Best Desktops for Pro Tools LE

[prickstein]

Looks good Rick. Get the 4400 processors if you can afford them for more power. Stick with the approved firewire cards. This is one big bonus to the A8N-SLI board with built in firewire. If you go with the SLI board you will need a PCI-x video card like the ATI X700 or better.



Allen

OK Allen, I'm going to go for the A8N-SLI for the convenience of the firewire port(ASUS A8N-SLI nForce 4 SLI, not premium, is that ok?) but I'm lost on the video card issue.
I don't see an "ATI x700" with the supplier i'm getting the parts from and I'm absolutely clueless on the the PC tech talk. (I've always been a plug and play mac guy) Are there any other comparable brands? The online store is www.umart.com.au if you've got time to make sense of the selection. They're located close to me and the cheapest I've found. I'd prefer to get it all from one place so I can get them to assemble it for me.
You've got me thinkin about getting a 4400 processor but I don't think I can afford it at this stage.
I think it should be a kickin' machine once I can work out the video card side of things and get it ordered.
Thanks again,
Rick

[Allen Hallada]

OK Allen, I'm going to go for the A8N-SLI for the convenience of the firewire port(ASUS A8N-SLI nForce 4 SLI, not premium, is that ok?) but I'm lost on the video card issue.
I don't see an "ATI x700" with the supplier i'm getting the parts from and I'm absolutely clueless on the the PC tech talk. (I've always been a plug and play mac guy) Are there any other comparable brands? The online store is www.umart.com.au if you've got time to make sense of the selection. They're located close to me and the cheapest I've found. I'd prefer to get it all from one place so I can get them to assemble it for me.
You've got me thinkin about getting a 4400 processor but I don't think I can afford it at this stage.
I think it should be a kickin' machine once I can work out the video card side of things and get it ordered.
Thanks again,
Rick

Check under Video Cards / PCI-X and you will find many Radeon X700, X800 and X1300 cards that are all based on the ATI chipset.

Allen

[prickstein]

Got it, thanks Allen.
Sorry for the noobie questions, you're a champ.
I'll report back once I get the machine up and running.
Rick

[caesarthegeezer]

After painful months searching for an answer....I' VE SOLVED THE MISTERY...


The high pitched noise of which I was complaining about, was caused by the fact that indeed I do have a ground loop occurring in my bedroom...

By taking the computer + Mbox 2 in a different building (and plugin it on a different mixer), the noise was gone...

Funny how I never got this problem with a 001 or an Mbox 1 (running off a Powerbook) with the same set up which I had for years...component's tolerance on the Mbox 2 maybe?

The mixer I have been using in my bedroom studio, is a Gemini 626i dj mixer, which has always been relatively noise free and reliable.

So at the moment I've got three solutions :

1) Move into a new building ...(not really)
2) Try other mixers, maybe one with better earthing or something...
3) Stick to my headphones...

Now I can finally start working....


Thanks to all of the kind people trying to help me out on this forum (including the ones leaving wacky suggestions)...

[Cavet Your Eruptor]

Hi All,

You guys are unbelievably knowledgable!

I am taking a step back to look at the big picture and was interested in opinions.

Assume that money is not a factor (for this discussion).

Here are the two routes I see in front of me right now:

1 - Continue to use my 001 with 6.4 and get a fast single core processor based system.
2 - Upgrade to a 002 (or 002r) and 7.1 and take advantage of the dual-core ability.

I guess the question that is nagging at me right now is which system would give better "real-world" performance for me. In other words, is running 6.4 through the 001 with its PCI card inherently more efficient (or stable) and therefore the dual-core is only getting 7.1/002/firewire back up to the same level?

And are people running 7.1 trouble-free yet?

[msog]

Hello and greetings,

I posted this in the main area and would have posted it here but there are so many posts that I'm not certain where to post it...so I decided to stick it right here. I hope you will forgivve me if I have stepped on anyone's toes as I don't intend to be rude. I just need help like most of us in this forum. I am thankful that there are some that have the knowledge and are willing to share it with those of us that are still learning. That is not always the case in this business.

I posted a request a few weeks ago for someone to help me build a machine that would take my 001 as far as I could take it. I decided way back whem, to keep my 001 instead of upgrading to the 002 because I felt that with all things equal, the 001 is really as good of a "recorder" as I need and that what really makes the "recorder" better is the size of your wallet applied to the "front end" of the recording process. I'm speaking of A/D converters and mic pres. So when I decide to step up, I plan to step up and out of the "LE" systems and on to the HD system. Until then I want to take my trusty 001 which I've had since the month it was released, (and it's still running like it was brand new,) and squeeze all the power I can get out of it.

A few days after I posted the request, I get an email from someone that knew someone that put such a machine together and he was kind enough to send me a part list and a few comments on how to set the bios and different things for set up. Below is the part list just as it was sent to me. I have purchased the entire list and am now trying to bring the beast to life but it has yet to take its first breath...

