PC Build.. Will this work?
 

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

You really should go with a quad core cpu. I would go at least with the Q6600. You need a video card but cheap is good there(I use a $37 MSI GeForce7300LE). 2 hard drives are a must but the system drive can be small(80 gig is plenty unless you plan on having tons of samples). I think 320-500 gig is plenty of audio drive for a casual user. The 450 watt power supply should be okay but I would up it to 550-600 watts. A good DVD burner is ony about $23 so no problem there. Are there any pieces from your old system that you can keep using(case, PSU, optical drive)? I know money is tight, but consider how long you hope to use this computer. That motherboard has no firewire so budget for an approved card if you want to use a firewire interface or external drives.

The performance difference between dual and quad cores is pretty steep. As for the threads that you feel are too long to go thru, just checkout the first 2 pages of each(and maybe the last 2) as you will get the most important info on page 1. Good luck

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

Now THAT is what i'm talking about... incredibly helpful response! Thank you so much!

As far as HDs, I'm not too concerned about too much space, but will definitely be getting 2 anyway. My record drive doesn't have to be too big anyway, because I have almost 2 TB of external storage that I transfer to when I'm not actively working on a session.
My old PC was a '02 Gateway (yes! it has lasted me this long, and I STILL record/mix on it, believe it or not.. pretty impressive) P4 2.2 GHz, 1 GB ram.
As far as video card is concerned, I was waiting to budget it until I got everything else squared away.
My plan is try to keep things as budget friendly as possible for now (saving for a move from ME to Austin, TX in the fall) so do you think if I got that core2 now it would suit me fine until I had more money to blow and could upgrade it to a quad? The biggest reason I want to build my own is for upgrade options and to be able to buy what I NEED now, and be able to buy what i WANT later :-).
And one last thing.. the power supply.. basically the same question as the core2 question above... will it do for now? Or will I be kickign myself when I get it all put together?
The beauty is that I'm so used to just printing VIs that it's not going to kill me to not be able to go crazy with them. My biggest concern is verb/delay. I love me some delay...

Sorry if that was incredibly long-winded, and thank you again for the help so far!

Cory

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

The point of me telling you that is that nothing from that can be taken to use for a new PC.

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

take a look at my signature. ive had this build for 2 months and havent had a problem yet. as far as the processor, i would just go for the quadcore. itll save you any headaches you might run into. definitely go with a 550w PSU at the least.

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

what about the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400? Will this suit me? I'm still trying to cut corners on cost.. (and yes, I do understand that that means cutting corners on quality.) But will this be ok??

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

The Q8400 is a little short on L2 cache. The Q6600 is a better bet. The Q9550 is better yet. The price difference now is better than having to upgrade in the near future. But you will be the best judge of that.

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

It will be better than the E5200:-)

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

True enough.

Re: PC Build.. Will this work?
 

is there an L2 Cache number i should be looking for? Like a "recommended minimum?" what exactly are the benefits of it in PT terms? (again, i'm new to building.. please be kind. haha)