Anyone want to dole out some advice on a daw?

[Ivan]

Greetings,

I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has had
any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):

Athlon XP 2200
ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont need
graphics)
2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
using a case with 400w power supply

Am I going to run into any obvious problems?

Thanks!
ic

[hmmph]

"Ivan" > wrote in message
m...
> Am I going to run into any obvious problems?

And the software is???

you might want to go for a little more umph in the CPU--if your MB will
support it, but otherwise (and the vid card), you should be okay. Don't
underestimate the value of a great video card, when using them with these
"highly" graphical programs!

[Ivan]

"hmmph" > wrote in message >...
> "Ivan" > wrote in message
> m...
> > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
>
> And the software is???
>
> you might want to go for a little more umph in the CPU--if your MB will
> support it, but otherwise (and the vid card), you should be okay. Don't
> underestimate the value of a great video card, when using them with these
> "highly" graphical programs!

For software I am going to be using Audio Mulch, FL, assortment of
VSTs, sound forge, tuareg, umm, not sure what else. (little light on
the software budget as you can see :-P )

I just bought the CPU about 2 months ago so I am hellbent on using it
a little more, but I thought I'd put the thing together and then down
the road upgrade.

So a little bit more of a vid card? Hmm, well I guess a little bit
nicer card wuoldn't break the bank (less taco bell tho)

Thanks for the input!
ic

[Ivan]

"hmmph" > wrote in message >...
> "Ivan" > wrote in message
> m...
> > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
>
> And the software is???
>
> you might want to go for a little more umph in the CPU--if your MB will
> support it, but otherwise (and the vid card), you should be okay. Don't
> underestimate the value of a great video card, when using them with these
> "highly" graphical programs!

For software I am going to be using Audio Mulch, FL, assortment of
VSTs, sound forge, tuareg, umm, not sure what else. (little light on
the software budget as you can see :-P )

I just bought the CPU about 2 months ago so I am hellbent on using it
a little more, but I thought I'd put the thing together and then down
the road upgrade.

So a little bit more of a vid card? Hmm, well I guess a little bit
nicer card wuoldn't break the bank (less taco bell tho)

Thanks for the input!
ic

[Laurence Payne]

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 07:24:12 GMT, "hmmph" > wrote:

>you might want to go for a little more umph in the CPU--if your MB will
>support it, but otherwise (and the vid card), you should be okay. Don't
>underestimate the value of a great video card, when using them with these
>"highly" graphical programs!

There's a lot of graphics on screen. But no audio program I know
uses any advanced graphics features requiring extra on-card
processing.

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect

[Arny Krueger]

"hmmph" > wrote in message
. com
> "Ivan" > wrote in message
> m...
>> Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
>
> And the software is???
>
> you might want to go for a little more umph in the CPU--if your MB
> will support it, but otherwise (and the vid card), you should be
> okay.

There's usually a knee in the processor cost/MHz curve. Anything over 2 GHz
is a great plenty for audio and the knee is now past there. So, the trick is
to find a CPU that does not go to far past the bend in knee.

>Don't underestimate the value of a great video card, when using them with
these "highly" graphical programs!

Every audio editing program that I know of only uses only 2D graphics. The
big bucks are for high performance 3D graphics.

These days its even hard to buy a video card that isn't a killer for doing
2D and other business graphics. Even most of the onboard video cards are
overkill.

[U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles]

On 17 Jul 2004 21:30:48 -0700, Ivan > wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has had
> any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):
>
> Athlon XP 2200
> ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
> Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont need
> graphics)
> 2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
> SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
> 2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
> using a case with 400w power supply
>
> Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
>

Think long and hard about the Athlon XPs. They run hot and need more
agressive cooling, which is antithetical to audio.

Look for an older vid card with dual outputs and no cooling fan. You
can get an ATI 9200-based Vid card for $60. You can get an 8200 for
even less.

[TonyP]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
...
> Every audio editing program that I know of only uses only 2D graphics.
The
> big bucks are for high performance 3D graphics.
>
> These days its even hard to buy a video card that isn't a killer for doing
> 2D and other business graphics. Even most of the onboard video cards are
> overkill.

A couple of years ago I would have agreed, but now I would rather buy a
video card with DVI output and separate analog output which allows the use
of both LCD display and CRT display with different windows.
None of the really cheap cards do that. In a year or two maybe.

TonyP.

[Arny Krueger]

"TonyP" > wrote in message
u
> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Every audio editing program that I know of only uses only 2D
>> graphics. The big bucks are for high performance 3D graphics.
>>
>> These days its even hard to buy a video card that isn't a killer for
>> doing 2D and other business graphics. Even most of the onboard video
>> cards are overkill.

