SAC Computer Build Questions

[BrianR]

I have always tried to give my suggestions on what hardware to use based on my experience building hundreds of these systems... many people listen, but often times many people do the exact opposite.

I certainly don't want to stifle peoples ideas about how to build a system, but in many cases, certain things work and other things just don't and no matter how much I try to offer that info, many people still go off on their own path... and thats ok, really... in some cases they will come up with some combination that works great that I might have never tried.
Bob L

So what are the model numbers of motherboard/video card combinations, that can be currently purchased and on what OS, that will work ?
There should be a list of known working components so bugs don't get blamed on the computer built.

[Bob L]

I have found that it is very hard to get people to follow suggestions about all the components as well as the details of the Windows install... everyone seems to think they know better...

Building a Win 7 or Win 8 system offers lots of different choices in motherboards... if you still want to go for the ultimate in a Win XP system, it is getting more difficult.

I built a few dozen systems using the ASUS P8B75-M/CSM motherboard. I just did a search and found these can still be purchased at NewEgg, TigerDirect, and Amazon... cpus and memory no problem to find. These motherboards have good XP drivers.

I also found New XP installs available at www.WindowsDelivery.com

Never purchased from them before... don't know their reputation. Also found some XP disks available from Amazon.

If you are not needing the absolute performance of a loaded down system, Win 7 or 8 should work fine, especially with the new CPU Blocking feature in SAC 4.0.

At the moment building a SAC rig is a do it yourself situation and can be fun... but also challenging... if that does not appeal to you, you might want to steer clear and not get involved.

On the other hand, there are a few thousand systems out there built by the average everyday computer enthusiast that are working fine for the needs of the people who built them... so its not all such a gloom and doom story.

I have been working tirelessly trying to put together a branded system with our own hardware that would be a plug and play situation, like any other hardware console... buy it, plug it in, and start mixing... but so far that has not quite yet made it to market.

Bob L

[Sound Machine Inc]

So what are the model numbers of motherboard/video card combinations, that can be currently purchased and on what OS, that will work ?
There should be a list of known working components so bugs don't get blamed on the computer built.

I will chime in on this as I have built 5-6 systems.. What I usually aim for is WORKSTATION motherboards.. not your garden variety $50 gamers boards. and I use quality memory, and ATI video cards exclusively (because I have issues with my MOTU stuff and Nvidia), though for single screen builds I use onboard chipset video. and I use SSD for OS.. My Current system that runs very well is

motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132133

memory

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/gryphon-z97/CT5875454

processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117446

I use the onboard video 99% of the time since I USUALLY on use 2 screens

http://www.soundmachine.net/images/prototype%201.jpg