Hi, Im looking to build a pc that will be suitable for audio creation. I would like enough memory for processing large audio files using live recordings as well as having a decent soundcard where I can create special effects with midi editors etc. My budget is between £300 and £500. What do you recommend in terms of processor, ram and soundcard? Included in that price I am also hoping for a flat pannel monitor. The system is going to be mainly for audio and not gaming and so I dont require a powerful graphics card.
Audio creator pc system build for £300-£500?? Please help!!
- Thread starter Gavrok
- Start date
how about something like this-
MB-121-AS Asus A8V-E SE VIA K8T890 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-121-AS)
£47.95 £47.95
HD-023-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB 800JD SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-023-WD)
£29.95 £29.95
CD-016-AS Asus DRW-1608P2 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - Retail (CD-016-AS)
£24.95 £24.95
CA-048-AN Antec SLK3800BUK Black Quiet Midi Tower Case - 400W SmartPower PSU (CA-048-AN)
£51.95 £51.95
CP-117-AM AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3000BPBOX) (CP-117-AM)
£74.95 £74.95
SC-034-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-034-CL)
£69.95 £69.95
GX-013-HT HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon 9250SE 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI (PCI) - Retail (R9250-PTDW128-64bit) (GX-013-HT)
£27.95 £27.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
Subtotal £422.60
VAT £73.96
Total £496.56
MB-121-AS Asus A8V-E SE VIA K8T890 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-121-AS)
£47.95 £47.95
HD-023-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB 800JD SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-023-WD)
£29.95 £29.95
CD-016-AS Asus DRW-1608P2 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - Retail (CD-016-AS)
£24.95 £24.95
CA-048-AN Antec SLK3800BUK Black Quiet Midi Tower Case - 400W SmartPower PSU (CA-048-AN)
£51.95 £51.95
CP-117-AM AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3000BPBOX) (CP-117-AM)
£74.95 £74.95
SC-034-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-034-CL)
£69.95 £69.95
GX-013-HT HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon 9250SE 128MB DDR TV-Out/DVI (PCI) - Retail (R9250-PTDW128-64bit) (GX-013-HT)
£27.95 £27.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
Subtotal £422.60
VAT £73.96
Total £496.56
Soldato
- Joined
- 7 Feb 2004
- Posts
- 8,196
- Location
- North East
If youre willing to go slightly over budget :
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
HD-001-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31637) (HD-001-HI)
£44.95 £44.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£44.95 £44.95
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£169.95 £169.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£15.95 £15.95
Subtotal £478.60
VAT £83.76
Total £562.36
Otherwise id say :
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
CP-150-AM AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-150-AM)
£119.95 £119.95
HS-000-AC Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC CPU Cooler (Socket 754) (HS-000-AC)
£4.95 £4.95
HD-001-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31637) (HD-001-HI)
£44.95 £44.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£44.95 £44.95
Subtotal £417.60
VAT £73.08
Total £490.68
But, to go out on a limb, and since im not entirely sure how this would perform, ill throw this into the mix :
REFERENCE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
CP-116-IN Intel Pentium 4 805 Dual Core "LGA775 Smithfield" 2.6GHz (533FSB) - Retail (CP-116-IN)
£79.95 £79.95
MB-110-AS Asus P5LD2-VM Intel 945G Micro ATX (LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-110-AS)
£69.95 £69.95
MY-096-CS Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select PC4200 Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB) (VS2GBKIT533D2) (MY-096-CS)
£109.95 £109.95
HD-002-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31636) (HD-002-HI)
£56.50 £56.50
Subtotal £424.20
VAT £74.24
Total £498.44
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
HD-001-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31637) (HD-001-HI)
£44.95 £44.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£44.95 £44.95
CP-152-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+ (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-152-AM)
£169.95 £169.95
FG-000-AR Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940) (FG-000-AR)
£15.95 £15.95
Subtotal £478.60
VAT £83.76
Total £562.36
Otherwise id say :
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
MY-046-GL GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS3 (GE2GB3200BDC) (MY-046-GL)
£94.95 £94.95
CP-150-AM AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939) - OEM (CP-150-AM)
£119.95 £119.95
HS-000-AC Arctic Cooling Silencer 64 Ultra TC CPU Cooler (Socket 754) (HS-000-AC)
£4.95 £4.95
HD-001-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31637) (HD-001-HI)
£44.95 £44.95
MB-042-GI Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-042-GI)
£44.95 £44.95
Subtotal £417.60
VAT £73.08
Total £490.68
But, to go out on a limb, and since im not entirely sure how this would perform, ill throw this into the mix :
REFERENCE DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
CD-045-SO Sony DWQ30AB 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Beige) - OEM (CD-045-SO)
£17.95 £17.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£49.95 £49.95
CP-116-IN Intel Pentium 4 805 Dual Core "LGA775 Smithfield" 2.6GHz (533FSB) - Retail (CP-116-IN)
£79.95 £79.95
MB-110-AS Asus P5LD2-VM Intel 945G Micro ATX (LGA775) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-110-AS)
£69.95 £69.95
MY-096-CS Corsair 2GB DDR2 Value Select PC4200 Dual Channel Kit (2x1GB) (VS2GBKIT533D2) (MY-096-CS)
£109.95 £109.95
HD-002-HI Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (0A31636) (HD-002-HI)
£56.50 £56.50
Subtotal £424.20
VAT £74.24
Total £498.44
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 27 Sep 2004
- Posts
- 25,821
- Location
- Glasgow
Ender said:with your second spec you choose a s754 cooler
It is ok, that cooler actually fits socket 939 although it doesn't make it all that obvious but if you read the specifications closely it says it fits up to FX55 and A64 up to 4000+ both of which are socket 939 chips only
Any of the specifications here ought to be suitable for the purpose but none include a monitor which Gavrok was asking for, I don't think the budget is enough though without having to compromise on some areas. A Sempron based system may be the answer here.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 27 Sep 2004
- Posts
- 25,821
- Location
- Glasgow
Here is something that may be suitable including a monitor and it is pretty close to £500 overall. You have onboard graphics since it isn't a gaming PC but there is the option to upgrade to a decent PCI-E graphics card as/when money becomes available.
