VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rognog · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:58 am Post subject: I'm Going Shopping!

I am way overdue for a new computer so now that I have some cha-ching coming I'm ready to go. I'm reluctant to ask for opinions because for every great story about computer X someone else will have a horror story. But as always your input is thoughtful and greatly appreciated so here I am.

My current computer is a Gateway PC which is over five years old. It has served me VERY well so I am leaning toward getting another Gateway. I will comparison shop Dell and Sony plus any others you can think of.

I am torn between getting a PC and a laptop. Both have obvious advantages so I'd like to hear from you about that. BTW I know next to nothing about laptops.

I know the processor is a huge factor in making a quality purchase that will last another five years. What do you recommend?

My other major concern is the ability to continue to record auditions & bookings with the new computer. I plan on using Adobe Audition and my current mic & sound card. What should I look for to make sure there won't be any issues?

Thanking you in davnce!
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jrodriguez315 · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

Ever consider building your won DAW? There are a couple of interesting threads along those lines on the board. If that's an option, I'll try to find them.
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JimRon · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:19 am Post subject:

i recently got a Dell XPS 410. bought it the day Vista came out thinking i'd get a deal on a PC with XP. but alas, I was wrong. so i got it anyway (really needed a computer since my old on was almost 8 years old) intel dual core, 500gig hard drive, 2 gigs of memory; it runs like a dream.

the only issue i had was at the beginning when I installed my sound card, a lynx one. could not for the life of me get it to work. lynx posted a supposed workaround on their website, but i couldn't get it to work. i eventually gave up, sold the card and my mackie board and bought an alesis usb board. no problems at all since then, although when I run Audition 1.5 i get a message that certain visual aspects of the program are not compatible with vista, and vista will be running it's basic graphics setting. but the program itself has no problems running. i'm running vista home premium BTW.

my suggestion is to see if you can get a pc wth xp on it. a few weeks after i got my new pc dell annouced they'd be offering customers a choice of xp or vista cause they had gotten so many complaints. so you should be able to build one with xp on gateway's or dell's website. i went with dell because over the years i had become disillusioned with gateway's customer service. so far dell's customer support has been great!

just make sure you get as much memory and hard drive space as you can afford, as well as the fastest processor you can afford.
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Rognog · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:22 am Post subject:

Forgive my ignorance, what does DAW stand for?

I've also heard about the problems with Vista so I think I'll stick with XP.

I'll make sure my Presonus Inspire is compatable with whatever I purchase.

What's the current standard for hard drive space and RAM?
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:28 am Post subject:

DAW= Digital Audio Workstation.
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BenWils · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:53 am Post subject:

Not looking to start any trouble. I will just say:

Starts with i.....ends with ac.....and has an M in the middle. Get one.

They're all new and sweeter than ever!
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"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

JimRon · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:58 am Post subject:

CarynClark · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject:

OOOHHHH GOODY!!!! I LOVE to shop!!!!! Can I come!!??

Since I'm here, I'll offer my opinion... I bought a tower PC from Sweetwater last year due to my familiarity of the PC, I thought I'd stick with a PC. If I had it to do over again, I'd get a laptop. and, if I had the extra cha ching... I'd get the iMac thingy... but I didn't, and I don't have the extra moula now either. But I would, if I could. I've heard nothing but good things.

See... I can help you spend your money!!! I'm good at that (at least my husband says I am...)
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davidmonteath · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:52 pm Post subject:

steveanthony · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:10 pm Post subject:

Aside from Dell, who else is selling machines with XP installed? The only thing I found, off-the-shelf in the past few months was at CompUSA. They had the Compaq Presario 6000 laptop for about $900.

SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 5:29 pm Post subject:

I went into Best Buy here in Toronto a few weeks back to inquire if they would put XP on a new computer rather than Vista - they had no problem with that - probably would cost a bit more though.
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TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:24 pm Post subject:

My recommendation is to get the most RAM you can get, then double that.

<--- note the avatar, this is just ONE of the stacks at work going to surplus.

Actually, if you are running 32bit XP, 4 Gig is about the maximum that the OS can utilize. If you get a 64bit CPU, then it will address much more, 128 Gig I believe? That doesn't mean the application will be able to utilize it, but it doesn't hurt.
I wouldn't even think of anything with less than 2 Gig of RAM.
Hard drive space is pretty darn cheap today. Get a nice speedy SATA drive, in fact get 2 and mirror them for redundancy.
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Jowillie · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:07 am Post subject:

(Bob, are you guys selling off that stack of surplus??)

I expect to get new computers soon and have been shopping and studying for a while. I realize that the longer you study, the more the chance that what you know is obsolete by the time you make a decision.

The questions are: Will this be your main computer? Will you use it for email, internet surfing, word processing...etc...? And will it also be your audio acquisition and editing computer?
What audio editing software will you use? Is it 32 or 64 bit? Is your interface 32 or 64 bit? That may determine using Windows XP or Vista.

There are combinations of components that make audio and video processing much smoother. And then there are combinations that can be disastrous.
VO recording may not place high demands on system resources, but minor conflicts can be really irritating and it's good to know the "go power" is there when you need it.

There are some really high tech folks lurking on these forums that can suggest the system components that work best in their experience. I anxiously await their suggestions.

Thanks,
Willie E.
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Rognog · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 7:46 am Post subject:

Yes, it will be my main and only computer.

I've decided to go with a desktop instead of a laptop. I'm also leaning towards PC instead of Mac.

I will most likely continue using Adobe Audition and like I said before I'm probably gonna stick with XP.
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Yoda117 · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:40 pm Post subject:

Good stuff.

Check out the forums at www.silentpcreview.com for some good DIY tips and also recommended pre-built solutions.
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