Hey Jeff - 
Thanks for getting the word out there, and hi to everyone checking in. So here's the deal, I want to build a DAW (digital audio workstation) - a computer for multi-track audio recording and mixing etc... I've been researching this for a while but have just gotten more serious about it in the last couple of weeks, partly because I lucked into a nice piece of hardware (indefinate loan from a friend). An 8 to 10 channel interface called a Delta 1010 which gives me a nice head start. 
    From what I have read so far, it seems that  there are some specific requirements for a machine to be solid and reliable. It needs to be fast (not so hard these days, but the faster the better within my budget). It needs to be paired down - anything running in the background like power-management schemes can cause pops and clicks while you're recording and extraneous hareware uses system resources. And it should have a seperate, fast and large hard drive just for the audio data (typically a SCSI drive). I'm finding  a lot of recomendations against buying something off the shelf like a Dell or whatever. Mostly, I think, to have more control over the specific components and also to cut down on a lot of the unnecessary (to audio recording) integrated accessories that those computers tend to have. Also, I'm kind of looking forward to building it myself. I like that kind of thing and it would mean I know how the thing works.
    Here's the plan I'm formulating at this point. I'm thinking of putting together a dual processor system with the fastest pentium IIIs I can afford. There doesn't seem to be all that big a price range between the different speeds just now - probably because they're yesterday's news with the P4s out there. (By the way the Pentium 4s have not been getting the best reviews in the audio world - from what I can tell - and I don't think there's a dual processor motherboard for them yet. Also, I think they are more expensive.) For this I need to come up with a motherboard. The one that I've come up with so far is an Asus Tek CUV4X-D but I'm new to all this and I don't even know what I don't know as far as what's out there so any suggestions are welcome. Also I know I need a fast SCSI (ideally, 10,000rpm or better, data trasnsfer rate of 80MB per second, sustained transfer rate of at least 24MB per second or better, and a seek time of 6ms or less - as quoted in one of my sources). Of course I need a pile of memory but I understand that it's pretty cheap right now. There also seems to be a debate going on about AMD's CPUs these days. 
    Hopefully I can save some money going low end on stuff like the monitor, the keyboard, and anything else that doesn't directly pertain to audio recording because I actually am on a budget . Maybe there are some elements that I can even save for an upgrade. I am willing to spend what I need to, though, because if this works well it could make for a more affordable way to record True Blue's upcoming cd than going into a regular studio.     
    So there you have it in a rambling kind of way. I appreciate any info you all can offer. For instance I really don't know what the cheapest source for all this stuff is and there are probably plenty of issues that I'm totally ignorant of. Clearly, all this points to the old saying about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. 
- Avram


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dasovich, Jeff 
  To: Dasovich, Jeff ; Avram Siegel ; rory@carmelnet.com ; eldon sellers (E-mail) 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 8:43 AM
  Subject: RE: On-line Computer Component Info


  Thought I'd add Eldon, too, since he likely has some ideas and information, too.
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Dasovich, Jeff 
    Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 10:43 AM
    To: 'Avram Siegel'; 'rory@carmelnet.com'
    Subject: On-line Computer Component Info


    Hi Avram.  Meet Rory, Prentice's brother and computer guru-type.  Rory and I talked a little bit about what you're looking for, so I thought I'd just go ahead and facilitate a little chat room here.  Avram, could you explain one more time to Rory exactly what it is that you're looking for, just to make sure that I've accurately and adequately described the situation?  Rory has some ideas.

    Best,
    Jeff


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