MO-014-OK OcUK Gamer 178QP 17" LCD Monitor - Black/Silver (MO-014-OK)
£111.95 £111.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
MB-133-AS Asus K8N-VM nForce4 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 754) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-133-AS)
£44.95 £44.95
CP-138-AM AMD Sempron 64 2800+ 1.6GHz (Socket 754) CPU - Retail (CP-138-AM)
£44.95 £44.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£45.95 £45.95
MY-006-OK OcUK Value 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-006-OK)
£91.95 £91.95
CD-068-SA Samsung SH-W162C 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) (CD-068-SA)
£19.95 £19.95
HD-023-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB 800JD SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-023-WD)
£29.95 £29.95
Subtotal £429.60
VAT £75.18
Total £504.78
MO-014-OK OcUK Gamer 178QP 17" LCD Monitor - Black/Silver (MO-014-OK)
£111.95 £111.95
CA-023-AN Antec SLK1650B Black Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU (CA-023-AN)
£39.95 £39.95
MB-133-AS Asus K8N-VM nForce4 6100 Micro ATX (Socket 754) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-133-AS)
£44.95 £44.95
CP-138-AM AMD Sempron 64 2800+ 1.6GHz (Socket 754) CPU - Retail (CP-138-AM)
£44.95 £44.95
SC-000-HT HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold PCI Dolby Soundcard (SC-000-HT)
£45.95 £45.95
MY-006-OK OcUK Value 2GB (2x1GB) PC3200 184pin DDR Memory Dual Channel Kit (MY-006-OK)
£91.95 £91.95
CD-068-SA Samsung SH-W162C 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) (CD-068-SA)
£19.95 £19.95
HD-023-WD Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 80GB 800JD SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-023-WD)
£29.95 £29.95
Subtotal £429.60
VAT £75.18
Total £504.78
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Nov 2005
- Posts
- 87
It really depends how serious you are about making music and what instrument(s) you plan to record with.
My EMU 1820 sound card is basically a Creative Audigy card, but with a whole host of extra features and a breakout box for hooking up Mics, Guitars, Keyboards etc.
Really great for recording music but not cheap ~£250
My EMU 1820 sound card is basically a Creative Audigy card, but with a whole host of extra features and a breakout box for hooking up Mics, Guitars, Keyboards etc.
Really great for recording music but not cheap ~£250
Associate
- Joined
- 29 Jun 2004
- Posts
- 200
- Location
- Leicester (home) / Leeds (uni)
I feel an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or Delta series would be the best bet. I use the USB version for music production and it's excellent.
Samson Resolv 65 or 90s for monitoring, although they will eat up a fair bit of your budget.
Samson Resolv 65 or 90s for monitoring, although they will eat up a fair bit of your budget.
im presuming youve already got a decent sound setup/equiptment otherwise that budget will not stretch.
Minimum id recommend:
2.4ghz intel dual core
radeon 9200 dual screen
19" monitor as with sound applications the screen can get very cluttered.
better still get 2 15"'s and have dual screen
the sound card is very important, (Audiophile 2496 minimum) are you using it for just midi/line in? Get yourself a cheap 5 channel mixer for £100, this will help a lot.
speakers are important for monitoring, spend alt least £300 on those
1gb ram
also the loudness of the PC is important, loud fans in a quiet studio can be really annoying.
Minimum id recommend:
2.4ghz intel dual core
radeon 9200 dual screen
19" monitor as with sound applications the screen can get very cluttered.
better still get 2 15"'s and have dual screen
the sound card is very important, (Audiophile 2496 minimum) are you using it for just midi/line in? Get yourself a cheap 5 channel mixer for £100, this will help a lot.
speakers are important for monitoring, spend alt least £300 on those
1gb ram
also the loudness of the PC is important, loud fans in a quiet studio can be really annoying.