Best Desktops for Pro Tools LE

[ikon1234]

No, it doesn't HAVE to be overclocked. Neither does the high end system... but they can be overclocked. On the $600 system, you have to have a unlocked Barton 2500. Not all of them are. I THINK any of them can be modded to be unlocked, but that's a hassle. On the Athlon 64's, overclocking is fairly easy if you know what you're doing in the BIOS settings.

I did some tweaks last night, and I hit 32 + 34 and STILL wasn't into the red on the CPU meter. Of course, I had the thing running at 2.4 GHz (220 on the FSB). I had to make some RAM timing and voltange changes to get it to boot at that speed and to run with stability, but I think I'm the new DaveC champ.

However, I was worried about CPU temps, so I dropped back to 210 on the FSB. I was running at about 54 C on the CPU at 220 FSB. Still running at around 51-52 C, but that's under the 70 C max allowed for the Athlon 64 3400 according to AMD's website technical documentation, so I feel pretty safe. Because everything seemed stable, I suppose I could jump back to 220 FSB, but my Thermaltake Venus 7+ cooler is spinning at 5.4 K + RPM's at that speed, which makes a good deal of noise.

I may look for a better / more effective / quieter cooling solution - maybe heat pipe. Don't think I want to bother with a water pumper. Any suggestions folks?

What I meant was, are those results on that test from the overclocked CPU? or is the CPU running normal in those tests?

[Phil O'Keefe]

Those results (32 + 34) were with a heavily overclocked Athlon 64 3400. I don't think that's possible with a Barton 2500, even if you overclocked it to the hilt.

Best I was able to get the Athlon 64 3400 to run at was 32+20 or so with the stock BIOS settings.

I should explain that - the board and CPU were set up by the company I bought it from ( Monarch ) and they set the initial BIOS settings and loaded the latest BIOS, which is apparently BIOS 1005. All I had to do was drop it into my case, install RAM, etc. I imagine they would go with the absolute safest and most conservative settings possible, because they'd have no idea of what RAM I was going to run, etc.

I optimized the RAM timings, bumped the RAM voltage up to 2.8 (which according to the review at this site http://www.intelforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=872 the DDR500 RAM I have does very well at) upped the FSB to 220, and increased the CPU voltage from 1.5 up to 1.6V.

I could post my BIOS settings, but now that I've messed with it, I can see where that's not going to be a lot of use - the RAM you're using is going to determine what CL setting you need, etc. I'm running CL 3, 3-4-4-8 on the timings.

I'm not using Turbo mode, just Auto on that.

Cool and Quiet ABSOLUTELY MUST be turned off if you want to overclock with the K8V mobo Athlon 64 combo.

Shortly before I did all of this, I also installed the Promise controller IDE drivers and swapped my audio drive on to that, leaving my C drive on the primary IDE interface by itself. That didn't seem to make much of a difference in performance, but I like the idea of each being on its own controller and I'm going to leave it that way.

Since I have all sorts of room in my case, I may add a SATA drive or two down the line, but I honestly don't think I'll hassle with migrating the C drive to SATA.

Allen, thatnks for the link for that cooler - I'll check it out.

I saw on another post that you were in Pomona not that long ago. That's about 20 minutes from here. Next time you're in the area, we should definitely hook up for lunch!

[flautista]

[QUOTE]
Those results (32 + 34) were with a heavily overclocked Athlon 64 3400. I don't think that's possible with a Barton 2500, even if you overclocked it to the hilt.

Thanks for all the information I will keep in case my next system, Jascha Koneffke

[Hugoboss]

You should not take a STAPLE computer to run a Digidesign gig... This would be the worst senario for a Pro Tools recording system.

[Allen Hallada]

You should not take a STAPLE computer to run a Digidesign gig... This would be the worst senario for a Pro Tools recording system.

and your point is?

[Phil O'Keefe]

and your point is?

I didn't get it either Allen... I chalked it up to a language / translation thing. The post had kind of a "non-native English speaker" vibe to it. But maybe I'm wrong.

Anyway, FWIW, my system - even overclocked - is about as stable as you could ask for. Zero crashes since installation, with daily use for hours on end. I'm a happy camper. Thansk for steering me towards the Athlon 64 Allen. And next time you're down in Pomona, let's do lunch. For that matter, when you get a chance, give me a call. Numbers are on my website, and I'm always up late - so any time (other than mornings) is fine to call.

[MilesWonderland]

I'm posting this message here also to make sure you get it Allen!

thanks again


Ok.... the Allenstein machine worked flawlessly! The new project is finished.

recorded and mixed on an 001!

We're actually getting some airplay with it. Thanks fellow DUCers. Let me know what you think.

here's samples:

http://www.javiermendoza.com/media.php
The CD Matter of Time

Allen, email me your address and I'll send you the copy I promised.

[Allen Hallada]

I'm posting this message here also to make sure you get it Allen!

thanks again


Ok.... the Allenstein machine worked flawlessly! The new project is finished.

recorded and mixed on an 001!

We're actually getting some airplay with it. Thanks fellow DUCers. Let me know what you think.

here's samples:

http://www.javiermendoza.com/media.php
The CD Matter of Time

Allen, email me your address and I'll send you the copy I promised.

Great stuff bro. Now email me your email address so that I can email you my address.

Allen

[MilesWonderland]

Great stuff bro. Now email me your email address so that I can email you my address.

Allen

[email protected]

sorry!
Ha!

[Allen Hallada]

Thanks bro.
Good luck with it. I'd love to see the next big number one hit come from an Allenstein machine.

Hea hea,
Allen