Upgrading an Audio pc

bradlente

Hey,So I'm planning an upgrade very soon.

I bought an Audio PC a few years back and here are some of the basic specs:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name AUDIOPC
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model EP31-DS3L
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10 GenuineIntel ~2833 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. FDa, 27/10/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name
Time Zone W. Europe Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.57 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.19 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


I've only really used it up until now for recording a couple of layers of guitar through a zoom pedal over some EZ drummer samples in Reaper.Over the last year or so I've been using it a lot less.I still do a bit of drum programming in Reaper but then usually throw it over to my Macbook and do a bit of mixing in Logic.I use Logic and some other plugins now for tracking guitar and mixing.I've been using EastWest in Logic now for quite a while too off a separate hard drive.
Anyway my Macbook broke over Christmas and I bought the exact same model second hand for a quick fix.It's a 2.4 GHz Intel 2 Core duo and it's struggling with a heavy workload,Especially EastWest.
So I've decided to go back to PC as my primary recording and mixing machine.My main questions are:

Do I need to replace my motherboard at this stage or is it still powerful enough to deal with what I'll be doing?(Recording Guitar with vst inserts,With multitracked Drum/bass vsts and Recording Eastwest packages through a controller).

I have about 80gb of Audio files in the preset Reaper Audio files folder.When I upgrade to Windows 7 and re-install Reaper and transfer my files back over,Will Reaper have any problems finding specific audio files for my different projects or will I have to find them manually?

I know I'll need at least an 8gb RAM upgrade but might go for the 16 although I'm not sure if that's necessary.I'm also going to have to sort out firewire for my external hard drive sample library.

Stuck this up on Gearslutz with the only reply so far being "get a new pc" pretty much.Just wondering if there are any thoughts about how I should go about it in here?I thought with a few upgrades the system itself still had legs to go another few years at a high level but maybe I'm wrong.

benway

Ah, good old Gearslutz.

Currently in the process of (slowly) putting together a new audio machine for myself, here's my thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=88481875

I realise that I'm probably going a bit overboard on things, but the usual rules in gaming builds - i5 chip is sufficient, go all out on graphics card - don't really apply here.

As far as I can see, what you have is a Core Duo E7400. It's only got two cores and no hyperthreading, so has been very much overtaken by newer chips.



You can get the i5-4760 i5-4760k for in or around €200, but you'll need a new LGA1150 motherboard, prices vary depending on your needs. You'll also need DDR3 RAM, as your current system uses DDR2. Probably looking at €400-500 total outlay give or take.

bradlente wrote:

it still powerful enough to deal with what I'll be doing?

Only way to answer that is by spending a bit of time doing what you're planning on doing and seeing how it goes. A lot depends on how comfortable you are with freezing tracks.

One thing that should give a noticeable and immediate speed bump irrespective of anything else is installing a SSD drive and/or Hybrid SSD - working with recorded audio and romplers performance can very much depend on the speed of reading from the disc. More Ram might help, but if you're going to outlay cash, it might be worth considering upgrading your system so it can take DDR3.

Processor grunt is more of a consideration if you use a lot of vst synths and effects that need to be processed in real time.

Not holding myself out as any kind of expert on this, still just finding my way and open to correction from anyone who might know better.

Which eastwest product is it that you're using?

bradlente

Thanks for the reply man.

I think my processor is actually this one :

http://ark.intel.com/products/33924/Intel-Core2-Quad-Processor-Q9550-12M-Cache-2_83-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB?wapkw=2+quad+q9550+%402.83

When I searched for it not too long ago I seen that it had a few good reviews and the fact it has 4 cores made me think it could still do the job.I see on the Intel site its status is "end of life" and 6 years is a hell of a long time in computers.
I'm not sure about my motherboard really,It's something I've completely overlooked and I'm not even sure of the model.I figured I'd either be able to keep both or have to replace them both.
I got the EastWest Composers edition package a good while ago,Have it on a separate HD running into Logic through firewire.I've never even used firewire on my pc,Not even sure if it has one tbh!:o There's a port at the back that has the 1394 written over it but there was a seal on the port,It might have even been the pins for the input of a cable to it.Whatever it was it was fairly flimsy and I managed to bend some of it out of shape.I've never had the need for the port so I ignored it at the time,Can't ignore it now!
I'm starting to wonder if I would be better off starting from scratch really.I could just use this to do the odd bit in Reaper.It's got tonnes of storage and maybe if I got a top of the range graphics card and a few upgrades I could turn it into a half decent gaming/media machine.That upgrade from xp to 7 is really gonna be a pain as well.

benway

Not so bad at that rate - that i5 would only give you a 75% speed bump according to this.

One thing is the hyperthreading, it allows each core to take on two streams - as in you can run 8 cores off four ... if that makes sense.

Think >this< is your motherboard? If so, it's DDR2 only, could expect that moving to a system with DDR3 would be worthwhile. Think you'd probably have to replace both motherboard and cpu, though, afaik there are some LGA775 boards that take DDR3, but if you're going to spend the money ...

If you've borked the firewire port, you can always get a pci firewire card if you've got a free slot?

Kinda think myself the best bang for the buck upgrade is the SSD/hybrid drive, got one for the laptop, made a huge difference. Can always carry it forward onto a new build if you end up going down that route in the long run.

bradlente

Interesting...For the most part my plans were to upgrade the RAM,Get a firewire port and maybe some sort of extra control surface.The SSD is definitely a must get too though,Didn't think about that.

At this stage if I'm looking at getting a new Motherboard,Cpu,DDR3 RAM,A firewire port and a solid state drive,I might be better off building a new pc from scratch.The Motherboard and Cpu can still do a run-of-the-mill job if not more imo.If I was to just start from scratch with the Audio PC and upgrade the DDR2 to 8gb and get a quality graphics card,What kind of gaming machine do you think I'd have?

benway

Honestly, I'm not sure about minimum processors for gaming, I've been using an i7 laptop myself for the last couple of years so that side of things has never really been an issue.

Best bet would be to try the building and upgrading forum for anything to do with graphics cards and gaming: I did spot that a few people were recommending an i5 3330 for some basic gaming builds which your chip would compare reasonably favourably with.

Tbh, I haven't much of a clue re what video card is best at what price, but one thing to watch for sure is whether your power supply will be able for the card you end up getting.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

note that modern mobos do not have full pci , just pci bridging to support older pci cards such as firewire .

this may affect firewire fucntion / latency etc. for interfaces using pci .


not sure if pci-e is in a similar situation ( if its bridged or not )

bradlente

DaDumTish wrote: »

note that modern mobos do not have full pci , just pci bridging to support older pci cards such as firewire .

this may affect firewire fucntion / latency etc. for interfaces using pci .


not sure if pci-e is in a similar situation ( if its bridged or not )

Bit confused here.If modern mobos don't have full pci then what does?How could a high-range pc in a studio deal with the firewire latency if it didn't have this?Your post may have just gone over my head

i57dwun4yb1pt8

i checked and its only if you have pci cards - not pci-e

pci-e is ok on modern boards.


so if you have old but working TI chipset pci firewire cards or old pro tools pci cards

then new boards may be an issue

if they are pci-e you should be ok