hi

I have a (relatively) ancient PC setup ...P4 3.06 Northwood, Asus P4PE, 1 gb pc2700 ram, ATi xt800 PE, 3 x PATA WD HDs etc

I have really been completely out of the loop re developments over the past 4 years.

If I was thinking of upgrading, what is the current state of play with cpu's / mboards / chipsets / peripheral interfaces (PCIe, Firewire etc.) ?

Is there something worth waiting for "coming round the corner" (I guess there always is !) ?

Any advice appreciated.


swayzak

PS I use this mainly for DAW activities (Digital Audio Workstation e.g. I'm a musician / composer).

What was round the corner was Core 2 Duo, but it's already out.

Depending on what platform you use (Logic? ProTools? Live? SF?) I wouldn't spend my money anywhere other than the new MacPro, or a lower-priced second-hand G5 dual or quad.

Thanks - but I'm PC / windows xp.

Platforms are many: Cubase SX2, FLS 6, Reason 3, Live 5, energyXT, Podium

Cards: RME HDSP9652 + multiface, yamaha sw1000 (unlikely to get vista drivers !) with plugstation

Just done a bit of research - I'm not in a big hurry...seems like desktop quadcore would be a worthy upgrade ?

DirectX 10 is around the corner as is vista.
I really wouldn't worry about either for audio though.
You could use XP for quite awhile.
Also DX is for video anyway so no real reason to wait unless you really don't need to upgrade in which case you know hardware in 6 months will be better then now.
We all love procrastination.

Depends on what you want or how much you're able to spend. Core 2 Duo is currently setting the pace, but the other beauty of this is it means that you can build a powerful system based on an Athlon X2 or an overclocked Pentium D for tuppence these days. The kind of system which would have cost several hundred quid more just a month or two ago.

If you're willing to throw a lot of money at your system, go for a Core 2 Duo system as it's unlikely to be outclassed for a while. If you want to spend a lot less, you can pick up something along the lines of a decent Athlon X2 4600+ system or something which will be a lot faster than your existing system, particulaly if you use apps which are multithreaded.

However, if you're waiting for the "next big thing" then you'll be waiting forever as there's always the next big thing coming along. Wait a bit longer and quad core etc. will come along. And by the time that arrives, I'm sure the next big thing after that won't be far off etc. You just have to decide when you're going to upgrade, how much you're willing to spend, and then do it really.

There is always something lurking around the corner to make what you purchased 6months ago cheaper and seem slower. You should make you decsion to upgrade based on whether you really need it, or at least what money allows.

You can through together a quad/octo-core today, its just can quite expensive. The MacPro (quad core) would be great, you can still run windows on it, or look into the incredible offerings the mac world has in multimedia.

Thanks - wisewords.

I really like XP and Vista is a minefield regarding my various DAW hardware (and software for that matter).

Mine is really carefully setup 2 PC studio (P4 3.06 + P4 2.4) which works well.

If it ain't broke an' all that..

And just how much horsepower of these fast-as-light machines is it going to use...a bloody lot it seems to me.

Maybe I'll stay well and truly off the hardware upgrade train for another 4 years...think what will be around then

swayzak

If you're satisfied with the performance of what you have, then why upgrade?

Gear lust

I could improve the performance (more software instruments, effects etc. running simultaneously) of my DAW - but, on balance, I think that hardware compatibility issues are pretty horrendous (both for multicore cpu's and Vista), and especially for DAWs.

swayzak

So perhaps wait a few years then get all new hardware eh?
=P

If it's a PC you want, you'll be wanting a dual-core CPU (oh how I wish I had one, my PowerBook does get bogged down occasionaly when I pile the plugins on a little too high) so you can run as much stuff as possible, simultaneously.

Then at least 2gb RAM, although I don't really do any production on PC - that's what the Mac is here for - so I'm not sure if your plugins/FX will run as seperate processes (in which case think about 2gb+) or if they hide under the Cubase blanket (in which case 2gb+ will be pointless).

Vista will remain a 'minefield' for audio hardware for some time, methinks, but I'm pretty sure you'll be able to either get Vista-native drivers or use XP ones when Vista (finally) comes out.

I don't think that rig is "ancient" ... but maybe that's just me. I just read another post where a guy was trying to get his Pentium 60 to work again... THAT is ancient.

You could just buy an Am2 for much less heh.
=P

If you really want to buy into the latest hype (C2D) without having to throw away that x800 XT PE (still is a very capable piece of hardware, it consistently scores between the 7600GT and 7900GT), an Asrock 775Dual-VSTA along with an E6300 or E6400 will fit the bill quite nicely.

There is not a major performance difference between a 7900 Gtx and a 512 MB 7800 Gtx so dont worry

By the way I wish i had a wife who played games Almost all of the women here hate games

Systems are getting obsolete quickly.It is inevitable
Especially the graphic cards...
Buying a new one every six months,not the top end(the most expensive) but rather a top-middle one should be sufficient (for a killer gaming rig), if you can afford it. I replace my whole system approximately after 1 and a half years. Just bought a Core 2 Duo E6700. Upgraded from a winchester AMD64 3000+.

Oh by the way if you are going to upgrade (and if u only write code,no gaming ) buy the cheapest AM2 dual-core,because DDR prices are going higher and higher as they are becoming obsolete. A C2D and a 939 Socket System will cost you more i think..