Building a PC for recording audio...

[LCDeezy]

Here's the deal, I'm lookin to build a PC from scratch. My only requirement is that I have a $500 MAX. AMD processor pref. since they're cheaper. Don't worry bout monitor or software costs. Can anyone put something together for me? It will be used SOLELY for recording so dont worry bout super graphics cards... although something with dual-monitor option would be nice but NOT necessary. Also, don't factor in a soundcard either. I just need to actual PC components. PLEASE help me out.

Thanks
-LCD

 

[slackwarelinux]

You posted in Notebooks/SFF, does that mean you want a SFF computer? I am going with mATX.
Some other requirements.. I think you are going to need a large hard drive.
You will need some sort of DVD burner, correct?
I put in relatively quiet fans, as it is going to be used in some sort of recording enviroment.
This computer might be a bit of overkill, but hey, why not?

I would go with this:
Biostar MATX s939 Motherboard, with intergrated NForce 6100 $75
AMD64 s939 3200+, Venice Core $164
Cosair Value Ram, 512mb x 2 $37.25 (x2)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9, 160GB $77
Ever Case, mATX w/ 300W PSU $57
NEC DVD Burner $39
Silverstone 80mm fan (For the front) $2.8
Silverstone 120mm fan (For the back) $7.5

This totals to $496.76. If you need to cut some things out, you could drop the hard drive down to 80GB, drop the RAM down to 512mb, or replace the 120mm fan with an 80mm.

Edit: The cooling is way overkill, so you might be able to cool soft drinks by sticking cans next to the fan. And, the fans should be really quiet.

 

[LCDeezy]

Not sure what SFF stands for... lol But it seems like u've listen what i'm looking for. As for the RAM, I'm definitely going to start out with 1GB and expand as soon as I have a chance. Digital audio recording is a memory intensive thing, so 1GB of RAM is a minimum for me. Thanks for ur input!! Anyone else have suggestions?

 

[slackwarelinux]

SFF means Small Form Factor, that generally means small cases.
The really tiny ones tend to add about $100 to the cost, and limit upgradability so I went with Micro ATX instead, is much cheaper.

That computer is expandable to about 4GB of RAM, but two of the slots are already full with 512MB sticks, so it should be upgradeable to 3GB.

 

[LCDeezy]

ahhhhhhhhh! I see... i guess this was the wrong forum cause it doesnt really matter to me how big the case is. But what u've got for me here is really helpful.

Thanks again!

 

[slackwarelinux]

One last thing. If that 500 dollar limit included shipping, which will end up costing about $40, you could cut down on the processor and motherboard, by swiching down to socket 754.
If you wanted to do that, you could instead go with a:

AMD Sempron 64 3000+ Processor $86
Biostar mATX s754 motherboard, with intergrated NForce 6100 $69.25

The downside would be about 30% or so decreased processor proformance, and only 2 slots for RAM, limiting long term upgrades. It would however, decrease the price by $83.75.

 

[LCDeezy]

I'd rather spend $40 more for shipping than lose performance....

 

[pkrush]

For a case, look at the Aspire X-QPack, it'll have more room and better cooling than that Evercase.

 

[slackwarelinux]

How will it have better cooling? This one has a 120mm and a 80mm fan, the X-QPack only has one 120mm. Also, the X-QPacks are known for their horrid power supplies, and a new decent one would add another $50 or so.