How to choose a good computer

[THStudios]

Hi,
I'm hoping to buy a new computer sometime in the next six months. Right now, I'm running Pro Tools 10 and I want to get a machine, that can handle just about anything I can throw at it. The first question that came up is the age old question of - Mac or PC. I looked at the 27" iMac with the highest specs I could get on it, and while it was a nice machine, there are PC's out there with just as high or significantly higher specs for around the same price. One of the PC alternates was the Creation Station 450 from Sweetwater. Another option was this, or another one of the machines from http://www.studiocat.com/3/index.php/Ultra_Film_Scoring
These computers were highly recommended and his resume` is impressive, to say the least.
At the same time I have many people telling me that I can cut those prices in half by building my own. I really do not feel at all comfortable with a computer that I built, even if I took it somewhere like Micro Center, and did it there. Can you guys help me? Where do you get your machines? Does anyone know where the the studios like Skywalker get their's?
It seems that all of the computers I've ever seen in professional studios were all Mac's. I assume that there's a good reason for this, but when I compare the specs the iMac just doesn't seem to hold a candle to some of the other PC's out there.

Thanks,
Joseph

P.S. I do love the Windows OS!

[albee1952]

What are you using right now? DO you REALLY need a new PC? Having said that, I have to agree that building your own is the best "bang for the buck" you can get. Since the i7 socket 1366 is considered "old", you can build a honkin' setup on a budget with an i7 950(or higher) and most any X58 motherboard. Now if you want "bleeding edge", then a new X79 mobo with one of the new SandyBridge E processors should be killer, BUT(big BUT) its really new and fairly untested in the PRo Tools circle. The good news is that some folks are testing the waters right now, so you may be able to let them pave the way. That route is not cheap, but it should be really hot(if it all works). P67 and Z68 motherboards seem to be hit or miss(my new sandyBridge i5 works, but no where near as good as my i7 950). newegg.com even has videos to show you how to build your own, and youtube is another great source of guidance. The DUC also has links to optimizations and tweaks Buying from a DAW system builder is a good way to go if you just don't want to "roll your own". That Creation Station 450 looks to be a monster, but you could save a grand by building your own

[promixr]

IMS supplies and highly recommends RAIN Computers for Pro Tools. RAIN tests Pro Tools hardware and software on all of their configurations and we have had very good results with our customers getting very good performance and excellent support for their Pro Tools PC's- at a very good price.

For more information on RAIN please visit:

http://raincomputers.com/products/solstice-a3/

And: http://imsproav.com/main/All-Authori...Computers.html

RAIN Computers specifications change pretty regularly, and they offer custom configurations. Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions or want assistance with this.

[THStudios]

Right now, I'm using an HP Pavilion p6110y... That's a joke, right - I know! Needless to say, Pro Tools 10 doesn't perform so well on the machine that I do have, but... when I get a new machine I'm not going to do the whole "over-the-course-of-ten-years-buy-fifteen-computers-until-I-finally-get-the-one-I-wanted-all-along". I want a machine that's pretty much "top of the line", the first time around - one that can handle ANY needs I may have in the next 2-3 years. What about iMac or the Mac Pro? Why is it that all the professionals seem to be using Mac systems... Seeing as the specs for those don't seem to be all that impressive, is there something that I'm missing? I have a few more questions, but I gotta run for now... Thanks!

Joseph

[albee1952]

Well, you said you loved PC so I skipped Macs, but the newer Mac Pro's with 6 or more cores are excellent choices(but big bucks). An iMac i7 is not a bad choice, but the lack of internal drive bays can be a small PITA. Now I have seen youtube videos on swapping the optical drive(and OWC offers the mod as well) for a second internal drive(usually, they would use an SSD for system). That way, you could record to a second internal 7200 rpm drive, or use that for samples and record to a firewire drive, but the interface can compete for firewire bandwidth. Now UA just announced the Apollo interface which can have a thunderbolt option. The Creation Station 6 core would be a stout machine and looks to be about a grand less than a 6 core Mac Pro(probably the same cpu)

[M-ManLA]

If you're not a computer person, I would go with the Mac Pro. Building your own system requires knowledge and patience and knowing what to do, what the chipset does, etc. I have a custom built PC (I've been building and tinkering with Windows-based PCs since I was a little boy)that have served me well. It has problems every now and then, but usually good, and with the problems mostly resolved when rebooting and getting the memory cleared out. Its fun, but only if you have the knowledge on everything. Of coarse if you choose that route, we'll help you along the way.

[THStudios]

Originally Posted by M-ManLA

If you're not a computer person, I would go with the Mac Pro. Building your own system requires knowledge and patience and knowing what to do, what the chipset does, etc. I have a custom built PC (I've been building and tinkering with Windows-based PCs since I was a little boy)that have served me well. It has problems every now and then, but usually good, and with the problems mostly resolved when rebooting and getting the memory cleared out. Its fun, but only if you have the knowledge on everything. Of coarse if you choose that route, we'll help you along the way.

It seems like everyone I know that has tried to build a powerful computer on their own (even those that are quite knowledgeable about them) wind up being plagued with problems. I'm no computer genius, but it just seems like the hardware doesn't "mesh together" like it does on a professionally built system. Is this a fairly accurate statement on my part, or not at all?

