Got my mouse on the buy button?

[Sol]

Hi just about to purchase this set up after much stress and hair pulling on the amount of options these days.

This is for a DAW setup, running lots of cpu plugiins effects and music programs ect.. This build will not be used for anything else.

If you could give me any ideas on what may be wrong/incompatible and if this will be a good system overall.

Thanks.

Asus P5B Deluxe / Asus P5W DH - (Still undecided)

Intel Core Duo E6600 / E6700 (Will i notice much between the 2?)

520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet

Zalman CNPS9500-AT Intel LGA775 Aero Flower Cooler

64/256MB ASUS 6200LE 500MHz GDDR GPU 350MHz, 2Pipes, D-Sub/Composite (Out)/DVI-D VIVO

200 Gb Western Digital WD2000JS Caviar SE, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.9 ms

320 Gb Western Digital WD3200AAKS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms

500 Gb Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar SE16, SATA300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms

Antec Nine Hundred/Ultimate Gamer Case

2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2 Pro, DDR2 PC2-6400, 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP

Thank you for any help regarding this!

[HarshWinter]

That look like a gaming computer in everything, but the gpu.
If you just doing lowend gaming/photo/music u need to redesign it a bit.
Tell me again what are u going to be doing with this comupter?

PS: its nice if you give us links to the products.

[Stuey]

Why three different sized HDs?

On Newegg, the 320 gig seagates with perpendicular platters go for $85 or so typically and provide one of the best gig to dollar ratios. I'm a fan of WD also though.

[Sol]

Thanks for the reply's

I will be using this computer for Music Production / Mixing / Mastering only! I have another machine for internet / Games / Graphic Design

Running Nuendo. Powercore, and UAD-1 Cards, VST Plugins ect...

I choose a lot of hard drives so i can keep all my samples on the one, all my Audio files on another and my programs / Vst on the other one.

Vst's and and audio programs like Nuendo take up so much cpu power and ram and some of my projects can take up a lot of tracks. I'm not really looking to overclock so i want power and stability form the outset.

Motherboard
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=443853

Processor
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=430634

Power supply
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=446788

Cooler
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=369638

Case
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=501972

Ram
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=427440

Hope this Helps!

[blue60007]

A plain P5B would do the trick unless you need the features of the higher models (like Firewire). An E6600 would be a great bang for the buck.

Do you need the extra cooler? Or are you going for silence (might be handy considering what you'll be doing)?

If you don't need powerful video you might consider going with a board with onboard video...either way, don't get a card with turbocache. It uses system RAM which defeats the purpose of getting a discrete video card.

As Stuey mentioned why the multiple drives? I'd get two of the 500gig Seagate 7200.10 drives he mentioned. One less drive means less noise, heat, etc.

If you aren't overclocking DDR2-667 is sufficient (and cheaper). Either way stay clear of the DDR2-800 with 4-4-4-12 timings. I hear they don't play well with the 965 chipset (on the P5B series). As you said, I'm not sure I'd overclock on a production machine.

[Sol]

Would i not need the cooler then? I assumed all cpu's needed a cooler and obviously i don't want it to overheat!

Does the card i selected use turbo cache if so could you recommend one that would be sufficient. On board is no good for me as i need dual monitors.

Really DDR2-667?? I thought i would get more performance from the DDR2-800, more plugins to run for example!!!???

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Sol Would i not need the cooler then? I assumed all cpu's needed a cooler and obviously i don't want it to overheat!

Retail boxed processors already come with a approved heatsink. No need to buy another.

Originally Posted by Sol Really DDR2-667?? I thought i would get more performance from the DDR2-800, more plugins to run for example!!!???

You'd only need DDR2-800 if you're going to overclock your computer. DDR2-667 will be fine.

What do you mean by "more plugins"?

Cricket

[Sol]

Plugins are VST Effects or instruments that are inserted into my mixer within Nuendo.

These could be EQ, Compressors Reverb ect.. A lot of these take up a lot of cpu and memory, that is why i thought faster memory may be beneficial!

Also torn between the E6600 and the E6700 as the cpu and are the heatsinks on these loud?

Thanks again for everybody's input, i really want to have this finalised by tomorrow as i have waited long enough!

[BrokenKingdom]

Plug-ins take up lots of memory so I would suggest getting a fast memory speed. Dual core is certainly the way to go for audio editing, more CPU/Ram more power for mixing and editing.

Don't worry about the stock heatsink/fan being to loud you can always buy after market cooling which is usually a lot better and often times a lot quieter as well.

If you have the cash, up the amount of ram instead of springing for a slight CPU upgrade you will bottle neck at 2Gb of ram well before you bottle neck at the E6600 C2D CPU.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Sol Plugins are VST Effects or instruments that are inserted into my mixer within Nuendo. These could be EQ, Compressors Reverb ect.. A lot of these take up a lot of cpu and memory, that is why i thought faster memory may be beneficial!

Faster RAM won't help, but making sure you have more than enough RAM will. For DAW 2GB is probably the minimum amount to go with.

Originally Posted by Sol Also torn between the E6600 and the E6700 as the cpu

You won't see much of a performance difference between the two. The E6600 is the "sweet spot" processor right now.

Originally Posted by Sol and are the heatsinks on these loud?

I haven't heard one yet but I understand they aren't silent.

Cricket

[Disgrace]

Originally Posted by Sol Also torn between the E6600 and the E6700 as the cpu and are the heatsinks on these loud?

I think the E6600 is the better for the money. I've got one too so I know it's good!

If you were ever into overclocking, you could reach and surpass the speeds at which the E6700 processes anyway.

As for the heatsink, it's not loud at all but then I have a good noise-proof case. To me it's barely audible and no complaints.

[BrokenKingdom]

Originally Posted by Cricket Faster RAM won't help, but making sure you have more than enough RAM will. For DAW 2GB is probably the minimum amount to go with.

Good point, if it's a matter of cost, get more ram/slower speed. If you can spring for it go more ram/more speed.

[Sol]

Originally Posted by BrokenKingdom Don't worry about the stock heatsink/fan being to loud you can always buy after market cooling which is usually a lot better and often times a lot quieter as well. ! If you have the cash, up the amount of ram instead of springing for a slight CPU upgrade you will bottle neck at 2Gb of ram well before you bottle neck at the E6600 C2D CPU.

Well in my post i originally put that i was purchasing a zalman CNPS9500 but someone suggested i didn't need one!

I run Windows XP Pro, would i be able to use 4 gig with this, i've heard a lot of people having trouble with 4 gig ram?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by BrokenKingdom If you can spring for it go more ram/more speed.

Using faster RAM won't be beneficial unless you're overclocking. If the computer is running at stock speeds the faster RAM will be downclocked to a slower RAM speed. As long as the computer has more than enough RAM of the proper speed Sol shouldn't have any problems adding the pluggins.

Originally Posted by Sol I run Windows XP Pro, would i be able to use 4 gig with this, i've heard a lot of people having trouble with 4 gig ram?

32 bit WinXP can't use more than 3.4GB of RAM.

Cricket

[glfredrick]

Though efficient enough for running to capacity, the stock CPU coolers supplied by Intel are noted as being loud.

For quiet running, you might consider the Arctic Cooler Pro 7. It does a good job at low $$$ and is considerably quieter than the stock offering. Others do a good job, but at the price of higher decibel levels.

[Stuey]

While it is true that you don't need a 3rd party cooler, it might offer better lower temperatures and/or less noise production.

I'd say see how the included cooler sounds before you go for a 3rd party cooler. Or you can always throw in a fan controller.