High performance on a low budget

[fcarpio]

Hello all,
I am new to the forum and I have been away from messing with computers from a while. I do not build my systems anymore but I am still an abuser with the software I run.

Anyway, I am in need of a system that is low cost, at least 4gb of ram, 200GB + hard drive, and a decent video card to drive a 22" + monitor.

Besides checking email and surfing the web I will be using this system to record my guitar and bass. I already own a M-Audio Fast Track Pro and I need a system that can handle the input from this unit without glitches or hiccups. I am also going to be running recording software (Ableton Live 8, Reaper, and Cubase). The processing for this software gets more intense as I layer more tracks. I will also be running EZDrummer, which it also is pretty resource intensive.

I would also need a fairly large monitor to be able to see all this stuff.

I would like a tower in the sub $400 range (am I pushing my luck?) so I have some extra cash for the large monitor.

Any ideas as to what COST EFFECTIVE system will allow me to do all this without issues?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dystopia]

Sorry buddy, sub $400 is NOT going to happen with the specs you want. 4GB RAM costs nearly $80, a 250GB HDD would be about $50. A half-way decent video card will bring you $200. Assuming you need an OS, another $100. That leaves you with $100 for a case, mobo, proc, psu, optical drive, and you will probably want a dedicated sound card, seeing as you are recording...so you will need a bigger budget.

 

[Aastii]

Sorry buddy, sub $400 is NOT going to happen with the specs you want. 4GB RAM costs nearly $80, a 250GB HDD would be about $50. A half-way decent video card will bring you $200. Assuming you need an OS, another $100. That leaves you with $100 for a case, mobo, proc, psu, optical drive, and you will probably want a dedicated sound card, seeing as you are recording...so you will need a bigger budget.

He isn't doing anything video intensive, so won't need an all singing, all dancing video card

Got a system together for ~$445 that will do what you need it to

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138182R $48

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687 $58

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144262 $73

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130541 $37 (if all you are doing is having your music programs/web/emails, you don't need this, you can just use the integrated graphics on the motherboard)

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233062 $17

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256060 $49

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181 $55

DVD R/W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175 $17

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754 $100

Total = $444
+$35 shipping
-$10 MIR

=$469

If you don't need the video card, take that out and get yourself to $440

If you can find an extra $20 on top of that, I would swap out the CPU for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103872

the extra core is worth it