Angry_Games Posted November 20, 2007 Posted November 20, 2007 definitely XP as you and I both know it is far superior in stability and maturity than Vista (one day Vista might get this far, who knows, but for now, XP). Find out about which kinds of music production/recording as MIDI adds a bit to the mix as to which sound card one should get. I'll get Andy @ OCZ to come comment on his experience with various cards of this flavor (direct recording or midi) as he's a professional musician with much much more experience than any 50 of us when it comes to DI/MIDI recording etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan42684 Posted November 20, 2007 Posted November 20, 2007 k, I'll give him a ring tomorrow. Basically I use Pro Tools LE and my M-Box for recording guitar and I'm gold. LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nghisus Posted November 20, 2007 Posted November 20, 2007 Ok, ok, I yield! I yield! No raid! No raid! Haha. Well then the next best suggestion is Sata II or a Raptor. Haha, you're killin me Angry. I tend to forget, I was once in the dark when it came to these things. It was easy because I had a friend who taught me how to fix everything when it went down. You take knowledge for granted sometimes and thus I plead guilty as charged. But in all fairness Raid has come along way with the advent of SATA II. And my suggestion was not only pulled from my machine but the machine, my friend has built, my brother-in-laws and one I just built for one of my brother's friends. The counter to that argument is pretty obvious in that we all have a bit of technical knowledge as well as each other to depend on in case something goes wrong. So that is always the balance point, reliability or performance? But you've made a valid point Angry. Dan or Dan's brother-in-law will probably want reliability over performance due to the complications that can arise. Therefore, Dan, coming for someone who can officially be called "Westbank Trash", don't do Raid haha. Is Moe's still there in Westwego? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan42684 Posted November 22, 2007 Posted November 22, 2007 Direct recording into the computer through the MIDI. composing on computer with a program. Yep Moe's pizza is still around and still good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted November 22, 2007 Posted November 22, 2007 ya you want to look into an audio card like a Creative Emu or M-Audio etc. Let me get AndyOCZ in here to help give a better choice list as I'm not as familiar with them as he is (we used to record into a 4-track or 8-track, I've never gotten big into recording into my PC yet but I'm thinking about it) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan42684 Posted November 23, 2007 Posted November 23, 2007 Thanks A_G I'm looking forward to seeing what Andy has to say. It's no rush so whenever he gets the chance. He's going to be ordering the motherboard and processor first. Here's what he's decided on. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128064 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyOCZ Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 Hi Dan, I sort of read the posts here (lots of info). AG is pretty much right on. If it was just a music box, any old video card with at least 128mb of RAM would do. For CAD, I would follow the software supplier's recommendations for video. For a CPU, I would say a dual core should be just fine. I doubt a quad core would be put to full use and you can save some $$$$ for a better video card. For RAM, 2gb would be just fine. I would avoid Vista and stick with XP for obvious code bloat and driver issue reasons. I run Sonar 5 (it's up to version 7 now) on an X2 3800 running on a DFI Expert NF4 board with 2gb of RAM for my music stuff and it's fast enough that I haven't thought about upgrading. I use a 7300 GS (as I remember) video card and that works fine. A good gaming rig would do everything that you need actually. Use at least 2 hard drives; have the OS an applications on one and the music and CAD files should be stored on the other. Direct the programs to drop the CAD or music files on the 2nd drive. That will speed up disk access a whole bunch. If you have any questions, just ask. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 I think he needs input on which audio card to get for his brother's music needs (input recording/MIDI) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildman2 Posted November 25, 2007 Posted November 25, 2007 Spend less time on administration and more time on creation. With a robust, creative toolset, unique collaboration features, and the ability to manipulate high-resolution imagery with ease, Autodesk® Toxik™ software allows you to streamline your facility workflow and experience truly collaborative digital compositing. Discover what Toxik can do for your creative process. Autodesk Toxik 2007 Highlights With a centralized relational database, integrated file and metadata sharing, and versioning capabilities, Autodesk Toxik 2007 software enables sleek, parallel workflows. Detailed Features Autodesk Toxik 2007 collaboration software is a revolutionary new enterprise solution for high-quality, high dynamic range, feature film compositing, and 3D virtual visual effects cinematography. System Requirements Supported graphics cards and minimum system requirements for Autodesk Toxik Creative, Render Node, Permit Server, and Database Server components. Autodesk Toxik 2007 OS & System Requirements (pdf - 67Kb) Autodesk Toxik 2008 Highlights Autodesk Toxik 2008 is a stand-alone version that includes new tools to seamlessly integrate CG footage into 2D composites. Designed to provide greater interoperability with Maya and other 3D applications, Toxik 2008 maintains highlights and reflections within 3D renders, even when blurred, without clamping images. Detailed Features Read the complete Toxik 2008 features list. System Requirements Windows * Windows® XP SP2 or Windows® XP 64-bit operating systems * Intel® or AMD® CPUs single, dual or quadcore processors * Minimum of 1 GB of RAM * NVidia® graphics card: Quadro FX series or GeForce series Linux® * Red Hat® 4 Update 4 or Red Hat 5 or Fedora Core 7 operating systems * Intel or AMD CPUs single, dual or quadcore processors * Minimum of 1 GB of RAM * NVidia graphics card: Quadro FX series or GeForce series Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyOCZ Posted November 26, 2007 Posted November 26, 2007 I think he needs input on which audio card to get for his brother's music needs (input recording/MIDI) Right, I forgot about that. A soundcard is the tough part. The EMU cards are fairly cheap and the 1212m model has great converters and excellent sound quality. I owned one until a short time ago. The driver software is a little hard to configure at times. This is a good, economical choice with real 1/4 inputs and other choices like pro quality SPDIF to work with. Personally I prefer a firewire interface these days. I have a Focusrite Sapphire Pro with 8 channels, but that's fairly pricey. Focusrtite also make smaller firewire interfaces. Shop around and read some reviews. USB 2.0 might work OK, but I haven't used one. Standard USB has sucky bandwidth limitations, so stay away from that. I hope this helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted November 26, 2007 Posted November 26, 2007 standard USB also eats up a lot of cpu cycles to do anything Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyOCZ Posted November 26, 2007 Posted November 26, 2007 standard USB also eats up a lot of cpu cycles to do anything Blows monkeys too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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