cheap desktop system?

[mmmonaco]

hello all,

I am planning to buy an "off the shelf" dedicated protools system with 1GB ram, 2GHz+ chipset, 60-80GB HD with firewire support and spend between $500-$700. No frills, as I will only use this system for ProTools LE, version 6.1.1

My questions

1) Which system should I buy (Dimension B110, Precision Series, etc) to best marry functional (not professional) performance with a budget? $700max budget. I am a hobbyist.

2) Does firewire connectivity really make a big difference? if so, how?

3) Does an external harddrive (i.e., not the system drive) significantly improve performance (# of tracks, plugins, etc)

4) Does it make any difference if i use ProTools 6.1.1 LE vs. 7.0?

Please reply via email if possible, but I will check the forum as well.

Many thanks!

Matt Monaco
mmmonaco@hotmail.com

[ejwells]

Matt-

You really need to read the compatability page before going out and buying a dedicated Pro Tools computer. There are several desktops listed there for off the shelf compatability.

Firewire connectivity makes ALL the difference if you're going to be using a Digi 002, or a Digi 002R. You'll need to add a SUPPORTED firewire card to most off the shelf systems.
The ADS 64 Pyro is available at most Circuit City stores for 39.00, and at online dealers like New Egg and Zip Zoom Fly for 10 bucks less.

You'll want 7200rpm Hard Drives. Nothing slower will do.
You'll want a seperate (preferably INTERNAL) Drive to record to.
You never want to record to the same drive your operating system is on.
If not a second internal drive, then a second firewire drive.

7.0 has more features, and takes advantage of Hyperthreading and Dual Core Processors, but you certainly can use earlier versions