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  #1  
Old 05-14-2010, 01:36 AM
repeated_love repeated_love is offline
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Default Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

Hi I have been researching a PC build for a while now. Initially it was to be a HTPC build to play HD movies but decided to allow it to use Pro Tools. I have read a bit of information around the net and tried finding information which is recent and relevent to today. I will list my information I have come across soon and questions in between.

Firstly I will talk about the PC as requested buy your sticky. Unfortunatley I can't do a Sandra test yet as I haven't even started the PC build. I was initially going for a budget of arouns $1000 AUD for the PC before Pro Tools addition was considered. I was going to use AMD 240 x2 but have discovered that PT has issues with AMD. That I should use Intel or MAC. I have decided to go Intel.

The setup is going to be a Mbox Mini 2 and 1 condensor mic. I believe this is very basic. I do not intend to overclock the PC and so I believe i have been viewing threads for i7 build which beef up PCs. I am trying to keep the budget down and build something that runs at an ok speed. I was going to go with an i5 CPU then unless there is a cheaper Intel chip please let me know.

PT is going to be used as a hobby to make beats and freestyles so its not so hardcore or professional. Thats why things like overclocking or all out on components is not required. In regards to navigating PT I will have assistance from a friend who studied it during a media course.


So the build will be something like this:

CPU: Intel i5 - probably the cheapest/lowest speed one
OS: Windows 7
Digidesignor M-Audio hardware: I believe the answer here is M box Mini 2
PT version: I believe M Box Mini 2 comes with Pt LE
RAM: 2GB of DDR3 1333MHz with the possibility of 4GB
Other devices: 500GB or 1TB hard drives WD Black or Samsung F3 for Windows drive and WD Green for storage
Troubleshooting: 3 weeks of research, posting on other forums, chatting on mirc and now I have registered here as I got no where fast with the other options.

I will probablly have to change my case form a HTPC amp style to a normal PC tower now to allow for cooling etc.

Now I will list some possible issues and things I have come across. Some maybe outdated or incorrect so feel free to correct me on those points:

- you should use 2 x 500GB drives. One of these acts as a backup to prevent heartache of lost music if HDD fails.

- Go for 32MB cache on HDD. They have 64Mb cache so wouldn't I go for this now? Perhaps that statement about 32Mb was out dated. They didn't mention 7200RPM instead a lower RPM.

- So can I just get 2 x 1TB 64Mb cache hard drives and go for 7200RPM?

- PT has compatibility issues with Intel. I looked around on the PT site and couldn't find the specific link for approved motherboards and coponents. So I would really need help in this area.

- There is mention of firewire. Why is this needed. Is it to transfer data because if so I thought eSATA was faster.

- It appears I require a dedicated graphics card and not an onboard one. Also recommended to get Nvidia as there is compatibilities with ATi. So I would require assistance here to get a basic dedicated NVidia graphics card too. Also why do you need graphics card for audio based stuff?

- Doing hip hop I was recommended to get a drum machine as PT wouldn't be helpfull in this regard. I though I could just get drum machine samples/loops etc for PT.

- Can I make do with 2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM or do I really need 4GB or 6Gb even. I know 6GB may not be detected but again I am not really looking for a superfast setup for pros.


I think that's all for now so any help would be much appreciated.



Thanks
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  #2  
Old 05-14-2010, 05:16 AM
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TCM TCM is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

my2c:

get two 32MB cache drives, 1 for system, 1 for Audio, (and do NOT get a Green one for those!), a Green drive for backup is ok.

get 4 MB Ram

esternal HDs can be hooked uo via eSata or Firewire

read the stickies for recommendations

There are people who got AMD to work, but from what I understood, this depends greatly on the chipset. There may be some threads about that.

An Ati graphics card is possibly the better bet, I got some trouble with my Nvidia when I got my current setup.
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  #3  
Old 05-14-2010, 10:04 AM
repeated_love repeated_love is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

Quote:
Originally Posted by TCM View Post
my2c:

get two 32MB cache drives, 1 for system, 1 for Audio, (and do NOT get a Green one for those!), a Green drive for backup is ok.
Why 32MB cache and not 64MB? I thought higher spec would be better. Yeah will probably get 2 Seagate Barracuda 1TB. From what I see though people are saying 500GB and even 8MB cache.

Quote:
get 4 MB Ram
DDR2 or DDR3 RAM? Again I would assume DDR3, the more recent technology would be the go here.

Quote:
esternal HDs can be hooked uo via eSata or Firewire
I know and this is to transfer music around.

Quote:
read the stickies for recommendations
I read through the stickies, some more than once. IMO it is for real enthusiasts. As I mentioned this is for a hoby and not professional grade stuff. Looking for a budget build that is recent if possible.

