OT - New PC

[DominicPerry]

Sorry to ask this again, what's the best bang-for-the-buck Mobo and CPU at the moment? I'm building a new rig (yes, I really am this time, I've just bought SSFull) and I'm thinking MicroATX or if they are no good, full sized.

Thanks

Dominic

[UpTilDawn]

I seem to remeber Bob mentioning a micro ATX system that he was using. Maybe there's some useful info in that thread.... wherever it is.

DanT

[Bob L]

What I used is long discontinued... you will have to pick from motherboards that are current.

Watch out for the pci slots if you have an older soundcard... many micros are throwing those slots away.

I am very happy with my dual core E6600 chip... but even that is hard to find now... but there are others in that category.

Bob L

[mako]

I'm pleased with my new Asus P5K Pro so far (ATX - 2 PCI slots).

Good luck

mako

[Ian Alexander]

When I was speccing a new machine about a year ago, I was ready to go ASUS and AMD, but was advised by my builder that the Intel motherboards have a much better warranty. I followed his advice and it's been working okay, although I get some SS freezups now and then. I have not yet id'd the source of the problem, but I'm on an older version of SS and the machine does not freeze when SS isn't running.

[Himhui]

intel P35 chipset (recommend gigabyte MB cos it is less compatiible problem than that of asus MB with the same p35 chipset, I have both.....:mad: )

DDR2 800 (cheap enough)

E8200 (performance same as E6850 and price is lower)

[Bob L]

Ian... is your machine a dual cpu? If so... try setting the process affinity in the task manager of SAWStudio to only CPU 0 and see if that corrects the lockups.

Bob L

[Ian Alexander]

Ian... is your machine a dual cpu? If so... try setting the process affinity in the task manager of SAWStudio to only CPU 0 and see if that corrects the lockups.

Bob L
Gee, I read the other thread about this and it never occurred to me that I should try it. I never had screen redraw issues and I didn't realize that a Core 2 Duo had the same issues as a box with two chips. But the main reason I wasn't looking for this solution is that the freezes did not happen for the first six months I used the computer!

Here is the history: After six joyous months of trouble-free audio, I came out of the booth after an hour-long narration session, only to discover the system had frozen after a few minutes of recording.:eek: Fortunately, I was the talent, so after hollering a few unprintable words, I rebooted and headed back into the booth, with a DAT running as backup. Of course, if I'd been staring at the screen with someone else in the booth, I'd have noticed immediately and I usually run a DAT with other talent anyway. Then the system freeze got to happening each morning, so I'd record a test file until I got the freeze, then it wouldn't happen for the rest of the day. I've had a few times with two freezes in a day, but that is rare. Sometimes I'd get an error message that seemed to be related to the video card, but not with the freezes, that I can recall.

One day, I was in the computer closet and noticed that the video cable could use some strain relief. I ran a string to carry its weight, hoping that would sove the problem. It seemed to do so for about a week, then I got another freeze. The string is still in position, so that wasn't it. If Dave or anyone else is wondering, I have since come out of the closet.

These days, I'd say the freezes are happening about once a week, but not on a particular day and not associated with a particular activity. The vast majority of my sessions use the Sonoris Comp, the Sonoris Meter, the Levelizer, and sometimes the Sonoris Pitch/Time.

That said, I just set SSB to CPU 0 and will record for a while to see what happens. I've had total system freezes on record and on playback and occasionally part of the program stops responding, but enough remains that I can save.

Since it happens unpredictably, it will be difficult to tell if this solves the problem, but I will be optimistic. Right now, I've recorded 25 minutes and counting.

Thanks Bob.

[Angie]

I've been considering this Gigabyte board http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2758

[Sean McCoy]

I am very happy with my dual core E6600 chip... but even that is hard to find now... but there are others in that category.
Bob L
What MB have you been using Bob?

BTW, Intel has begun a massive price drop this week, so these older duals and quads should become dirt cheap in the coming days.

[Carl G.]

What I used is long discontinued... you will have to pick from motherboards that are current.

Watch out for the pci slots if you have an older soundcard... many micros are throwing those slots away.

I am very happy with my dual core E6600 chip... but even that is hard to find now... but there are others in that category.

Bob L

Woah! My "new" computer has a chip which is now hard to find? :eek: :eek:
Still - a great chip! and great performance!

[Craig Allen]

I've been considering this Gigabyte board http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2758
I used a Gigabyte board years ago for a DAW and had some configuration issues with it. It was an old P3 machine, so it's a very outdated product and may not represent current boards. But I wouldn't buy one again.

