The Best Core 2 Duo Motherboard for Pro Audio

[emunity]

I am trying to find out the Best Pro Audio Motherboard using an Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme 2.93 Ghz.

It will nto be intended for high end Graphics or Games just High End Pro Audio using either a Pro AUdio card in the PCI 32 bit or PCI 64 bit slot or just using the onboard firewire with an external Pro Audio Firewire Device like and RME or MOTU firewire Audio Card.


Anyhow I really don't care about overclocking which is probably not the thing to do. With Pro Audio you always have to worry about PCI or Bus conflics causing Noises like Pops and Clicks in your Audio Wav files.

I am looking for a motherboad that either someone here already has one and has tested this or would have a good link to review the best Pro Audio Motherboards.

I am looking serioulsy at the Intel BOard the 975 CHipset board with serial ATA Raid etc or the ASus P5W64 Profesional Motherboard also with Serial ATA raid. I don't have the model of the Intel board but its the high end board around $270US. THis might be overkill? Also they say Intel motherboars are not really made to overclock and like I said before I really don't think I want a motherboard I can overclock.

If the ASus board is great for Pro Audio then I don't care about overclocking features, its just a plus and I will not use it. But will overclocking features on a motherboard possible interfere with Pro Audio SOftware sequencers like Steinberg Cubase or Neundo or Sony Vegas or SOny Cakewalk. SOny Acid etc etc.

I gues I could go to those webites and ask in those forums but the proble is Steinberg will not let you post unless you own the software. Not even if you have a question about what hardware to get before you actually buy the software. I think that is rediculous.

So I am taking my chances here to see who might have an Answer for me.

SOrry about the long post and thanks for taking the time to read my Post.

 

[pcy]

Hi,


I'm using teh Intel DP965LT for Pro Audio systems.


Why?


1. 965 vs 975

975 has a lot of dual graphics card stuff on it, which costs, and reduces teh number of ordinary PCi and PCIe slots available.

So if 965 is stable (which it is) why pay more to get less?


2. Which 965?

I cholse the DP965LT because of price, stability and the fact it has on-board firewire - I don't want to waste a PCI slot on a Firewire Card and then be faced with a client who already has 3 UAD-1s and a Fireface 800 but wants a new machine.


Based on these considerations I tested the DP965LT first: it was stable, so I went no further.



Peter

 

[emunity]

Thanks so much. Great advice and will be very usefull indeed. I was wondering though about the Serial ATA raid? Not sure if I woudl need this for GigaStudio or not?

 

[pcy]

Hi,

Normally I'd say no Raid needed for a DAW, but Gigastudio is different - it strams samples at playback time.


You'd really need to ask on a forum with Giga gurus on it.


But I'd suspect not,. because however Giga works there has to be a lot oh head movement involved, and Raid does not help with that at all.



Peter

 

[tcsenter]

Anyhow I really don't care about overclocking which is probably not the thing to do. With Pro Audio you always have to worry about PCI or Bus conflics causing Noises like Pops and Clicks in your Audio Wav files.

Much more common with non-Intel motherboards, generally speaking. For better or worse, the proaudio hardware segment is largely still of the belief there is only one chipset and processor company - Intel - and puts very little effort into testing their hardware, drivers, and software with non-Intel chipsets.

I would recommend a genuine Intel board. Intel has phenomenal BIOS refinement and doesn't discontinue active BIOS support after 12 ~ 24 months, like most motherboard companies.

 

[pcy]

Hi,

With all due respect:

1. AMD Athlon64s and then X2 became the favored hardware for Audio (DAW) builders until the C2D came out.


2. The problems with clicks and whistles are caused mainly be contention on the PCI bus. The motherboard and chipset matters, the CPU does not; and faulty drivers would cause problems on Intel or non-Intel systems equally.


Peter