This is the sound of my head exploding........

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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
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OK, I'm building a PC for dedicated audio use. No gaming, no web surfing, no email, no wordprocessing, nothing. This will go into a recording studio and will have a Tascam FW-1884 firewire audio interface.

I guess I'm in that buy now or wait stage everyone gets into before they run screaming naked into the street.

Here's what I'm keeping from the current pc:
Plextor DVDRW
Sony 24" Trinitron widescreen monitor

Here's what I've already bought:
Antec Sonata case
WD SATA Raptor 74GB harddrive

This PC must be quiet and stable. It won't be overclocked but I do want the best memory performance I can get. I'm more interested in raw computing power and throughput than my framerate in Quake or whatever. Heck, I don't even need 3D capability.

The sony monitor performs great with my ATI Radeon 64MB AGP video card (yes, the original Radeon 64MB). I would like to switch to dual flat panels in the future, so a videocard that can support my existing monitor and allow an upgrade path is crucial.

I also want a 64 bit processor because the 64 bit version of the DAW software I use (Sonar by Cakewalk) is currently in beta testing and should be released later this year. I'm thinking 939 Athlon 64 90nm (what is that core's nickname?)

So should I buy now or wait a month or so?
 
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Tostada

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,789
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What kind of answer are you looking for?

Do you want people to tell you how to build a quiet A64 system?

You can't really be very concerned about keeping it quiet if you already bought a Raptor.
 
B

Brian23

Banned
Dec 28, 1999
1,655
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Originally posted by: KBlair
What kind of drugs?
Click to expand...


When I saw the title of your thread, I thought of that OLD tv commercial about that girl with the egg in the frying pan, and she's like "This is your brain, and this is your brain on drugs."

lol
 
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LeoMael

Member
Jul 16, 2002
102
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great parody of that commercial on a show called "Robot Chicken" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. And the girl who did the commercial is the one voicing the doll that is used for the parody.
 
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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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I guess by quiet I mean I don't want 14 fans pumping 10,000 CFM to cool my processor. I bought the Sonata case because of the large, slow moving fan and the Antec quality. I would guess that the 74GB Raptor is similar to the 36GB Raptor I have in my PC at work, and those levels are acceptible. I'm more concerned about the heat dissipation of the drive than the noise, I'm willing to give a few dB in exchange for server-level performance. I'll be streaming 24/96 audio to the harddrive in realtime (almost) so I need the performance.

After rereading my original post, I realized I left out some stuff. I've never been an early adoptor of new processors, I tend to buy the current platform (939) and best value processor (A64 3200+ or similar). Then, when the prices drop I'll upgrade the processor to a faster version. So even when the Venice core gets released it'll be a while before I buy. I suspect the next upgrade will be to dual core whenever that is.

I guess I'm looking for valid reasons to wait vs. build (besides prices will go down). I'm also looking for motherboard options that will work best for me and RAM options. I was thinking of going with the OCZ PC3200 Value Series ram and the Winfast SiS755FX motheboard, but I can't find the Winfast board for sale anywhere.

I also need a video card option, do I keep my AGP or go PCI-e now? It'll be 6 months at least before I get the dual flat screens, but the video slot helps determine my motherboard options?

 
K

KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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Originally posted by: LeoMael
great parody of that commercial on a show called "Robot Chicken" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. And the girl who did the commercial is the one voicing the doll that is used for the parody.
Click to expand...

I saw that one. My favorite is the spoof of "The Real World" or Surreal Life with the superhero dolls.
 
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AnotherGuy

Senior member
Dec 9, 2003
678
0
71
Its called Winchester... and u wont need no 14 nor 4 fans in ur case. 3 is the most!

That core is the least heat dissolving from all other AMDs and Intel processors. amd a64 3000+ or 3200+ or 3500+ have this core. Note that there are also other 3500+ with a different core called Newcastle whioch is older and u dont want it.

Winchesters are 90nm while newcastle are 130nm... thats how u tell em apart.
 
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SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: KBlair
I guess by quiet I mean I don't want 14 fans pumping 10,000 CFM to cool my processor. I bought the Sonata case because of the large, slow moving fan and the Antec quality. I would guess that the 74GB Raptor is similar to the 36GB Raptor I have in my PC at work, and those levels are acceptible. I'm more concerned about the heat dissipation of the drive than the noise, I'm willing to give a few dB in exchange for server-level performance. I'll be streaming 24/96 audio to the harddrive in realtime (almost) so I need the performance.

After rereading my original post, I realized I left out some stuff. I've never been an early adoptor of new processors, I tend to buy the current platform (939) and best value processor (A64 3200+ or similar). Then, when the prices drop I'll upgrade the processor to a faster version. So even when the Venice core gets released it'll be a while before I buy. I suspect the next upgrade will be to dual core whenever that is.