[DominicPerry]

Thanks all. I found my old thread and a couple of others on this subject.
Right or wrong, I'm going with an Intel MoBo. So I just need to choose a chipset and of course, a CPU. And some memory. And all the other things.
Sounds like were still on P38 chipset at the moment and core duos. I quite fancy the Xeon thing which Warren is using at 1x32 with SAC, partly on the basis that it's a single core per CPU.

Dominic

[Bob L]

I have used ASUS motherboards in dozens and dozens of machines over the years... I have done really well with them... I did not like the Intel motherboards... although others have chosen those because of the warranty... I never have used a motherboard warranty ever... in 18 years of doing this... so I choose my motherboards based on performance and stability... and I have had the best luck with ASUS.

Each person has their own experiences.

Bob L

[Warren]

Thanks all. I found my old thread and a couple of others on this subject.
Right or wrong, I'm going with an Intel MoBo. So I just need to choose a chipset and of course, a CPU. And some memory. And all the other things.
Sounds like were still on P38 chipset at the moment and core duos. I quite fancy the Xeon thing which Warren is using at 1x32 with SAC, partly on the basis that it's a single core per CPU.

Dominic

Dominic:
Thanks it is nice, but if you go that route turn off hyper-threading.
Also even though it works very nice for me, I am sure that there are at this time much better options avail. at this point I am considering the specs below.

CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad-Core 2.3GHz 4MB Cache 95W TDP
MainBoard: ASUS M3a32-MVP DLx W/WiFi Motherboard for Phenom
RAM: 4GB DDR-2 RAM (800 MHz Dual Channel - Matched Pair)
Video: ATI Radeon 512MB HD 3850
Operating System Drive: 500GB 7200RPM Ultra 300 SATA II with 32MB buffer
Media Streaming Drive: 500GB 7200RPM Ultra 300 SATA II with 32MB buffer Optical Drives: Dual Layer DVD***177;RW/CD-RW Combo Optical Drive
USB Ports: 10 USB 2.0 (8 Rear/2Top) 1394 IEEE (FireWire): 4 FireWire Ports (2 x 2 independent IEEE 1394 chipsets)eSata: 1 eSata II external ports(rear)
SD Media Front Panel I/O: Compatibility Compact Flash Card I/II, IBM Micro Drive, Smart Media Card,Secure Digital Card, Multi-Media Card, Memory Stick and MS ProCards
Expansion: Four PCI Express x16 bus, 2 PCI, RAID-Ready LAN: 10/100/1000 Realtek RTL8110 Gigabit Ethernet Legacy I/O: 2-PS/2ports
Audio: 8 channel Realtek ALC889A Audio Codec
PSU: Silent 600 watt silent power supply
Quiet Cool: Intel, Zalman and Rain Quiet Cool silencing
XP Professional or Vista Ultimate

I may fudge a bit but this is kinda what I would like to see.
I think it should smoke check my dual Xeon, Will see.

Hope it works out for you as well.

[Carl G.]

Dominic:
Thanks it is nice, but if you go that route turn off hyper-threading.
Also even though it works very nice for me, I am sure that there are at this time much better options avail. at this point I am considering the specs below.

CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad-Core 2.3GHz 4MB Cache 95W TDP
MainBoard: ASUS M3a32-MVP DLx W/WiFi Motherboard for Phenom
RAM: 4GB DDR-2 RAM (800 MHz Dual Channel - Matched Pair)
Video: ATI Radeon 512MB HD 3850
Operating System Drive: 500GB 7200RPM Ultra 300 SATA II with 32MB buffer
Media Streaming Drive: 500GB 7200RPM Ultra 300 SATA II with 32MB buffer Optical Drives: Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Combo Optical Drive
USB Ports: 10 USB 2.0 (8 Rear/2Top) 1394 IEEE (FireWire): 4 FireWire Ports (2 x 2 independent IEEE 1394 chipsets)eSata: 1 eSata II external ports(rear)
SD Media Front Panel I/O: Compatibility Compact Flash Card I/II, IBM Micro Drive, Smart Media Card,Secure Digital Card, Multi-Media Card, Memory Stick and MS ProCards
Expansion: Four PCI Express x16 bus, 2 PCI, RAID-Ready LAN: 10/100/1000 Realtek RTL8110 Gigabit Ethernet Legacy I/O: 2-PS/2ports
Audio: 8 channel Realtek ALC889A Audio Codec
PSU: Silent 600 watt silent power supply
Quiet Cool: Intel, Zalman and Rain Quiet Cool silencing
XP Professional or Vista Ultimate

I may fudge a bit but this is kinda what I would like to see.
I think it should smoke check my dual Xeon, Will see.

Hope it works out for you as well.

Just curious - does your video card have a fan?

[Warren]

Just curious - does your video card have a fan?

Actually! Not sure I was going back to Matrox P750 triple head instead.