My old "home studio pc" died

[bdvox]

Hi there,

My old "home studio pc" died, and so, i'm going to make a new one.
I've got a PulsarI and a Luna(without box) card.
I just want to do music with this PC (no gaming, no surfing, no video, etc. i've got other PC for that).
I'm using Cubase 4 for sequencing/recording and some VST plugin as Guitar Rig.
My config was working fine with an AthlonXP@1800 !!

I plan to buy a new 6DSP Card, and i'm ready to replace my old Matrox G400 for a new Graphic card that would allow me to work with 2 24'' screens @ 1900x1200.
So, could you tell me what is the best platform for my needs ?

I've read here that Intel is the best for our cards (CPU and Chipset), and there are not a lot of mobos with 3 PCI slots.
Of course, i want a quiet config, and i don't want to watercool for that.

My first idea was :

- Mobo : Asus P5QL-E (P43 Express)
- CPU : Intel CORE2 Q8400 w/ NOCTUA NH-C12P
- Ram : 2x1Go CORSAIR PC6400 C4
- 2x80Go HD recovered from the old setup.

For the Graphic Card i've got no idea for a PCIe Fanless, w/ enough RAM for my 2 screens ?


Any problems about the P45 Family Chipset ?
So a X48 Platform would be a better choice ? Which One with 3 PCI slots ? and i don't want to buy a Core i7 platform for this small config.

Thanx for all your advices..

[bdvox]

Thanx for the advice.

Sorry for my newbee notice, but i don't know what is a MV test. Have you got references ?

Then I'm looking for a new PSU for this config (no O/C).

Mobo : 40W
CPU+Fan : 100W
DDR2 RAM : 15W
PCIe Fanless Graphic Card : 130W
DVDRW : 30W
HDx2 : 40W
KEYB+MOUSE : 5W
BOX FAN ? : 5W
USBx4 : 20W
3 S|C Cards : 30W (???)

=> 415W

So I plan for a Seasonic SS-500ET PSU (would be very silent). Good choice ? Better one ?
Any suggestion for the box (good cooling for the 3 S|C cards) ?

[garyb]

ANY of the newer high quality motherboards should work acceptably, and be a considerable upgrade from what you have been running. the p1 doesn't perform as well as the later cards, so i doubt that pci performance will be much of an issue. the power supply you listed is probably sufficient.

[bdvox]

Sorry for the unpolite MV reference.

MV stands for master verb the reverb plugin that is available to most of us.
Reverbs in scope need system memory. So reverbs stress the PCI bus.
So the number of concurrently running MV instances is a measure for the PCI performance of a particular motherboard.
There is a whole thread here on planet z collecting the MV test results.

No matters, i'll try it on my new setup, thanx for the link.

[bdvox]

Ok, as you guess, i don't want to get bored with the graphics card, my wish is to drive 2 24'' screens only. No 3D.

So i've looked for a mobo with theses specs :

- ATX
- Core 2 Quad (775 Socket)
- DDR2
- 1 IDE
- 3 PCI
- Integrated Graphics Chip

And also, always for sale !

3 Mobos only :

- ASRock G31DE (G31 Express/ICH7/GMA3100)
- Intel DG43NB (G43 Express/ICH10/GMAX4500HD)
- Asus P5KPL-E (G31 Express/ICH7/GMA3100)

I think all are good mobos. I found the ASRock at a very attractive price (50 EUR). The Intel One sounds better (quality made, INTEL ... )

If there's any feedback on these boards, or about differences between G31 and G43 Chipset for S|C Cards use that would help me for the final choice ...

Best regards.

[netguyjoel]

Intel gets my vote...(no surprise there)

[bdvox]

... is that they access system memory for graphic purposes which in the past always compromised system performance.

Good notice, i did not think about this, and i was happy to find a solution not adding a card to improve air cooling and over heating in my box.

So now, let's look for a new PCIe fanless graphic card !

Thanx again.

[astroman]

no experience with Gxx chipsets.
The nature of the integrated graphics is that they access system memory for graphic purposes which in the past always compromised system performance.

I agree from the logical point of view.
Yet I completely fail to find any difference between my onboard Intel graphic (946 or so) and a PCIe card.
Same number of Masterverb instances, no glitches...
But I don't run any Cubase (or similiar) monstersequencer or hardcore streaming samplers like Giga or Kontakt.

cheers, Tom

[kylie]

So now, let's look for a new PCIe fanless graphic card !

if it doesn't have to be a new one, exactly, you may take a look at a used matrox p690 plus lp pcie x16. they say it consumes 10.7 watts only, and it drives up to two digital displays with 1920x1200.
(it can do higher resolutions analog, and with a special whip you can hook up 4 analog displays. ah yes, and you can join two of them to have a quad display solution. they made a pci version, too. and cards with half the memory (P690) that come in pcie x1, x16 and pci flavour.)
I got mine for a bit more than 100eur, and well, its silent... I have to admit I have just one display, but I could add some easily...