# What to Look for in an Audio Recording Computer



## immortalgropher (Feb 16, 2010)

One of the biggest factors in recording is your computer, you need the power to run sessions with few to zero hang ups.
In my opinion, this is the fourth most important consideration beside your mixing console, monitors and AD/DA converters.

 Luckily, computers are getting cheaper and more powerful, which means great news for you native users that cannot 
afford Pro Tools or simply find another DAW comfortable.The rest of my personal background is that of a technical one,
I have been performing PC repair for many years now, have worked for Acer and have pleased many friends and family 
with my expertise in troubleshooting and building skills.

 This will come down to two simple options:
 Are you a DIYer or are you not? If you are, then heed my words well, if not, I will give you a list of good manufacturers 
to choose from in which you can customize your options to your price margin and power margins.

 *1. AMD or Intel?* I have used both extensively, however I have been sticking with Intel for a while, the new i7 and i5 cores are powerhouses! 
AMD's Phenom processors are quite sturdy too! This will come down to price, AMD CPUs are tend to be much cheaper than Intel CPUs, 
however the i7 will be a good friend for native systems.

 *2. Motherboard:* AMD or Intel, you will need a compatible motherboard for your particular CPU. You cannot put an AMD CPU 
into an Intel motherboard and vice versa. Things that you will want to look for in a motherboard are:
 

Is the motherboard compatible with the CPU you have chosen? (Pentium, I7, X2, etc)
RAM slots/max memory supported/memory standards
USB/Firewire ports
SATA ports
CPU slots (single or dual CPU motherboard)

 If you plan on running a PT HD system, I recommend snagging a good ASUS or TYAN dual i7 motherboard, power for days!
 If you plan to run a native recording program such as Reaper, Cubase, Nuendo or Sonar, snag a dual AMD CPU motherboard,
you will have plenty of power and track/insert count.As for RAM...get as much as you can afford, a good bet is 6-12GBs if possible.

 *Hard drives* are super cheap now, so grab a couple 1TB hard drives and RAID 0 them, you will have even more speed by 
having the drives read and write in tandem. The Pro Tools manual and Digidesign will tell you that RAID drives are not recommended, 
however I do not have issues with my RAID 0 configuration when using Pro Tools. If you're weary about it, it's fine not to RAID them too! 
Use one for your main system and plug ins and the other to record the sessions to and you will be just fine as well.

 *Power supplies:* I recommend a 550W plus PSU for stability, dual 12V rails is a minimum. They have quad AND hex 12V 
rails now as well, however I wouldn't take it that far. Dual minimum, quad maximum. If you decide to go the dual CPU route, 
you will most likely end up with a server motherboard, in which you will want a server ready PSU.
 The case is up to you, however I recommend a full tower ATX case for those of you going a single CPU route with good ventilation. 
Those of you going server/dual CPU route will need a server case with good airflow and ventilation as well.

 Manufacturers of good standing:

 *Motherboards:*

 

ASUS
 Gigabyte
 TYAN
 EVGA
 Intel
 DFI
 
*RAM:*

 

OCZ
 G. Skill
 Mushkin
 Super Talent
 Patriot
 Crucial
 Kingston
 
*PSU:*

 

Thermaltake
 Antec
 OCZ
 Silverstone
 Rosewill
 
For those of you who would rather buy a pre-built, check out the following manufacturers:
 

Acer
 Cyberpower PC
 Alienware
 Dell
 Please be sure to check out my past articles and look for the future ones.


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## DrGeoff (Dec 27, 2007)

Don't forget noise!

Some PC boxes can make a racket. Get a really good enclosure (Antec etc) with large speed-contolled fabs that can be set on very slow and provide sufficient ventilation for the box. Also select a power supply that has a large speed-controlled fan as well. The graphics board should be fanless, there are some really good pci-e graphics cards with heatpipes that make no noise at all.

Having built a box like this that makes no detectable noise at all in the quietness of the studio, I can say it is well worth the effort.


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## immortalgropher (Feb 16, 2010)

This is true! That is why I said the case is up to them. Most of the manufacturers I listed also make great cases .


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## jonathanm (Mar 24, 2010)

There are a lot of potential compatibility problems with buying a computer for audio - things are better than they were a couple of years ago, but I would still urge anyone to research carefully before making a purchase decision.

Pay attention especially to the motherboard chipset, firewire chipset, and graphics card, and try to find out if there are other people who already have that combination working with your particular choice of audio interface.

The safest all around firewire chipset is the Texas Instruments, but there are others that are recommended for some interfaces and not recommended for others.....

Perhaps we should make a thread where we can compile manufacturer advice and user experiences regarding what combinations to avoid etc....?


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## jonathanm (Mar 24, 2010)

jonathanm said:


> Perhaps we should make a thread where we can compile manufacturer advice and user experiences regarding what combinations to avoid etc....?


I've started a thread for this here


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## Ford.P (Dec 24, 2007)

gswan said:


> Don't forget noise!
> 
> Some PC boxes can make a racket. Get a really good enclosure (Antec etc) with large speed-contolled fabs t...


I have bought large big tower case from NEXUS and I am more than happy. Even fans of my 96 I/O is louder than this PC case. It is my 3rd NEXUS case in the row and I have to say that every newer model is more and more silent. NEXUS does excellent jobs with noise absorbing / cooling inside. Do not know anybody else who can beat them at them moment. It is not very cheap though...

Jeez this sounds like some advertising


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## SteveHi (Nov 19, 2009)

Any advice on tracking down those pesky processes that seem to gobble up resources while running in the background? I have had recording dropouts in the past lasting up to 11 milliseconds due to some system housekeeping program that was hogging resources.


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## jonathanm (Mar 24, 2010)

SteveHi said:


> Any advice on tracking down those pesky processes that seem to gobble up resources while running in the background? I have had recording dropouts in the past lasting up to 11 milliseconds due to some system housekeeping program that was hogging resources.


yes, try using the DPC latency checker to identify the culprit.... addle:

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml


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