Page 1 of 1

Best soundcard and comp

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004 12:00 am
by MagusCT
I have a couple of questions about the best soundcards and computers for SONAR. First off, should I get a computer that is made just for SONAR? I need it to be able to play games as well. If not one of those then should I look into Dells? Also, what soundcars should I purchase? I've been using a Soundblaster Audigy mp3+ and it doesnt work too great. Thanks in advance.

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004 5:12 am
by andychap
The sky's the limit these days. Any decent spec computer will do. Try to avoid celeron processor's. Get plenty of RAM and a big hard drive or if possible 2 hard drives.

Best way to set it up would be to use a dual boot system. Partition the HD and put an OS on each partition. Use one partition for general stuff like gaming, internet and so on and use the other partition for Music.

On the music partition make sure that it is optimised for recording music (see the optimisation thread in General) and only install the software you need ie Sonar, plug ins, wave editor etc.

If you have a second Hard drive, store all your audio data and samples etc on this so that they stream of a disc that is not being used with an OS and software.

Soundcard - I would go for a 24/96 audio card with decent WDM and ASIO drivers. Something like the Terratec DMX 6 Fire is a good alround card for making music and gaming. If you go for an audio only card then you won't have a good gaming experience and if you go for a gaming card you will find it difficult to make music. Try and stay away from Creative products.

I would go to a local PC outlet first and price up a PC designed to you specs. It might be a bit more expensive but you will know that it has been designed to do what you want to do. They might even set up the dual boot system for you.

Dell make good machines but they do aim mostly at the business market so their machines are designed for office apps and networking.

Why not have a go at building your own PC. There are plenty of tutorials and web sites that take you through step by step. You will know you PC inside out if future problems arise, it's a lot more satisfying and you will get exactly what you want.

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:27 pm
by MagusCT
thanks a lot for all the info...I want to make sure I'm getting the right stuff when I do buy a new comp