> A couple of years ago I would have agreed, but now I would rather buy
> a video card with DVI output and separate analog output which allows
> the use of both LCD display and CRT display with different windows.
> None of the really cheap cards do that. In a year or two maybe.

Depends what you call cheap. I've picked up Nvidia cards with DVI connectors
for like $50.

Search this list for DVI

http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=VCD

I think you'll find hits for under $20.

This page shows two DVI daughter cards for popular Asus motherboards with
on-board video:

http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mb_accessories.htm

This press release describes a chip that enables DVI interfaces for Intel
boards with integrated video:

http://www.siimage.com/press/06_29_04.asp

[TonyP]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
...
> "TonyP" > wrote in message
> u
> > A couple of years ago I would have agreed, but now I would rather buy
> > a video card with DVI output and separate analog output which allows
> > the use of both LCD display and CRT display with different windows.
> > None of the really cheap cards do that. In a year or two maybe.

> Depends what you call cheap. I've picked up Nvidia cards with DVI
connectors
> for like $50.
> Search this list for DVI
> http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=VCD
> I think you'll find hits for under $20.
> This page shows two DVI daughter cards for popular Asus motherboards with
> on-board video:
> http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mb_accessories.htm
> This press release describes a chip that enables DVI interfaces for Intel
> boards with integrated video:
> http://www.siimage.com/press/06_29_04.asp

But do any of these actually do dual window operation? (two different
windows) Sounds more like they just convert analog to DVI.
The only cheap solution I found last time I looked was to use an old PCI
card for one display, and a DVI card for the LCD. I wanted to avoid that.
The cheap dual head cards didn't do DVI. But I admit I haven't looked for a
while, so maybe things have changed already?

TonyP.

[Arny Krueger]

"TonyP" > wrote in message
u
> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "TonyP" > wrote in message
>> u
>>> A couple of years ago I would have agreed, but now I would rather
>>> buy a video card with DVI output and separate analog output which
>>> allows the use of both LCD display and CRT display with different
>>> windows. None of the really cheap cards do that. In a year or two
>>> maybe.
>
>> Depends what you call cheap. I've picked up Nvidia cards with DVI
>> connectors for like $50.
>> Search this list for DVI
>> http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=VCD
>> I think you'll find hits for under $20.
>> This page shows two DVI daughter cards for popular Asus motherboards
>> with on-board video:
>> http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mb_accessories.htm
>> This press release describes a chip that enables DVI interfaces for
>> Intel boards with integrated video:
>> http://www.siimage.com/press/06_29_04.asp
>
> But do any of these actually do dual window operation? (two different
> windows)

There's two ways to have multiple display operation:

(1) A single card with more then one video display function on it.

(2) Multiple cards.

There has remained a steady market for PCI video cards to add multiple
display support to PCs that already have an AGP card in place.

>Sounds more like they just convert analog to DVI.

Not necessarily. The Silicon Image chip I cited appears to be digital
domain device.

> The only cheap solution I found last time I looked was to use an old
> PCI card for one display, and a DVI card for the LCD. I wanted to
> avoid that. The cheap dual head cards didn't do DVI. But I admit I
> haven't looked for a while, so maybe things have changed already?

At this point the discussion has gone well-afield of the original statement
of the problem.

[Ivan]

"U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" <"Charles > wrote in message >...
> On 17 Jul 2004 21:30:48 -0700, Ivan > wrote:
> > Greetings,
> >
> > I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has had
> > any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):
> >
> > Athlon XP 2200
> > ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
> > Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont need
> > graphics)
> > 2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
> > SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
> > 2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
> > using a case with 400w power supply
> >
> > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
> >
>
> Think long and hard about the Athlon XPs. They run hot and need more
> agressive cooling, which is antithetical to audio.
>
> Look for an older vid card with dual outputs and no cooling fan. You
> can get an ATI 9200-based Vid card for $60. You can get an 8200 for
> even less.


I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
thinking?

The reason I am looking for something like this is that I want to have
my internet pc on the same desk as my daw but dont want 2 monitors. Is
there any obvious solution I am overlooking?

[Jonas Eckerman]

(Ivan) wrote in
om:

> Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> monitor between 2 PCs?

There are switches made just for this. Usually one wants to share the mouse
and keyboard as well though, so it's more common with switches that handles
all three.

Some machines needs to have all the devices connected at startup or they
might not initialize drivers etc correctly. If this isn't a problem for
you, a cheap switch will do fine.

/Jonas

[Arny Krueger]

"Ivan" > wrote in message
om

> I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
> another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
> cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
> toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
> thinking?

