Suitable Dell Workstation

[greybeard]

Originally Posted by sw rec

Or opt for the inevitable and just go with PT8. It'll cost less anyway.

How stable is 8.0.3 with win7 64?

[John_Toolbox]

Not using it for pro tools, but I do have a studio XPS 435T(basically the same thing as the 9000).

The first thing you need to do is get all of the crappy trial software off of it. Really, it's easier to just wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS. McAfee can be a PITA to get rid of.

Mine came with Vista, so you shouldn't have a problem downgrading back to vista if you need to.

[Princeton]

Guys thanks for your input. I'd rather build a PC to spec but cannot afford one right now. So since I have a Dell card, I figured I"ll go this route.

I intend to upgrade to Protools 8.03 and Win 7. So the question is would the XPS 9000 do the job?

[Princeton]

Guys thanks for your input. I'd rather build a PC to spec but cannot afford one right now. So since I have a Dell card, I figured I"ll go this route.

I intend to upgrade to Protools 8.03 and Win 7. So the question is would the XPS 9000 do the job?

[mblanton66]

Not sure why all the Dell bashing--I've run Dell shops for the last 15 years at my day job. And for the last five, I've run PT on a Precision 670 workstation (dual cpu). Great setup, and their business line and tech support are hard to beat. HP, Compaq, and the others make fine computers too.

I'm currently running a home-built i7 setup. You'll like it. Pull the trigger. I believe Dell has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee.

[yarrick19]

Make sure you update this thread and tell us how it works if you get one! I'm due for an upgrade from my Dell Dimension 9100 (a digi supported system).

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by greybeard

Do you see anything bad in these specs?

If you do buy one count on adding an approved FW card. Don't bother with the optional sound card. As mentioned no RAID.

Bob Ohlssons advice is very sound also.

[Bob Olhsson]

Check this out:


The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
Page 1 of 2
Windows® . Life without WallsTM . Dell recommends Windows 7.

Precision T3500 Starting Price$1,899 Instant Savings$241
Subtotal $1,658

Dell Precision T3500: Dell Precision T3500, CMT, Standard Power Supply
Product Code Qty SKU
T3500 1 [224-4422] 1

Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional Bonus- Windows XP Professional downgrade
PW7PXD3 1 [421-1993][468-3559][468-4298] 11

Energy Efficiency Option: No Energy Star NOESTAR 1 [330-3201] 25

Processor: Quad Core Intel® Xeon® W3540 2.93GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s Turbo W3540 1 [317-0126] 2

chassis configuration: Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration MT 1 [311-7463] 15
Memory: 3GB, 1066MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, NECC (3 DIMMS) 3G3N663 1 [317-0100] 3

Hardware Support Services: 3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3 Year NBD On-Site Service Q3YOS 1
[992-9102][993-3200][993-9038] [993-9047] 29

Graphics: 256MB NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 295, 2MON, 2 DP w/ 1 DP to DVI Adapter NVS2951 1 [320-7899][330-4085] 6

Hard Drive Configuration: C1 All SATA drives, No RAID for 1 Hard Drive SATA1 1 [341-8562] 9
Hard Drive Controller: Integrated Intel chipset SATA 3.0Gb/s controller NSASCTL 1 [341-9289] 24

Boot Hard Drive: 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 8MB 250GS 1 [341-8664] 8
1/12/2010

CD-ROM, DVD and Read-Write Devices: 16X DVD-ROM with Cyberlink Power DVD™ DVD16 1 [313-7458][421-0536] 16

Monitor: No Monitor NMN 1 [320-3316] 5

Floppy Drive and Media Card Reader Options: No Floppy Drive and No Media Card Reader NFD 1 [341-5255] 10

Resource DVD: Resource DVD - contains Diagnostics and Drivers RDVD 1 [330-4025] 27

Quick Reference Guide: Quick Reference Guide, English REFE 1 [330-4020] 39
Shipping Packaging Options: Shipping Material for System SHIP 1 [330-3209] 40

Windows 7 Upgrade Program Info: Windows 7 Upgrade Web Site WIN7UP 1 [468-3168] 461
Speakers: No Speaker option NSPKR 1 [313-2663] 18

Keyboard: Dell QuietKey Keyboard QUSB 1 [330-3203] 4

Mouse: Dell USB 2 Button Optical Mouse USBO 1 [330-3945] 12

Documentation: Documentation, English, with 125V Power Cord DOCENG 1 [330-3156][330-3157] 21

[paolone]

Hi

I'm intrested in a dell workstation for an HD2 and a UAD 2 duo.
For me major problem in select a right workstation is the solts.
For HD2 and UAD it's necessary 3 pcie slots and another slot for PCI3 16x vga card.
Do you have some suggestions?

My best regards
Paolone

[ironcore]

I'm in the same boat Greybeard. For the past 5 years I've run PT LE 7.1 on a custom PC to handle my mixing after recording in PT 6.4 on a G4 Mac - both connected to a DIGI 002 (at separate times). The PC worked fine but was super loud. I want to get a new PC and upgrade to the latest PT LE
According to the AVID site, the newest PT LE (8.0.4) supports Win 7.

I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 which runs PT LE 7.1 connected to an Mbox no problem. I think Dell's are great. It's super quiet and can still handle a lot even though it's 7 years old!

I've read a bunch of forums and reviews by people with Macs who have had problems recently. I've had problems on Macs - even on a G5 Mac Pro. I can do more on a PC anyway so I think that's the way to go.

So my research has led me to believe I can get a Dell XPS 9100, upgrade to PT LE 8.0.4 with my DIGI 002 rack and be happy.

(btw - only the 8100 and up have firewire ports, and reviews on the 8100 say the power supply can't handle too much processing, so the 9100 seems like the only option).

Please - if you do buy the XPS 9100 let us know if it works. If you find out something that makes you decide against it, post that. I just want to find the right PC to run PT out of the box and I think Dells are good machines - especially around the $1000 mark.