Building a custom PC

dj-dusty

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Mar 13, 2008
Right, my gfs dad is gonna build me a custom PC and wants to know what parts i need to run my software smoothly.
i would like a PC that will run cubase 4 abbleton 6 and reason 4, but i have no idea about computers. i have recovered my harddrive from my last one but its shit so im using it as an external one for the moment. my gfs dad said that money shouldnt be a problem as he can get most parts very cheap or free so i need some decent honest advice to what i should get. i asked my teacher at collage and he said i should be aiming for a quad core PC with lots of ram and a top of the range soundcard.
i will be paying some money for it as some of the parts might have to be specially ordered in so my budget is prob bout £600 overall on highstreet prices.
So what im asking is basicly a list of decent, affordable parts i.e. motherboards, internal soundcards, memory, ram, drivers blah blah blah.
i would very much appreciate it if you guys could help me out so i can get this orderd and get back into my producing properly. (and because i have no idea what im looking for lol)

cheers in advance guys :)
 
www.ebuyer.com

should have enough reviews on products to help you decide. but at the end of the day, you get what you pay for, so spend as much as you can within you budget and then how could you possibly go wrong.
 
I haven't been following the latest innovations in the trade but i built my computer last summer so i can tell what was hot then.... A quick check-up reveals there is a new intel family of processors coming (i7 something or other) but they are usually very very expensive in the first year so i'd forget about those unless you can get a sweet deal and dig up some info on them.

Intel processor rather than AMD, in terms of calculation power Intel has driven beyond AMD recently. For example Q9900 (might be wrong but Qxxxx anyway) are quad-core. Quad is nice because it can share the workload obviously. Not many progs support it yet but the future looks bright if you choose that road. And since money isn't an issue should go for something like it, instead of a dual core which are cheaper. A quad core will carry you further in the long run i think.

When it comes to motherboards its easy to get confused from all the enigmatic terms and such, but be ever vigilant for it will be the most important single part of your pc. I'll point you to some basics:
-FSB speed: A kind of a speed link with your CPU and MB (rated in MHz), this rating limits to what kind of processor you can go for, i suggest 1333MHz or even 1666MHz if there are any available, the higher the rating, again the further it carries in the long run - leaves room for updating the processor in the future. The number also directly limits your DDR2/DDR3 memory speed.
-Socket type/model: This determines what kind of slot you shove the processor into, and therefore limits what kind of processor you CAN use. If you go for the quad core intel, make sure the processor is "socket 775" and the motherboard too.
-Connectivity: USB connections are everywhere nowadays and the lack of a firewire connection (sometimes called 1394 or i.Link) is also deviation from standards. But BE SURE cause firewire is the hip thing in production hardware. PCI-E is a slot for graphics cards, PCI-X for new additional peripherals and PCI is the oldskool connection. The latter Is not a must but a perk nonetheless if you plan on using older soundcards. In fact most of the cards on sale now are yet PCI connected.

Many peeps will want you to use an overly juicy power supply unit, ie 600-1000 watts output but take no heed of them my green protege, visit this site instead.

Have to run now but maybe I'll be back with some other enlightening info later.
 
I haven't been following the latest innovations in the trade but i built my computer last summer so i can tell what was hot then.... A quick check-up reveals there is a new intel family of processors coming (i7 something or other) but they are usually very very expensive in the first year so i'd forget about those unless you can get a sweet deal and dig up some info on them.

Intel processor rather than AMD, in terms of calculation power Intel has driven beyond AMD recently. For example Q9900 (might be wrong but Qxxxx anyway) are quad-core. Quad is nice because it can share the workload obviously. Not many progs support it yet but the future looks bright if you choose that road. And since money isn't an issue should go for something like it, instead of a dual core which are cheaper. A quad core will carry you further in the long run i think.

When it comes to motherboards its easy to get confused from all the enigmatic terms and such, but be ever vigilant for it will be the most important single part of your pc. I'll point you to some basics:
-FSB speed: A kind of a speed link with your CPU and MB (rated in MHz), this rating limits to what kind of processor you can go for, i suggest 1333MHz or even 1666MHz if there are any available, the higher the rating, again the further it carries in the long run - leaves room for updating the processor in the future. The number also directly limits your DDR2/DDR3 memory speed.
-Socket type/model: This determines what kind of slot you shove the processor into, and therefore limits what kind of processor you CAN use. If you go for the quad core intel, make sure the processor is "socket 775" and the motherboard too.
-Connectivity: USB connections are everywhere nowadays and the lack of a firewire connection (sometimes called 1394 or i.Link) is also deviation from standards. But BE SURE cause firewire is the hip thing in production hardware. PCI-E is a slot for graphics cards, PCI-X for new additional peripherals and PCI is the oldskool connection. The latter Is not a must but a perk nonetheless if you plan on using older soundcards. In fact most of the cards on sale now are yet PCI connected.

