Newbie - PC vs VS Workstation

[Doug MacArthur]

What are the advantages of using a VS-2400 Workstation instead of a PC based
system (64bit, 2gig RAM, XP)with a Audiophile 2496 card and Sonar.

If I stay with the PC and want to upgrade the 2496 what would you get,
budget $500

note: latency issues a problem but still getting used to Sonar.

[Here In Oregon]

"Doug MacArthur" > wrote in message
...
> What are the advantages of using a VS-2400 Workstation instead of a PC
> based system (64bit, 2gig RAM, XP)with a Audiophile 2496 card and Sonar.
>
> If I stay with the PC and want to upgrade the 2496 what would you get,
> budget $500
>
> note: latency issues a problem but still getting used to Sonar.

Workstation,...ugh! Where to begin? I am sorry but I am lost for words.

If you could budget just under $600. You might want to check out the RME
9632.

[Abemeister]

On Jan 22, 3:23 pm, "Doug MacArthur" >
wrote:
> What are the advantages of using a VS-2400 Workstation instead of a PC based
> system (64bit, 2gig RAM, XP)with a Audiophile 2496 card and Sonar.
>
> If I stay with the PC and want to upgrade the 2496 what would you get,
> budget $500
>
> note: latency issues a problem but still getting used to Sonar.

I never worked with the VS-2400 but I know about the PC. I recommend
Athlon 64, BIOSTAR Mobo (has a great built-in Graphics interface), 1
gig RAM, 2 SATA 250 gig on separate channels, Windoze XP, Sonar or
Cubase, Echo Mia Midi sound card or if you are rich, the RME 9632. I do
not like the EMU cards; the 0404 is not very reliable. Use an Aluminum
case with super quiet fans. Put in cooling for the hard drives. You
will need it. I use Plextor DVD writers (2 Each).

Put a beefy 500 watt or better Power supply in. You will need this for
USB and Firewire devices in the future.

Don't load up a whole bunch of unnecessary junk on the machine. You
can put anti virus on there but leave off anything that eats your
memory up. I use Firefox for my browser. Although M$ is getting better
with their browser, it still has issues with security.

Load Audacity (an audio editor). It is a great program and it is free!

I feel that my system rivals a Mac and is less than half the cost.

[Arny Krueger]

"Abemeister" > wrote in message
oups.com

> Put a beefy 500 watt or better Power supply in. You will
> need this for USB and Firewire devices in the future.

A USB port can draw a maximum of 5 watts, motherboards typically have 6 (4
rear, 2 front), for a total of 30 watts.

Firewire ports up that to 6 watts per port. Usually, the Firewire port count
per motherboard is less than 6, often just one or two.

Yup, you need a 500 watt power supply to handle all that. ;-)

I think it would be a hoot if every person who recommended half-killowatt PC
power supplies would be obliged to measure the actual power usage of their
PC with a device like the "Kill-A-Watt" (about $30). Few would find more
than 200 watts being drawn.