Please confirm shopping list for my new Core 2 Duo DAW

[mig27]

Here's what I'm about to get:

• CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
• MoBo: Asus P5W DH Deluxe
• HD for system & data: Western Digital 5000KS (500GB, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache)
• HD for audio: Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD (10k RPM... fast!)
• RAM: 2GB DDR2-800
• Graphics: Radeon X1900 => Yes, I'll also be gaming on this (dual boot) system
• PSU: Coolermaster Extreme Series PSU - 550 Watt
• Cooler for CPU, Graphics, Northbridge: Zalman Reserator (Passive liquid cooling)

The whole lot incl. DVD drives and case sums up slightly under 2000 Euros (or $2600 or £1350).

Any comments are warmly welcome.

Cheers


Michael

[manning1]

hmm comments....
well...lol...this is the type of system i'll prolly get once prices come down a bit.
maybe next year.....
as always the sound device can be the deal breaker....thus if you can find the same system somewhere local...i would check your sound device works well with it
BEFORE BUYING THE SYSTEM.
cos i see too many folks finding out after the fact they have sound device probs.
ie...once theyve bought the system.

the other thing is i'm not a big fan of hi power gaming cards in pc's.
as ive been burnt in the past by them grabbing resources.
but maybe thats changed. therefore any graphics card...run tests to see how pc resources are being used.

when this puppys up n running post back your max track/plug in counts.
cos locally here in outer boondocks canada duo 2's are slow in coming thru...
via the stagecoach lol.

[tuRnitUpsuM]

Please confirm shopping list for my new Core 2 Duo DAW

confirmation is confirmed ... bravo 1 9er... your new rig is commissioned for nuclear silo duty as of 08:00 hours tommorrow mourning ...





on a less-humourous note... i do second the caution about beefy video-cards and gaming on said rig if you plan on using it for heavy recording duty... by heavy i mean a whole ton of recording... just as a cautionary messure...if just for lighter recording duty....i say go nuts... thumbsup ... and enjoy

should be good to go for awhile ... until the vectoring-processor comes out that taps directly into your cortex...

cheers

(noticed you''ll have passive cooling ... ie. no fans... ...or id recommend a lighter video card without em) but no need.

[Bruce Keen]

I wouldn't dream of gaming with my DAW. I've read about too many conflicts with high end video cards hogging the pci. Get a passive graphics card and forget about games already.
I just got a clean and very silent e6600. It works very well so far. P5W DH / E6600 / 2*1 gig Corsair 5300 / Seagate 80G ATA System / Seagate 320 Sata2 Data /Seasonic 500w/Antec Solo/ GC Asus 7300 / Noctua NH-u12 Heatsink with Papst Fans. It doesn't get much quieter than this. It's quieter than the old G5 2*2,5 which was quite good (except on startup).
If you don't have a computer booth get it quiet. otherwise your just fighting the drone in your music all the time. This DAW overclocks very well of course (tried 3Ghz stable and I've heard of 4G on air cooling) but it's so powerful I think I'll stick with the silence. It cost 1300€.

Perhaps with the money left over you could get a nice audio card (lynx/RME) for solid drivers or a nice converter (got a DAC-1 on ebay for 700€). That will change your DAW experience more than anything else.

I suppose i could get the HD's quieter but my computer seldom leaves the machine room. Sometimes I like to take work back home hence the silence issue. I wonder how quiet the watercooling is not having any experience with it.
Raptors are noisy and unnecessary IMHO. Do you need to cool the northbridge?
To wrap up the e6600 is a monster and I think you'll enjoy it.

