New Computer--recommendations?

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 7 Sep 2002 9:30 am

I'm in the market for a new computer to be solely used for music....MP3's, CD burning, home recording and Band in a Box (and internet, of course)
Is a laptop out of the question?
What kind of sound card comes with new computers?
Can I upgrade or specify a better sound card or should I get an external one?
Thanks in advance for your input.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 7 Sep 2002 9:34 am

You can find out a lot of good info here: http://www.pcmag.com

Click on their Buyer Guide link.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 7 Sep 2002 1:42 pm

Tony, I started out on the same quest as you. After all my research I decided on and bought the "Gateway 500X Digital Music PC".
Check it out! The sound card that comes with it handles BIAB and everything else you need. www.genejones.com
[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 07 September 2002 at 04:57 PM.]

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 7 Sep 2002 6:29 pm

Build your own.
It's educational!
It's fun!

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 8 Sep 2002 6:01 pm

Tony,

I would have to go with Mark Herrick's suggestion. Build your own. It is a lot of fun and VERY educational. If you are looking to build your own, the magazine you should check out is maximumPC. You can get it at the news stand at a book store or computer store. This magazine is for the audio and gaming PC builder. You only save a tiny bit of money when building your PC, but the knowledge you gain in huge. If you have the time and patience I would recommend it.

Thanks,
Mark

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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Tony Palmer · Post by **Tony Palmer** » 9 Sep 2002 6:14 am

Mark & Mark, so what would your recommended shopping list consist of?
Anything specific regarding memory, hard drive, sound card, CD burner, usb port accessibility, etc.?

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 9 Sep 2002 6:30 am

Tony,

OK, this link is to a article on MaximumPC's website. They build the "ultimate machine" every year. Here is their shopping list and also it has some really good building tips and safety tips. The article is here

Mark

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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

[This message was edited by Mark Ardito on 09 September 2002 at 07:31 AM.]

Vernon Hester · Post by **Vernon Hester** » 9 Sep 2002 9:47 am

I would go with a Dell rig for mulitmedia and go all the way into Video and audio editing and recording as this is the coming thing making your own DVD's. Dell comes with soundblaster 5.1 audio card which is one of the best going. Sonic Foundry, Cubase, Makes good recording and editing software,Make sure your drive is 7200 rpm for video.
Vern

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 9 Sep 2002 3:43 pm

That link looks like a really good place to start. With a few minor variations that list is almost exactly what I built. I have the SOYO motherboard, the Plextor CD-RW, the Pioneer DVD, Win 2K Pro and AMD Athlon XP 1900+ CPU. If you do build your own, you should spend some time researching these kinds of websites and ones that do comparisons of motherboards and other hardware.

One thing that will give you a headache is trying to decide on the right fan/heatsink. The one that comes with the AMD processor seemed a little lightweight to me, so I went for a Swiftech MCX370. (After spending a week reading every review and comparison I could find!)

Doing a lot of research up front will give you a much better idea of what your options are. It's not hard to do, but you need to pay attention to the details. Once you've collected all the hardware, it only takes about a day to put it all together.

Then you can start modifying it...