System Recommendation for a DJ

[FrothPlant]

Looking for a system for a friend thats a DJ. Has to be biggest bang for the buck. Suggestions are appreciated. Would like to do it for around a grand minus monitor.

Thanks

 

[FrothPlant]

Anyone?

 

[ApacheChief]

Probably an AMD 64 3000+ SCKT 939, with ASUS A8V mobo. (what I use, works GREAT!)

No need for a GFX card, and I think the high end sound cards are only like 100~ dollars.

1 gig of ram, value will do.

Maybe that fancy 300GB Maxtor 16MB Cache drive... Antec case probably.

 

[ciwell]

Originally posted by: FrothPlant
Looking for a system for a friend thats a DJ. Has to be biggest bang for the buck. Suggestions are appreciated. Would like to do it for around a grand minus monitor.

Thanks

Ok, he is a DJ, but what is he going to use his system for?

Gaming? Sound-editing? Production? Etc?

 

[Blackjack2000]

Ok, I'll give some advice with an assumption - You mentioned he's a DJ because that's what he's going to be using the computer for, not gaming or creating content.

Case - personal preference, most people seem to agree that antec and enermax make the best PSUs. Here's one, but go with whatever look he likes best.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=11-124-106&depa=1
$55.00 + $13.99 ship

Motherboard - Socket 939 - it's good performance for the dollar, and will be very upgradeable in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=13-180-064&depa=1
$114.00 + $5.00 ship

Processor - AMD64 3000+ - you don't need a speed demon, but this, again will be upgradeable
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-103-486&depa=1
$151.00 + $0.99 ship

Memory - 1 gig of pc3200 should be plenty
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=20-145-440&depa=1
$156.00

Hard Disk - 200 GB should be plenty, unless he's going to store a lot of large files, in which case, just get another hard disk.
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=22-148-032&DEPA=1
$108 + $2.75 ship

Optical Drives - I would do a seperate DVD ROM and burner. They're relatively cheap anyway.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=27-130-027&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=27-130-020&depa=0
$20.99 + $4.00 ship
$54.00 + $4.00 ship

Operating System:
XP Home. Make sure you buy it OEM when you buy your motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=37-102-151&DEPA=6
$87.00

The price of this system before soundcard and software is 776.72 at newegg. If you shop around, you should be able to get the components a little cheaper.

Really the two most important parts of the system will be the sound card and the software, and I donn't know all that much about either one for DJs, so you're going to have to look around. Here's a couple links I found, but you're going to have to do some research.


Software:

http://www.mixvibes.com/
http://www.mixmeister.com/

Sound Card:

http://www.tracertek.com/canam.htm

 

[Icepick]

Originally posted by: Blackjack2000


Motherboard - Socket 939 - it's good performance for the dollar, and will be very upgradeable in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=13-180-064&depa=1
$114.00 + $5.00 ship

Processor - AMD64 2800+ - you don't need a speed demon, but this, again will be upgradeable
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-103-452&depa=1
$129.00

The processor that is recommended here won't fit on that motherboard. The AMD2800+ is socket 754. The least expensive socket 939 processor is the 3000+.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-103-499&depa=1
Although newegg is currently sold out of the retail version with a heatsink/fan.

Or you could go with this one: Athlon64 3200+
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-103-502&depa=1

 

[Blackjack2000]

doh
My mistake, can't believe I forgot to check the socket of the processor

I'll edit now

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Most mulittrackers and sequencers run better on Athlon64 systems, so definitly go that route. A 2800+ is an excellent choice. Get 2GB ram also because audio apps, with effects, can quickly eat up memory if you're keeeping everything live time.

 

[FrothPlant]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will probably suggest that he go with the amd64 processor but which chipset/format 754 or 939?

This comp will be used for creating/ mixing music using different software mixmeister, soundforge, acid pro, etc.

The sound card will probably be a soundblaster audigy2. Should he get the pro or just stick with the regular version, what benefits would he get using the pro?

 

[cheesehead]

Go with 939. The dual channel RAM is a good idea for muzak.
Also, see if he'll go for dualie Hitachi 160gb drives. You can get them for 90$ each, so for 180$ you get some 320gb of high-speed (RAID-O?) Most DJ's end up with a huge external hard drive, anyway. Also, see if he's interested in a SFF box, as often portability is more important as performance.
Also, you may as well get a GEfx 5200 or so. You can get a refurbed one for 10$ in TigerDirect's catalog.