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EB1285
Ok so i am currently running a Pentium 4 dell factory 8300 desktop computer.
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/desktops/0,1000000968,10004197,00.htm I updated the graphics card last year to a very nice ATI card, and i also added another 512 stick of Ram. Everything is fine on it, but i just want more speed/power/reliability. So i am wanting to build myself a new computer and purchase the parts off of new egg. My question is what all do I need to buy, and what can i steal from my old comp?
I figure the new Core Duo processor is a must. (2.0 GHZ)
I also am going to get a new tower. (This will come with a power supply).
I will steal my old graphics/video card as well as mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitors.
Do I need to buy a CD-Rom, CD-RW, CD-DVD or can i steal these too?
Motherboard? If so how much memory usage do i need for serious gaming?
Sound card, can i steal this from the Dell?
Ram, I currently have a gig of ram in the other comp, can i steal these too?
Answer
ok well first. the core duo is nice but it will not work on your current mobo. the core duo is a lga type (which has not pins)
so you will need a new mobo. next yes you can use your optical drives(dvd cd)
you will probably need to use different memeory as well. most mobos use ddr2 which is much faster. i would go with at least 2gigs of this.
next get a seriousl graphics card with at least 256 and either agp2 or a pci express. i recomend either stealth with a radeon chipset or a realy nice nividia card.
also not to knock new egg but you might want to try global first they tend to have a little better slection on cases and on prices they are alot lower than most places.
one last thing when you get your new mobo,tower and stuff make sure you get at least 2 case fans. one push back and one pull in front to keep this monster cool. eithr that or do what i did and put yourself togethr a system with these parts.
intell core duo extreme
3 gig of ddr2
2tb hardrive(sata)
stealth graphics card with radeon 9800 running 512mb pci express
volcano temp and tach case fans
water cooler
850 watt power supply
asus motherboard (ifogot the number)
a 37" lcd screen
wireless mouse and kb
linksys 2.4 ghz wireless dsl setup
this baby kicks a>>
good luck dude
let me know how it goes ok. and hey dont burn down the house doin it like i almost did with my first build 10 years ago.lol
ok well first. the core duo is nice but it will not work on your current mobo. the core duo is a lga type (which has not pins)
so you will need a new mobo. next yes you can use your optical drives(dvd cd)
you will probably need to use different memeory as well. most mobos use ddr2 which is much faster. i would go with at least 2gigs of this.
next get a seriousl graphics card with at least 256 and either agp2 or a pci express. i recomend either stealth with a radeon chipset or a realy nice nividia card.
also not to knock new egg but you might want to try global first they tend to have a little better slection on cases and on prices they are alot lower than most places.
one last thing when you get your new mobo,tower and stuff make sure you get at least 2 case fans. one push back and one pull in front to keep this monster cool. eithr that or do what i did and put yourself togethr a system with these parts.
intell core duo extreme
3 gig of ddr2
2tb hardrive(sata)
stealth graphics card with radeon 9800 running 512mb pci express
volcano temp and tach case fans
water cooler
850 watt power supply
asus motherboard (ifogot the number)
a 37" lcd screen
wireless mouse and kb
linksys 2.4 ghz wireless dsl setup
this baby kicks a>>
good luck dude
let me know how it goes ok. and hey dont burn down the house doin it like i almost did with my first build 10 years ago.lol
>>> External Audio Interface help <<<?
Joe
hi, i'm looking to buy an external audio interface. which one should i get?
the main reason is to get the best sound quality i can out of my monitors (KRK Rokit 6s)
however it'd be good to be able to plug an instrument or mic or two in as well.
my budget is about £150 roughly (or around $230 for you Americans)
i also need help with the cabling. i think XLR is what i want, but the KRKs also have TRS (and unbalanced RCA). any advice about the different cabling would be much appreciated too.
interfaces i've been looking at already are the M-Audio Fast Track Pro or variations of and the Presonus Audiobox... any other suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
also, it needs to be able to work with my Windows 7 (64 bit) PC and a MAC laptop i'm getting shortly
Answer
One of the things that you need to be cautious about is the stability of drivers. There are a lot of audio interfaces out there that do the job in terms of hardware and features. But their compatibility with software is horrible due to faulty drivers. Especially since you plan to use that on a 64-bit Windows 7 for a while, driver stability is all the more important.
