Questions for those who would know

[Mongoo]

1) Can I have 2 sound cards? I plan on getting a very high end sound card for audio editing/recording but it confuses me a bit and doesn't have the typical outs, so I'm thinking of getting a sound card just for the computer functions like general programs, computer speakers, and games.

I don't want to do this though if having 2 sound cards will conflict with each other. Will it conflict? I'm thinking of getting the RME Hammerfall 96/56 & something else maybe soundblaster audigity or something.

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2) I'm leaning towards getting a AMD 64, I've heard this does not support PCI Express. Will it eventually like by an update? or if I buy now will it never support PCI express because it is a hardware issue?

I'm thinking of getting the Geforce 6800 with dual monitor support. This it PCI express right?


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3) Is windows XP proffessional bundled with any hardware? What are the main reason's for pro Video/Audio editing that I would want XP pro over XP home?

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4) How much faster is a AMD 64 FX 53 than the FX 51? or the AMD 64 3800 or 3400, or 3200? What is the bare minimum speed for adding real time effects to 24 tracks of 24bit/96khz audio?

What is the best value for getting a above average really fast AMD 64? Do you see 64 bit being supported more and more in terms of free updates that make everything run better?

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5) How dangerous is overclocking? are there any drawbacks to doing this?
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6) this is a big one, but Ultimately I am looking for a Pro Audio/Video computer that is very quite, cool, powerful for years to come. I do still plan to use this computer for more than just editing video and audio, such as for internet, games, work related stuff, etc.

Can you tell me what you would design for these requirments? I'm not lookking to spend an arm and a leg, Maybe $1,500 to $2,000 for the computer. I've got speakers and a 19" monitor already so I don't need those.

What would you build for this price?

I need:

Good Cooling
Very Low Noise
Safe Power
Fast Processor
1 Gig Ram, Maybe Expansion for more?
Fire Wire Ports
USB2 Ports
DVD/CDRW
DVD Dual Layer -/+
2 Hardrives
Dual Monitors
Good Video Card
Sound card for Games/Standard Computer Function (This is maybe not nessiary)



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I think thats it.... for now

I hope you guys can help, this seems like a good place to ask these questions.

Thanks,

Mongoo

 

[AluminumStudios]

1) I don't know a ton about 2 sound cards, but I'm pretty sure you can have two, not all software will be able to distinguish the two or give you a choice of what to use. Under your "Sounds and Audio devices" control panel you get to choice which sound device is your default for recording and playback and such, but I have no idea how you could convince audio editing software to use one and normal things like Winamp or games to use the other. I'd say just read the manual for the high end card you want and figure out how to hook it up to your speaker system, etc., and just go with that - it shouldn't be a big deal.

2) AMD A64 systems still use AGP and PCI. New Prescott P4 systems (that use DDR2 and socket 775) have PCI express. Some Opteron boards come with PCI express if I'm not mistaken. You get what slots your motherboard was built with. If AMD starts sporting PCI express you'll need a new motherboard. At that time it's up in the air weather it will be the same socket (if you'll be able to transplant your CPU.) PCI and AGP will be around for a while yet, so I don't think there's much need to worry about it unless you specifically require a high-end sound card that say only comes in PCI or PCI express.

3) Windows XP is not typically bundled with any hardware. Once in a while I've seen vendors bundle Windows with a hard drive to satisfy certain requirements of selling OEM copies of Windows (requirements of the OEM Windows being sold with hardware.) Windows XP Home doesn't support multiple CPUs (which means it may not take advantage of hypterthreading on a P4, I'm not sure), it also doesn't support beign on a Windows domain or some other network features that professional environments would use. Generally, I'd just stick with pro.

4) I don't know off hand, but there should be plenty of benchmarks out there. I can tell you that the difference is not gonig to be orders of magnitude. I'd say go for the one that is it the best price point. To me it's questionalbe if 10% more speed is worth a lot more than 10% price difference ...

5) I don't think it's too dangerous as long as you start off low and bump it up a tiny amount at a time and then back down if your system becomes unstable. If you go in and raise the voltage a whole volt and the speed 400 MHz from the start then you'll have a problem I personally gave up on overclocking a while ago after I discovered that my cpu liked to error when over clocked and that manifested itself as distorted colored pixels in my videos I was rendering from AfterEffects. I didn't want to take the chance of my data being compromised (despite my system being stable - OC'ing was having negative effects, this was confirmed when I my CPU constantly failed Prime95's tourture test and it told me that it was erroring - returning incorrect numerical values on certain operations.)

6) I don't have time to go deep into this one ...

I like Antec cases, Antec power supplies, AMD CPUs, 1 gig of RAM is a good start, I"m a fan of Mushkin and Kingston, any name brand dual layer DVD-/+RW drive will work IMO, I like Western Digital hard drives.

Gotta run, work calls ...

 

[dmw16]

The guy above covered questions 1-5 just as well as I could, but let me see if I can touch on #6.

