Hello,

So yeah, my old computer is about to die. Most of my friends, not doing audio work, have been getting the AMD dual core CPUs on an ASUS A8NSLIpremium mobos. Anyway, it seems like the AMD dual core machines are where it's at, crisp performance, but I've been out of the loop on pci express related concerns for audio. Let me guess, it eats up the bandwidth of the pci bus? who knows, I just don't trust luck with audio and computers.

I'll be using an Echo Layla 24/96 and a DSP synth card called the Ikaron2 so I'll need 2 free pci slots. I'll check out the buzz on the echo forum and email the person behind the Ikaron.

The ASUS A8N-VM-CS is a micro atx board that has onboard graphics, 1 DVI, 1 VGA to drive two monitors at once, and I'm sure the graphics performance will be fine for logic and Ableton Live since some people use it for gaming.
Anyway, in that case it's a micro atx board with nothing plugged into the pci express slot since the graphics are taken care of. It only has 2 pci slots, which is just enough to squeek by, and the mobo is about $80 so its much cheaper than getting an SLI board at double the cost, with then a separate graphics card which costs more than the mobo. The other catch is that the SLI bios is said to be great, whereas the VM bios is said to be very minimal, then again what do I care if the machine runs alright, simplicity is great if it works.

So I guess I'm wondering, should I just be stuck in yesteryear looking at a P4 3.2 Ghz single core setup instead of worrying about the AMD dual core pci express stuff. It would be cheaper, with more pci slots and fewer questions, but probably not as cutting edge with other features. Or is there an AMD dual core board that does not have pci express, and maybe full size ATX since I might want to have some more pci slots. Any advice on the matter would be great, I'll try to do some more research, thanks
-Andrew

Is there a reason why you don't want to go Pentium Dual Core? I need to start looking at this stuff too. I've built a computer or two, but it's been several years. I need to put a new one together pretty soon.

Share whatever you find out, if I look into some stuff in the next few days, I'll post too.

-Adam

Andrew, I suggest you take a look here. It gave me some good ideas - at the time, 'bout a year ago - of what to put in my system.

Good luck.

i think PCI-express has its own bandwidth.
From Tigerdirect.com:

"PCI Express is a new Intel bus architecture that doubles the bandwidth of the AGP 8X bus, delivering over 4 GB per second in both upstream and downstream data transfers"
and:
" Doubling the bandwidth of the AGP 8X graphics bus, the new PCI Express represents the most profound change to desktop architecture in nearly a decade. PCI Express replaces AGP, allowing much larger amounts of data to move between the graphics card and the CPU, and will soon replace PCI expansion slots as well. The PCI standard allows for a 32-bit bus with a maximum throughput of 133MB/s. By contrast, PCI Express will run at 2.5GHz. PCI Express is a two-way serial connection that carries data in packets along two pairs of point-to-point data lines, compared to the single parallel data bus of traditional PCI. Gamers will benefit from an incredible upgrade in video quality with PCI Express, because it will allow for more powerful video cards, inspiring developers to create more realistic environments that will make games come alive with astonishingly lifelike colors and images. Video enthusiasts will also benefit because PCI Express will accommodate higher-quality video throughput (amount of data you can send per second). As network television moves over to HDTV broadcasts, PCI Express positions the PC platform for integration into the living room, while also allowing for HD video editing and other bandwidth-intensive tasks. PCI Express is compatible with existing PCI drivers and software operating systems and is designed to co-exist with current PCI hardware."

FYI.

Hello,

Thank you for the advice and information. I just finished building the computer, and here is what I decided to go with:

CPU AMD dual core 2.2Ghz 512k cache x2
Zalman CNPS All copper silent cpu heatsink/fan
Asus A8N SLI Premium silent mobo
Corsair Twinx PC4000 RAM 2 x 1GB dual channel kit
PCpowercooling 610 W Silencer Power Supply
Asus Silent 512MB PCI express graphics card
P-Link 4U Aluminum Rack case
2x Seagate SATA3 170GB hard disks
Sony DVD/CDr drive


RE Intel dual core:

An article I read on Tom's hardware described how the AMD dual core setups consistantly outperformed the Intel Dual core setups, except in the very top model of CPU because Intel has
hyperthreading active per core. The AMD cpus also seem to run cooler according to reviewers.

In a very hot room (about 90 degrees, humid) with no case fan, after several hours, my mobo and cpu were both hovering around 49C, so when I have it in the studio there will be some air conditioning and the operating temperature should be fine. I have a quiet case fan I may try to throw in there with a power attenuator knob if needed.

So my impression was that it seems like Asus A8N-SLI Premium setup is THE mainstream dual core setup on which all audio gear and drivers are currently tested, mostly because its the #1 gaming setup. [With Intel, on the other hand, I'm not sure what motherboard/chipset has been most widely tested.] Another thing is that the BIOS this mobo has is very detailed, and the multistage power up / down features apparently yeild a very reliable sleep mode. Also very customizable so you don't get stuck with some junky included software etc. It has mucho I/O such as 2 LAN ports, USB, 2firewire, etc, pci express and such so it's at least going to be current for a number of years. I'm going to use it as an audio appliance and won't be connected to the Internet. I'm also going to use norton ghost to create a backup image of the completed software setup.

Incidentally, you can use up to 3GB RAM in normal operation, and if you try to use 4GB, it slows the RAM bus speed from 400 to 333 (I was going to try to use 4Gb RAM but after learning this quirk, retured the extra 2GB); I have several friends using this setup so it's also good to be able to compare notes about settings, performance, etc.

(I'm glad I didn't go for the micro-atx 'VM' board with integrated graphics, the more I read about it the sketchier it sounded, especially the bios.)

Building the computer was a summer breeze, no problems so far whatsoever. Installed windows, logic, ableton, just need to do a few driver updates and then move it into the studio !

Very happy so far, the thing is quite fast and very quiet!

Thank you,
- Andrew