The magic letters are KVM - Keyboard/Video/Mouse. One readily-availble
switch can handle all 3 for about $40. Let's you run two machines from one
Keyboard/Video/Mouse.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006IRR8/techadvicecom/104-4134149-5273566

Or, you can find monitor switches.

http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/vs201.html

[Ivan]

"Arny Krueger" > wrote in message >...
> "Ivan" > wrote in message
> om
>
> > I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
> > another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> > monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
> > cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
> > toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
> > thinking?
>
> The magic letters are KVM - Keyboard/Video/Mouse. One readily-availble
> switch can handle all 3 for about $40. Let's you run two machines from one
> Keyboard/Video/Mouse.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006IRR8/techadvicecom/104-4134149-5273566
>
> Or, you can find monitor switches.
>
> http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/vs201.html


Excellent!!! Thank you both.

[Scott Dorsey]

In article >,
Jonas Eckerman > wrote:
(Ivan) wrote in
om:
>
>> Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
>> monitor between 2 PCs?
>
>There are switches made just for this. Usually one wants to share the mouse
>and keyboard as well though, so it's more common with switches that handles
>all three.
>
>Some machines needs to have all the devices connected at startup or they
>might not initialize drivers etc correctly. If this isn't a problem for
>you, a cheap switch will do fine.

Even the cheap switches have some electronics to make it look to the computers
as if something is connected, even if it's not. The Belkin seems to be
the popular KVM switch out there in the dirt-cheap range.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Roger W. Norman]

You can easily get a single head card that outputs both digital and analog
with an expanded desktop, so yes, it can be done for about $60. An ATI
9200, I believe, but the 9200 is right. I don't remember if it's ATI or
not, since it's been a few months that I decided on the matrox 750 for my
Athlon 64 (does 3 separate monitors, digital or analog which I use for my
audio and video work now).

An easy search will show you a lot, but you still need to go into each
card's description to make certain that you'd be getting what you want.

My 750 is currently running two analog 17" CRTs and a 17" widescreen LCD in
analog. This is from it's two DVI heads and allows me to pipe my video
directly to the LCD (because my Panasonic EZ1 3ccd MiniDV camera can handle
16:9 recording).

Plus, with a kvm switch I have a CRT and the LCD hooked up to both
computers, so I can monitor one thing happening on my 64 while I'm typing
this to tell you about it on another computer.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"TonyP" > wrote in message
u...
>
> "Arny Krueger" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "TonyP" > wrote in message
> > u
> > > A couple of years ago I would have agreed, but now I would rather buy
> > > a video card with DVI output and separate analog output which allows
> > > the use of both LCD display and CRT display with different windows.
> > > None of the really cheap cards do that. In a year or two maybe.
>
> > Depends what you call cheap. I've picked up Nvidia cards with DVI
> connectors
> > for like $50.
> > Search this list for DVI
> > http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=VCD
> > I think you'll find hits for under $20.
> > This page shows two DVI daughter cards for popular Asus motherboards
with
> > on-board video:
> > http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mb_accessories.htm
> > This press release describes a chip that enables DVI interfaces for
Intel
> > boards with integrated video:
> > http://www.siimage.com/press/06_29_04.asp
>
> But do any of these actually do dual window operation? (two different
> windows) Sounds more like they just convert analog to DVI.
> The only cheap solution I found last time I looked was to use an old PCI
> card for one display, and a DVI card for the LCD. I wanted to avoid that.
> The cheap dual head cards didn't do DVI. But I admit I haven't looked for
a
> while, so maybe things have changed already?
>
> TonyP.
>
>

[Roger W. Norman]

You are a newbie, aren't you! <g> Yes, KVM (keyboard,video, mouse) switches
can be had for less than $30. Try www.tigerdirect.com. I had a Linksys
(well, I still have it) but it died after a couple of weeks. Right now I'm
using aTrendNet. Besides a hot key combination it's got a physical switch,
which is nice.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"Ivan" > wrote in message
om...
> "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" <"Charles > wrote in message
>...
> > On 17 Jul 2004 21:30:48 -0700, Ivan > wrote:
> > > Greetings,
> > >
> > > I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has had
> > > any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):
> > >
> > > Athlon XP 2200
> > > ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
> > > Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont need
> > > graphics)
> > > 2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
> > > SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
> > > 2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
> > > using a case with 400w power supply
> > >
> > > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
> > >
> >
> > Think long and hard about the Athlon XPs. They run hot and need more
> > agressive cooling, which is antithetical to audio.
> >
> > Look for an older vid card with dual outputs and no cooling fan. You
> > can get an ATI 9200-based Vid card for $60. You can get an 8200 for
> > even less.
>
>
> I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
> another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
> cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
> toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
> thinking?
>
> The reason I am looking for something like this is that I want to have
> my internet pc on the same desk as my daw but dont want 2 monitors. Is
> there any obvious solution I am overlooking?

[Ivan]

I prefer 'Noob' thank you very much.