Lian Li Case – PC60 USB

Vantec Stealth 520 Watt PSU

Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard

AMD 64 3700 Socket 939 processor (San Diego Core/1024K L2 Cache)

Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu Heatsink & Fan

1 GB (2 x 512) OCZ DDR PC3500/400 Dual Channel EL Gold Gamer Extreme Edition

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 Mb DDR 8x AGP Dual Display Video Card
with VGA/DVI/TV Out

WD 36 GB 8MB Cache SATA 10,000 RPM System Drive - Raptor

WD 36 GB 8MB Cache SATA 10,000 RPM Audio Drive

WD 120 GB 8 MB cache 10,000 RPM storage drive

1.44 MB 3.5 floppy - Black

Sony DVD-R Dual Layer +/- R/CD-R - Black

Windows XP Pro

I put the pieces together but alas, I'm having trouble. I've built some machines in the past but it's been a couple of years so this is my first macnine that uses SATA drives and this one will use SATA as well as ATA. The board has 2 IDE and 2 SATA controllers. All of the machines that I put together were AMDs . So while I certainly wouldn't claim to know it all, I don't think I'm what you'd consider to be a novice. Never-the-less, I am stumped. I put the parts together and after plugging power to all of the fans, and all the devices, and by the way, the Vantec Stealth seems to be a bit "over kill". I'll agree it's nice to have an abundance of power outlets for devices, but it left me with way too much to have to tie up and put out of the way, When I hit the power button it blew a lot of air and powered some lights, (the case came from eBay and the guy added another fan or two and they have flashing lights but even with all of the fans and lights, I can't get the thing to display on the monitor...it won't boot! I have never used a video card that required power (I'm an audio man not a gamer and have always kept the video for my "host" based audio machines just adequate,) and this ATI Radeon 9800 Pro wants the power that supplys the card to supply a hard drive via a sort of "Y" cord that came with the card. Anyway, I am sort of at a loss here and I hope someone can shed some light on this situation.

I have all the parts completely installed. I have the two SATA drives set as follows: the 36gb for system on controller 1 and a 70 gb set for audio on controller #2. Then there is a 120 gb IDE 7200 rpm drive on controller 1 I plan to use for backup. That leaves the second IDE controller for the DVD/CD unit It all looks great, every fan turns, all switches work, lights work but nothing else...not even a blip on the monitor...it won't boot! I know I probably should take everything out and start with one drive and so on and so forth but I thought maybe one of you pro builders might have experience with the parts I listed and therefore could possibly save me some time...I would surely appreciate it. As I said, I have built a ton of AMD machines in the past but never anything of this calibre. I have also tried another video card in case the new one was bad. The card I tried came out of an HP machine that I use for things other than audio and it works fine but not in the AV8.

I hope you can help me here. I really hate sitting idle not knowing what to do

Thanks,

Jim
I'm an old man and have know many troubles...and most of them never happened. (Mark Twain)

[maniston]

Hi Allan

Does this configuration seem okay to you.
I really know very little about building a pc but it seems like a great way to go .
Aspire x qpacktower
Amd 64 3200 venice
corsair 1Gb pc3200 ddr 400
Asus A8V 939
club 3DAti 256 mb Radeon 300se
Akasa Paxpower
Seagate 80g 7200 rpm

I,ll want to use this either with mbox
or possibly 001/002
and uad cards
At the moment i,m running ptle 5.33
I,m really not using loads of processing and maximum of 10 tracks of audio.
I do want something that is very quiet
Thanks for any advice.
julian

[GuidoG]

Hello Everybody!

I was wondering if anybody uses a longer I/O (scsi-2) cable for their digi001. I was about to get one built of about 4 meters, when I came across this statement from digidesign's answer base:

"Is the cable included with the Digi 001 the longest length audio interface cable that I can use?

The peripheral cable that we include with the Digi 001 is already at its maximum length. Longer length cables are not available through us or any third party. An increased cable length will result in compromised system performance due to unreliable communication between the interface and the PCI card. "

Platform: n/a ID: 3615 Created: 04/27/2000

But, on the other side I know that Allen has had this link for getting a longer cable under his Allenstein Machine for a long time:

"Need A Longer Cable for Digi001?
The Digi001 I/O cable has a rare SCSI-2 connector known as a "micro-centronics 50" (sometimes called a "mini-centronics" or a "HPCN50"). Contact CS Electronics at (949) 475-9100, or www.cselex.com or [email protected]. Thanks to our friend English Jim for the great find. "

So I wanted to hear from people that actually are using a longer cable, and how long is the cable they are using.
The reason for all this is that I'd like to get my noise machine outside of my room!

Thanks a lot in advance.

Guido.

[stratoj]

OK I just ordered the Asus A8V. I thought I had read everything possible about parts to order, but just noticed the A8V also needs firewire. Does the A8V have no firewire at all or is it just not compatible?
THanks
Stratoj

P.S. I ordered the basic Allenstein Build, but with Sata Drives as reccomended by the guy who will do my build. Is this good, bad, doesn't matter, and why?

[mal777]

Hi Allen and everyone.
Just putting together a new computer and thought I'd run it past you all ...

AMD 4200+ Dual Core (Socket 939)
Asus A8N SLI Premium (nForce4)
Sapphire Radeon X800-GT 256mb PCI Express
2048 MB(PC3200) DDR Ram (Kingston/Kingmax)
WD 120GB IDE (System)
WD 300GB IDE (Audio)
Pioneer DVR-111
Antec True power 480watt
Antec Sonata 11 quiet black case

2 questions please
(1) I have read of possible instability using Sata drives with nForce4 chipsets. What is the general opinion here? Safer to go with IDE?
(2) With the above system, would an extra cooling fan be necessary?

Many thanks for this excellent forum

Mal (Gold Coast, Australia)