[jcschild]

HI,

here is the anal answer (and if you were buying from me the one i prefer to give)
A DAW is just that nothing else no gaming no internet no downloading NADA.

now here is the more realistic answer.

the majoirty cant afford 2 killer computers.
gaming on the same computer is fine, your even doing a dual boot which helps.

i would be more concerned about internet access (or what your accessing)
than gaming.

also i will add Nvidia cards are better for DAWs than ATI. a 7900 would be my choice. ATI has some funky drivers

also the only issue with using a higher powered video card in a daw was with the Intel 915/925 chipset.
was not a problem before (well maybe 5 yrs ago) and has not been a problem since

Scott
ADK

[Bruce Keen]

when I downgraded to a cheapo 30€ graphics card I didn't hear the scrolling scraping through the RME on a P4 3.2 and an ASUS MB. I've never really understood the interupts thing. But I would certainly not argue with your professional experience.
Just a simple question: Is watercooling quiet and worthwhile on such a cool running CPU?

[jcschild]

HI Bruce,

not worth the money. the issue is that water cooling also needs fans!
those fans tend to be loud.
however this is what i used for my HTPC.
http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/...x=216&code=021

i actually used the ver 1. both have no fans.

Scott

[Bruce Keen]

the advantages of this monster are?

[jcschild]

HI Bruce,

well aside from the fact there is a large unit outside the box.
(which is not exactly ugly) my wife comments all the time about the round black cylinder that sits atop my Entertainment center. good thing i have 9' ceilings.

its fanless and makes your CPU not have a fan as in quiet.
compared to ther water cooled solutions its the only fanless one. others can be loud.

also it will allow for overclocking.

Scott
ADK

[Bruce Keen]

Cool Scott, thanks for the answers.

I think I'll pass on that one as I really don't need to squeeze the last drop of power out of this machine and the idea of having a seperate box is not very appealling to me. It is however very interesting to note that one can get a totally fanless machine for 300€ and indeed for a HTPC (took me a while to figure that one) it seems great.
However with my machine the main noise is from the HD's so it wouldn't really change much.
Just to hammer in the point , IMO the real breakthrough with the core 2 duo's is the low temperature (silence) which should be a major incentive for all home daw users.

Cheers

[mig27]

Hi everyone,

First of all: Thanks very much for all your input.

I've also done a little more research to narrow things down.
Here's what I'm going to change:

320GB Seagate SATA drives (7200rpm, 16MB cache) instead of the Raptors:
They have maybe 20% less performance, but the noise in usage is 29dB vs. 43dB.
Also, they'll probably need less cooling.
Much better bang for the buck.

Nvidia 7900 graphics card instead of the ATI X1900
I've also heard of ATI drivers issues in the mean time.

The CPU, Northbridge and graphics card will be water cooled by a fanless Zalman Reserator.

This should allow for silent operation and some CPU overclocking potential.

As Scott from ADK already guessed, I can't afford two separate PCs for DAW and gaming / internet / itunes / office.
Hence my plan of using a dual boot system.
Are there any recommendations for a boot manager?

Thanks again folks.


Michael

[tuRnitUpsuM]

Hey mig27


you dont necessarily have to give up the performance advantage of the raptor drives ...

zalman also makes HDD noise prevention and cooler systems... if the noise specs give ya a worry... but understandable going with the Seagates... a great drive too ...

wish ya well

[jcschild]

Originally Posted by Bruce Keen

Cool Scott, thanks for the answers.

I think I'll pass on that one as I really don't need to squeeze the last drop of power out of this machine and the idea of having a seperate box is not very appealling to me. It is however very interesting to note that one can get a totally fanless machine for 300€ and indeed for a HTPC (took me a while to figure that one) it seems great.
However with my machine the main noise is from the HD's so it wouldn't really change much.
Just to hammer in the point , IMO the real breakthrough with the core 2 duo's is the low temperature (silence) which should be a major incentive for all home daw users.

Cheers

HI Bruce,
i dont blame you~
truth be told we dont sell the zalman water thing.
all the Pro Audio computers we build are very quiet, then if you add noise insulating foam game over. near dead silent~


i only used that zalman as i had a unique problem with my HTPC.
the case it is in has ok air flow, however the entertainment center its in only allows for a few inches top, and sides.
also the rear is closed with only a hole large enough for cables, so it was getting really hot. (i am overclocking it~)
the zalman did the trick for me.

but as mentioned it doesnt suit my wifes decor, i keep telling her to wrap fake vines around it

Scott