Amd music/gaming build, help needed please

[hurtstotalktoyou]

If I may venture away from the topic, I'd stay away from the SM57. It's basically just a fragile version of the SM58, and both are stage mics. Something like the PG81-XLR would be much better for home recording. It has a much better frequency response, and will take advantage of that nice little audio card you've picked out. If you need a mic to double for both stage and recording, I'd go with the SM58. If you just need something for recording, definitely get a condenser mic. Dynamics just can't cut it on a low budget.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou
If I may venture away from the topic, I'd stay away from the SM57. It's basically just a fragile version of the SM58, and both are stage mics. Something like the PG81-XLR would be much better for home recording. It has a much better frequency response, and will take advantage of that nice little audio card you've picked out. If you need a mic to double for both stage and recording, I'd go with the SM58. If you just need something for recording, definitely get a condenser mic. Dynamics just can't cut it on a low budget.

I'll definitely check into that. thanks

 

[teutonicknight]

I would suggest the hybrid Al-CU version of that Zalman, it's pretty much the same thing and weighs a lot less (less potential damge to the MOBO). See this review:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article209-page1.html


Also, this PSU is a lot quieter (& more efficent) than the one you choose:

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151022


And I would recomend this case to go with the PSU I mentioned:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129152

(it's very quiet and cheaper because it does not included a PSU)

 

[bball1523]

How good is the Antec Sonata II case w/antec smartpower 2.0 dual 12v 450 watt psu?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129155

There is also the Xclio 450 watt psu fro $52.50, and I've heard good reviews for it.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817189003

 

[shoRunner]

the xclio PSU will be pretty quiet <35 dBA according to reviews, and is a good buy. but i'd just stick with the 380watt that comes with the case

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
the xclio PSU will be pretty quiet <35 dBA according to reviews, and is a good buy. but i'd just stick with the 380watt that comes with the case

you mean the 450 watt that comes with the case? Or are you talking about the Sonata 1?

 

[shoRunner]

i was speaking of the 380, or the 450. either one should work fine with your system. the 380 wouldn't give you as much upgrade or overclock room as the 450 though.

 

[Quiksilver]

I had an old Pc Upgrade magazine laying around where they built a water cooled machine and soudns recording studio ill post some of the things this used in the sounds recording studio with a few adjustments to meet your budget limited one.

CPU:Amd Athlon 3200+ Venice

Motherboard: Abit AN8 nForxe4

Powersupply: Pc Power And Cooling Silencer 470 ATX

Case: Thermaltake Xaser III

Case Fans: Cooler Master SAF-S84-E1 ( You need 4 Of tthese)

Heatsink:Zalman CNPS7700-CU

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blast Audigy ZS2 Platnium

Optical Drives: LG GCC-4521BK

Memory: Kingston ValueRAM KVR400X64C3AK2/1G

Hard drive: Samsung SP1213C

Video Card: Evga nVidia 6800GT

Thermal Grease/Compound: Artic Silver 5

Case Silencers: Paxmate Sound Dampener
80mm Fan Dampener

To find Cheaper Prices On these Items Try Using Pricewatch.com or Pricegrabber.com Also you only need one dvd burner because dvd burners also read/write cds too

...Wtf went wrong with my links?
Damn that https button

 

[peter79]

concerning the sonata => Its power supply is sufficient for 1 GF6 and a venice
Thermaltake => aren't they extremely discusting ?


But the real reason for me posting here : I personnaly have some TCCD ram, and must say that in spite of the fact that people are saying often lately that aggresive timings and expensive ram won't help you alot, doing some benchmarks (combined with how it feels in reality) I can give you the following example (its a 3500+winnie ) :

11*230*ram set at extremely aggressive is noticeably faster then 250*10*ram set at auto.

Anyway CL2.5 ram is ok, but why get the kingston CL3 ? you can get very cheap CL2.5 ram, would look better to me ...

 

[w00t]

why get a new psu the case you got already has a good one.
get black drives makes the system look alot better.
get a diff sound card for gaming creative if ur not looking into chaintech sound card if ur hardcore gamer get creative though.

 

[bball1523]

not that bad of an upgrade, but the soundblaster card is something I'm avoiding, since I've heard from the audio recording community that's it not worth it. I have an Echo Mia Midi ($130) for that.

I'm also wondering why they suggested only 1 harddrive. Usually audio computers use a separate audio hd.

