Build for roommate

[BillyRF]

For reference, his current maching is a PII running Win98 on less memory then my flash drive (and that was a freebie).

 

Target budget was 500 euro, though a variation of about 100 is allowed.

 

I came up with the following:

C2D E6300

Asus P5Pl2-E

Asus EN7100

Kingston DDR4200 1 GB kit

Hitachi 320 GB drive

DVD burner

Antec basiq 350W PSU

 

Other parts (case, keyboard, mouse, display, floppy, etc) will be scavenged from the old machine.

 

This I can build for 540 euros or so.

 

I could drop below the 500 barrier by going AMD and/or single core, but since one of the things he does with his PC is realtime encoding of his guitar, I'm thinking the second core won't be unwelcome. And it'll give the PC at least a year or two more before the next update is necessary...

 

Since this is my first Intel build ever, what do you all think?

 

PS: Sticking with the onboard audio for now, but maybe I'll fix him up with a proper creative product later on to give him MIDI connectivity.

[Ferret-Simpson]

Ok, checking the harddware lists is the easy way to see if the hardware is compatible, as is using the search function.

 

I'll give you my personal review anyway, just because I'm also a recording guitarist.

 

I'd personally sacrifice volume for speed on the memory, since the Core 2 Duo can handle up to 1066mhz memory.

 

AMD = Always a bad idea, if you can get Intel, because of the reduced compatibility - You made the right decision.

 

On the note of your drives, that's good. But see if you can spilt them up. Get 2 smaller drives instead of the larger one. What you'll lose in VFM you'll gain in reliability, because you instantly have a backup option for important files - Keep OS on one, normal files on the other, and when you have misssion critical files (Such as the Logic project of a song that's almost done and a good candidate for a keeper) stick it on both.

 

Finally, there is never a guarantee or even a good probability that onboard audio will work. Some do, some don't and for a music computer you're pushing your luck very far over a cliff with raser sharp rocks at the bottom to assume that it will.

 

Not to mention the sound quality will be flat out useless.

Depending on how much other gear he has already, you honestly have two audio options.

 

1: If he has plenty of external gear, an M-Audio Delta 1010 (Rackmount, not light) is one of the best sound cards for recording I've ever used, and I have the 6-channel version as my standard Mac audio interface. It's very very good, but doesn't come with any simple "Mic/Speaker" I/O sockets. You get 10 inputs, 10 outputs. They need to be hooked up to proffessional or Semi-Pro audio gear to work to any use. The card and breakout are about £350-£400.

 

2: If he has a guitar, an amp, and a pair of headphones, and that's about it, you'll need a sound system that's a little more self contained. The best I've seen for the job is a Line-6 unit that a friend uses with his Apple Macbook. It's the Toneport KB-37, at about £230.

 

It's a USB audio device with a 24/96 audio sample rate, (That's Pro quality.) a dedicated guitar input, two Phantom powerable Microphone inputs, Headphones, Line In/Out, Midi In/Out and an integrated keyboard. Comes with a bunch of basic Intel Mac software, and is the best thing for a beginner at Mac guitar recording to buy, IMO.

 

Finally, you'll need real Mac recording software. The simple cheap option is iLife 06, with GarageBand. You can head on upwards from there with Logic Express/Logic Pro, but Garageband is the cheapest legal option.