I will use this computer for internet surfing, music recording and listening, photoshop and mild gaming. It needs to have great sound quality. I am not too bothered about having the best visuals. I do not want to spend over £700
If you need to ask me anything I have missed out I will gladly tell you.
I suppose the first question that needs to be asked is what are you looking for from a sound card, are you looking to plug other equipment into it for your music recording? Like an amp, cd player, record player etc via rca connectors or opticals. Or are you going to be using your comp for things like Reason + Cubase and writing music and may need midi connectors for a keyboard etc?
Or is it just for backing up music and downloading and compiling playlists etc for use with itunes or something similar?
I will using a USB audio interface and music programs to record. I will probably get a high-quality 2.1 set-up. MIDI would be a nice extra. I am looking for excellent sound quality most of all. I'm guessing around 2GB of RAM is all I need and I would like a decently fast computer.
I am usually never ever negative with my replies or posts, but for what you want your pc and your budget, I truely will be amazed if it will be a Vadim.
Quote:
internet surfing, music recording and listening, photoshop and mild gaming
Ok, internet surfing, listening to music, mild gaming, you do not need any expensive pc, but if you wish to do serious music recording and serious photoshop stuff, you will need very good hardware for these applications.
Forgive me if I have assumed too much.
I know music recording, I am a pro audio engineer (recording and live) and have many collegues who are pro graphic and film editing people which use their pc's for graphic design, photo -editing, film editing, etc...
To do these well, you will need a muli-core CPU, preferably a Quad Core, a good Audio card (Creative does None for proper music recording in my opinion, if you want the real deal), and the appropriate Graphics card.
Again your budget will be used up before ever getting to a complete configuration.
Now I am not saying it's impossible, you just may need to up your budget.
I guess the real question is like Baine has pointed out, what level of use will you be using the pc when it comes to music recording and photoshop?
In my humble opinion, I still believe your budget is too low for a Vadim.
Have you tried to play with the onlie configurator to see if £700 is feasible? You surely cannot include VAT as well in this budget, yes?
I wish you well, and will keep my eye here, as I am always willing to learn.
Preinstalled:
PSU: Quiet and efficient FSP 350-500W (depending on configuration)
Case Cooling: Akasa Quiet Fans
CPU fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or alternative (depending on the configuration)
Case: Akasa Zen Black Case (No PSU)
Motherboard: Asus P5K (Intel P35 - 1333 FSB Conroe/Penryn)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Retail (2x2.66GHz 1333FSB 6Mb)
Memory: OCZ DDR2-800 2x1024MB Special OPS Edition Dual Channel Kit
Hard Drive: 250Gb Barracuda 7200.10 16mb Cache SATA II NCQ
Graphics: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3850 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDMI/DVI
Optical Drive: SONY-NEC Optiarc AD-7203A 20x DVDRW Black OEM
Sound Card: Creative 7.1 X-FI Fatal1ty Champion
Building: Standard Build (5-10 Working Days)
Warranty: Premium 2 Year RTB Warranty and Lifetime Support
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Basic 32 bit DVD OEM
Changes: Changes to the configuration are possible
It's a little over budget though @ £756 inc vat (£643 exc vat)
This is really the best I could come up with that's close to being within in your budget and I think RH makes some very sensible points and I'm unsure the above spec would meet your needs (small HDD, duel core etc)
i've done better than that!!!! Quad core and a 9600gt for £760!!!(inc VAT)
tada!!!
Custom Nucleus-Intel-775HS2 system 43334
Preinstalled: PSU: Quiet and efficient FSP 350-500W (depending on configuration)
Case Cooling: Akasa Quiet Fans
CPU fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or alternative (depending on the configuration)
Case: Akasa Zen Black Case (No PSU)
Motherboard: Asus P5K (Intel P35 - 1333 FSB Conroe/Penryn)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Retail (4x2.40GHz 1066FSB 8Mb) 95W
Memory: OCZ DDR2-800 2x1024MB Special OPS Edition Dual Channel Kit
Hard Drive: 500Gb Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ 7200 16mb Cache SATA II
Graphics: BFG Nvidia 9600GT OC 512Mb PCIe 2
Optical Drive: SONY-NEC Optiarc AD-7203A 20x DVDRW Black OEM
Optical Drive 2: none selected
Floppy Drive: none selected
Sound Card: Creative 7.1 X-FI XtremeAudio
PCI card: none selected
PCIe Device: none selected
Building: Standard Build (5-10 Working Days)
Warranty: Premium 2 Year RTB Warranty and Lifetime Support
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit DVD OEM
Changes: Changes to the configuration are possible
Those are both very nice specs and very close to budget.
Well done!
Where's my hat, O'yeah, I don't use one.
