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Original Message 1/17 25-Feb-05 @ 10:34 PM - new pc build time ..

beds

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it's that time again, gonna build a new main music box. i haven't followed new pc bits and pieces for a while. so any thoughts on ... 64 bit? pci-express? boards? ram? fsb? gbh? ddt? gay bishops?

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Message 2/17 25-Feb-05 @ 10:44 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

psylichon

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64-bit: yes
pci-x: might as well
boards: Nvidia seem to be the most popular on the DAW forums
ram: I recommend some
fsb: You'll need one of those too
lsd: I'll take some of that.

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Message 3/17 25-Feb-05 @ 11:32 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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what's the point of 64bit if windoze is still 32 and all apps i have are all 32 as well?

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Message 4/17 26-Feb-05 @ 12:19 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

psylichon

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because these things are gonna start happening more and more in the coming days. Besides, 64-bit chips are proven to perform 32-bit tasks better than their 32-bit bretheren anyway.

64 bit will be here within a year or two for real, why not prepare now? they're not that much more expensive.

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Message 5/17 27-Feb-05 @ 08:58 PM Edit: 27-Feb-05 | 10:50 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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anyway, just in case anyone's looking, talked to a few people, read some websites and so far i've decided to go with this motherboard: MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum with a amd 64 3000+ processor.

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Message 6/17 28-Feb-05 @ 06:17 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

welder

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I've just built an Athlon 64 machine, (that old celeron 800 started to be a little slow for these new plugins :-)

Well, they have this nice RAM controller in the processor (they call it hypertransport or something), so with some decent CL2 DDR RAM it should be really fast. Just make sure you buy TWO ram modules, (512MB/512MB or 1GB / 1GB) to get double bandwith for ram access. (If the motherboard supports dual-channel memory access, that is).

About video card, well, some say ATI, some say NVIDIA, thing is, if you don't plan any serious gaming then you shouldn't invest much into that one. Make sure it has digital outputs, preferably for two screens. If you DO plan some gaming then it needs a bit more of research, go for one with HW support for pixelshader 3.0, at least 128 MB onnbnoard memory...

gotta run :-)

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Message 7/17 28-Feb-05 @ 09:23 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

dARKSTATe

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Depending on cost and cooling solutions - you can probably push
that Athlon 64 3000+ up a couple of notches without too much pain!

I'd recommend a 3400+ before the price starts ramping stupidly! Got one of those in the gigging laptop with 1GB of ram and its feckin' fast i tell ya!

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Message 8/17 28-Feb-05 @ 01:33 PM Edit: 28-Feb-05 | 01:37 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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cost is always an issue innit. ramping? i can't see processor prices going up, surely?

the 3000+ is the 'entry level' processor for these 939 mobos at around �90, i can always upgrade later. 3500+ is double the price at the moment. fuck that.

have i got to get 2 sticks of identical ram with this board? anyone know?

and do i get pc2100, pc2700, pc3200 or pc4000 ? the mobo will take any of these ... i never had this much choosing to do with the last 3 builds.

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Message 9/17 28-Feb-05 @ 03:15 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

welder

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PCxxxx, the higher the better, as long as the motherboard supports it (goto MSI webpage and check the specs).

Also, buy CL2 (or CL2.5) if possible. Better timing, faster reads/writes.

Also, check if the mobo supports dual-channel ram configs, if yes (most probably, if not, then get an ASUS motherboard with VIA chipset, I know that VIA had problems before, but now its rock solid and slightly faster than nforce3) then buy two identical ram modules. (Hell, they even sell ram modules in pair, but you prolly don't need that. Twinmos products are fine, or Kingston. Forget no-name ram.)

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Message 10/17 28-Feb-05 @ 04:55 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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i'm sticking with that board.

crucial.com offers me either CL 2.5 or 3. is 3 better than 2.5 ? - there's no difference in price unless you buy pc4000.

and what sort of performance increase am i getting if i buy pc4000 instead of 3200?

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Message 11/17 01-Mar-05 @ 08:54 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

welder

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No, go for CL2.5 (the smaller the CL number the better).

PC4000, to be honest I don't know, probably yes, but I'm not aware HOW faster it will be. If you get PC4000, make sure that the mobo supports it, this is a kind of standardised specification for the DDR RAM.

I had to go to a meeting yesterday, so I didn't had time to stress the importance of the dual-channel RAM config. :-) With VSTs and digital audio, there is an enormous amount of data that has to be moved back and forth the CPU. No matter how big is the CPU cache, it is usually not enough for the DSP operations performed by plugins (generating or modifying high bandwith audio streams). So even if you have a really fast CPU, the bottleneck will be the memory access. By having a dual-channel config actually doubles the bandwith between the CPU and the RAM.

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Message 12/17 01-Mar-05 @ 10:15 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

dARKSTATe

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Good solid advice, but IMO I doubt you'll notice any discernable difference...

Go for the best you can afford...

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Message 13/17 03-Mar-05 @ 11:14 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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never! i'll buy what ever isn't the leading edge. so 3200 it is. 2 big fat gbs.

what about cooling? zalman is it?

and those acoustic tiles you can stick inside the box ... any good? any point?

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Message 14/17 04-Mar-05 @ 06:55 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

welder

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Well, if you don't get a "boxed" version of the AND Athlon 64 then go for a high diameter fan. Zalmann, Coolermaster are both good alternatives. I know that there is some water-cooling systems around, but I haven't seen one yet, and not sure if its quiet or not, but for sure it is a bitch to install.

If you really want a quiet PC you might have two options: either get a "quiet" chassis (with a power supply with a large and slow fan), or... and yeah I'm a bit unsure about this, I was in Sweden for a while and I have seen some boxes with realy good sound insulation, you could put your nasty, ugly, noisy PC inside, close thelittle door, and there was almost no noise coming out (and yeah, it had one, big silent fan to get rid of the heat inside). I have no idea from where one can get any of these, but apart from the fact that you have to open a door to put in a disc, these are unbeatable.

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Message 15/17 04-Mar-05 @ 07:00 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

broken finger

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ok, you can bouild one...

http://www.carsten-buschmann.de/noise-protection/

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Message 16/17 10-Mar-05 @ 10:10 AM - RE: new pc build time ..

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heh... can I get it with furry dice? - ewwwww

heh, i might build a 64 soon, if so there'll be a video diary of it.

___________________________________

I had an idea for a script once. It's basically Jaws except when the guys in the boat are going after Jaws, they look around and there's an even bigger Jaws. The guys have to team up with Jaws to get Bigger Jaws.... I call it... Big Jaws!!!

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Message 17/17 15-Mar-05 @ 12:58 PM Edit: 15-Mar-05 | 01:37 PM - RE: new pc build time ..

beds

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well, it's built, but having trouble getting 4 sticks in it cheaply. they've got to be single sided pairs for ddr400 if you want to fill the slots.

and with only 2 sticks of 512 in it only reports 512 total in windows.

msi MS-6702E socket 939 mobo
amd 64 3000+ (came with fan .. not entirely quiet)
2 sata 160gb, one partitioned for os and apps (~20gb .. will probably stick a 40gb ide one just for this eventually)
blue storm 400w psu .. this was cheap and will probably go in another (web and games and video work) pc next month .. it is quiet .. but again not great.

oh yeah, i got the via K8T800 version of the msi board ... cheaper than the nforce3 one (ms-7025) and i've used via based boards before with no trouble ... please nobody tell me this was a bad descision

i've not installed anything on it yet apart from windows, i'll try and run some tests on it when i get the memory thing sorted.

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