I have upgraded my wishlist in accordance with all the suggestions I've recieved and research I've done:

Case: Antec SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail $120

Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $84

Videocard: eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $345

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail $190

RAM: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail $79.99

HD 1: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3120827AS 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $83

HD 2: SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP0812C 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $60

DVD-ROM (to burn/copy cd to cd): ASUS Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616P3BLK - Retail $26.50

DVD-RW: NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM $41.99

OS: Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM $91.95

Soundcard: Echo MIA MIDI Digital Audio and MIDI Card $130

Total: $1252.43 + 37.78 shipping = $1290.21

- This is just a rough estimate of what parts I am getting and WHERE I am getting them from. Most likely the price will revolve around $1300, but my MAX budget is $1500. I'd like spend as less as possible with what I want.

 

[w00t]

still gonna haveto say stuff about that sound card why get a asus dvdrom drive u can burn like that its just as slow its not like you put dvd in you have to decode it and put it on hd than put back onto cd there is no point of even trying to burn dvd to dvd. you would save 26 dollars if u stopped being lazy.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: w00t
still gonna haveto say stuff about that sound card why get a asus dvdrom drive u can burn like that its just as slow its not like you put dvd in you have to decode it and put it on hd than put back onto cd there is no point of even trying to burn dvd to dvd. you would save 26 dollars if u stopped being lazy.

That echo sound card is for music recording, and being a musician myself and hearing from other musicians, it's a trusted card for the money. I'm not a hardcore gamer so I don't care about 50.1 sound, or whatever sound.

The asus drive is there so I can put in a music cd, and copy it right off the bat. I don't want to rip it to a compressed file than burn. Copy to Copy is how it works for me.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: bball1523

Originally posted by: w00t
still gonna haveto say stuff about that sound card why get a asus dvdrom drive u can burn like that its just as slow its not like you put dvd in you have to decode it and put it on hd than put back onto cd there is no point of even trying to burn dvd to dvd. you would save 26 dollars if u stopped being lazy.

That echo sound card is for music recording, and being a musician myself and hearing from other musicians, it's a trusted card for the money. I'm not a hardcore gamer so I don't care about 50.1 sound, or whatever sound.

The asus drive is there so I can put in a music cd, and copy it right off the bat. I don't want to rip it to a compressed file than burn. Copy to Copy is how it works for me.

You and copy using jsut 1 driv tho, put the cd in goto software click copy> it gets stored as a temporary file while it copies the disk> put in blank disk records to that> and Violla its done and you wont have to create an img and no space is wasted.



Btw you forgot to add a cooling solution to your update and did you see my previous post?

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: QuiksilverX1

Originally posted by: bball1523

Originally posted by: w00t
still gonna haveto say stuff about that sound card why get a asus dvdrom drive u can burn like that its just as slow its not like you put dvd in you have to decode it and put it on hd than put back onto cd there is no point of even trying to burn dvd to dvd. you would save 26 dollars if u stopped being lazy.

That echo sound card is for music recording, and being a musician myself and hearing from other musicians, it's a trusted card for the money. I'm not a hardcore gamer so I don't care about 50.1 sound, or whatever sound.

The asus drive is there so I can put in a music cd, and copy it right off the bat. I don't want to rip it to a compressed file than burn. Copy to Copy is how it works for me.

You and copy using jsut 1 driv tho, put the cd in goto software click copy> it gets stored as a temporary file while it copies the disk> put in blank disk records to that> and Violla its done and you wont have to create an img and no space is wasted.



Btw you forgot to add a cooling solution to your update and did you see my previous post?

I forgot about the cooling. I don't know how many case fans, what type, how much they cost.

 

[AATRuler]

Ahh well.. Some 120mm fan will b about 10 bucks, maybe 15 i dunno what the prices are over there.. Might look around on forums for the most quiet one ey.. Coolermaster, Papst or something like that.. Gotta check if theres commin some case fans with ya case..

Edit: From a dutch sellers site i got this information:

Aantal te plaatsen casefans: 1 x 120 mm, 1 x 92 mm, 1 x 80 mm
Aantal casefans standaard meegeleverd: 1 x 120 mm

This means u need to get 1 x 120 mm, 1 x 92 mm, 1 x 80 mm which arent included with the case. One 120mm fan is included. I dont think you will need that much fans.. just buy an extra 120mm and it will b fine. make sure that its quiet. And maybe the standart case fan in the case is noisy get another one to replace that one 2.

 

[Nutdotnet]

Stick with the Delta 44. For your needs this is by far the best bang for the buck soundcard out there.

Also, you are certainly going to need to think about NOISE man...NOISE. I was able to build a PC with a number of fans that was dead quiet. Spend a little extra $$$ (shouldn't be much more) and buy high quality, QUIET fans. Trust me, when your mic (especially if you buy a condensor) picks up more computer noise then your own voice you are going to wish you had quieter fans.

