fireberd


I used to do a lot of user support on the Dell forum.  When I got ready to upgrade my DAW PC, I looked at the XPS8500 (it had only been out about a month).  It didn't satisfy what I wanted.  I wanted to use an SSD for the OS and Sonar and a hard drive for other programs and data.  It didn't have enough SATA III ports (two plus the mSata port for the SSD) and the model with the SSD, the mSata SSD was used for data cache and not program. 

I built my own (the main specs are in my signature) using an OCZ Vertex 4, 128GB SSD.  It did well but from discussions here by commercial DAW PC builders and discussion on other forums I decided to go back to a conventional hard drive.  I replaced the SATA III SSD with a SATA III 7200 RPM hard drive.  The only difference I notice is Windows 7 64 bit boots up a little slower, nothing else.    My cost for everything was right around $1200, which is less than the top end model XPS8500 listed on the Dell site.

I won't say the 8500 wouldn't work OK for Sonar X2, just that it does have some hardware limitations, such as the number of SATA ports.

I was looking at the same system and had concerns about the ability to expand, as well. I'm looking for a machine that I can use as a daw for sonar as well as a regular pc (media server, Internet, office, etc.). I would like to dual boot windows. My plan was to have a 1tb drive for the regular pc use, use an ssd for sonar+windows and another 1tb drive for my audio projects. I would also need a pcie FireWire card for my personus firestudio mobile. One install of windows would be just sonar and the other would have everything else. I would disable the ssd and project drive on the general use install of windows to protect my audio setup from viruses, etc. 


I have no idea if this is a feasible idea or not. I'm not a professional, I just like messing around with music at home. I don't think I'll need any further upgrades. I'm just worried about the use of a ssd for this purpose as I've never had one in a computer before. 

Would anybody be able to share some experiences or concerns with that setup? If the ssd could work for me I think the xps could fit my needs. 

These Dells look pretty good.  I've been using a Quad Core Dell since 2009 and it's been great.  I notice that these only support up to 16Gb ram - but tbh honest I don't know if this is likely to be a serious issue.  I have 6Gb at the moment which will merrily support 3-4 Dim Pros, EZD, a few Z3Ta's plus wavs and other VST processing.
Not sold on the SSD option yet.  If all they do is provide a quicker boot up, that's a lot of money to pay.
I was tempted to constuct a new pc through computer planet, but worried that with so many of the options being incompatible with mobo's, psu etc I'd end up making an expensive mistake.  So I suspect a Dell may be my next move as well.