I would advise you to buy the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It is available on Amazon UK for exactly £150. It has 2 microphone/instrument inputs with phantom power. And apart from RCA outputs, it has 1/4'' Phono outputs too(which is exactly the same thing as TRS. This baby's drivers are SO solid that it responds well to anything I throw at it. For my last song, it ran 24 tracks of audio with three plugins on each track! It is built like a tank, so it'll last a while too.
Now in comparison to the M-Audio Fast Track, this is far far better. My friend has the M-Audio, so I have hands on experience with both these interfaces. The pre-amps in the M-Audio are just not as good and the output is a bit muddier. The build quality is not as good, and there are a few latency issues. And more importantly, the drivers are a hit and a miss. So I would advise you to stay away from M-Audio Interfaces. Their keyboards and monitors are great. Interfaces, not so much.
I am not sure about the Presonus as I haven't used it. But this is what I found from a review. And if you are a guitar player this might effect you:
"I tried the PreSonus AudioBox recently and was extremely disappointed with it. I didn't try it with a microphone since I'm usually recording guitars direct, but the preamps are designed to ALWAYS have 20 db of gain being applied even with the input turned all the way down. I looked this up on their official forums, and it is intentional. Because of this, I was never able to get a signal that wouldn't clip when palm muting (even with passive pickups). They don't have any kind of software mixer either, so you have to buy an attenuator pad or find some other workaround.
There's also a knob that you use to blend the mix between the hardware direct monitoring signal and the regular output. Even with the knob turned all the way to the regular output side, you still get some "leak" from the direct signal coming through the monitors. This can cause feedback problems, give you inaccurate monitoring (in my situation, because I'm hearing dry/clean guitar signal at the same time as amp sim VSTs), and is just a general pain in the ass.
And just to add icing on the cake...I also discovered that the output starts digitally clipping with the output knob at only 9 O'CLOCK! Ridiculous."
So in conclusion. I will hands down recommend the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. And if it is of any good, it is an English company based in High Wycombe (looked up wikipedia). So it is always good to work with a local company as support is far more available. M-Audio support is terrible. Enjoy!
One of the things that you need to be cautious about is the stability of drivers. There are a lot of audio interfaces out there that do the job in terms of hardware and features. But their compatibility with software is horrible due to faulty drivers. Especially since you plan to use that on a 64-bit Windows 7 for a while, driver stability is all the more important.
I would advise you to buy the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It is available on Amazon UK for exactly £150. It has 2 microphone/instrument inputs with phantom power. And apart from RCA outputs, it has 1/4'' Phono outputs too(which is exactly the same thing as TRS. This baby's drivers are SO solid that it responds well to anything I throw at it. For my last song, it ran 24 tracks of audio with three plugins on each track! It is built like a tank, so it'll last a while too.
Now in comparison to the M-Audio Fast Track, this is far far better. My friend has the M-Audio, so I have hands on experience with both these interfaces. The pre-amps in the M-Audio are just not as good and the output is a bit muddier. The build quality is not as good, and there are a few latency issues. And more importantly, the drivers are a hit and a miss. So I would advise you to stay away from M-Audio Interfaces. Their keyboards and monitors are great. Interfaces, not so much.
I am not sure about the Presonus as I haven't used it. But this is what I found from a review. And if you are a guitar player this might effect you:
"I tried the PreSonus AudioBox recently and was extremely disappointed with it. I didn't try it with a microphone since I'm usually recording guitars direct, but the preamps are designed to ALWAYS have 20 db of gain being applied even with the input turned all the way down. I looked this up on their official forums, and it is intentional. Because of this, I was never able to get a signal that wouldn't clip when palm muting (even with passive pickups). They don't have any kind of software mixer either, so you have to buy an attenuator pad or find some other workaround.
There's also a knob that you use to blend the mix between the hardware direct monitoring signal and the regular output. Even with the knob turned all the way to the regular output side, you still get some "leak" from the direct signal coming through the monitors. This can cause feedback problems, give you inaccurate monitoring (in my situation, because I'm hearing dry/clean guitar signal at the same time as amp sim VSTs), and is just a general pain in the ass.
And just to add icing on the cake...I also discovered that the output starts digitally clipping with the output knob at only 9 O'CLOCK! Ridiculous."
So in conclusion. I will hands down recommend the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. And if it is of any good, it is an English company based in High Wycombe (looked up wikipedia). So it is always good to work with a local company as support is far more available. M-Audio support is terrible. Enjoy!
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Title Post: Building a Computer...Can you help me!?!?
Rating: 96% based on 987 ratings. 4,3 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
Rating: 96% based on 987 ratings. 4,3 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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