Need some advice on which desktop to buy

U

uzer666

New Member
hey everyone. this is my first post on here. i'm looking to buy a new desktop pc and i'm hoping you guys can help me out with picking which one is best for me. yes i know that building your own is better/cheaper but that's not an option right now so please don't tell me to just build one.

besides basic internet surfing, i'll be using this computer mainly for music production. the DAW that i'll most likely be using is ableton live 8. so this computer needs to be able to run that(or just a DAW in general) and also needs to be able to handle a decent amount of tracks, vsts, etc. i don't plan to have a TON of tracks and vsts running, but i'd like this computer to be able to handle a decent amount of them.

based on my budget(can't spend more than $400), these links below are to some desktops that i've found that, to me, seem to have everything i need. i just can't figure out which one would perform better for what i need. so, can you guys please help me figure out which one of these would be best for my needs?


links:

1 - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1753301&CatId=4928

2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103420

3 - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-AM3470G-UW10P-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-Quad-Core-A6-3620-Accelerated-Processor-4GB-Memory-500GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Monitor-Not-I/19714387#Item+Description

4 - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1709367&CatId=4928

5 - http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=desktops&a1=Starting+price&v1=Under+%24400&series_name=p6t_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/desktops/Under_$400/p6t_series


to me, the $350 HP would be ideal since it's the cheapest, but if you guys think that it wouldn't perform well enough for what i need then i probably won't get that one

thanks to anyone who helps! :)
 
Hi there. I like the look of the Dell Inspiron i620 you linked to (the TigerDirect one), seems like a fairly powerful PC. You want to get as much RAM as you can really, and 6GB is probably a good amount (likely won't be running in dual-channel though but if you want dual-channel add another 2Gb DIMM to get 8GB). CPU is pretty good as well, not the fastest, but by no means the slowest, the i3 2120 is very good actually. :) Much better than the Pentium in the HP and the AMD in one of the other ones.

You may want to also pick up a decent sound card too and install it if you're doing audio editing and you've got decent speakers. Just a thought. :)
 
vistakid10 said:
Hi there. I like the look of the Dell Inspiron i620 you linked to (the TigerDirect one), seems like a fairly powerful PC. You want to get as much RAM as you can really, and 6GB is probably a good amount (likely won't be running in dual-channel though but if you want dual-channel add another 2Gb DIMM to get 8GB). CPU is pretty good as well, not the fastest, but by no means the slowest, the i3 2120 is very good actually. :) Much better than the Pentium in the HP and the AMD in one of the other ones.

You may want to also pick up a decent sound card too and install it if you're doing audio editing and you've got decent speakers. Just a thought. :)
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thanks for the reply :)

yeah, for the audio specs it just says:

Audio Specifications
Audio Description Integrated Audio
Channels 5.1

what does that mean exactly?
 
Basically the motherboard has onboard 5.1 surround sound. If you have a 5.1 surround sound speaker set, you can plug them into the onboard audio and get surround sound. For audio editing what you want is a decent sound card and a good pair of headphones, and some good speakers too. A sound card will produce much better audio than the integrated audio will because a) there will be less interference and b) you're going to hear more frequencies.

I'm not an expert on sound equipment really, so I can't really recommend anything for you as far as that goes I'm afraid. :(
 
vistakid10 said:
Basically the motherboard has onboard 5.1 surround sound. If you have a 5.1 surround sound speaker set, you can plug them into the onboard audio and get surround sound. For audio editing what you want is a decent sound card and a good pair of headphones, and some good speakers too. A sound card will produce much better audio than the integrated audio will because a) there will be less interference and b) you're going to hear more frequencies.

I'm not an expert on sound equipment really, so I can't really recommend anything for you as far as that goes I'm afraid. :(
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hmm

well if i spent the full $400 on that pc i probably wouldn't be able to get a good sound card. are they expensive? i haven't looked into them

that computer comes with a sound card though right? even if it's not the best i'll still be able to get sound from it right? lol

and while we're on the subject, do you know how to tell if the sound card will be able to support ASIO drivers before you buy it? i'd really like to use those drivers
 
Not really sure myself how expensive sound cards are, but these days the onboard sound on most PCs is pretty good and adequate.

The computer doesn't come with a *dedicated* sound card, but it does have integrated sound on the motherboard and yeah of course you'd get sound from it.

No idea about ASIO drivers. There aren't many things in the world of hardware that I'm unsure about, but sound is sadly an area where I'm not so confident. Sorry. :(
 
vistakid10 said:
Not really sure myself how expensive sound cards are, but these days the onboard sound on most PCs is pretty good and adequate.

The computer doesn't come with a *dedicated* sound card, but it does have integrated sound on the motherboard and yeah of course you'd get sound from it.

No idea about ASIO drivers. There aren't many things in the world of hardware that I'm unsure about, but sound is sadly an area where I'm not so confident. Sorry. :(
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thanks a lot for the help :D

waiting to see what others have to say...:)
 
Hey uzer666, welcome to CF!

To add to what is already here The general consensus on the forum is that building is the way to go. for your budget it is a bit harder being that Windows is $100 right off the top. Just tossing it out there if you wanted to venture down that road. from what I read, you do not need a whole lot of power in your system graphics wise so you could skimp there or use onboard to save a few bucks. if you wanted to build.

Just seeing other recommendations for a good entry level sound card here is what is usually recommended:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

If I were you I would see what functions you actually need since you are doing audio production before jumping into a sound card.
 
salvage-this said:
Hey uzer666, welcome to CF!

To add to what is already here The general consensus on the forum is that building is the way to go. for your budget it is a bit harder being that Windows is $100 right off the top. Just tossing it out there if you wanted to venture down that road. from what I read, you do not need a whole lot of power in your system graphics wise so you could skimp there or use onboard to save a few bucks. if you wanted to build.

Just seeing other recommendations for a good entry level sound card here is what is usually recommended:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

If I were you I would see what functions you actually need since you are doing audio production before jumping into a sound card.
Click to expand...

thanks for the reply :)

yeah, i'd rather just build one but it's just not an option for me right now. i'll build one of my own one day but for now a pre-built will have to do.

would you recommend any of the computers i've listed over the others?
 
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