Also, about mics...if you buy the Delta 44 you're going to need a preamp. A mic is not going to just plug-in to the Delta 44 breakout box. Look into get an M-Audio DMP3. I think they're $150-$200 and are damn good for the $$$. For mics, my god, there are a number of high-quality sub $200 mics out there. If you're interested, I have a Rode NT-1 in great shape that I could give you a great price on. Heck, I also may have a Delta 44 to sell (if my current buyer hasn't backed out). LMK if you're interested in either one.

What type of music are you going to be recording? I can certainly help you get setup cheaply and with good sound.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
Stick with the Delta 44. For your needs this is by far the best bang for the buck soundcard out there.

Also, you are certainly going to need to think about NOISE man...NOISE. I was able to build a PC with a number of fans that was dead quiet. Spend a little extra $$$ (shouldn't be much more) and buy high quality, QUIET fans. Trust me, when your mic (especially if you buy a condensor) picks up more computer noise then your own voice you are going to wish you had quieter fans.

Also, about mics...if you buy the Delta 44 you're going to need a preamp. A mic is not going to just plug-in to the Delta 44 breakout box. Look into get an M-Audio DMP3. I think they're $150-$200 and are damn good for the $$$. For mics, my god, there are a number of high-quality sub $200 mics out there. If you're interested, I have a Rode NT-1 in great shape that I could give you a great price on. Heck, I also may have a Delta 44 to sell (if my current buyer hasn't backed out). LMK if you're interested in either one.

What type of music are you going to be recording? I can certainly help you get setup cheaply and with good sound.

I'm just wondering why you would recommend the Delta 44 over the Echo Mia Midi. I really want Midi because I will be buying a Midi Controller Keyboard someday soon.

The music I will be recording will mostly be guitar and instrumental metal. I am not going to try my best to get the best sound. I'm just a beginner who wants to start somewhere basic and upgrade later on. If I can get a good soundcard to plug in my guitar and jam with, then I am perfectly fine.

As for noise, what fans do you recommend that are as silent as possible? Again I am not going be to making a professional studio here so even if there is a bit of noise, it probably won't bother me, but a quiet pc would be awesome.

Is the Zalman HSF I selected good? I need some names

 

[AATRuler]

That Zalman, again, is for your cpu.. it will b cool n quiet, vidcard: also take a zalman.. 700-cu.. also quiet. case-fan: Coolermaster, Papst or any other great and silent case fans. just nose around on the forum for some information on this.

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: AATRuler
That Zalman, again, is for your cpu.. it will b cool n quiet, vidcard: also take a zalman.. 700-cu.. also quiet. case-fan: Coolermaster, Papst or any other great and silent case fans. just nose around on the forum for some information on this.

what do you mean by zalman being for the videocard?

I am just completely confused and lost right now when it comes to cooling. I really need some help finding out what fans go where, how many fans I need, what brand is the best for the quietest and coolest, whats the cheapest price.

Will everything I buy come with stock fans and will the stock fans be good enough? If they are loud, how will I fix that and with the above post?

 

[Nutdotnet]

Originally posted by: bball1523

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
Stick with the Delta 44. For your needs this is by far the best bang for the buck soundcard out there.

Also, you are certainly going to need to think about NOISE man...NOISE. I was able to build a PC with a number of fans that was dead quiet. Spend a little extra $$$ (shouldn't be much more) and buy high quality, QUIET fans. Trust me, when your mic (especially if you buy a condensor) picks up more computer noise then your own voice you are going to wish you had quieter fans.

Also, about mics...if you buy the Delta 44 you're going to need a preamp. A mic is not going to just plug-in to the Delta 44 breakout box. Look into get an M-Audio DMP3. I think they're $150-$200 and are damn good for the $$$. For mics, my god, there are a number of high-quality sub $200 mics out there. If you're interested, I have a Rode NT-1 in great shape that I could give you a great price on. Heck, I also may have a Delta 44 to sell (if my current buyer hasn't backed out). LMK if you're interested in either one.

What type of music are you going to be recording? I can certainly help you get setup cheaply and with good sound.

I'm just wondering why you would recommend the Delta 44 over the Echo Mia Midi. I really want Midi because I will be buying a Midi Controller Keyboard someday soon.

The music I will be recording will mostly be guitar and instrumental metal. I am not going to try my best to get the best sound. I'm just a beginner who wants to start somewhere basic and upgrade later on. If I can get a good soundcard to plug in my guitar and jam with, then I am perfectly fine.

