Best Desktops for Pro Tools LE

[bean438]

Silly question here but what blank DVD brand are you guys using with the Liteon burner?
The reason I ask is because I have always used Memorex CDR's for no reason other than brand loyalty.
Futuershop had a killer deal on some Sony CDR's, and I figured Sony was a good name, but none of the CRD's would allow me to burn.
Put in the good old memorex's and I was burning again.
I was just wondering if this Liteon is picky at all?
Who knows, maybe I just bought a bad batch of Sony's.

[Allen Hallada]

I finally did it...it should be here in next few days...I was able to get everything from New Egg except the Ext Hdd and Windows XP...Thank you Matt, Allen, bean, and so many others who have helped me learn enough to be comfortable buying this system.

CASE ANTEC|MID TOWER SONATA RET
MB DFI|NF3 LANPARTY UT nF3 250GB RT
VGA ATI|RADEON 9600SE 128M 8X RET
CPU AMD Mobile Athlon 64 3400+ (62W) ClawHammer 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor Model AMN3400BIX5AR - OEM
DDRAM OCZ Gold Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4001024ELDCGE-K
FD 1.44MB|SONY MPF920 Black
HD 80GB|WD 7200RPM 8MB WD800JB
KB LITE-ON|STANDARD 104-KEYS RETAIL
MNTR ACER|19"LCD 16ms AL1912b
MOUSE ROSEWILL RM800P PS/2 BLACK
DVD+/-RW LITEON SOHW-1693S BK RT
CPU FAN A/IZALMAN CNPS7000B-CU RT
EXT HDD WESTERN DIGITAL EIDE 200GB ( USB 2.0 & Firewire 1394 ) 7200rpm 8MB Cache

I'll let you know how it turns out...

Looks great Ras. Way to go!

Allen

[GregJ]

Hey Allen,

I bought the 3700+ and k8vse deluxe machine like you recommended. I'm having trouble with buffer problems during playback. I'm thinking it would be because I didn't install it with the standard pc option.

So I try to re-install windows CP Pro with the standard pc option but all it allows me to choose is...

Standard pc with c-step i486
or other

Doesn't let me choose anything else. If I choose standard pc with c-step i486, the computer freezes at the starting windows stage.

Should I delete my partition beforehand instead of doing it later in the windows installer?

Even then, it shouldn't really affect what I can choose as options tho'.

Known issue with Microsoft install....
Use your up arrow when you get to the install choices - you can only see 2 choices at a time during this point of your installation.

Anyway, use up arrow to get to Standard PC (or whatever else you choose)

That should get you set to go.

GregJ

[SuperPuss]

Hi guys,

After spending a decent amount of time researching some of the PC systems you've all built, I went out and spend some $$ on my new system. I was running PT on my Mac G4 400 but it was simply getting to the point where all the new versions of PT's and new plugins were just too sluggish.
With the advent of WinXP, I've developed a totally new opinion of PC based systems as reliable workhorses.

Anyway, I am delighted with the performance of my new system so I thought I'd share what I built on this thread. Here's the details:

Digi 001 PTle 6.4,
Windows XP Pro (NOT SP2),
AMD64 3200 CPU,
Antec Sonata case,
Asus A8V deluxe MB,
Asus 9550 dual head graphics,
Dual 17" CRT monitors (soon to be upgraded to 19" LCD),
WD 8MB SATA drives (2 x 120 gig, 1 x 200 gig),
1024MB Corsair 2.5 RAM (2 x 512MB),
Pioneer 105 (single layer) and 109 (dual layer) burners,
MS Optical trackball.

I have had a very complex session running with Reason 2.5, lots of midi tracks playing ARP 2600 V and Moog Modular V AND my hardware synths and quite a few plugins (mostly Waves) and this system still copes easily. Even bouncing this 44.1k session to a 48k file (for use on a video) and converting during bounce (tweakhead setting), with Waves Linear EQ and L2 running on the master fader, there was still no signs of struggle.
My first track written and recorded on this system (the session described above) has just been uploaded to my SuperPuss website and is called (for now), SuperPuss Theme.

Thanks for all the advice guys.. this thread was invaluable to me.

[jimbouy]

Hi Allen and all the board users.

I'm about to put together a desktop system for my son. Digi 002 rack is on order!

I've built many a Intel system but never AMD.

Have waded thru this sticky post and checked Allens system at the top.

I just want to check that the parts I propose using fit the bill.

So here's the list that I intend to order from scan here in the UK. I'd prefer to order from this one source, but they only stock corsair memory.... is this a problem?

The other question is have I picked the right CPU as the dscription makes no mention of speed and is vague regarding the L2 cache.

