Whether to upgrade or start anew?

[BfB]

Hi All,

I'm a musician, and I have a desktop PC that's dedicated to recording audio in my Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). I had it built around 6 years ago by a local company that's no longer in business, and since I've recently upgraded much of my other equipment, I now need to upgrade this PC. My ultimate question will be whether it's more practical and cost-effective to upgrade the existing unit or start fresh. First, though, I need to figure out what I have in this PC so I can post it here.

This computer is not currently connected to the Internet, and I'm still contemplating whether I want to connect it or not. Is there any way for me to determine exactly what's in the guts of this thing without doing so? I tried installing a free utility called SiSoft Sandra that I've used before, but because it was downloaded on another computer (my laptop), it was the wrong configuration for my PC, and I was unable to install it.

I'm open to any ideas or suggestions anyone may have. Here's what I can tell you at present (From 'My Computer/Properties'):

-Windows PC running XP Professional v2002
-Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz
-2.02 GHz (??? not sure what this is...)
256 MB RAM

Thanks in advance for any info provided. :)

Sam

[Rick]

It is a Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz

There is little or No need to look any deeper
Nothing in there would be of much use in a new system and upgrading it would be a waste of time

The hardware is just to old

Keep it as a web surfing device and build/buy a new DAW

Unless you have specialty devices installed
Like a midi control device from your external Audio hardware

In that case just look at what and where everything is connected
PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard
USB, Com ports, printer, Midi port/card (Round or db15 pin), audio card in/out ( 1/8 plug), and video

If you see midi connected then you may need to open it up
See what is connected and to where.
Most new systems do NOT support Midi and longer

[BfB]

Thanks very much, Rick - I appreciate it.

I have a couple of questions/comments on your input:

It is a Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz

There is little or No need to look any deeper
Nothing in there would be of much use in a new system and upgrading it would be a waste of time

The hardware is just to old

I was originally thinking I'd need to upgrade everything, but the new software that I've purchased specifies P4 (1.4 GHz) or higher for the minimum requirements. That led me to believe that I may be able to get by with just increasing the RAM. I also know that I'll need to install a second hard drive. (I failed to mention that the current hard drive is 30 GB). Are you saying it's not worth upgrading based on the processor speed alone, or is it based on what else would be in there with that speed processor?

Unless you have specialty devices installed
Like a midi control device from your external Audio hardware

In that case just look at what and where everything is connected
PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard
USB, Com ports, printer, Midi port/card (Round or db15 pin), audio card in/out ( 1/8 plug), and video

The only specialty device I have installed is an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card, which does have a MIDI interface (among others). I'm presently using the MIDI interface and the analog RCA in/out jacks. All of my remaining connections are standard. Can you provide more detail on why I'd want to review all the connections? Is it to make sure I have similar connections in a new machine, or for some other reason?

If you see midi connected then you may need to open it up
See what is connected and to where.
Most new systems do NOT support Midi and longer

I assume this would be to make sure a new machine is configured similarly - correct? And I didn't know that MIDI is no longer supported - has it been replaced by something else?

Thanks again,
Sam

[Rick]

The Midi is the important part.
IF it is required by your hardware
Then you need to know what type of card it is?
isa,pci,vesa

If it is ISA or Vesa, vesa local bus then your SOL.. it is out dated and is VERY hard to find in a new modern system..

This will require a look at the original docs or inside the case
Unless you want to replace it as well. with a new build..


Now is the Upgrade worth it
IF all you require is a memory and hard drive upgrade
Then by all means go for it
Memory and drives are cheap

If you want to upgrade the CPU (2.0 ghz upgraded to ??ghz) then you are into a new build

The memory upgrade should be taken to the Max the system allows
and the Operating system supports.
What O/S are you running ? (win,95,98,me,xp)

If you have the doc's for the mother board or at least the make and model number finding the upgrade will be easier

If you have the SiSoft Sandra on a disk or can download a newer version and burn it to a cd
Then install it and you can get much of the info needed

Without replacing the midi card and just adding memory and drive it is very possible and affordable
You will also see a performance gain from just doing these two upgrades


Midi is NOT standard on new systems
In fact older sound cards with midi and or game plugs are not supported in Vista
I had to replace one myself because of this

[BfB]

Great stuff, Rick - thanks!

A few more questions/comments:

The Midi is the important part.
IF it is required by your hardware
Then you need to know what type of card it is?
isa,pci,vesa

If it is ISA or Vesa, vesa local bus then your SOL.. it is out dated and is VERY hard to find in a new modern system..

The Manual description is "Audiophile 2496 PCI adapter card" - based on your input, it sounds as if I could continue to use this card with a new build. No need to comment unless I misunderstood you.


Now is the Upgrade worth it
IF all you require is a memory and hard drive upgrade
Then by all means go for it
Memory and drives are cheap

The memory upgrade should be taken to the Max the system allows
and the Operating system supports.
What O/S are you running ? (win,95,98,me,xp)

I was hoping you'd say that. ;) I'm running XP Professional, but there's no Service Pack info in the data I can see, so I'm guessing it may be before SP1. I think I really need to get the specific info to post here, so you (and anyone else) can provide specific input.

