Barebone kit good enough?

[ratmandtotti]

Hi all again,

I was wondering if this barebone kit would suffice for home recording needs. I've already got a dual core macbook but I'm getting a lot of drop outs in Logic and Pro Tools. So I want to upgrade to a quad core desktop computer. Here's the link:
EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI Barebone Kit - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz, 4GB OCZ DDR3-1600, 1TB HDD, GTX 260 Core 216, ATX Case, 750W EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI & GTX 260 Core 216 Kit in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

[ratmandtotti]

Acutally I found one for cheaper without all those video cards which I don't really need for audio production.

Intel DG41RQ Barebone Kit - Socket 775, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 OEM, 4GB Corsair DDR2-800, 500GB SATA2, Mid-Tower, 300 Watt Power Supply in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

[ratmandtotti]

YOyoyo bump

[brandondrury]

Those should work just fine....assuming you don't have any chipset conflicts with your audio interface.

I was able to put a Quad core rig together for $400 on Newegg. I went with a budget motherboard, integrated video, and a Q8200 and I couldn't be happier.

Brandon

[ratmandtotti]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Those should work just fine....assuming you don't have any chipset conflicts with your audio interface.

I was able to put a Quad core rig together for $400 on Newegg. I went with a budget motherboard, integrated video, and a Q8200 and I couldn't be happier.

Brandon

Your post on quad core processors is actually what inspired me to upgrade. And I'm amazed at how not expensive some of these barebone kits or cpus are.

[coney123]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I went with a budget motherboard

Not advisable. Especially when reliability is so crucial, and when running demanding software and lots of high end components. I regretted my decision to build with a budget mobo a few years back, and dont use anything but Asus now for for no less than £100.

integrated video

Pro Tools doesn't support integrated video so beware if you go this route.

Also make sure your firewire card (if required) is a supported and compatible one, listed on the Digi support page.

[brandondrury]

Pro Tools doesn't support integrated video so beware if you go this route.

Really? While I don't understand the core functions of computers, I'm curious why they would pull this. Any ideas?

Brandon

[coney123]

Old code within Pro Tools I presume. Not totally sure though, but CPU efficiency within PT is pretty bad to start with (hence the reason my quad is probably not performing as well as yours, unless you're on PT too ), and when adding integrated graphics to the mix, which uses some of the CPU's cycles, just complicates things within Pro Tools, and adds extra load to the CPU.

Don't quote me on the reasons, I just know, from the many people who have had issues with integrated video, that it's not a great mix.

With that said, there are probably some people running integrated graphics with no problems, just like there are people running USB hard drives, or Vista 64, both not supported, but if you do go the 'unsupported route', be aware of the problems that could be encountered.

[ratmandtotti]

Originally Posted by coney123

Old code within Pro Tools I presume. Not totally sure though, but CPU efficiency within PT is pretty bad to start with (hence the reason my quad is probably not performing as well as yours, unless you're on PT too ), and when adding integrated graphics to the mix, which uses some of the CPU's cycles, just complicates things within Pro Tools, and adds extra load to the CPU.

Don't quote me on the reasons, I just know, from the many people who have had issues with integrated video, that it's not a great mix.

With that said, there are probably some people running integrated graphics with no problems, just like there are people running USB hard drives, or Vista 64, both not supported, but if you do go the 'unsupported route', be aware of the problems that could be encountered.

So, if I understand this properly, I need to buy a barebone kit without a video card and then buy a video card separately.

[coney123]

Sort of. Integrated Graphics means the graphics chip is directly part of the motherboard.

If your barebone kit has a separate graphics card then that will be fine.