As for noise, what fans do you recommend that are as silent as possible? Again I am not going be to making a professional studio here so even if there is a bit of noise, it probably won't bother me, but a quiet pc would be awesome.

Is the Zalman HSF I selected good? I need some names

Yeah, I think Zalman makes good quiet stuff. I actually can't remember what brand fans I purchased (it was over 3 years ago). Actually, my HSF was a Taisol with an Adda fan on it...but I'm sure the Zalman stuff would work great. Honestly, the noisiest part of the system was the GPU fan. Those buggers can get awfully noisy.

Oh, I thought you were considering the Delta 44. I saw others recommend Soundblasters and crap like that...I wanted to advise you against that. The Echo Mia Midi will work just fine. But as I stated before. You are going to need a preamp before using a mic, guitar, whatever the case maybe (you cannot and do not try to just plug your guitar or mic into the soundcard). For guitar, you can plug it into a preamp but what are you going to do for effects? If you have an amp you may just want to mic it...or you can, down the road, buy a POD, a V-Amp, or etc which will help you be more creative.

What speakers are you going to use?

 

[Quiksilver]

Seems your becoming a little confused this might be able to clear some thiings up.
Build Your Own Pc

 

[AATRuler]

Zalman 700-cu for videocard.
Zalman 7700-cu for cpu
Coolermaster or Papst for case fans ( Again.. look for some good silent fans.. reviews on forums or threads about it. )

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: bball1523

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
Stick with the Delta 44. For your needs this is by far the best bang for the buck soundcard out there.

Also, you are certainly going to need to think about NOISE man...NOISE. I was able to build a PC with a number of fans that was dead quiet. Spend a little extra $$$ (shouldn't be much more) and buy high quality, QUIET fans. Trust me, when your mic (especially if you buy a condensor) picks up more computer noise then your own voice you are going to wish you had quieter fans.

Also, about mics...if you buy the Delta 44 you're going to need a preamp. A mic is not going to just plug-in to the Delta 44 breakout box. Look into get an M-Audio DMP3. I think they're $150-$200 and are damn good for the $$$. For mics, my god, there are a number of high-quality sub $200 mics out there. If you're interested, I have a Rode NT-1 in great shape that I could give you a great price on. Heck, I also may have a Delta 44 to sell (if my current buyer hasn't backed out). LMK if you're interested in either one.

What type of music are you going to be recording? I can certainly help you get setup cheaply and with good sound.

I'm just wondering why you would recommend the Delta 44 over the Echo Mia Midi. I really want Midi because I will be buying a Midi Controller Keyboard someday soon.

The music I will be recording will mostly be guitar and instrumental metal. I am not going to try my best to get the best sound. I'm just a beginner who wants to start somewhere basic and upgrade later on. If I can get a good soundcard to plug in my guitar and jam with, then I am perfectly fine.

As for noise, what fans do you recommend that are as silent as possible? Again I am not going be to making a professional studio here so even if there is a bit of noise, it probably won't bother me, but a quiet pc would be awesome.

Is the Zalman HSF I selected good? I need some names

Yeah, I think Zalman makes good quiet stuff. I actually can't remember what brand fans I purchased (it was over 3 years ago). Actually, my HSF was a Taisol with an Adda fan on it...but I'm sure the Zalman stuff would work great. Honestly, the noisiest part of the system was the GPU fan. Those buggers can get awfully noisy.

Oh, I thought you were considering the Delta 44. I saw others recommend Soundblasters and crap like that...I wanted to advise you against that. The Echo Mia Midi will work just fine. But as I stated before. You are going to need a preamp before using a mic, guitar, whatever the case maybe (you cannot and do not try to just plug your guitar or mic into the soundcard). For guitar, you can plug it into a preamp but what are you going to do for effects? If you have an amp you may just want to mic it...or you can, down the road, buy a POD, a V-Amp, or etc which will help you be more creative.

What speakers are you going to use?

I will be getting a boss gt-8 sometime soon, and/or a pod xt.

I've heard people who just plug into the soundcard and play. How come you advise not to do that? Is it because there's not enough signal going through the guitar to the computer?
If I get a preamp, the dmp3 might be the best choice for me because of the price.

How good is the M-audio Audio buddy ($119 retail)? Or are there any cheaper preamps where I can have 1 instrument and 1 mic input?

 

[bball1523]

Originally posted by: AATRuler
Zalman 700-cu for videocard.
Zalman 7700-cu for cpu
Coolermaster or Papst for case fans ( Again.. look for some good silent fans.. reviews on forums or threads about it. )

what's the different between aluminum+copper and just copper? If I get the ALCU, that is like 10 bucks less, will it still work out well?