pc build. is this ok?

subprime

subprime

Dysjoint
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Hi, if you got a minute just to check this list for me.

Optiarc AD-7201S 20X DVD±RW/RAM LightScribe SATA Black Bare Drive - Boxed with Nero 8 *£20.01

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket 775 (3.0GHz) 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor £145.99


ASUS P5Q SE2 iP45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £85.66

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Gold Memory £42.99

Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM £48.49

Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU *SPECIAL OFFER* £57.91

Gainward 8400GS 512MB DDR2 VGA DVI HDMI HDCP PCI-E Graphics Card 156248 £27.47

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Low Profile Socket 775 Processor Cooler £15.13

2xHiper 120mm Case Fan - Clear HiperFlow Frame & Blades - 3pin with Adaptor/Screws Included £12.98

That comes to around £450 and I still need monitor, os, and soundcard. I was also looking at the q6600 and q9400 (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 Socket 775 2.66GHz 1333FSB 6MB Cache £200.61 )but thats more £ and I don't know if it's worth it just for music production. I've never built a pc before so any tips would be great. Cheers.
P.S I'm amateur as hell but I spend a lot of time messing around and would want anything I build now to do me for a few years.
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I've had the same processor since last summer, it hasn't met its limits in making tunes as of yet (even while working with fruity 7 which only supports a single core!). Also have 4gb or ram but I'm missing a 64bit OS so in effect it's only about 3,5 gigs. Take note about this, if you want to make use of all that ram you'll need vista64 or xp 64bit. Im not too keen on those, running tinyXP to minimize the resource hogging by the OS. But to be honest I'm not sure you'd notice a difference between 3,5gb and 4gb really.

Another thing is the amount of noise the machine makes, but that's really hard to judge before putting the thing together and firing it up for the first time. Take anything the manufacturer has printed on the package about noise levels with a bit of salt and check out silentpcreview.com/

It is amazing how much sound air can make when it passes through those cool-looking plastic ventilation holes, cut those off. Leave only what you need that it doesn't slice your fingers if you happen to touch it (theres usually a perforated metal sheet behind the plastic, leave that). Also having some rubber or foam between the HD and the case eats away some noise.
 
And about that quad-core thing...

Multiple cores are the way Intel and AMD are moving now, and software companies will have to follow their lead, so while a dual core processor will do for a year or two, a quad would carry you longer for the £. But for me at least that difference was too much and I can always upgrade later anyway, since my motherboard also supports quad cores. I think that P5Q does too, i was looking into that when i built mine but they were just releasing it then and everywere was out of stock.
 
Thanks man. Would it be a disaster to install vista 64bit, if it means I can have 4 gb memory (or more later, the mobo supports 16 I think) With a good processor will there not be plenty of computing power to go around? Or doesn't work like that?
 
subprime said:
Thanks man. Would it be a disaster to install vista 64bit, if it means I can have 4 gb memory (or more later, the mobo supports 16 I think) With a good processor will there not be plenty of computing power to go around? Or doesn't work like that?
Click to expand...

The only thing I would be worried about going 64bit is the compatibility of software.

I know it emulates 32bit, but you might get a lot of problems running some of the lesser known plug ins.

I dunno if anyone else uses 64bit on here and can give anymore info as to what does and doesn't work so well tho...
 
sounds good to me.... its worth checking the compatibillity of everything though

this site has some good info.... http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

this thread in particular is very helpful.... http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16317

when i built mine, i found that having a pc with access to the net beside me while i was working helped soooo much. if there was anything i wassnt to sure about id just google it and have an answer in minutes


but anyway... yeah your spec looks pretty good mate, i use a q6600 which i have nothing but good things to say about, but then ive heard the e8400 is great too

in fact, i read something in sound on sound that said depending on the way you work, the e8400 would be faster than the 6600

cant remember all the details but i think it was along the lines of.... if you work mainly with gigs and gigs of samples (multisampled orchestras for example) then the 8400 would be better because of its higher FSB speed, but if you work with lots of synths the the q6600 would be better

the article is worth reading, i see it in the mag so i dont have a link but it may be on their site
 
8400gs is a pants graphics card, if your looking for a cheap one, go for something like an hd 2600 (xt version is better) or a 3650. for the money, your best off buying a q6600 (quad core) for multi-tasking unless you intend to game, as the e8400 is ment to be amazing for overclocking. everything else sounds pretty good though.
 
The q6600 has a slower fsb speed. Does this make a big difference? No games . no overclocking (for now) Just lots of tracks, synths like albino and z3ta which can get cpu hungry and sampler (kontakt) which can eat memory for fun.

Is it easy to put a pc together? eg: will I fuck it up? I can follow instructions and I'm a legend with a screwdriver ;)
(I heard thats all it takes: true?)

By the way, do I.....you know.........have to .......strictly speaking...........hmhm....pay for my os.
 
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edit, scrap the q6600, the q6700 can be had for another fiver off scan in the today only deals (finish at around 1pm tomorrow) (another 266mhz x 4 on top) for more quad core madness :P

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

i don't really think you'll be seeing any difference, when you are running 4 processors rather than 2 :P

should sign up to avforums.com as they are doing an offer for free delivery on scan for orders over £20 inc vat if you have 20 posts or over (easy)

should be more than perfect for albino and z3ta+ etc, i use albino on my 2.4 core 2 duo (e4600) and it runs very smooth.

pc's are a piece of piss to put together, (i did mine myself)

and my copy of vista is knock off and fully activated :P (pre-cracked on installation)




don't ask why i'm a geek when it comes to pc's lol.
 
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