OT: recent specs for a great PC for SAW only?

[trock]

is there a link that is recent that sort of "specs" out a PC that is optimal for SAW?

i can get DELL's thru work and would have to go with one of those, i use one now but it is on the internet, does my email, some games, and SAW etc, runs anti virus and spysweeper etc etc the all in one if you know what i mean

if i wanted to get a really good PC stripped just for SAW what would be some good spec's for this??

so far i figure

- 3.4 Ghz interl 4 or higher (not dual)
- 2 gigs rram minimum
- XP pro (is home ok?)
- no office or anti virus/spyware stuff
- a 160 gig HD for system stuff
- 250 gig or smaller for SAW stuff

- what about a video card? can i just use a 64 meg or 128 meg Nvidia card or something?

- can you get a KVM switch for 2 monitors and a key board mouse? i have 2 21 inch monitors on this and would like to KVM them between these 2 PC's with the keyboard and mous? i have used KVM switches for one monitor before but did not know if you could do a dual monitor setup?

is there anything else i should not Get on one from DELL??

thanks!

[Sam C]

http://www.adkproaudio.com/

They have a great reputation!

[Bill Park]

160 gig for system stuff????? Holy......

I don't even have one that big for my data, let alone my programs. Of course, the bigger the drive, the less often you have to do housekeeping.... and the harder it is to do when you finally do have to do it, and the bigger the chance is that you loose something in a fatal drive crash (if/when one happens, as they sometimes do...), because you didn't get the housekeeping done.... but that's up to you. No matter what size drive you do finally buy, be sure to do your housekeeping and regular backups. And don't forget that a faster drive speed translates into getting data under the heads quicker, so more tracks of playback or recording. Not an issue on the system drive, but it is on the data drive. I think that all of my applications and plugs fit in less than 20 gigs of space....

Yes, you can do dual monitors. I'm running three 19" Sharp LCDs, with a Matrox 750 video card. A DAW is not a very intense use of video resources, so you could certainly limit the power of the card.. you don't need the latest and greatest gamers choice.

You want to know a good resource for pieces/parts? How about Tom's Hardware site? I like Enermax power supplies, and Antex (or is it Antec?) makes very solid cases that are pretty quiet. You can also buy a Whisper kit from Enermax, though the Whisper case was not as solid and quiet as the Antex.

I would not buy a Dell for this purpose. You might make a different choice.
Bill

[Mark Stebbeds]

160 gig for system stuff????? Holy......


Yikes!! I'm a poster boy for bad housekeeping, and still have plenty of headroom on my 20gb system drive, loaded up with lots of audio apps as well as office stuff.

Mark

[Ollie]

I have had bad luck with these guys. I would not recommend them.


http://www.adkproaudio.com/

They have a great reputation!

[trock]

sorry just got home and checked here

i have to use DELL so the other company is out but i will check their system specs and see what they are doing.

the dell's we use at work ship with 160 gig system drives now based on our work PC spec, so that wasn;t anything other than what our company standard is and i wouls use the same. i have a WD 250 gig drive in this PC just for SAW and have good luck with it so would put another one in this one.

i am really asking what not all to get in a PC, but again i will check out the sweetware creation station and this link and see if i can match up.

thanks

[11thour]

Hi Trock!.. I just got a Dell XPS400. I was badly needing to upgrade my Daw. I've been using a p4 1.8, and have been really pushing it to its limits.

Popped the sound card in, installed Saw and some plugs. So far so good. Saw runs like a champ. Granted I only mix with Saw, so I don't know if it would be the same if I was tracking to Saw.

I really wanted Saw lite, but decided for a new computer first. SSL next..heheh

hth

Kevin

[Craig Allen]

I have had bad luck with these guys. I would not recommend them.
I had good luck with them - what was your experience?

[Ian Alexander]

Trock,

See if you can get a Dell Workstation, instead of a Dimension, etc. I'm on my second Dell Workstation and it is a very solid machine without a lot of the consumer oriented stuff pre-loaded. I popped in my LynxONE, installed Saw, did Bob's tweaks, and got to work.

On second thought, now I remember that the CD reader died. The writer has been fine, though.

Also, search for a thread on Bob's opinion regarding maximum hard disk size (or maybe it was partition size). I think it was 120 GB.

[Edit 2] http://www.sawstudiouser.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2776 [Edit 2]