I am needing a new heart to my computer based home studio. The computer with screen can cost up to 1500 euros. It should be able to run quiter heavy audio programs with many tracks and plugins. In future I also _might_ start doing some video editing. It should also be compatable with linux. As far as I know Nvidia cards work better than ATIs. And graphics card should support twin wiev. And few things I have been wondering... - Would it be helpful to have two harddrives? Another for operating system things and another for my own files and audio data. - AMD or Intel? Though Core i7 920 seems to beat PII 955, is it worth of spending more money? And which one you think is more "futureproof"? So, I'd like to get some suggestions of setup. Thanks.
Ok first nvidia does not run better than ati, it depends on the card and price/performance ratio. I too have a home studio and all you really need is a basic processor, and some good speakers. You can add an optional sound card (kinda neccissary for music production). If you do plan to video edit the i7 would be a better choice but the PII is still a good choice. Having 2 harddrives is faster if you have, say... a 500GB for your files and a WD Raptor or Velociraptor or SSD for your OS. They cost alot more and are alot smaller in terms of storage but are fast making everything on your computer load faster. not neccissary though. If you have the money I'd say go for it.
Thanks for reply. When I asked Nvidia vs. ATI, I meant which cards have better Linux support. Well, I think I'll ask this on some Linux forum. I have already good speakers and a firewire soundcard. The main points I am considering are a) Is better performance of i7 worth of higher price compared to PII, and b) Which system can be upgraded for longer time and has a longer life?
A. The PII is probably the better choice cause the i7 not only cost more, you need a 150-00$ motherboard to use i7 and youll need the more expensive ddr3 ram. Those are all necissary for and i7. The PII only needs an AM3 Motherboard and still performs great. B. I didnt really understand the second question.
