Need to upgrade my PC for Mbox3 Pro and PT 9

[hammerransom]

I'm upgrading my old Dell XPS Dimension 400/9150 to be compatible with PT9 and the Mbox 3 Pro...

I know I'm starting pretty much from scratch and need an additional internal hard drive, more RAM, and a PCI card with firewire ports...

Can someone tell me if that will get me going, or if I need other essentials to get rolling?

Here is my system info per the service tag info from the Dell site:

0 149DF INFORMATION..., PREPARATION MATERIAL..., DEVIATION..., PRECISION WORKSTATION..., INCREASE..., #2

1 TF811 Processor, 80551, Pentium D Smithfield For Desktops, 820 2.8, BO, Server

1 KD944 Mouse, Universal Serial Bus 2BTN, Wheel, Lead Free, Optical Primax Electronics Ltd

1 J4628 Keyboard, 104, Universal Serial Bus, United States, Entry, Liteon

1 DF965 Kit, Software, Overpack, Windows XP, MCE05U, Digital Video Disk Drive, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...

2 F6761 Dual In-Line Memory Module, 512533M, 64X64, 8, 240, 1RX8

1 YG768 Assembly, DVD+/-RW..., 16X, PHILIPS 05

1 UH852 Kit, Speaker, 120V, Black AS501PA, Ship In Box

1 FF190 Card, Multi-Media, TVT2 Full Hieght, Media Center 05

1 KF659 Kit, Remote Control, MCE05U, LeadFree, English

1 XG857 Card, Graphics, MRMGA9A, Lead Free, 2

1 YD586 Hard Drive, 160GB, S2, 7.2K, 8M Lead Free, Samsung

1 CD940 Kit, Software, Wordperfect, 12 PLUS-TRIAL

1 RG240 KIT..., Software, Mcafee, 7, COMPACT DISK DRIVE..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH...

1 CJ281 DISPLAY..., FLAT PANEL DISPLAY..., 19, E196FPB, MIDNIGHT GRAY..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION..., FLAT PANNEL IN BOX...

1 YD320 PLACEMAT..., GETTING STARTED..., XPS-400, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...

1 T9541 PLACEMAT..., TVT2DT, MARKETING CENTER EDITION 2005..., DIMENSION..., ENG/JPN

1 P6712 Guide, Users Guide, Windows XP MCE2, Dimension/Inspiron

1 X9535 TECHNICAL SHEET..., REMOVE..., COMPACT DISKETTE..., MEDIA REDUCTION INITIATIVE..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH...

0 01323 INFORMATION..., NO ITEM

1 CJ781 ASSEMBLY..., CHASSIS..., 9150/400, PWA INTEGRATED..., V2

1 X9694 Assembly, Heatsink, Performance Shroud, Tank

[mblanton66]

I've been running Dell shops for almost 17 years.

Go to ebay and find a <$15 Adaptec 4300 firewire card. They work well for me and my 003.

Get a WD Black (32 meg cache) drive from Newegg for your recording drive.

It looks like you have a pair of 512meg memory sticks. I'd just buy a matched pair of 1 Gig sticks for a total of 3gigs.

I wouldn't put any more money in this box. But you should be set.

[hammerransom]

Excellent! Thank you.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by mblanton66

I've been running Dell shops for almost 17 years.

Go to ebay and find a <$15 Adaptec 4300 firewire card. They work well for me and my 003.

Get a WD Black (32 meg cache) drive from Newegg for your recording drive.

It looks like you have a pair of 512meg memory sticks. I'd just buy a matched pair of 1 Gig sticks for a total of 3gigs.

I wouldn't put any more money in this box. But you should be set.

Problem with the Adaptec 4300 is, they changed chips at some point and you may get one that doesn't work(doesn't have the original TI chip on it). +1 for WD Caviar Black(as long as you have SATA ports on the motherboard). Personally, I would retire the machine(make it an internet and general use computer) and start over with a fresh build. Check the first page of the i7 thread.

[mblanton66]

Albee has a point on the firewire cards. I just double-checked. I am NOT using the 4300 cards--I have two of them that I bought years ago but never used...still unopened. I opened one, peeled back the sticker, and it was an Agere chipset. The model was 4300C. I have no idea if it will work or not.

The card I HAVE been using is actually a Dell part # 06D906. It is indeed a TI-based card. They're also on ebay, even cheaper:
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-1394A-3-Por...item35ae48cb04

So...Thanks to Albee.

I don't know what kind of sessions you run or what type of plugs you use, but unless you're running 20+ tracks with heavy cpu plugs (Eleven, reverbs, etc) you can probably get some more life out of this. The drive you can use on your next pc. New builds are always fun, though. i7's with triple channel memory scream.

Hope this helps!

[hammerransom]

I will be doing mostly acoustic guitar and vocals and farming out bass and drums etc...then mixing. The plugs I use are just what will come with pro tools for now... I also have the Melodyne plug in. Again, Im just starting to build up my gear and I dont have a lot of cash to throw around so I need to do as much as I can for as little as possible.