• SONAR
  • X2 crashing with softsynths (p.2)
2012/10/22 10:48:05
StarTekh
hgj1357: Id love to see a parts list !! thats the only thing you should be thinking about right now !!
2012/10/22 11:00:16
hgj1357
Parts list to follow.

Bob, so the sample rate is a choice and not dictated by the interface hardware?

Sorry for being a dunce!

Planned Specs:  (I will go 620W on power supply and get ECC RAM from Crucial as it is cheaper than getting RAM from DELL. ALso, the video cards my be nVidia Quadro 600  2D card, someone suggested a 3D card so I need to do a bit more research on this. Prob add a hard drive for projects)

PROCESSORS Four Core XEON (E5-1603, 2.8GHz, 10M) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7 Professional,SP1, No Media, 64-bit, English edit
BASE Dell Precision T3600, 425W edit
POWER SUPPLY 425W Power Supply, 90 Percent Efficiency edit
ENERGY STAR No Energy Star edit
MEMORY 2GB, DDR3 UDIMM Memory, 1600MHz, Non-ECC (1DIMM) edit
VIDEO CARD Dual 512 MB AMD FirePro™ 2270, QUAD MON, 4 DMS59 edit
HARD DRIVE/RAID CONFIGURATION C1 SATA 3.5 Inch, 1-2 Hard Drives edit
BIOMETRIC FINGERPRINT READER No RAID edit
CONTROLLER CARD PERC H310 SATA/SAS Controller for Dell Precision edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB, 7200 RPM 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD-ROM SATA edit
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT MODE No Out-of-Band Systems Management edit
SPEAKERS No Speaker option edit
KEYBOARD Dell USB Entry Business Keyboard, English edit
MOUSE Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE No Productivity Software

2012/10/22 11:04:50
StarTekh
hgj1357: not what I would build , but it looks good !!
2012/10/22 11:07:26
hgj1357
Star,  what's your take on professional 2D vid card -vs- entry level 3D vid cards?

Sorry - hijacking the thread here.
2012/10/22 11:14:18
StarTekh
hgj1357: 1st I would chk out nvidia cards !!Il get you some more information !!
2012/10/22 11:50:29
robert_e_bone
I would suggest some mods to your parts:

1.  Check the specs for the max memory supported by the motherboard, and the allowable configurations.  Ideally, you want a motherboard that can support at least 8 GB of memory, and if it not much of a cost bump, try for 16 or even 32 GB support.  Also, each memory strip should be able to be at least 4 GB in size, (8 GB is the other size if going to a board supporting 16 or 32).

2.  Try to get at LEAST 8 GB, which only runs around $40 for 2 4 GB strips.  If the motherboard supports more, you can pick up either 4 4 GB strips, or you could get a single 8 GB strip and add more later it needed - or get 16 GB.  2 8 GB strips run about $52 or so these days.  Memory is one of your best friends when setting up a machine for audio processing, such as recording with Sonar.

3.  You can buy a 2 TB 7,200 rpm SATA 6.0 gps hard drive these days for around $99, so I wouldn't even think of buying a single 250 GB drive.  You should try to get 2 disk drives for your new machine in any case, 1 to contain programs and the OS, and the other for samples and storing audio.  Splitting partitions on a single drive does nothing for performance (is however helpful for organization and backups and such).  Splitting it off to a 2nd drive will help things load faster and therefore perform better.

4.  I am not sure about that processor, so I have no advice one way or another.  I thought that the Xeon processors were for servers, and if that is the case, I would recommend a re-think on your part.  I believe that an i5 or i7 from Intel, or an AMD Phenom II 965 quad-core black edition would be a much better choice.  They would be better suited to audio processing.

5.  The power supply sounds a bit small for what will be asked of it.  I see lots of systems with a minimum of a 500 watt power supply.  I currently have a 1000-watt one, but I think perhaps a 650-watt or better would be a better choice than the 425-watt one in your specs.


6.  I just re-read your comments about alteration on memory, and the adding of an additional drive.  Good choices.

7.  It has been my experience that vendor companies, like Dell, sometimes skimp on the quality of some components, such as the manufacturer of internal components, so check out the maker of all of the internal parts.  I just build my own, have done so for the past zillion years.  Look at the cost of all of the individual components from a place like www.microcenter.com, and compare that to the cost Dell is charging you, and you may end up re-thinking how you approach getting your new machine.

I hope the above helps - there are lots of opinions and choices, but basically you want a quad-core processor (Intel is a bit faster than AMD, but AMD gives you good bang for the buck), at least 8 GB of memory, 2 hard drives, and some middle of the road or better video card, with a power supply of I would suggest 600w or better, and you should be fine. 

If you have any money left over, you can also look at picking up a second monitor - you can buy a 32" HDTV that would work wonderfully for a computer monitor, for around $200.  You can look at those on the site I provided above, and also like Best Buy or Walmart or wherever.  

Bob Bone

2012/10/22 11:58:12
robert_e_bone
Sorry - missed the UDIMM - my advice was mainly geared for a desktop computer.

For a laptop, you will want:

1.  USB 3.0 support, as well as USB 2.0
2.  I would be careful of Firewire interface, as Firewire hardware sometimes does not play well with some chipsets on motherboards.  On a desktop, that could be addressed by a PCI-card, but on a laptop, you have what they built onto the motherboard.  Might work, might not.
3.  If you end up with a USB interface, it will likely want to be plugged into a USB 2.0 port - some of them get funky when plugged into a USB 3.0 port.
4.  Your additional drive - either USB 3.0 (About $84 for a USB 3.0 drive, don't know for an eSata drive).
5.  Scratch my prices for memory - I know a 4 GB strip costs about $20 for a laptop, but to get 8 GB into your laptop, you need to look closely at how the motherboard is configured for memory.  Most have 2 slots, and some support a max of 4 GB total ( 2 x 2 GB strips), and some support 8 GB in total (2 4 GB strips).  I believe some allow up to 16 GB, but these tend to run a bit more money and 8 GB would be sufficient.

The 625w power supply would be plenty in a laptop.

Sorry for any confusion by my missing the fact you are getting a laptop versus a desktop, 

Bob Bone

2012/10/22 11:58:58
StarTekh
It be nice to know what the motherboard make and model are
2012/10/22 12:03:52
StarTekh
oops laptop !!
2012/10/22 12:11:52
robert_e_bone
Star - we're getting old - I missed it too.

I do have to say that I do not understand choosing to get a laptop for a dedicated DAW, unless there is a specific NEED to be mobile.  Everything just costs more for an equivalent amount of performance when compared to a desktop.

You could save several hundred dollars by getting a desktop rather than a laptop - money that could be spent for things like more storage, more memory, a better processor, etc., please consider this in your choice.

Bob Bone

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