What are recomended companies to buy computer parts, hardware, etc.

[BigALW1414]

I'm looking to get a digi001 sytem and I don't have a computer yet. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with daw companies such as dawbox.com, wave digital, etc. My budget is around $1500 right now, but I would plan on upgrading over the next few years. What do I need to start out and what can I do without until I get more money? I'm just starting out recording and know very little about techniques and such. I already have a cd-burner, monitor, mouse, keyboard, and a maxtor 30GB 7200 RPM ATA100 drive. I wuold be recording about 8-12 tracks at a time btw. Also, is scsi really necessary to begin with? What about firewire? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[yavuzj]

I hope this is not an AD again. You should check another forum for hardware. I am getting sick of this. I am just not going to read or post here for a while.

[BigALW1414]

I'm sorry. This is my first post. What's an AD (advertisement or just an acronim)? What would be the correct forum to post this in? sorry for the trouble.

[yavuzj]

Ad is advertisement. Yes. There are some people who are DAW computer builders and they come in here under different names and advertise. I thought you were one of them.

So here are 2 good places to get prices.

www.pricewatch.com
www.pricegrabber.com

Yavuz

[BigALW1414]

thanks for the help and sorry for the confusion.

[Gilbus]

Al -

Nerves are a little raw here lately from an over-abundance of DAW builders posting ads or posing answers as links to URLs for specific products.

There are several DAW builders who specialize in the 001:

AudioComputing.com
DAWBOX.com
Soundchaser.com
WaveDigital.com

Also, Sweetwater sells 001 systems Nationwide. Dreamware sells 001 systems in Canada.

-gil

[8mmOverdose]

I like these guys.
http://store.yahoo.com/componentauthority/

They should have everything but the hard drives and cdr.

Although some of their component prices are sometimes a little higher than pricewatch, you can save a ton in shipping by getting everything from one place. most places charge for shipping as such- 1 hard drive= $10 shipping. 2 hard drives = $20 shipping. 3 hard drive = $30, etc. These guys don't do that. I live on an island and have to pay second day air so this makes a HUGE difference to me.

You can build a great system for $1500 since you already have most of the components. the digi is around $800. i would get a mobo that runs pc2100 ram and an athlon xp1800+ or xp1900+. also make sure you have a good power supply with 2 fans. a second hard drive for audio is nice, too. off the top of my head that should set you back about another +/- $500.

scsi is not needed. the ata 100 7200rpm hard drives are great. from a few posts that i have read, it looks like firewire will increase track counts, but you will easilly get 24 tracks with the above listed parts.

[JMS40]

Just a note to those who may not be familiar with pricewatch. Yes, it's a great reference and resource... they basically list component prices from many distributors by their posted prices and link you to their sites. It's the sellers themselves to be wary of... especially regarding shipping costs. Unfortunately, many will make you go through the WHOLE shopping cart process before they give you a shipping cost. It is not unusual to find a store that lists a floppy drive for $9.95 with a S&H fee of $15 to $20. While you may find a drive at another site listed for $12 with an $8 S&H. Just always be aware of the shipping bottom line! As a general rule, I leave a site that won't list shipping early on in the cart process... preferably before filling in address and credit card forms. Before I leave the site, I drop them a note telling them why someone else got my business.
Most likely farting in the wind, but it keeps my blood pressure in check.

[BigALW1414]

Hey,

Thanks for the advice. I've noticed that the main selling point for the DAW companies is that they configure the hardware and settings and stuff like that. After reading the PT Performance thread, it seems like I could do that on my own. When you guys talk about IRQ's and PCI slots, is that what the DAW guys are doing? If so, it seems like I could save some money doing it myself.

[rdpete]

If you don't want to mess around configuring and tweaking, and want to start recording MUSIC right away, go with a turn-key system.... like something from DAWBOX, www,dawbox.com, or any of the other companies.