New Build Plan - Whaddaya Think???

[Mr. Kelly]

Hi all,

Here are the components for my expected new build. It's done with economy in mind, and some recycling may be done from my current computer. It will be a partner to a new 003 I'll be ordering... as soon as my computer is assembled and working!

These choices have been taken from extensive research on this forum, from you, and the recommendations that are prevalent on here. I'd like to think this system may be a good composite of many of the great systems profiled on here.

I'd really like to hear what some of you guys think about these choices, and for some of your stories that may relate to the products or choices.

Here are the choices:

cpu:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
289.00

cooler:
COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible CPU Coolerhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057
$39.95

motherboard and memory:
Combo deal:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
$334.00

video card:
SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...E%20100252HDMI
$34.99


optional:

OS drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$59.99

psu:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006$89.99

$139.00
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116758
$139.00



Some variables... to save $$$...

- go with my XP Home OS rather than W7

- go with my current Enermax 420W (total power) c. 2004 psu

- go with my current c. 2004 Seagate hard drives (have been working great w. my current PT 6.4 system

So, whaddaya think? Any better deals out there? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

[Dot]

If you planning to have more than 4Gigz of ram go with Win7 64bit OS.
420W PSU might not be good enough if you planning to have multiple hard drives or (lets say in the future 2 graphic cards for 3 screens)
are your current HDs are 7200rpm?

[Mr. Kelly]

Originally Posted by Dot

If you planning to have more than 4Gigz of ram go with Win7 64bit OS.
420W PSU might not be good enough if you planning to have multiple hard drives or (lets say in the future 2 graphic cards for 3 screens)
are your current HDs are 7200rpm?

Thank you Dot for your input!

Interestingly, my current hard drives only use a few watts each. I have two older ones, which are Seagate 7200s that are only 8mb cache each! They've worked marvelously for my old computer for a better part of 6 years. I do know it would be beneficial to change them out... but the budget thing, you know... Go ahead, twist my arm that I should switch those out!

My monitor needs are simple, so I'm hoping a basic video card should do it. I'm thinking it shouldn't draw much from the PSU.

What do you think of the other choices? Should I hit the "make payment" button to Newegg and just "Do It"?

[BrendanClace]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kelly

Thank you Dot for your input!

Interestingly, my current hard drives only use a few watts each. I have two older ones, which are Seagate 7200s that are only 8mb cache each! They've worked marvelously for my old computer for a better part of 6 years. I do know it would be beneficial to change them out... but the budget thing, you know... Go ahead, twist my arm that I should switch those out!

My monitor needs are simple, so I'm hoping a basic video card should do it. I'm thinking it shouldn't draw much from the PSU.

What do you think of the other choices? Should I hit the "make payment" button to Newegg and just "Do It"?

Agree with Dot. Everything else looks great!

But yes, 6 GB of RAM is unfortunately useless in a 32-bit environment. It will recognize approx 3.25GB in the OS itself. This is unfortunate, but the only way to get the best out of it, is to hit up x64.

[Mr. Kelly]

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure yet how RAM and PT and OSs all play together...

If the OS can access around 3-4 GB of RAM, is PT then able to access the other space, or is it also limited by the OS to the same 3-4GB? If you have a multi-core cpu, will it divert different calculations to different RAMs?

I know this has been covered on here, just not sure how to search the forums for it...

So, is there really NO advantage to having more RAM than 4GB if you're running XP?

[BrendanClace]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kelly

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure yet how RAM and PT and OSs all play together...

If the OS can access around 3-4 GB of RAM, is PT then able to access the other space, or is it also limited by the OS to the same 3-4GB? If you have a multi-core cpu, will it divert different calculations to different RAMs?

I know this has been covered on here, just not sure how to search the forums for it...

So, is there really NO advantage to having more RAM than 4GB if you're running XP?

Essentially the OS is limited to handling a maximum of 4GB of RAM in a 32-bit environment. Essentially, all the 32-bit programs are limited to this as well.

AKA:

There is no advantage to having more than 4GB of RAM when running a 32-bit OS because it can't use any more than that.