If low noise is very important you may actually want to look into a server cube case. Generally they are broken into two bays. One for mobo and components like the video and sound and the other for hard drives and optical drives. The advantage is there is more air so better heat disipation and lots of space for all your stuff. But if you arent looking to go that crazy Antec or CoolerMaster are both great brands. If you can get to a bookstore, MaximumPC did a case roundup in Septembers issue. Also there are plenty of reviews online.

For good power, Antec is a good way to go again, but if you really want the best you cant beat PC Power & Cooling. They are very reliable and make a series of quiet power supplies. Also, the Vantec silent PSUs are supposed to be good.

Fast CPU, well this is a bit of a grey area. I feel like on one hand an Intel P4 may be a better choice as a lot of Pro audio and video programs take advantage of hyperthreading and if you are adding effects on the fly then it may be better to get a P4. But this is a case of looking around for benchmarks. (For the record I am not an intel fan boy or anything, I had an Athlon64 but moved to Intel for Maya work)

Ram...a gig, in my opinion is the bare minumum for a high end machine. I think you would be well serverd by going w/ 1.5-2 gigs. For brand, Kingston, Mushkin, and Corair are all great names at good prices.

ACtually...let me just head over to newegg and see if I can spec something out for you...

Case: Antec File Server Case

Optical#1: Toshiba 16x DVD ROM

Optical#2: NEC 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer

HD#1 (working files): 36GB Western Digital Raptor

HD#2 (storage): 200GB Seagate SATA

RAM: 3x Corsair 512MB PC3200

Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo

CPU: Athlon64 3400+ (retail)

Videocard: eVGA GeForce 6800GT

Powersupply: 430W Antec TruePower

Total (w/o shipping): $1569.43

You'd still need to add on that pro sound card you were talking about, but the onboard sound would be more than good enough for gaming and so would the video card. And the 1.5GB of RAM gives you plenty to work with.

 

[Mongoo]

Thanks for the reply's, More info is welcome.


I was looking at some specs at newegg and don't know what alot of this means, is used for, or if its any good.


I think I'm leaning towards 939 socket, While looking at motherboards I see this....

Chipset: nVIDIA nForce3 Ultra (GIGABYTE/MSI/SOLTEK) VS. K8T800Pro + VT8237 (ASUS) Which is better what is the difference?

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RAM: they are all 4x (DIMM some with Dual Channel some without, which is better?) DDR400/333/266 at a max of 4GB which is good I would think for the future.

By the way, What is "DIMM"? and what is the difference between DDR400/333/266? Would I have to buy 1 Gig RAM sticks to use 4 GIGs, and if so would that not use the Dual channel thing then?

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IDE: 2xATA 133 up to 4 Devices, does this work for IDE, SATA drives? and burners too?

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Slots: 1x AGP for graphics right?, 5 PCI - the way its looking that pro sound card will take up 2 pci slots, Do I need to get a modem? I'll ask when I get to the lan part below.
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Ports: 2xPS/2 (what is this for?), 2xCom (what is this for?), 2xLPT (what is this for?), 8x USB 2.0 (I know these can be for alot of external stuff), Audio ports ( what or how many of these are there?, like enough for a 4.1 computer souround sound system?)

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Onboard stuff:

Audio: Realtek ALC850 8 Channel Codec, (is this any good? what are its limitations?)

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Onboard Lan: I would think this means I don't have to buy a somthing to hook up the new computer to an old computer right? Whats the difference between: (Marvell 8001 GBE + ICS 1883 10/100Mbps) and (Marvell 88E1111 1000Mbps, Realtek 8110S 1000Mbps), (Gigibit 10/100/1000 Lan), Ethernet?

How fast do you typicly want your lan? Do I still need to buy a modem if I have a lan? Can you recommend a good modem? I had a 56K but would only get 28k at best.

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Onboard SATA/RAID: What is this?

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Onboard 1394 T.I. IEEE1394b controller 3 ports? I know what firewire is but whats with the "b" at the end there and the whole controler thing?

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Thanks a ton. Boy I know your gonig to have just as much fun answering those as I did asking them.

Mongoo

 

[Mongoo]

I thought you guys would know about this stuff. Is there a better place to ask these questions?

Thanks

Mongoo

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Mongoo
I thought you guys would know about this stuff. Is there a better place to ask these questions?

Thanks

Mongoo

Plenty of people know this stuff, but you're asking a lot of VERY basic questions (such as, for instance, not knowing what Ethernet is, or what a PS/2 port is, or what a DIMM is). Maybe you should try some of the FAQs here on Anandtech or other hardware sites first? Or reading some reviews on different motherboards and parts that you have questions about? Or picking up a "PCs For Dummies"-type book?

I'd be happy to answer more specific questions, but I'm not exactly inclined to sit here and spoon-feed you basic information that you can get from any number of sources.

 

[Mongoo]

Gotcha, Thanks for your honesty