Custom Build Pc - Recording + General Use

[nzscythe]

Hi guys, I am looking at setting up a new custom build PC which I plan on using for a bit of recording for my band. (a 5 piece alternative / indie / rock type band)

I want to go with a PC rather than a mac as the computer will also be used as my general use, gaming, web surfing, emailing computer. I play a few games and already have a pretty good graphics card which I plan to include in my new build. (an NVIDIA 8800GT)

The PC needs to be pretty high spec, but not over the top - I'm thinking something like a dual core 2.6 or 3 ghz processor and 4 gb of ram (but probably still running 32 bit windows xp as vista doesn't run some of my software very well)

I really want a quiet machine as all my previous PC's have been very noisy and I want this one to be quiet!

I'm looking for advise on everything from soundcards to hard drives to power supplies... I have a 500gb Sata drive in my current PC which I also plan to use.

Can anyone point me in the right direction on how I should go about setting up a new machine that will alow me to get started with home recording/mixing and still allow me to run my current games/flight simulators without breaking the bank. I don't really have a budget in mind, probably around the $2k (NZ) mark...

I don't currently have any recording software so I'm open to suggestions and starting points there too - A couple of friends of mine use Logic Pro which I have heard is really good, but only available on Mac now... What other PC based software is good for starting out with?

I look forward to hearing from you - and feel free to ask any questions, I'll help out as much as I can.

Thanks

Patrick

[Nightwolf]

One thing you might consider is setting up a dual-boot system. If you have a lot of things running in the background it can hamper your ability to record. Although the problem seems to be less of an issue as time goes on.

here is an article to read

• The first thing to think about is the audio interface.
  
• How many inputs do you want to be able to plug in at the same time?
  
• There are XLR jacks (pro mic), Phone jacks (guitar cord), and MIDI jacks.
  
• Are you going to be recording live drums?
  
• I got a set of cheap drum mics on e bay for like $70 that work well for that, but I needed 6 phone jack inputs all at the same time to make it happen.
  

Most interfaces come with recording S/W so answering these questions will streamline your thoughts towards the final answer.

obviously more is better, but it comes with a price tag. Putting aside the price of the PC you need to figure out how much money you have to throw at the recording aspect of the thing, this will dictate your equipment list.

Hope that helps, answer my questions and ask more and I'll bee back

[nzscythe]

Thanks for the response, I know of dual boot systems - I prefer not to have to go to that myself but I understand the need if you are really serious about recording. I'm just going to be doing it more as a hobby so I'll try to keep it reasonably simple with one operating system (win xp 32 bit)

I was talking to a friend today who is into digital recording (he uses logic pro software) and he was suggesting the best starting point for a sound card is to have something that can easily manage up to 8 inputs at the same time - that was I can record the rhythm section (1 bass + 7 drums) or just a simple drum kit mic setup and include guitars and vocals - I know there are many combinations but 8 inputs sounds like a good starting point...

I have a mackie 16 channel mixing desk - it is mainly suited for live performances (doesn't have individual outputs for each channel) but I am looking at maybe trading up to one that does.

I've had a bit of a quick read of the article you posted a link to, It has some usefull stuff but I can see I am still going to have a lot of questions.

I guess that providing I get a pretty high spec gaming type machine with a high end sound card I am not really going to have any problems with recording later on... are there are tricks to be aware of? incompatibilities? software to watch out for? certain types of hard drives etc? Any suggestions on how to keep the noise of the computer down?

Thanks for the help

Patrick

[typo]

for your budget you might struggle to get a decent 8 way i/o box. your mackie doesn't have individual channel outs. to get in budget you'll probably need simple line level i/o break out box, so you would either need to upgrade or move to a totally in PC mixer and invest more in the soundcard/break out box to get 8 line and 8 mic (phantom powered) break out box. even so it's not that cheap (1$k NZ at least for the basic line in sound card and bob alone, probably more). Something like the focusrite saffire pro 26 as the basic 8 line in. desk wise you could look at a soundcraft spirit desk, the model with 8 channels with individual line outs (is a 16 channel desk i think)

[Steve]

I think if I were you, I'd go for something like this. And keep the PC for games. In my experience, PCs built for gaming, don't fare well as music machines! Much better to have a portable entity if you want to record a band! Thye price of these things have fallen consistently over the past few years!

If you really want to use the PC. Get something like this. it comes with cubase LE recording software. Has 8 line/Mic inputs and is fairly cheap! I would invest in another Hard Drive and keep it for saving all your audio recordings. Nothing else. 80gb should be plenty big enough. If it's a new machine you're buying, then SATA drives are best. Set up a different profile on the machine, (Like a dual boot) and keep it just for recording. Get as much RAM as you can.

[Nightwolf]

Just to confuse you a little more

Lexicon hardware and CuBase LE $149

[nzscythe]

Thanks very much for all the input, some good information in there (and some confusing stuff too!)

I'll make a start on putting together a list of what I will probably get and then post it on here to get some feedback.

Please remember this is just a starting point for me and in the long term if it looks like things will be successful I will possibly look at setting up a better system with dual boot and/or seperate from any network - If I got really serious I may even look at getting a mac system but that is going to be at least a year off I think.

I may need a bit more help with selecting a suitable sound card but I will first review the many posts on sound cards already on this site.

Thanks again

Patrick

[nzscythe]

Hi Again, I've put together a bit of a shopping list for my new PC - looking for a bit of feedback.

I plan to use my existing NVIDIA 8800GT Video Card and 500GB SATA HDD (for media only)

Here's the list:

AA06471 $278.00

Antec P182 (Black) Mid-Tower Case NO Power Supply Unit *Front Audio, USB & Firewire

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AA06856 $411.00

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS5 Intel P45 Socket T (LGA775) ATX Motherboard

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AA03802 $379.00

Kingston Memory - 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB ) - FB-DIMM - DDR II - 667 MHz - fully buffered (KTH-XW667/4G)

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CP00068 $312.00

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16Ghz 6MB Cache 1333Mhz Socket T (LGA775) CPU + Fan Retail Boxed

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PSU00008 $186.00

Zalman ZM600-HP 600W ATX Heatpipe Cooled Power Supply Unit

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HD00158 $94.00

Western Digital Caviar SE16 (WD2500AAKS) - Hard Disk Drive - 250GB - Serial ATA300 - 7200RPM - buffer: 16MB (System Drive)

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AA06320 $53.00

Asus DRW-2014S1T Dual Layer Multi Format 20x (Black & Beige faceplates) SATA DVD-Writer

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CMP0054 $366.00

M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI Virtual Studio

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SW01400 $230.00

Microsoft Windows XP Professional OEM Operating System

Total Cart Value: $2309.00

What are your thoughts? Any comment on the soundcard? I've Heard M-Audio cards are pretty good?

[Steve]

Sounds pretty comprehensive! The only thing I would suggest is adding a silent CPU fan.

The Delta 1010 is a great card and should handle all you can throw at it!

[nzscythe]

Thanks, Yeah I'll probably add a silent cpu fan - any suggestions? there are so many to choose from - Zalman are pretty good...

Cheers

Patrick