Need a cheap PC to make music with...

[Pr0d1gy]

I'm trying to help a good friend build or buy a good PC to make music with. I don't have any experience on what this kind of PC would need, but he has $400 to spend right now & could probably come up with more down the road. Thanks.

 

[iamtorax]

What kind of music? Are we talking vocals/guitar, or electronic? Also, does this person have mixing board or usb recording interface already?

 

[phaxmohdem]

You can record Music on a Penium 166MMX if you wanted to... Ive done it. I'd recommend the following for music recording (Vocals & Instrument)

Low end Sempron system 2600+ -> 3100+(Socket 754) or Low end Socket 939 A64 if you want upgradeability.
1GB of RAM at least Corsair VS is decent for this
Music doesn't gobble up HDD space as much as Video does, but I'd still get as big a HDD as your budget allows 120GB or above should do nicely
SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum. <- this is what I have in my rig for music recording and it rawks. The Live drive is a MUST if you do any serious recording at all. SOOO much more convienent.
Video card, get whatever, or use the integrated video if the mobo you choose has it for now until you want to play games.

 

[pukemon]

The easiest one stop out of the box experience for novice music making would probably be the Mac Mini + a MIDI controller + a USB or Firewire audio I/O unit. It will cost over $500 though, but then so would a Windows based machine when software is factored in. Unless of course, he plans on getting his software through "alternative" channels.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Macs suck for amateur audio. If you have a lot of money to pour into a PowerMac and pro software, sure, but on a $400 budget you're stuck with Wintel.

Now, is this $400 supposed to cover monitor/keyboard/mouse/OS/speakers, or do you just need the box hardware?

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

$69 Sempron 64 2600+
$64 Biostar GeForce 6100-M7
$63 Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB SATA HDD & NEC FDD combo
$43 NEC ND-3550A DVD burner
$36 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
$27 case/PSU combo
$302 total

add $95 if you need Windows XP, and $150 if you need monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers.

You'll have to use integrated audio and free (or pirated) software, but you can upgrade later. If you have the money, go for the Echo Gina. If not, you can get this M-Audio card for $93.

You might also want to get a decent PSU at some point.

 

[javiervi]

Originally posted by: pukemon
The easiest one stop out of the box experience for novice music making would probably be the Mac Mini + a MIDI controller + a USB or Firewire audio I/O unit. It will cost over $500 though, but then so would a Windows based machine when software is factored in. Unless of course, he plans on getting his software through "alternative" channels.

LOL! Mac mini for audio? HAHAH... USB audio I/O??? pleeeaaase......first learn about the subject then comment on it. If you have no clue on what your talking about and recomend this to some one, he might actually believe it.

As for the original post.

I recently bought a budget "portable" pc for audio applications.(I have another desktop for that purpose already)

I would recommend:
MSI X200 Motherboard
AMD A64 3200
2 x 512 Mb Corsair value
M-audio Audiophile
Nec DVD burner (or liteon whatever)
Maxtor Maxline III 300 GB SATA drive
Medium quality case (watch out for noisy cases)

That setup should run for y caleabout 600. For $400 theres no decent pc you could buy, save some money and have patience. You must really use some good speakers or get some headphones. Maybe the Sennheiser HD280 Pro ($100) to start with. Later add on a USB midi controler ($200) then a USB keyboard ($150), then an extra monitor.

One of the most important items is the audio card. You really need a low latency card with true ASIO support. Dont listen to ppl about Creative Sound cards, dont even think about buying one, theyr just toys.

As for the CPU it will only take more time to process stuff but when your running cubase, logic or whatever audio app with many VSTs and or reason, CPU usage jumps allot.

As for the HD, you could buy a cheaper one. Make sure its at least 3 year warranty.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Originally posted by: javiervi

Originally posted by: pukemon
The easiest one stop out of the box experience for novice music making would probably be the Mac Mini + a MIDI controller + a USB or Firewire audio I/O unit. It will cost over $500 though, but then so would a Windows based machine when software is factored in. Unless of course, he plans on getting his software through "alternative" channels.

LOL! Mac mini for audio? HAHAH... USB audio I/O??? pleeeaaase......first learn about the subject then comment on it. If you have no clue on what your talking about and recomend this to some one, he might actually believe it.

As for the original post.

I recently bought a budget "portable" pc for audio applications.(I have another desktop for that purpose already)

I would recommend:
MSI X200 Motherboard
AMD A64 3200
2 x 512 Mb Corsair value
M-audio Audiophile
Nec DVD burner (or liteon whatever)
Maxtor Maxline III 300 GB SATA drive
Medium quality case (watch out for noisy cases)

That setup should run for y caleabout 600. For $400 theres no decent pc you could buy, save some money and have patience. You must really use some good speakers or get some headphones. Maybe the Sennheiser HD280 Pro ($100) to start with. Later add on a USB midi controler ($200) then a USB keyboard ($150), then an extra monitor.

One of the most important items is the audio card. You really need a low latency card with true ASIO support. Dont listen to ppl about Creative Sound cards, dont even think about buying one, theyr just toys.

As for the CPU it will only take more time to process stuff but when your running cubase, logic or whatever audio app with many VSTs and or reason, CPU usage jumps allot.

As for the HD, you could buy a cheaper one. Make sure its at least 3 year warranty.

Just so you know, that is where I stopped reading your post. Acting like an ignorant little kid makes your opinion worth about as much as my old, used, streaked underwear.

ItHurtsToTalkToYou, thank you for putting out there what I wanted to see, the actual hardware. I appreciate all of you guys' help on this & the points you're all making are helping me to decide what I need to do. Please, keep the comments & info coming, thanks.