Best Desktops for Pro Tools LE

[Craeon]

Hi all. After reading many posts and considering my budget I have decided to build my own system that I feel comfy with. Feel free to let me know of potential problems if you see any.

Here goes... Just about to build>

Antec LS100 case
Gigabyte Odin 550w PSU
ASUS P5Q Pro Mobo
Intel Q6600 2.4GHz CPU
Palit 8400GS vCard
Corsair 2GB 2048-8500 800 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM
Behringer Ultra Curve Pro 8024
Digi 002Rack

32-bit Windows SP SP3
REASON v3 (will upgrade to v4)
SampleTank 2 (may abandon this??? any thoughts)
Protools v6.7 (will upgrade to v8)
Garritan Personal Orchestra
Garritan Jazz Orchestra
Audacity (for recording loops, samples, small edits)


Yet to purchase

Seagate SATA II HDD 250GB (Programs)
Seagate SATA II HDD 500GB (Music files etc)
2x 19" Samsung LCD screens
powered monitors (any recommendations for starting out - ie best for cheapest price. Will upgrade later but for now could possibly correct - if shown how- with Behringer Ultra Curve Pro 8024)
LG??? DVD RW (I think I could save money by not purchasing Blue ray just yet - considering I mainly burn Audio CDs anyway)

[CrAkD]

Originally Posted by guitardom

i ran my i7 in my first session last night, tracking at all 64 with no probs. i am using an pcie firewire card. stock one from best buy, an siig i believe. might be worth looking into.

hey man your scaring me! haha I was under the impression you were using the on board gigabyte firewire.....have you tried it? I didnt order a card cause I thought the on board one would work....hmm

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by CrAkD

hey man your scaring me! haha I was under the impression you were using the on board gigabyte firewire.....have you tried it? I didnt order a card cause I thought the on board one would work....hmm

the onboard from what i understand has the correct chipset and should work, but i had this card from my last build and since i knew it worked i just put it in and shut off the onboard firewire. if i get time later maybe i will give it a try and see what i quickly find. but havent checked but if you are here in the states you gotta have a best buy nearby!

[CrAkD]

Very true haha I actually just bought a red led illuminated keyboard from there last night to match my red led case haha I guess if worse comes to worse I can fly there and grab one

[BreenMachine]

Hello, I am new to this forum and want to purchase a Digi 003 rack +factory. I am looking to buy a Dell PC to do my recording with. I've never really used a Mac and would rather use a comp that i'm comfortable with. If I buy a brand new Dell which goes well above the standard system requirements will I have a problem working with Pro Tools comfortably?

[DigerEdo]

I am new to this forum and I need some assistance. Here is my situation: I want a low cost PC to run PTLE 8 with a Mbox2 via USB. I am not looking for maximum track count. The max I see myself needing is 24 tracks. Most of the time I don't expect to need more than 12 tracks. I don't need the latest graetest, bigest badest box on the block. I just want to do some simple recording, without too much hassle during the process. Can I do the job with a pentium 4? I want just enough PC to get the job done effectively, without overkill.

Any sugestions for a system? I am okay with building my own or buying a pre-made system, whichever is most cost effective.

[ChuckLogan]

With these economic conditions, I was wondering what the most cost effective system would be at this time ?

Thanks,
Logan

[markblasco]

Originally Posted by DigerEdo

I am new to this forum and I need some assistance. Here is my situation: I want a low cost PC to run PTLE 8 with a Mbox2 via USB. I am not looking for maximum track count. The max I see myself needing is 24 tracks. Most of the time I don't expect to need more than 12 tracks. I don't need the latest graetest, bigest badest box on the block. I just want to do some simple recording, without too much hassle during the process. Can I do the job with a pentium 4? I want just enough PC to get the job done effectively, without overkill.

Any sugestions for a system? I am okay with building my own or buying a pre-made system, whichever is most cost effective.

I have been running an AMD XP2800 with a Digi001 for years, and have had no problems with that many tracks and lots of FX. The pentium 4 is from around the same era, I believe, so it should work for you to get the track count you want. If you want any powerful FX or virtual instruments, however, you are going to be a bit disappointed.

[pianosound]

If you are using Digi 001,,, a P4 works really well,,,, but if you move up to Le 7.4 or Le 8.0,,,, you will deffinately need more power!!!! I loved my 001 and P4, but it was time after many years to upgrade,,, and the difference is well worth it, once you get used to it!!! But a P4 will bog down 'A LOT' with the 003, and probably the 002's?? Get yourself a Duo with 2 internal drives (7200 RPM) and you'll be happy!!
Hope this helps ,,,,,, Mike

[stang2003]

Originally Posted by pianosound

If you are using Digi 001,,, a P4 works really well,,,, but if you move up to Le 7.4 or Le 8.0,,,, you will deffinately need more power!!!! I loved my 001 and P4, but it was time after many years to upgrade,,, and the difference is well worth it, once you get used to it!!! But a P4 will bog down 'A LOT' with the 003, and probably the 002's?? Get yourself a Duo with 2 internal drives (7200 RPM) and you'll be happy!!
Hope this helps ,,,,,, Mike

I'm using Maudio so the Digi probably gives better results on a given system, but I can tell you that the P4 will be gasping for air with 7.4 because I am going through the same thing.
It's not the track count but the effects and VSTi that are killing it.

I've gotten many fine years out of this box, but it's time to move onward and upward.
BTW I have seperate 7200RPM drives and 2G memory.
The bottleneck is the CPU on my system (P4ht 3.0ghz)

I'm in the process of upgrading as well and will be buying the parts in the next couple of weeks.