Best Desktops for Pro Tools LE

[GW]

Hi, Allen

what MB would you recommend for dual-processor, as XP is just around the corner and a second CPU can get 40% extra power?

[Allen Hallada]

For Dual Processor, the A7M266-D looks great. I think I saw it for around 220.00 www.pricewatch.com do a search for "A7M266-D Motherboard"
Allen

[Allen Hallada]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gruen517:
Hi, I was wondering what your recommendation on OS was for this system? Is Win XP a viable option yet for a DAW or should I just stick with 98 or 2000? Also, how much benefit per dollar would you say there is un getting a faster cpu?

Thanks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Stick with WinME until WinXP support arrives. Don't use Win98SE or Win2000.
Get the fastest XP processor you can afford. At least XP1800+.
Allen

[Gruen517]

Thanks for the reply, but ME? I have been told by so many people that ME is a terrible upgrade to 98 and not worth it.

In addition, another, and my final question.. What do you think about the giga-bye board you recommended about as compared to the VIA KT266A chipset as on the Asus A7V266E ?

[Allen Hallada]

First off, you cannot run Win2000 with Digi001, and for some reason WinME runs much better with the new AMD systems than Win98SE. Digi has confirmed this too as they see fewer problems with WinME on Digi001. This is all irrelevant since WinXP support is just around the corner.
The GA7DX has been a great board for many here. The only reason that I prefer the A7M266 is for the ease of rearranging the IRQ settings for tweaking. This becomes important when you start adding PC cards and controller cards. The A7V266E has been a great board for most. We just started to see some problems with hard drive issues in the last two weeks. Not sure if it is a batch related thing or what. I also don't like the way Asus A7V266E or Gigabyte GA7DXR set the defaults on the Promise onboard controller to share IRQ9 with the USB controller. I think that is a big mistake. Digi runs best on IRQ9 and should be have preference over the USB or Promise controller.
So far the KT266a chipsets have not outperformed the AMD761 chipsets like I expected as seen on www.tomshardware.com reviews of these two chipsets.

I highly recommend the A7M266 with a separate Promise ATA100 TX2 controller card. I like those AMD761 chipsets and it has been a very popular board on other DAW systems like Nuendo and Cakewalk systems as well. Just a great workhorse that is easy to setup and runs incredibly solid.
Allen [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Gruen517]

Hard drive problems on the Asus? I am planning on getting an IBM Deskstar would it be related to that HD?

[Allen Hallada]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gruen517:
Hard drive problems on the Asus? I am planning on getting an IBM Deskstar would it be related to that HD?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't think so, I think it is the controller drivers. Even DAW builders are seeing this issue now and are recommending that people with the A7V266E download the newest bios version and chipset drivers.

I also just discovered that the GA7DX does allow for manually assigning IRQ settings in BIOS. Yavuz confirmed this on another thread, so the users of this board need to figure out how to do this in order to take advantage of tweeking for best performance. This board just dropped down to 69.00 this week. What a bargain.
Allen [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[Allen Hallada]

Because of the drop in prices of motherboards, video card, and DDR ram this week, I upgraded the Power Supply to the highest end Enermax in the 350W class. This PSU allows for manual control of the fans for least amount of noise while recording. The Enermax case fan also allows for manual control of the fan. So when you are recording, you just turn them to low and when you are done you can turn them back up.

The Volcano 7 has been selling like crazy and has been out of stock at www.newegg.com lately. If you run into this problem go to www.directron.com for this heatsink/fan combo as they have a large stock at a good price too.
Allen [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Gruen517]

I read the review on tom's hardware and the via chipset looked to be much faster than the 760. I think I'm going to go against your wishes and get the a7v266e.. i know you hate me.. hehe. i just need to find it without the audio option installed. If I find it with the on board controller w/raid support i won't need the controller you listed above right? and also do people still recommend splitting up the HD's like you recommended or is the 80GB single drive ok to get?

Other than the board the rest of your suggestions are excellent and looks like i'll be building your model computer. if i order from newegg, do you need your name mention for anything? Sorry for all these questions, i'm just learning about all this stuff as I go along..

thanks again!

[Gruen517]

oh one more thing.. i plan on getting a firewire port as well.. any recommendations?