Q's on computer upgrading

[ISOFFICIAL]

Okay, so Im trying to get full optimization out of my computer which im happy with so far, but I want it to be at full power since Im setting up Pro Tools on monday. Im upgrading to firewire as well (Profire 610) mainly because the Ux2 couldn't handle all the tracks I was using, other than that, the Ux2 was pretty good.

But anyhow, hoping that the firewire will help me to use more tracks without getting the pops n crackles, are there any other things I can do to my comp to make it better? I see alot of you guys talk about over-clocking, turning off the graphic card to spare memory etc etc (i dont really know much about that stuff lol.)

But here are some specs.

MS Windows XP Home SP3
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4000 + 2.9GB RAM, ATI Radeon X1200 Series.
2.10 GHz

Im basically looking for some tweaks so I can avoid those pops n crackles (I will be using alot of Vst's, tracks, etc)

So im open to any noticeable upgrades you guys may see, or want to bring up.

Thanks for reading!

[MikeFFG]

Originally Posted by ISOFFICIAL

Okay, so Im trying to get full optimization out of my computer which im happy with so far, but I want it to be at full power since Im setting up Pro Tools on monday. Im upgrading to firewire as well (Profire 610) mainly because the Ux2 couldn't handle all the tracks I was using, other than that, the Ux2 was pretty good.

But anyhow, hoping that the firewire will help me to use more tracks without getting the pops n crackles, are there any other things I can do to my comp to make it better? I see alot of you guys talk about over-clocking, turning off the graphic card to spare memory etc etc (i dont really know much about that stuff lol.)

But here are some specs.

MS Windows XP Home SP3
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4000 + 2.9GB RAM, ATI Radeon X1200 Series.
2.10 GHz

Im basically looking for some tweaks so I can avoid those pops n crackles (I will be using alot of Vst's, tracks, etc)

So im open to any noticeable upgrades you guys may see, or want to bring up.

Thanks for reading!

I don't have many ideas, but personally I wouldn't worry about too much overclocking. I attempted to get into it with my pc build but after some trials and reading, it seems to make the system less stable, and with audio I'd rather go with stability over a tiny bit of extra power. At the top of the music computers forum there is a thread about optimizing windows computers. A number of them are outdated but the one I found most helpful is Definitive Guide to Windows XP Tweaking for Audio | Moozek

I've never personally hd problem with playing back many tracks...What kind of hard drive are you using? That can actually play a factor in your track count. If your drives can't read/write fast enough you will have clicks and pops or dropouts...using at least 7200 rpms? 32 mb cache is preferable also...good luck!

[ISOFFICIAL]

Thanks for the info on the over-clock topic Mike. I wasnt too sure about it either. I'm definitly looking into that Guide aswell.

As for the hardrive question, I have 2. My C-Drive is 80gb's with 7200 RPM's, my other drive (G is 325 gb. (mainly for audio) with 7200 RPM's. Im thinking of installing all my Pro Tools data and program files onto my other G: drive just because its new and has more GB capaticy. I also heard of spanning your tracks in pro tools throughout your several hardrives so that might also be another good option.

But thanks for your reply & tips Mike, greatly appreciated!