Need advice from tech guru

empirix

Hey all, i need advice from somebody that knows there stuff here. Basically check out this PC from Kompleett. http://www.komplett.ie/k/ci.asp?sku=10206

I can get the processor for nothing so i am thinking about buying the rest of the parts and building it myself and will probably upgrade to 4096mb ram. Opinions oplease, a good spec, straightforward build?

cheers

Inquitus

What will you use it for? This defines what you should buy.

4GB of RAM is unusable in a 32bit OS, will you be using Vista 64bit? I get 3.12GB usable out of my 4GB, I went with 4GB because I will upgrade to Vista 64 when the software and driver support reaches what I deem an acceptable level.

Inqui

daveharnett

I would certainly reccommend upgrading the ram. 2 gigs of ocx platinum rev2 cl4 or such

empirix

No, Will probably upgrade to vista home premium 32 bit, want it for music production, processor too fast too?

Mountjoy Mugger

It depends what you'd be using it for.

If you plan to overclock, I'd suggest getting at least PC6400 RAM, also the graphics card isn't really cutting edge. I'd look at something like a 8800 320MB or similar for gaming.

EDIT: Just saw you need it for music production. Graphics card isn't really a big deal then

No processor is too fast.

Anti

If you only plan on using the pc for music production and nothing else you can do a cheaper build. Get vista 64 and go with 4gb of ram. The cpu is perfect for what you need too. If you dont plan on gaming you can go with a lower spec graphics card. But if you will be gaming and its not on a large 22" or bigger screen a 8800gts 320mb will do you perfect.

Just make sure you drop the pc 5300 ram, a minimum of 6400 is needed. And not value ram either.

Inquitus

Vista Software support is patchy, even more so for the 64bit version. Make sure all your editing tools have a Vista version and if you plan to go 64bit, a 64bit version.

I do a good bit of video editing and some of the top editing tools don't fully support vista yet, Sony Vegas being one. On the Audio front Sony Acid PRO 6 isn't fully supported in Vista yet, Cubase the same.

Anti

Thats weird, alot of people are complaining about vista, and support. I have had 0 issues that i could not sort out myself. Right click > compatibility > run as windows xp sp2.

That always solved the problem. But i have not used any of the programs Inquitus mentioned, so i have no idea if it would work at all.

Deliverance XXV

Anti wrote:

Thats weird, alot of people are complaining about vista, and support. I have had 0 issues that i could not sort out myself.

Zero issues here too.

papu

King Nothing wrote:

Zero issues here too.

same

Anti

I think this whole vista thing is a myth. Possibly because people are to scared to change to something new, and have read some horror stories that have scared them away.

I personally think its amazing. It installs the drivers for me, it installs the updates.

Its a awesome os. I know some people say it kills your 3dmark scores, but i dont really care about that personally. Games play great, software is perfect.

Take the plunge, and just go out and buy it. or download the 60 day trial.

Inquitus

I have Vista on 2 rigs and think it's great, but when you get into niche specific software needs, like Video Editing, Sound Production and I am sure various other things, you may find that on upgrading the software you spent 100's of euros on may not work on Vista at all, or may be buggy when running in XP Mode. You may also have built up a brand specific skillset and should that brand's software not yet be fully supported in Vista you may want to wait until it is before upgrading.

It would be foolish to upgrade to Vista and not research whether the tools you need will run flawlessly on the new OS.

Be cautious, yes, but imo Vista is a brilliant upgrade to windows and if you are buying an OS it should be your first port of call.

Inqui

papu

Inquitus wrote:

I have Vista on 2 rigs and think it's great, but when you get into niche specific software needs, like Video Editing, Sound Production and I am sure various other things, you may find that on upgrading the software you spent 100's of euros on may not work on Vista at all, or may be buggy when running in XP Mode. You may also have built up a brand specific skillset and should that brand's software not yet be fully supported in Vista you may want to wait until it is before upgrading.

It would be foolish to upgrade to Vista and not research whether the tools you need will run flawlessly on the new OS.

Be cautious, yes, but imo Vista is a brilliant upgrade to windows and if you are buying an OS it should be your first port of call.

Inqui

i suppose but most video and sound editors usually stay uptodate with patches and new releases , i know that audacity works great as does older versions of cakewalk , adobe software and most other editing progs

awhir

Anti wrote:

I think this whole vista thing is a myth. Possibly because people are to scared to change to something new, and have read some horror stories that have scared them away.

I personally think its amazing. It installs the drivers for me, it installs the updates.

Its a awesome os. I know some people say it kills your 3dmark scores, but i dont really care about that personally. Games play great, software is perfect.

Take the plunge, and just go out and buy it. or download the 60 day trial.

lol not everone tries 64bit.its pritty patchy i had problems with nearly all of my overclocking tools it takes me agood bit of effort to get them to run on ever reboot

and i have problems with games also most games i have to load form steam so i cant set them to sp2.