NEW PC ???

Hi... so I'm planning to invest in a new PC to be configured as a DAW. Now, I'd like to hear some real-life info on what H/W I should purchase. Please share your ideas / experiences on processor, mobo, chipset, RAM, video-card (integrated or...), fans (ultra-quiet). I guess I don't have to purchase new HDDS, c'os both I have are 7200 rpm disks. So, I'm planning to use this new set up for several years to go, so I'd really like to have the best on offer. Yours, toni S / Finland.

Hello BlessedOne! my config is : Asus P4B MB, Core2duo E-6300, 2*1GB DDR2, Asus X1300 vga (supports 2 monitors vga+dvi) Though the cpu and mb are not the latest models they are quite well I am satisfied with the performance. I had several problems but they were beacuse of my previous soundcard (E-mu 1212m first then 1820m). I guess the most important is to choose a good soundcard. See topic ' working soundcards ' good luck to your new config!

How much do you want to spend? The new stuff is always at a price premium that doesn't make too much sense these days, because hardware technology has pretty much caught up with what you need to run a powerful daw. I only have a dual core amd running at about 3 Ghz, with two 150 gig drives and 2 Gig of ram. It's well powerful enough for what I do and was very cheap to build. I will bide my time, but my next upgrade is likely to be a Phenom II (8Mb cache) when the price comes down a bit, because amd with mobos invariably work out a fair bit cheaper than Intel and the architecture is supposed to be great for daw use. There will always be something newer, or faster but if i were you I would stay away from anything exotic and go with thoroughly tried and tested stuff. Be especially careful about firewire if you are going to need it - luckily for me I don't, and don't get anything special in the way of graphics, even the low spec graphics cards are plenty enough - just get a fanless one. MSI mobos for me every time, always a doddle to set up, good quality, fast, and so far no problems at all. Check this thread for dpc latency, DPC Latency Checker is a Windows tool that analyses the capabilities of a computer system to handle real-time data streams properly. It may help to find the cause for interruptions in real-time audio and video streams, also known as drop-outs. My system was top performer in the latency stakes, there's no point having a super fast cpu if your mobo can't do audio properly ;) I use Nexus fans they are great.