I guess I'm looking for valid reasons to wait vs. build (besides prices will go down). I'm also looking for motherboard options that will work best for me and RAM options. I was thinking of going with the OCZ PC3200 Value Series ram and the Winfast SiS755FX motheboard, but I can't find the Winfast board for sale anywhere.

I also need a video card option, do I keep my AGP or go PCI-e now? It'll be 6 months at least before I get the dual flat screens, but the video slot helps determine my motherboard options?
Click to expand...


Why not an nforce 3 or 4 based mb? I hear that they are a bit more stable generally speaking.
 
K

KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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0
Originally posted by: AnotherGuy
Winchesters are 90nm while newcastle are 130nm... thats how u tell em apart.
Click to expand...

Thanks you, I hate having to relearn all the codenames every 18 months or so.

SlitheryDee, thanks for the link. If I buy a new video card it will be PCI-e, otherwise I'll stay with my current AGP card.
 
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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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0
OhhKaay, after seeing the PCI-e prices for dual head cards, I think I'll stick with AGP.

I'm not sold on any particular chipset, just whatever works. I don't need all the extras that a premium motherboard comes with, don't even need onboard audio. I've got a PCI firewire card with the TI chipset (APC) that works best with my audio interface, so don't even need that onboard.
 
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wisdomtooth

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2004
1,155
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How many PCI slots do you require?

If you don't need more than 3 PCI slots, then I would go with the MSI RS480M2-IL for Socket 939 AMD64.

That board has a PCI-Express 16x slot so you can add a more advanced graphics card later on. But while you are debating which card to use, you can still use its on-board Radeon X300.

The northbridge is also passively cooled, which means it will be quieter than most NForce 4 or VIA boards out there (most of which requires a fansink for their northbridges).

And you can fit a Zalman CNPS7000AlCu quiet CPU heatsink on that board.

I've built a DAW for a friend who uses Protools and M-Box with this board and it works very nicely.

Other tips for building a quiet DAW:

- USE A QUIET PSU. Get a Seasonic S12 or Super Tornado, which are the quietest fan-cooled PSU you can buy, recommended by Silent PC Review.

- USE QUIET CASE FANS. Panaflo L1As, Papst, Nexus, SilenX. Take your pick.

- MOUNT FANS AND HARD DISKS WITH SOFT RUBBER WASHERS. This helps dampen vibration.

Good luck.
 
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hippotautamus

Senior member
Apr 10, 2005
292
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0
If you're worried about performance, and (as a recording studio machine) reliability, you might be better off to use 4 of the super quiet samsung drives in a RAID 0+1 array. Increased read/write speeds and full redundancy. For quiet CPU cooling, the Zalman 7700 AlCu = awesome.
 
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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
0
0
WisdomTooth - PCI slots, I really only need one for my Firewire card. The Antec Sonata case came with a "Quiet power" or something 380watt PS - 22 db or so. It's quieter than the Raptor drive. That case also has rubber grommets for the HDD and fans, and I still have a couple of the aluminum Panaflow fans from few years back. I'll check that MSI board.

I'll check those Samsung drives as well, thanks
 
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SlitheryDee

Even if you don't need all the flashy extras I wouldn't skimp on the MB too much. Via and Nvidia chipsets seem to be the way to go these days for stability (for A64 systems) . MBs from reputable manufacturers can be had for decent prices.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-274&depa=1

Edit: The MSI board wisdomtooth suggested is based on the new ATI xpress 200 chipset which is also supposed to be pretty excellent.
 
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everman

Lifer
Nov 5, 2002
11,288
1
0
Just what kind of audio use are we talking about? Enormouse high bitrate files that you're doing a lot of cpu intensive things with? Basic recording and editing?
Shouldn't the pc be isolated from where the actual recording is taking place?
 
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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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0
Actually that MSI board looks like it will solve all my problems. It keeps my current PC intact and I can use the onboard video till I get a dual head PCI-e video card and flat panels. I don't know how I overlooked the ATI chipset in my research, but I did. Thanks.

Don't worry, I'm not going to buy an ASRock motherboard or anything.

Anybody got a model number or prduct name for those Samsung drives?
 
K

KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
0
0
Multitrack recording, mostly at 24 bit/96kHz. The audio interface does the A to D conversion. I always record the tracks "clean" with no effects or plugins, then apply reverb etc during the mix process. Some of those effects plugins are CPU intensive, my current PC crashes if I run more than 5 plugins at once.

Oh, and the PC isn't in the room with the microphones, etc. I want it quiet so it's not distracting during playback/editing/mixing.
 
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SlitheryDee

Is the mixing program multithreaded? Maybie you could look into these newfangled dual core processors that are about to hit the market. Seems like they're going to be priced competitively.
 
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KBlair

Member
Apr 12, 2005
31
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0
Thanks.

Storagereview actually shows the Raptor is quieter at idle than the Samsung by ~2db.
 
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