************************************************** ********************************************

1)Asus K8VSE Deluxe VIAK8T800, ATX, DDR400, Gbit Lan, USB 2.0, 1394, 6Ch Audio, SATA, Raid, WiFi Port

2)AMD Athlon 64 3400 32/64Bit CPU S754 Newcastle Retail inc Heat Sink Fan & 3 Years Warranty

3)512 Mb Corsair XMS, DDR, Reg-PC3200C2PT, Cas 2, Lifetime Warranty (AMD FX51 Compatible) x2

4)256MB Abit ATI Radeon 9600XT DDR Retail

5)80Gb Western Digital ATA-100 (7200rpm,8MB,8.9ms) - PATA x2


Finally, any UK members with ideas on cases? I had considered a rackmount, but they are bulky, yet offer good protection. It would be nice for the system to be "mobile" We are on a medium budget and I feel this has ruled out a laptop. I'm also in favour ofthe better upgrade path a desktop gives.


Thanks in advance.

Jim

[seth666]

The graphic card recommended for the allenstein is a card with a fan. As, i think, the graphic processing while in PT is'nt quite extensive (i'm right?), wouldn't it be better to take a graphic card a little less powerful but with no fan ?

[writeroxie]

Hi Allen and everyone else who has posted on the previous 183 pages! So glad to find this forum. I'm about to purchase the Digi 002 RACK for my home studio(in the making). According to my co-worker (a radio production whiz) the 002R is very finicky if you don't match the chipset correctly when picking your processor... so I called Dell to find out if any of their offered processors matched the 'approved' digidesign chipsets, and after checking the list i provided them (from the recently updated digi compatibility webpage) they said they couldn't help me with any of them! The Dell's have Pentium 4's, so I figured I'd give the AMD's a shot (which I believe Gateway offer). I was advised that I should build my own PC by my friend, but let me first say that I don't know much about "motherboards, chipsets" and what parts I'd need to build the perfect PC for my 002R.

I checked out the link posted on page 1 of this thread (http://www.unitedmicro.com) and I think this sounds right up my alley, but I'd really appreciate it if perhaps Allen, or anyone else who knows better than me, could tell me what exactly I should go with if I were to order a PC from this company? Basically... I need a system that can handle my protools LE/002R with ease, Windows XP/internet access & a cd/dvd burner. Other than that, nothing too fancy... as I'm trying to keep costs down

I just want to make sure I select the proper chipsets/motherboards/hardware etc! Thanks in advance!

- Jim (different than the guy 2 posts above

[seth666]

my local computer dealers only has AMD 64 processors with 512Kb of cache.

Does it make a difference in performance between the 1Mb of cache and the 512Kb ?

[Guitarded Dan]

I would like to thank the members of this board for the priceless
information shared about building the perfect computer to run PTLE.
I built my Allenstein last week and it runs flawlessy.

Here is my setup that yeilds a 32/25 track count on the DaveC Test.

Aspire X Dreamer B3KLW-BK 420W Case
DFI LanParty UT nf3 250 Gb Mainboard
AMD Athlon 64 3400+ CPU w/512kb L2
Spire Kestral King IV Fan/Heatsink
1 GB Corsair Value Select DDR 400 RAM (2x512 MB)
Saphire Radeon 9600 256MB AGP video card
Seagate Barracuda 80 GB Hard Drive (System)
Western Digital WD800JD SATA 80 GB Hard Drive (Audio)
Khyper Media 8X DVD Burner

Total cost w/shipping about $590
(without the barracuda HD or DVD Burner)

Thank you for all your help. Now if only newegg
could help me write some tunes

Daniel

[Allen Hallada]

Hi Allen and all the board users.

I'm about to put together a desktop system for my son. Digi 002 rack is on order!

I've built many a Intel system but never AMD.

Have waded thru this sticky post and checked Allens system at the top.

I just want to check that the parts I propose using fit the bill.

So here's the list that I intend to order from scan here in the UK. I'd prefer to order from this one source, but they only stock corsair memory.... is this a problem?

The other question is have I picked the right CPU as the dscription makes no mention of speed and is vague regarding the L2 cache.

************************************************** ********************************************

1)Asus K8VSE Deluxe VIAK8T800, ATX, DDR400, Gbit Lan, USB 2.0, 1394, 6Ch Audio, SATA, Raid, WiFi Port

2)AMD Athlon 64 3400 32/64Bit CPU S754 Newcastle Retail inc Heat Sink Fan & 3 Years Warranty

3)512 Mb Corsair XMS, DDR, Reg-PC3200C2PT, Cas 2, Lifetime Warranty (AMD FX51 Compatible) x2

4)256MB Abit ATI Radeon 9600XT DDR Retail

5)80Gb Western Digital ATA-100 (7200rpm,8MB,8.9ms) - PATA x2


Finally, any UK members with ideas on cases? I had considered a rackmount, but they are bulky, yet offer good protection. It would be nice for the system to be "mobile" We are on a medium budget and I feel this has ruled out a laptop. I'm also in favour ofthe better upgrade path a desktop gives.


Thanks in advance.

Jim

Hey Jim,
That one will work. Enjoy.

Allen