new DAW. see specs. please advise.

[RichyRich]

I am in the process of having a computer put together. Computer/ DAW to be dedicated to recording music. No gaming, etc. I need help. I’ve gotten suggestions over the last few months. I have a fragmented idea of what I want but need to have it fine tuned as I am ready and anxious to purchase

For starters…
I'm a musician (drummer mostly) who jumped in to recording.  I'm not a computer wiz - troubleshooting, when the need arises, is very painful.  So I'd like to keep it as simple and painless as possible. 

this is what I currently have...
Presonus FireStudio Project - 10 x 10 Firewire interface – 8 XMAX PreAmps
Cubase Studio 4
ToonTrack - EZ Drummer w/ Superior drummer 2.0 crossgrade and  dfh Expansion - 
VExpressions drummers dream for Roland TD12. 
Behringer B2031A external monitors

I'm trying not to spend over $1200 (or 1400).  Probably will run on XP.

Here is what it mostly has come down to…

Processor – Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9550 (or Q9300… also considering the XEON X3360)
Gigabyte motherboard (P45 chipset with TI firewire chipset)
HD 1 – for system – 250GB Seagate SATA HD
HD 2 – for audio, samples and storage – 500GB Seagate SATA HD
(Two) monitors – 22”  -  LCD 22inch  -Asus 21.5 inch     -BA31245     $177.99
Memory - 4GB DDR2 Ram 
Graphics Video card   -  GeForce 8400GS dual-head 
Power Supply –
Optical Drive  -  22X DVD-RW Lite-On
Fan – Cooling  -  Zalman CNPS9500 AT
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3
Tower – Antec Take 4 - rack mounted case (or Antec Sonata III)

Any suggestions on what I have… or recommendations? 
Here are other suggestions that people have come up with…  thoughts???

Processor – Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz 2x4MB L2 Cache
HD 1 – Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200 rpm 8MB Cache IDE
HD 2 – Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
(Two) Monitors -
Memory – 4 GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Graphics Card – GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-Bit DDR2 Fanless Heatsink Design (Noiseless)
Power Supply – 610 Watt Silencer
Optical Drive – LITE-ON 20X DVD +-R DVD Burner Black SATA
CPU Cooler – Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3
Tower -
 
Processor – ASUS P5Q-EM intel g45 chipset micro ATX form factor   •  CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.0G (1333Mhz)
HD 1 – WD 160gb WD1600AAJS SATA300 8mb 7200rpm (bare drive)
HD 2 – WD 500gb WD5000AAKS SATA2 16mb 7200rpm (bare drive)
(Two) Monitors -  LCD 22inch  -Asus 21.5 inch  -BA31245  -$177.99
Memory  - Kingston PC26400 800mHz 4GB kit (2GB x2)  -BA25117  -$42.99
Graphics Card – XFX Radeon HD 4350 512MB      -3001706     $46.99
Power Supply – Antec 650 watts Earth Watts (silent and power efficent)     -BA25455     $81.99
Optical Drive – LG (IDE Interface)     -AA73272     $21.50
CPU Cooler – Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Operating System – Windows XP Pro 32-Bit SP3      AA15070     $133.99
Tower - PC Case     -Antec Three Hundred     -BA25453     $54.99

Thanks for all input. I am quite anxious to get moving on a new DAW/ Computer soon… and any suggestion is greatly appreciated.  Rick

[stainless]

RichyRich- welcome to HR!

I'm a Mac guy so I can't offer much beyond a welcome!

[RawDepth]

Hi RichyRich. Welcome to the forum.

I have been building computers for about 20 years. I've built many rigs for music, gaming, business, and general use. I think the most valuable lesson I have learned was, why computers crash. It is usually always caused by one of two things...an unstable power supply or inadequate cooling.

Power Supplies:
Each time I've used cheapo generic power supplies, (in the $20 to $39 range,) those machines had frequent crashing problems. Each time I used higher-end power supplies, ($70 to $120 range,) they ran crash free. As a general rule, you can tell something about the quality of a power supply by its weight. The cheap ones are always very lightweight and the good ones are much heavier. Your better brands such as Antec, Cooler Master, and PC Power & Cooling, give true ratings about available wattage. Just like with speakers, the cheaper brands almost always lie (or mislead) about their specs. To figure out how much real wattage is needed, do a Google search for "power supply wattage calculator" or "power supply calculator." They will ask what hardware you intend to connect to it and calculate your minimum needs. Run calculations from more than one site to get a general average.

Cooling:
Cooling is a whole science in itself. Poorly designed cases, fans, heat-sinks, sound insulation, obstructions to ventilation, dusty environments, and other things all contribute to overheating. When a processor or memory stick overheats, it crashes the entire machine. It's really ironic that they call it "freezing up."

Common sense is probably your best weapon here. Read a few reviews on cpu coolers and case cooling methods before you choose. Some may look cool but only make lots of noise without really cooling much. You will be very surprised at the results of lab tests and reviews. Also, open up your computer case and blow out the dust every 6 or 8 months. Dust is your computer's enemy! Dust sticking to internal parts causes retained heat.

Hard Drives:
The system drive, (hard drive #1) does not need to be huge. It will probably only have the operating system (OS) and a handful of programs and plugins. I use a Western Digital, Raptor 36GB because it is one of the fastest and most reliable drives on the planet. I have Windows XP, my recording software, and a few other useful programs on there. All of that only takes up about 10GB's and I still have about 75% of the drive sitting empty. All recorded tracks go to hard drive #2 which can be any size you want. I even use a removable drive bay/case so I can swap out the #2 drive anytime for different sessions.

Beyond those basics, just like the old Ford and Chevy debates, the rest comes down to whatever you happen to like the most. Build a good stable machine and it will give you many years of trouble free recording.

Oh and, my recording computer never gets on the Internet. Never!

Hope this helps.