If its broken why do you still have it? Sentimental attachment? :-P

I will look into the TrendNets. Thanks!

"Roger W. Norman" > wrote in message >...
> You are a newbie, aren't you! <g> Yes, KVM (keyboard,video, mouse) switches
> can be had for less than $30. Try www.tigerdirect.com. I had a Linksys
> (well, I still have it) but it died after a couple of weeks. Right now I'm
> using aTrendNet. Besides a hot key combination it's got a physical switch,
> which is nice.
>
> --
>
>
> Roger W. Norman
> SirMusic Studio
>
> "Ivan" > wrote in message
> om...
> > "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" <"Charles > wrote in message
> >...
> > > On 17 Jul 2004 21:30:48 -0700, Ivan > wrote:
> > > > Greetings,
> > > >
> > > > I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has had
> > > > any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):
> > > >
> > > > Athlon XP 2200
> > > > ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
> > > > Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont need
> > > > graphics)
> > > > 2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
> > > > SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
> > > > 2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
> > > > using a case with 400w power supply
> > > >
> > > > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
> > > >
> > >
> > > Think long and hard about the Athlon XPs. They run hot and need more
> > > agressive cooling, which is antithetical to audio.
> > >
> > > Look for an older vid card with dual outputs and no cooling fan. You
> > > can get an ATI 9200-based Vid card for $60. You can get an 8200 for
> > > even less.
> >
> >
> > I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
> > another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> > monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
> > cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
> > toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
> > thinking?
> >
> > The reason I am looking for something like this is that I want to have
> > my internet pc on the same desk as my daw but dont want 2 monitors. Is
> > there any obvious solution I am overlooking?

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> If its broken why do you still have it? Sentimental attachment? :-P

I have a room full of stuff that doesn't work that I might get around
to fixing some day. Lots of us do.

Micro Center has a Belkin KVM switch for $30 that's a a lump with
connectors on it for the keyboard, monitor, and mouse, and two sets of
cables coming out of it that go to the connectors on teh comuters.

I have a Linksys one that looks just like the Belkin that didn't work
very well (sometimes it didn't switch the mouse) and I returned it to
Linksis and they replaced it under warranty with an updated one that
works fine.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[Roger W. Norman]

Why didn't I get rid of it or send it back? Two words. House remodelling!
<g>

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"Ivan" > wrote in message
om...
> I prefer 'Noob' thank you very much.
>
> If its broken why do you still have it? Sentimental attachment? :-P
>
> I will look into the TrendNets. Thanks!
>
> "Roger W. Norman" > wrote in message
>...
> > You are a newbie, aren't you! <g> Yes, KVM (keyboard,video, mouse)
switches
> > can be had for less than $30. Try www.tigerdirect.com. I had a Linksys
> > (well, I still have it) but it died after a couple of weeks. Right now
I'm
> > using aTrendNet. Besides a hot key combination it's got a physical
switch,
> > which is nice.
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Roger W. Norman
> > SirMusic Studio
> >
> > "Ivan" > wrote in message
> > om...
> > > "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" <"Charles > wrote in
message
> > >...
> > > > On 17 Jul 2004 21:30:48 -0700, Ivan > wrote:
> > > > > Greetings,
> > > > >
> > > > > I am going to be building a DAW soon. Was wondering if anyone has
had
> > > > > any experience with the following setup (or something similiar):
> > > > >
> > > > > Athlon XP 2200
> > > > > ASUS A7N8X-E mobo
> > > > > Albatron nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X, 64MB (sorta cheap, but I dont
need
> > > > > graphics)
> > > > > 2x SAMSUNG HD 80GB 7200/ATA133 M-Audio 2496 sound card
> > > > > SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive (thats right, beige!)
> > > > > 2x Corsair 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
> > > > > using a case with 400w power supply
> > > > >
> > > > > Am I going to run into any obvious problems?
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Think long and hard about the Athlon XPs. They run hot and need
more
> > > > agressive cooling, which is antithetical to audio.
> > > >
> > > > Look for an older vid card with dual outputs and no cooling fan.
You
> > > > can get an ATI 9200-based Vid card for $60. You can get an 8200 for
> > > > even less.
> > >
> > >
> > > I'm not too concerned about dual outputs, but that reminds me of
> > > another query I have. Does anyone know if there is anyway to share a
> > > monitor between 2 PCs? Im thinking something like a two headed monitor
> > > cord with a switch in the middle. Then by using the switch you could
> > > toggle between the two PC's video output? Or is that just wishful
> > > thinking?
> > >
> > > The reason I am looking for something like this is that I want to have
> > > my internet pc on the same desk as my daw but dont want 2 monitors. Is
> > > there any obvious solution I am overlooking?