Pro-Tools PC - any parts that are important?

the_syco

Hey all,
Helping another mate build a PC. This time one that will be mainly for Pro-Tools, so if anyone out there uses it, I'd appreciate your input.

1. What is your budget? Cheap as possible :pac:
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Pro-Tools 9
3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? two HDDs
5. Do you need a monitor? The one he has now will do him for the time being.
5a. If yes, what size do you need. N/A
6. Do you need any of these peripherals? He has a Dell K/B & mouse
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No
8. How can you pay? Not sure. Probably only Bank Transfer/Laser
9. When are you purchasing? ASAP. Within the month, but it'll depends on the cost, and how long he hsa to save up.
10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I'll be building it for him

One of the main requirements is that the PC supports firewire, as he'll be using a Digi 002 rack as the external soundcard.

Not sure about RAM, but maybe only 4GB's, as Pro-Tools is only compatible with 32bit systems.

He'll use the his current two SATA HDD's in it at the moment, but would probably look at two SSDs in the future, so would prefer 4 SATA ports on the system. Also, as ProTools is only works on 32bit Windows, I may get the SSD's to speed it up since more RAM doesn't seem to be an option /edit Lots of conflicting info over this online. May just go for 8GB's

It seems Pro-Tools to only support the nVidia cards, and recommends the Quadro cards. As the system won't be used for gaming, are there any disadvantages of the Quadro over the usual cards?

Unsure what CPU. From looking at the various Pro-Tool sites, the i7 is the main chip being used.

Dravokivich

There'll be no need to go for quadro, a budget GFX card will do fine.

Main things to take into account would be reducing noise as much as possible. SSD's will help out in that regard, as will passively cooled GFX cards.

The bearded clam

the_syco wrote: »

One of the main requirements is that the PC supports firewire, as he'll be using a Digi 002 rack as the external soundcard.

Not sure about RAM, but maybe only 4GB's, as Pro-Tools is only compatible with 32bit systems.

He'll use the his current two SATA HDD's in it at the moment, but would probably look at two SSDs in the future, so would prefer 4 SATA ports on the system. Also, as ProTools is only works on 32bit Windows, I may get the SSD's to speed it up since more RAM doesn't seem to be an option /edit Lots of conflicting info over this online. May just go for 8GB's

It seems Pro-Tools to only support the nVidia cards, and recommends the Quadro cards. As the system won't be used for gaming, are there any disadvantages of the Quadro over the usual cards?

Unsure what CPU. From looking at the various Pro-Tool sites, the i7 is the main chip being used.

I just ordered a computer from hardwareversand.de for audio recording too, i'll be using cubase but the requirements are similar...i checked the system requirements for pro tools 9 and it says it supports both 32bit and 64bit. Are you absolutely certain it doesn't support 64bit?

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/compatibility/en380535

That's the page i found the system requirements on...anyway, if i'm wrong let me know because i haven't used pro-tools.

I had to do some research about firewire too because i'll be using a mackie onyx 1640i. From what i've learned so far any card with a TEXAS INSTRUMENTS chipset will most likely be your best option.

Does his audio interface require firewire 400 or firewire 800 ports? Tech support at mackie advised me not to buy a combo card (one with both 400 and 800 ports) because some of them can cause unwanted interference...not sure if it's the same with the manufacturers for your friend's audio interface but you might want to check with tech support first.

i'm sure someone with more knowledge on this subject will help if they can but i said i'd share what i've learned so far...one more tip though, don't buy a motherboard with a built in firewire port! Most of them use cheap chipsets and will most likely cause interference problems.

(you're probably gonna have to let people on here know around how much your friend is willing to spend...so they can have an idea of what kind of rig to suggest.)