Many peeps will want you to use an overly juicy power supply unit, ie 600-1000 watts output but take no heed of them my green protege, visit this site instead.

Have to run now but maybe I'll be back with some other enlightening info later.

sweet, alot of useful info there geez ill check the site, and yeh any additional info would be very helpful

cheers mate
 
On silent computers (CPU fan, harddisk etc.):

http://www.silentpcreview.com/

Choose a graphics card also with silence in mind, you could get a good deal (if you forget gaming) sub 50£.

Then there's the issue of Audio. There's plenty of info on this forum if you bother to search around. Dogs On Acid is also a good source for research, though they like to expand your budget by at least half if you ask them what to buy.
 
whats your budget mate???

i recently ordered the parts for my build..... should be here tomorrow :)


i spent around £400 altogether (thats including p&p, extra cables and bits... the main bit prob come to around £350).... heres what i got.....

Intel Quad-Core Q6600 G0 CPU
MSI P35 Neo2-FR motherboard
500GB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive
2x1GB OCZ RAM
budget MSI Nvidia graphics card (dual output for two monitors)
Antec Sonata III case with 500w Earthwatts PSU
 
whats your budget mate???

i recently ordered the parts for my build..... should be here tomorrow :)


i spent around £400 altogether (thats including p&p, extra cables and bits... the main bit prob come to around £350).... heres what i got.....

Intel Quad-Core Q6600 G0 CPU
MSI P35 Neo2-FR motherboard
500GB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive
2x1GB OCZ RAM
budget MSI Nvidia graphics card (dual output for two monitors)
Antec Sonata III case with 500w Earthwatts PSU
my budget is prob bout 500, dont really wanna spend more than that, let me know what ya comps like when ya set it up
 
will do mate..... just got in from work and my parcels were waiting for me

shame im going out tonite :(


i think for £500 you should be looking at something simular..... add a decent soundcard and it will come to around 500
 
whats your budget mate???

i recently ordered the parts for my build..... should be here tomorrow :)


i spent around £400 altogether (thats including p&p, extra cables and bits... the main bit prob come to around £350).... heres what i got.....

Intel Quad-Core Q6600 G0 CPU
MSI P35 Neo2-FR motherboard
500GB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive
2x1GB OCZ RAM
budget MSI Nvidia graphics card (dual output for two monitors)
Antec Sonata III case with 500w Earthwatts PSU

you can get 4gbs of that ocz ram for 35 quid now, getting some for my pc in the near future.
 
you can get 4gbs of that ocz ram for 35 quid now, getting some for my pc in the near future.

really??? i paid bout £25 for 2x1GB..... damn

tis quality ram though..... got metal faceplates on them too that apparently acts like a heat sink........ i just think they look cool :D
 
really??? i paid bout £25 for 2x1GB..... damn

tis quality ram though..... got metal faceplates on them too that apparently acts like a heat sink........ i just think they look cool :D

is the q6600 worth the extra dosh from a core 2?, thinking of buying one when the prices drop a little, now the new i7's are out.
 
I currently use the best AMD quad core processor and ive got 4 gig of ram... i gotta say its working perfectly for all my software needs, i can run reason ableton and flstudio all at the same time and i works very smoothly... i built mine for under 500 over 3 months ago and i recon now with 600 you could get even better.. i do recon though that a core2 duo processor with a huge cashe may be better than a quad core like mine cos you would have more power for less things i.e very demanding things such as VST's...:)
 
is the q6600 worth the extra dosh from a core 2?, thinking of buying one when the prices drop a little, now the new i7's are out.

hmmm..... i debated this with myself for ages

from what i have gathered, it depends on what programs you run mainly

i think newer versions of cubase & sonar are written so they make use of all four cores properly.... not sure about other programs

i did hear that FL doesnt make full use of multicore cpu's though.... it does have a option you can activate that makes some use of it but not as well as other programs :(

.....im hoping image line will sort it out, but i wont hold my breath
 
ok.... almost there..... been well busy with other things but finally managed to put it all together successfully a couple of days ago.... turns on fine and shows "select boot drive" message........ im now installing xp as we speak :)
 
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