From the stickies I see i7 builds or the older Intel Core 2/Dual Core r whatever they are called. Also components listed are expensive, that's in USD.

Quote:
There are people who got AMD to work, but from what I understood, this depends greatly on the chipset. There may be some threads about that.
Fair enough, but I think I would like to go with an i5 as an i7 is too expensive.

Quote:
An Ati graphics card is possibly the better bet, I got some trouble with my Nvidia when I got my current setup.
So even someone like you has trouble and issues with their setup. I will be having this PC put together by a technician but I doubt they will check it with PT. I don't think I can afford to get incompatibility issues and go swapping around parts. I did find a $600 build but AFAIK it was an older model build.

So on another revision we have the following:

CPU: Intel i5
HDD: 2 x 1TB Seagate Barracudas 32MB cache
MOBO: Any cheap compatible motherboards?
GPU: Any cheap compatible ATi
RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz <<<- is that fine for a budget build?
Hardware: M Box Mini 2
Pro Tools version: PTLE I assume this comes with M Box Mini 2

Any further suggestions or reference to other stickies/threads would be appreciated.

I tried navigating around the AVID site for Windows compatibility parts and grids. I couldn't find what I was after or couldn't understand what they had available. I thought it would say "you can use this motherboard and this CPu and this RAM" etc.
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  #4  
Old 05-14-2010, 11:01 AM
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

1. the Avid site has been always lagging behind with their "approved systems".
2. I also have an Mbox mini that I use on travel
3. If you get 64MB of cache on HDs thats fine, 32 is IMHO fine as well
4. of course DDR3 is better
5. for an i5 you need a socket mobo 1156; I am sorry, I don't have any personal experience so far, just got an i3 notebook recently and will test it with PT as soon as I have time
6. To make it clear, you NEED 2 separate HDs for PT to run smoothly
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  #5  
Old 05-14-2010, 12:27 PM
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

Right now you really need a dedicated machine with good specs and be willing to customize it for PT to run PT without problems.

There are some other DAW choices out there that run better on less expensive machines.
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  #6  
Old 05-14-2010, 12:41 PM
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

The blend of tight budget with Pro Tools can be a recipe for disater. Don't take shortcuts on a Pro Tools system.
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  #7  
Old 05-14-2010, 03:38 PM
TreeDaddy TreeDaddy is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

Quote:
Originally Posted by TOM@METRO View Post
The blend of tight budget with Pro Tools can be a recipe for disater. Don't take shortcuts on a Pro Tools system.
Agreed 100%. But as far as "budget" goes look at my signature...this system works perfect...at least for now and it cost just under $500. (it's no i5 tho of course!) I also have had nothing but good luck with the Seagate 'cudas..
The main thing I myself would advise is that when using PT be prepared for problems no matter what your system is. Mine always has a few annoying "quirks" here and there... there is no perfect machine...but if it seems impossible to get PT to work...you will have built a machine that is more than capable of getting what you need with another DAW.
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  #8  
Old 05-14-2010, 04:27 PM
sunburst79 sunburst79 is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

The only 64MB drives I have seen so far are the WD EARS drives. They use a new cluster size and may have issues with XP. I would avoid them and stick with a conventional 32MB drive which is also a great deal cheaper.

If your really budget constrained a Core 2 Quad system may be the most effective way of spending your money since compatibility is pretty much assured.

The only i5 issue I'm aware of is that some people have had problems with USB devices and DAE 1115 errors. A cheap PCI based USB card seems to solve this.

AMD...Results seem to very but more people are getting AMD systems going lately. With Hexacore processors priced at 199.00 and 299.00 respectively and benchmarks approaching the i7 920's with overclocked HT1090's these bear some closer inspection.

I just ordered a 2.8GHz HT1055 6 core for 199.00. I think it wil be interesting to compare the 2.8GHz E7400 @ 99.00 to the 99.00 Athlon x4 620 @ 2.8Ghz and then see how adding 2 more cores and some cache for another 100.00 scales up and compares to the i7 920. i7 930 are 199.00 here in Cleveland, Oh so I think its a valid comparison.

What I'm saying is you might want to wait a week or two
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  #9  
Old 05-14-2010, 07:04 PM
serio serio is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-544-_-Product
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  #10  
Old 05-14-2010, 09:27 PM
sunburst79 sunburst79 is offline
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Default Re: Trouble even getting started for an i5 build

Quote:
Originally Posted by serio View Post

Good find.

The 64MB drives I orginally saw were the 2TB EARS series. That tech trickled down much faster than I would have expected. Kinda wish I would have seen that before I completed my newegg order.
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