Well Gary, my initial reaction is obvious joy at all the power we will now have at our disposal! :D But after further contemplation, it turns to depression when I realize that it will never end, and if I keep waiting for the next "latest and greatest" upgrade to come out, I will *never* get my new computer built!

I am trying to prepare for the day when I can finally implement my VST System Link setup, and although I still have to wait for Steinberg to release the System Link update for the older Cubase VST/32 (and probably the SX update), I would like to get started fairly soon...

So what do you say man??? Is this new Intel technology leap *that* big of a deal where it would be worth waiting 9-10 months before building a new computer??? I am working just fine now without System Link, so I guess it is not a *must have* at this point.

If I wait, I guess I can re-shift my priorities and get a Mackie Control for SX now(the SX patch to support it is due out at the end of this week...1.03???), and then wait and get the new computer next year.

I am currently using the "Pre-ANUS" system (a ASUS TUSL2-C mobo, 1GHz PIII, 512MB), and it is working quite well, although maybe a bit underpowered by today's standards.

So no 667 FSB til mid 2003? IMO, that will indeed be a major step in host-based DAWs becoming the new standard. Once this sucker comes on the market and ASUS makes a killer mobo to run em ... look out! By then, Nuendo will probably have had a couple more updates.
I hope Digidesign and Soundscape see the writing on the wall. If they aren't already planning for what's right around the corner, they'll be in a world of hurt very soon.

I am currently using the "Pre-ANUS" system (a ASUS TUSL2-C mobo, 1GHz PIII, 512MB), and it is working quite well, although maybe a bit underpowered by today's standards.
there's the rub. the standards of the day are what drive the consumers to consume. it'll drive you crazy if you let it. :roll:
ooops, did i go too far?
actually i find this all very exciting just a little frustrating sometimes (like when it doesn't work).

IMHO...yes this leap of power will be well worth the wait! I forgot to mention the one killer aspect of this new architecture....1MB L2 Cache!!!!!!!! I know there's more that I am missing and will fill in more of the gaps but just those figures alone make me excited if ya know what I mean!
Yes, technology will be advancing every step we take to keep up with it...nothing you can do about it...
I think this new architecture will be better due to their mistakes they made on the 845G with the ICH4 issues...hopefully that is!
Opus

Hello!
If you see the specs below for building a new pc, would you say it is good for starters, or with all the developments you mentioned will it be the wrong way to go. I am switching from an old Mac with Cubase VST and have never built my own pc. I was deciding between Mac G4 2x1Ghz with Motu 828 and DP3 or P4 with Motu 828 and Cubase SX. The Goal is dance music and DVD authoring of music video clips.
Recipe for disaster?
- Asus P4T533-C 850E 533MHz FSB Socket 478 ATA100 AC97 Sound LAN Mobo
- Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz 512K Socket 478 533MHz
- Thermaltake P4 Volcano Socket 478 Heatsink & Fan
- 4x Kingston KVR1066X16-8/256MB 1066MHZ RAMBUS RAM non-ECC
- Asus V8460 Geforce4 TI4600 128MB DDR DVI/TV out Video Card
- 7 PORT: 3- PORT FIREWIRE 1394 AND 4-PORT USB COMBO HUB
- Pioneer DVD-R / DVD RW Drive Model DVR-A04SPK3
- Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM
- Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM
Any input is greatly appreciated.

Well...going with the 533FSb system is definately the way to go now and is still a slammin spec'd out system..
Things I would change on your specs...not going for the volcano cooler/sink fan as those are one noisy beasts and are not needed for the Intel CPU..to be honest the stock heatsink/fan combo that comes with the CPU is fine and dandy! If you want to go for a really nice cooling system than look into the Zalman heatsinks...
I would try and go for two 512 sticks of RAM more than 4x256 as most people reccomend larger chunks of memory than multiple smaller sticks..even Sandra reports that!
Video cards are definately an important aspect of a DAW system. You do NOT want to go with a card that is high in RAM. 32MB is truly the most you want since you will be pulling the bit depth down to 16bits in the display properties to lessen the PCI bandwidth usage. 128MB video cards are for video games and high end graphics programs...Audio is not such a thing. The more memory you have for video the more it takes away from your audio performance due to video drawback...you will want to find yourself a lesser memory intensive video card for this. Trust me on this one...
One thing I just recenlty found out is that USB pulls more performance from your CPU than FireWire does so the less USB stuff you use the better...so thus why people aren't using as much USb back up solutions than they are FireWire...I would reccomend sticking with FireWire!
Otherwise everything else is groovy baby!
Opus :D

Sounds like Prescott will be viable just in time for the REAL serial ATA drives to help relieve the bottleneck. I read just the other day that it will be close to 2004 before we'll see (and actually be able to buy)nearly double the thruput compared to today's ATA133 drives.

Since my estimates show a 32/96 track count of about 36 tracks using a single WD 120 GB drive, I think I'll go ahead with "now" technology this fall, and build a second machine next year. One for soft synths/midi, one for audio. (in Homer Simpson dreamy voice) mmmmm, audio... Steve

Absolutely Steve...the WD JB model drives are the key factor to todays DAW performance. What a difference they make!
I brought the article with me today at work about the Prescott CPU and the chipset will be called Springsdale..
Basically there will be a 5.3GB throughput on it, potential 32-bit double pumped ALU and full support for DDR 333....also included with this architecture will be a CSA(Communications Streaming Architecture)which will be a dedicated high speed netowrking(Gigabit Ethernet) as well as the built in support for the 802.11(wireless internet) that will be either 802.11a-g protocols...so basically the mainboard manufacturers will implement a layer on the board to provide you with an access to an antenna to attach to your case!
This is looking very very hot!
Opus