If I did, I eat it.
Ok, really...
I would keep in mind horlicks:
CPU if you can keep it in the budget,
CPU - quad core so the Q6600 is great, like Snaga chose
plus it overclocks excellent ( a whole 1gb and on air-cooled as long at you have good CPU cooler and a digital fan controller)
AUDIO - Creative 7.1 X-FI Fatal1ty Champion, like Baine chose
why, because it has midi inputs & outputs (they are mini and I do believe it comes with the appropriate adapter cable) and it has Phono/RCA inputs as well. As you will be using a usb module for your input these will just be the icing on the cake for optional inputs. So this card would be my advice for audio card choice.
HARD DRIVE - I would go for a Samsung SpinPoint an F1 series they run the coolist as they are and have 32mb cache. I would go for a 750gb and advise a second HD(NO RAID) for music as it will use alot of space for working and saving your work.
If budget allows go for larger if you can.
RAM -Definately go for 4GB in a two stick configuration.
Music recording and photoshop applications will work more efficiently with more RAM, especially if you have VISTA for the OS, I personally would stay with XP PRO, still not convinced yet about Vista. AND I do use both, still prefer XP PRO. (XP 32bit will only see 3gb, but it's worth it in my opinion).
Ok I did a configuration and I did not base it on budget but rather what you wish to use your PC for.
It's what I would recommend with what you have shared.
It's also based upon it being a Vadim.
I not only do pro audio, but also build Custom PC's like Vadim, watercooled and aircooled. I usually end up buying from Vadim or will send my clients to Vadim. I am not in it for money, but the pleasure of helping those to getting the best PC around if they can afford it.
I also take into account longevity and upgradeability.
Custom Nucleus-Intel-775HS2 system 43335
Preinstalled: PSU: Quiet and efficient FSP 350-500W (depending on configuration)
Case Cooling: Akasa Quiet Fans
CPU fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or alternative (depending on the configuration)
Case: Coolermaster Dominator 690 Black
Motherboard: ASUS P5E (Intel X38 - 1600/1333 FSB)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Retail (4x2.40GHz 1066FSB 8Mb) 95W
Memory: OCZ DDR2-800 2x2048MB Vista Upgrade 4GB Dual Channel Kit
Hard Drive: (2x) 750Gb Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD753LJ 7200 32mb Cache SATA II
Graphics: BFG Nvidia 9600GT OC 512Mb PCIe 2
Optical Drive: SONY-NEC Optiarc AD-7203A 20x DVDRW Black OEM
Optical Drive 2: none selected
Floppy Drive: Heisei 3.5" Floppy Drive with Card Reader Black
Sound Card: Creative 7.1 X-FI Fatal1ty Champion
PCI card: none selected
PCIe Device: none selected
Building: Standard Build (5-10 Working Days)
Warranty: Deluxe 1 Year Collect and Return-Onsite Warranty (+1 year RTB)
Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2 OEM
Why the case and not a cheaper one, because it as a better inside configuration and more cooling abilities with the fan options and placement of fans in the case.
Why not a cheaper MB, because the one above has better properties and better cooling already from manufacturer.
Hard Drives, x2-NOT in RAID because music likes alot of space, storage space, and best to save to another HD not the one that has application running or OS on. The ones chosen above are very good running cool and have good amount of cache.
Again lesson learned from experience and loss of data working with music recordings.
All the choices have been chosen because of their properties, the cost really is worth it in the long run.
I know this from personal experience and because those advised in the past have always said they have been glad in the long run for trusting good sound judgement and experience. You only have to ask Vincent(of Vadim), who knows me and is a personal friend of mine.
Hope this helps.
Sorry for not meeting your budget.
Just helping with component advice based upon what you wish to do with your PC.
If you can get a Vadim, do so; for they are the best, especilly with support and warranty.
I suppose I might be able to go up to £1000, but bear in mind I do not need a top-of-the-range computer. I just need decent RAM and sound. I mean, my parent's PC has an NVIDIA GeForce2 and even that works fine for me. If it's easier just forget about the Photoshop thing.
Would AMD or Intel be better?
Snaga, I am considering the build you showed me
Last edited by Horlicks on Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:18 pm; edited 2 times in total
Processor type does not mater when we are talking about storage. Although the amount of cache in your hard drive does matter. And what exactly do you mean by "better"? As in faster, bigger, what? If you like it fast than get an SSD but with your budget, I doubt you can afford that. If you what you crave is a lot of space a couple of 1 Terabyte hard drives in RAID should be good.
You might consider the Auzentech Prelude sound card, if awesome sound quality is more important than external boxes/etc., as you'd save some money compared to the Creative Fatal1ty as well.
Horlicks
I truely will be amazed if it will be a Vadim.
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