I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about computers (certainly couldn't build my own), and while some may enjoy working the kinks out of a system, I absolutely despise computer problems. So if there will invariably be issues by building my own, then I would rather spend a little more and get a professionally built machine. If this is not necessarily the case, then I am very open to the possibility of building my own. I don't know if you all are familiar with Micro Center or not, but I would go through them if I built my own, so it's not that I'm worried about the know-how.

There is one other issue that's the foundation to all of this, and that is: What kind of specs do I actually NEED to smoothly run Pro Tools 10? As I said before, I don't want to have to worry about my systems ability anytime in the near future. No matter how quickly my business grows or "large-scale" a project becomes, I want to KNOW that my system can handle it without blinking. However, I don't want to pay an extra grand or two for power that isn't needed. I want a system that can easily handle the average everyday sessions, but with ample headroom for anything I may need to do... but I don't want a LOT of unnecessary headroom.

Right now, the extent of my work is; online promos, a little VO work, and various other videos for contests, etc. I have been offered a job on a large-scale independent film and I'm hoping to get on with the post crew. If this is the case, I will need a pretty generous system for it.

Sorry to bother you guys with my life-story, but I'm just trying to get some specific advice, for my specific needs. Thank you all so much for your time, I really appreciate it!

Joseph

[THStudios]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Well, you said you loved PC so I skipped Macs...

Yes, this is true. While I do love the Windows OS, I'm still willing to make the switch to Mac, if that's what it will take to meet my requirements for a system. I have several friends that are all-out Mac users/fans and would NEVER consider a PC. However, I've heard that the same qualities that cause Mac users to return again and again, can be achieved by a PC - it just takes the right parts and the right configurations. Is this true? Thanks again!!!

[M-ManLA]

Originally Posted by THStudios

It seems like everyone I know that has tried to build a powerful computer on their own (even those that are quite knowledgeable about them) wind up being plagued with problems. I'm no computer genius, but it just seems like the hardware doesn't "mesh together" like it does on a professionally built system. Is this a fairly accurate statement on my part, or not at all?

I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about computers (certainly couldn't build my own), and while some may enjoy working the kinks out of a system, I absolutely despise computer problems. So if there will invariably be issues by building my own, then I would rather spend a little more and get a professionally built machine. If this is not necessarily the case, then I am very open to the possibility of building my own. I don't know if you all are familiar with Micro Center or not, but I would go through them if I built my own, so it's not that I'm worried about the know-how.

There is one other issue that's the foundation to all of this, and that is: What kind of specs do I actually NEED to smoothly run Pro Tools 10? As I said before, I don't want to have to worry about my systems ability anytime in the near future. No matter how quickly my business grows or "large-scale" a project becomes, I want to KNOW that my system can handle it without blinking. However, I don't want to pay an extra grand or two for power that isn't needed. I want a system that can easily handle the average everyday sessions, but with ample headroom for anything I may need to do... but I don't want a LOT of unnecessary headroom.

Right now, the extent of my work is; online promos, a little VO work, and various other videos for contests, etc. I have been offered a job on a large-scale independent film and I'm hoping to get on with the post crew. If this is the case, I will need a pretty generous system for it.

Sorry to bother you guys with my life-story, but I'm just trying to get some specific advice, for my specific needs. Thank you all so much for your time, I really appreciate it!

Joseph

Originally Posted by THStudios

Yes, this is true. While I do love the Windows OS, I'm still willing to make the switch to Mac, if that's what it will take to meet my requirements for a system. I have several friends that are all-out Mac users/fans and would NEVER consider a PC. However, I've heard that the same qualities that cause Mac users to return again and again, can be achieved by a PC - it just takes the right parts and the right configurations. Is this true? Thanks again!!!

Macs are still "PC" (Personal Computer) no matter how much Apple will admit they aren't. They still run on the same silicon with some software on it. The "Big" thing besides the processor you have to worry about is the Chipset. This is probably the most overlooked thing in the system, which is probably the most important when running a smooth system. The chipset connects everything to your computer together from the motherboard. I've seen people get the old nvidia chipsets, just to be sitting in mud because it isn't made for DAWs. Pro Tools really doesn't like it. The best to go with is the Intel chips, on a motherboard from Asus, ASRock, EVGA, or Gigabyte. Try to go with the ones that are stable, like the X79. The Mac Pro uses the Intel 5520 chipset, which is the server grade chipset from the LGA1366 socket XEON processors. Those also have the benefit of using ECC Memory, which can be un-buffered, or registered.

Also, Don't cheap out on anything, including the Power Supply. The power supply is also often overlooked, but if your system isn't getting enough power, you'll be piling on errors left and right. You also have to watch how many rails they have on it, as if your sharing the GPU rail with the drives, and the GPU is eating most the power, you're going to run into problems.

And if I was you, I will build one with a little extra juice. 64-bit programs compute more math, which usually needs more processes from the CPU, more RAM, and drive space. I'm going to guess that PT11 will use a lot of code, so I would just prepare and get something with some horsepower in it, so you can be prepared. Not only that, you don't want to always run your chips to be 100%. Heat kills, and the more power you need, the more electricity is needed, the more heat ooozes off the components.

So if you are not a computer person, get a built-Windows-Based computer, or get a Mac. Check these out;

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC561LL/A
http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/Mid...7&BaseId=30037
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...ecision-t7500&