64-bit OS:

Essentially, a 64-bit operating system can handle crazy amounts of RAM. unfortunately, the only limit at this point though, is Pro Tools itself, which is a 32-bit program. If you have MORE than 4GB of RAM in a 64-bit OS, PT can use 4GB of it but no more. The OS will allocate the rest elsewhere. This means that for PT to use all 4GB of RAM for itself, you need somewhere between 6-8GB of RAM total in your system. This will only work like this in a 64-bit OS.

[Mr. Kelly]

Originally Posted by BrendanClace

Essentially the OS is limited to handling a maximum of 4GB of RAM in a 32-bit environment. Essentially, all the 32-bit programs are limited to this as well.

AKA:

There is no advantage to having more than 4GB of RAM when running a 32-bit OS because it can't use any more than that.

64-bit OS:

Essentially, a 64-bit operating system can handle crazy amounts of RAM. unfortunately, the only limit at this point though, is Pro Tools itself, which is a 32-bit program. If you have MORE than 4GB of RAM in a 64-bit OS, PT can use 4GB of it but no more. The OS will allocate the rest elsewhere. This means that for PT to use all 4GB of RAM for itself, you need somewhere between 6-8GB of RAM total in your system. This will only work like this in a 64-bit OS.

Thank you a ton ... You da MAN!

Windows 64bit would only use RAM when needed, so unless you were maxing out your apps., and really pushing Windows, it wouldn't likely max out your RAM if you only had 6GB, no?

[critza]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kelly

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure yet how RAM and PT and OSs all play together...

If the OS can access around 3-4 GB of RAM, is PT then able to access the other space, or is it also limited by the OS to the same 3-4GB? If you have a multi-core cpu, will it divert different calculations to different RAMs?

I know this has been covered on here, just not sure how to search the forums for it...

So, is there really NO advantage to having more RAM than 4GB if you're running XP?

Not really, you can do pretty fine with the 3.25-3.5GB that XP recognizes and you only get about 0.5GB for PT with W7 64 (if i got it right), the only advantage i see is if u need a Videocard with more memory.
PT is still a 32 bit application even if u use a 64 bit OS.
I know alot of ppl use W7 here but i would still recommend Xp 32bit, because it might save you some hassle with a new OS and PT is a better friend of XP at the moment IMHO.
About your drives, if they are really old, 3-5 years, you should consider buying 1 or 2 new ones, because 3-5 years can be a HDD lifetime =)
You dont wanna get any surprises with your HDD going to computer heaven with all your sessions.
About the extra ram, you could use the leftovers as a RAM-drive, but IMO it´s not worth it.
So my suggestions are basically:

1 or 2 new drives

a bigger PSU than 420W, go with corsair or some other really good manufacturer.

And win XP 32

Other than that, your system is going to be a killer =)

[albee1952]

I would go with the 6 gig of RAM since that motherboard runs triple channel mode(you want this). It makes no sense to cheap out and get 3x1gig, so I like what you got(although there are likely less expensive choices). As for drives, any drive you have used since 6.4 should be retired to backup/archive IMHO. Your system drive(you picked a 750gb drive) does not need to be that large(320-500 is plenty). I would buy a pair of 500gb drives(1 for system and 1 for samples and backup). Then use a 750 or maybe a pair for recording and backup(backup your sessions that have not been finished yet so you have anything important in at least 2 places). Put your old recording drives in some external cases(USB is okay here) and copy your "works in progress" so they are stored off-line(connect the drive, copy to it and then shut it down). This way any bizarre PSU failure or power spike doesn't kill every drive you own(yes, it has happened). I run 5 internal drives on my setup and that motherboard will take more than that(I run my optical drives externally). Save drive images of your system drive as you build this(an image with just the OS and all tweaks,l another after you install Pro Tools and a 3rd after all software is installed and working well...no point in making an image of something that is messed up).

[shea]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kelly

Thanks for the reply.

Not sure yet how RAM and PT and OSs all play together...

If the OS can access around 3-4 GB of RAM, is PT then able to access the other space, or is it also limited by the OS to the same 3-4GB? If you have a multi-core cpu, will it divert different calculations to different RAMs?

I know this has been covered on here, just not sure how to search the forums for it...

So, is there really NO advantage to having more RAM than 4GB if you're running XP?

Correct. use win7 64 bit its great

shea