had
success with something once or twice so I refuse to mess with a working
formula. Some are based on something not working once or twice, and my
refusing to delve into a solution when using something else solved the
problem. Scientific method and defendable conclusions may present from
time to time, but don't assume that's always how I made a choice. That
said...
I recommend building your own machine. It's stupidly simple to do and
you'll get a system that offers the best of everything for the same
price as a box that compromises many of your preferences.
I prefer Intel processors with Intel chipsets. AMD processors work just
fine, and both SiS and Via make fine chipsets. I've just found
occasional conflicts with non-Intel chips so I don't use 'em.
I do NOT recommend Intel motherboards though. I've twice found things
they just won't do, and have had device conflicts with them. I've never
had such a problem with an Asus board. Others may be great too, but I
can vouch for Asus personally. I recently built a machine around an
Asus P4P800-E Deluxe and have had no problems.
ATI video cards seem to work reliably. Don't spend a pile of money on
an exotic card -- you don't need it. Get something with a decent amount
of RAM and a reasonably fast GPU. I used a 9200.
I haven't found a lot of difference between hard-drive brands. You want
an 8MB cache, 7200RPM rotation, and 8ms or better seek time. You need
two: One for the OS and application(s), and another, separate drive for
audio. The Asus motherboard mentioned above will let you use SATA
drives so you won't run into problems with program access or optical
drive activity bogging down your audio drive.
Get as much RAM as you can, at least 1GB, 2GB would be better. Nothing
will make more difference to perceived speed or do more to reduce
crashes than lots of RAM. I've recently heard two stories of problems
caused by defective RAM, so buy a name brand. Don't cheap out here.
For a CPU choose any Intel P4. There's a point up to which performance
increases equal or exceed price increases from model to model. After
that point the price increases become disproportional to the performance
increase. Try to buy right at that "line." 3.0GHz with a 800MHz front
side bus (FSB) was the point of diminishing returns last time I checked,
but see if that's still true.
Plextor is a good choice for an optical drive.
Antec makes good cases that are easy to work on, that include
high-quality, reliable power supplies that also happen to be fairly
quiet.
Windows XP Home Edition is fine. The Pro Edition includes features that
I don't think you need for audio (mostly networking stuff -- someone
correct me if I've overlooked something). Buying an OEM version of the
software when and where you buy your computer components will save you a
c-note or two.
Audio interfaces are much too broad a subject to cover here. Suffice to
say that Firewire I/Os are plentiful. Check the archives on this group
for loads of discussions. Consider M-Audio, Echo, MOTU, Metric-Halo,
RME and Frontier Designs (the last being one of my all-time favourite
companies). All make devices that are perfect for 8ch broadcast
production. I'd avoid USB2 if you're going to do eight channels at
once. Peak transfer rates are similar to Firewire, but Firewire has
better *sustained* data transfer, and that's what matters to you.
NOW...
after saying all that, and being one with absolutely NO preference
between XP and OSX (six of one, half-a-dozen of the other as far as I'm
concerned), I gotta wonder why you're doing this to yourself?
Your approach is correct: choose the software you want to use and let
that dictate your choice of hardware. It's your "choice" I question!
<g>
It is now so cheap to get into a native Pro Tools system that I have to
wonder why you wouldn't? It's the de facto "standard" for broadcast
*and* music production, so you'll have complete compatibility with other
facilities. You can open OMF files (a serious consideration when doing
post or any kind of audio-for-video). You can take your sessions to any
stage for surround work. As you get comfortable and want to do more,
Pro Tools will be more capable and less restrictive. Pro Tools is much
faster (built-in file management utilities and better file system that
doesn't require lengthy "save" cycles). By learning to use it you'll be
developing a marketable skill. Finally, you can run Pro Tools on a Mac.
Or Windows XP. Or both.
A Digi 002R system is what, a grand? Add another grand for the DV
Toolkit software and you're good to go.
I know simpler software looks less intimidating, but ultimately it's
more restricting. Besides, Pro Tools really is simple to operate. It
just *seems* daunting out of the gate. The beauty of it is that "basic"
operation is available immediately without knowing very much. You don't
have to understand what all the fancy features are or what they do. You
can ignore them and get right to work. When I got started with it I
just paid an instructor from one of the Pro Tools schools to spend a
couple hours walking me through the basics, and that was enough. I took
another newbie with me, so we split the cost of the instructor!
I hope some of this helps. Let me know if I've missed anything or if
you have any questions.
--
"It CAN'T be too loud... some of the red lights aren't even on yet!"
- Lorin David Schultz
in the control room
making even bad news sound good
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