If you have the doc's for the mother board or at least the make and model number finding the upgrade will be easier

I'm not sure if I do, but I'll check. I suppose if worse comes to worse, I can always open it up and look on the board itself.

If you have the SiSoft Sandra on a disk or can download a newer version and burn it to a cd
Then install it and you can get much of the info needed

I think the problem is that the version I'm downloading is too new. I'd guess it's based on my laptop (the machine that's downloading it), which is only a couple of years old. I'm toying with the idea of putting the PC in my DAW online, because it would make a lot of things much easier (updates, etc.). My only concern is resources - I really don't want anything running while I'm recording/mixing/mastering that may use system resources. Do you know if there would be any "residual" resource usage if I shut everything down (i.e. Internet connect, anitvirus, firewall, etc.) while I'm recording, etc.?

Midi is NOT standard on new systems
In fact older sound cards with midi and or game plugs are not supported in Vista
I had to replace one myself because of this

Has it been replaced by something else? I'm interested to know. I just bought a keyboard controller that transfers MIDI data via USB, which I didn't even know was possible. Is that the default now, or are there other replacements, as well?

Thanks again,
Sam

[Rick]

Most of the newer systems are designed to work with USB and Midi is not supported very much.. Like your new keyboard converting from Midi to USB

Your PCI M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound card will ensure you can upgrade to a more modern system at a later date..
Be careful about the O/S you select at that time
Check for drivers first

There is no real reason to update your Operating system unless it has a problem.
if your not connecting it to the internet
and your using it as a work station only

The reason for needing the mother board make and model as well as the memory installed already ( Number of simm's ) will allow you to match or know exactly what it supports and how much to install
with luck you won't have to remove the old stuff

with only 256 installed it is more than likely just one simm.
If so and you have 3 open/empty memory slots the upgrade should be easy

If you only have 2 slots and 1 is filled.
Then you may want to remove the old simm and replace it with new memory to allow you to max it out

XP runs best with at least 1gig of memory

The added hard drive will be also easy
once we know what it supports ( Mother board/bios) and you decide how much more storage space you want/need..

[BfB]

Thanks again, Rick. :) I'm hoping to upgrade to at least 2 GB of RAM, so hopefully it'll accommodate that. As soon as I get the specifics I'll post here, and we can take it from there.

Sam

[BfB]

Hi All,

I finally got my ducks in a row and have the goods for my new DAW. I'm going to list the components and my questions/comments, and any input/feedback is welcomed - especially with regard to building a machine dedicated to recording digital audio.

Here are the components:

1. Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY JR X58-T3H6 LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136066R)

2. Processor: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-Intel-_-19115202)

*Question*: I'm not sure how many apps I'll be running simultaneously, but it shouldn't be more than three, and will probably be one or two most of the time - would I be better served with a dual-core processor with higher GHz?

3. RAM: OCZ DDR3-1333 Gold Edition 2048MB (http://www.pugetsystems.com/store/item.php?cat=Ram&id=4985&com=d41d8cd9)

*Question*: I'm planning on going with 8 GB - does anyone recommend more or less?

4. Hard Drives (3): Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 750GB SATA/300 7200RPM 32MB Hard Drive (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ST3750330AS-R&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-daily_html-_-22jul09_750DEAL-_-750DEALMain)

*Question*: These drives are reconditioned - cause for concern, or should I be okay?
*Note*: The three drives will be for 1) OS, recording software and other programs, 2) recording audio data, and 3) instrument sounds and samples.

5. Sound Card: M-Audio Audiophile 2496 - 4-In/4-Out Audio Card with MIDI and Digital I/O (http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496.html)

6. Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-NX72G512E2 GeForce 7200GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125095)

7. DVD Burner: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner LightScribe Support (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173)

8. Case/Power Supply: DYNAPOWER USA Titan-C2702.25.M158 Black SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case PEAK: 430W Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811138081&nm_mc=OTC-d3alt1me&cm_mmc=OTC-d3alt1me-_-Cases+(Computer+Cases+-+ATX+Form)-_-Dynapower+USA-_-11138081)

Thanks in advance for any feedback or suggestions. :)

Sam

[rond36]

Don't buy an "open box" motherboard!
Open box boards are parts that have been returned (RMA) and do not come with the parts that are needed to install the board in the case, you will not get any cables CF/SLI bridge or even the I/O shield. All you get is the motherboard and nothing else!

Intel X58 chipset motherboards support triple-channel memory. If you are buying 2GB DIMMs you will need 3 X 2GB for 6GB
6GB should be enough for your needs, if you find out you need more you can add it later.

I would not buy a reconditioned hard drive no matter how cheap it is!

$40 for a case with a power supply LOL!!! The case may be alright for your needs but when you get it take the power supply unit out and throw it in the trash and buy a good quality PSU. I won't suggest a PSU because I have crappy luck with them :(

[BfB]

Thanks very much for your input! I forgot to mention that I'm going to be running Windows XP Professional 64-bit version. Is 6 GB RAM still good to start?

Sam