My brain has shorted out for the moment, and I can't remember whether they switched over from 423 pin to 478 pin *with*, or *before* Northwood.

What we really need to discuss is the Mackie...

Well...you should tell your bud to get rid of that chipset..I can tell you first hand that the Sis645 chipset is no good for audio..I tried for two days to get that thing to work properly with the P4 and it wouldnt play back audio correctly. It would crackle..pop..stutter and all that fun stuff.
The 478 is the P4 and it will allow the northwoods to work but it's up to the mainboard company to support the actual .13 micron technology that makes it possible to truly OC it.
To tell if it's the northwood processor it should have an "a" after the P4 1.6...like this..P4 1.6a..
if not...then it's not a northwood and you should get a proper cooling heat sink fan to OC it any higher than it is rated.
Yes, at this point he is a dummy for not looking into what works and doesnt work.
We all tend to be compulsive and try new things..but I highly doubt that board and chipset will work for him..
Right now those of us who followed my systems specs are having a grand ol time with some serious power..
Jon is right..we need to discuss this Mackie stuff!! lmao!!
Opus

Whats wrong with the Mackie? Bad move. I encouraged that one. Oh, and I happen to know MIKE G is the "Moron" he refered to. As in, he tried the "I've got a friend...." trick on y'all. Understandable, because I told him not to do it. I get no respect......

And what wrong with the Mackie? We're just 2 fellas trying to be the first white collar caucasian hip hop rock stars! Mackie not a good idea?

Well, first off, it's not that the Mackie will render you unable to do anything good. Sorry, if you're buying it so you have an excuse for when your mixes suck, you're out of luck- it's not *that* bad. :)

But, the fact is, if you're going with a nice computer rig, you are probably better off mixing inside it, as there are a lot of software packages out there that have the potential to sound better than a budget board. Potential, that is- you will have to learn the ins and outs of your particular package (and LEARN RESTRAINT) to get there. What that means, is that buying a fully functioned mixer is kind of superfluous. As an example, with the Mackie, you're getting 24 (16, 32, whatever) EQ's that will get their ass kicked by a wide range of software EQ's. Also, the summing bus is the favored whipping boy of digital detractors, yet it's also probably the weakest link of any Mackie larger than 16 channels.

Now, I personally prefer an analog board. I also prefer the very best sound I can afford. I also track full bands more than anything else, and need to be able to set up multiple headphone mixes. This is easier for me on an analog board. All of this (and the presence of an analog machine, and the fact that I am a commercial studio charging $40/hr)) led me to buy a big analog board.

However, I did not want to subject myself to the shame and humiliation of my big pretty board sounding *worse* than whatever software package I ended up with, so I got a $7500 handyman's special.

For most people, that's probably overkill (not to mention the space it takes up...). So, what you're left with is a need for front end. If you're in a Mackie price range, you will probably end up with a better sounding product with a combination of a good mic pre and compressor or two, a really nice soundcard, and an inexpensive line mixer. Maybe a controller or fader pack to get some hands-on feel. If you post a price range, we might even be able to give you a few options to think about!

Ugh.
Was that the BEST answer possible? Ok, here's the set up; I might have not been clear. We DO have software packages for mixing (between us we have: Sonar, Samplitude (unfamiliar with this one) , Vegas Pro, Cubase VST-PC, and Cakewalk Guitar; also- Reason for the sampler and whatever else (just got it and checking it out), Sound Forge, Wavelab, and some drum modules.
Outside of my live guitars, bass, and vocals, the rest lives in the machine. The Mackie was for the 4 Mic PreAmps. We'll be doing one instrument or vocal at a time. Card: Audiophile 2496 (already had it, but can go up).

Here's one- how can I add stuff I play in Reason on the SAMPLER into our multitrack.

Mike- nice move on the Sis Chip. Meathead. You are the Beavis to my Butthead.

JZ

We knew that you have software...obviously since you are here in the computing world :roll:
lol
What we are saying is that the Mackie boards sound is , to say, gross...it's not clean..even the analog ins are noisey to say the least..
The baord is great if all you are doing is using it for a controller surface..if that at best..so you're spending a ton of money on a gross sounding instrument basically. The EQ's and Dynamics sections on the D8B ar far from par and need some serious help..
Now the little mackie mixers, like the 1402 etc etc are fairly nice..thats what I use..but then again I use my Trak2 for my pre's since I only usually do two tracks at a time and my sound out is from the Mackie which isnt that bad..it's only my monitoring source so to speak..
So you've got the board and are you planning on mixing thru it? If so that seems awfully redundant when you can mix inside the computer..why mix a mix? Get it?
Opus

So.....
Money better spent on pre Amps alone.

Mic to preamp to soundcard to...the top of the charts?

Its a small Mackie. 1202 I think.
Not really mixing with it. Recording one track, or 2 mono's (full L and full R). Just running the mics through it.

And in other news, any word on the P4 i845 chipset? My engineering backround won't let me use an AMD. Should I get over it or stick with a P4 (not the .13)?

Thanks.

OK, different world. If you've got $3K to spend, skip the big Mackie. If you've got $400, then a 1202VLZ Pro isn't a bad set of mic pre's, at all. Use the insert sends to go to your sound card, and you'll be OK. Buy an RNC as an analog input compressor, and you will have a couple of tools that you can't blame for anything bad.

Fuck the 1202...no faders!! Cant stand little rotary knobs as my faders!! I like the throw feel..not twist feel!!
My reccomendation is the 1402..not too much more expensive..or go for the Mackie 1604!!
The P4 is a great processor and the 845 chipset rocks! Very solid!!
AMD is a great processor but most chipsets are VIA unless you get the AMD 761 chipset..but that too is coupled with a Via chipset :roll:
I'll bite the bullet sooner or later and build an AMD system to have the best of both worlds and truly comnpare them..buddy o mine has one that I want to go over and check it out...
Opus

Sorry, but I must go back to the motherboard issue ... DUMP IT! Opus, Tommy P., and I recently bought SIS-based mobos, with nothing but problems and returns. Worse yet, mine was an ECS ... AArrrrggggghhhhhhhh! Unfortunately, I was looking for a good "deal" and didn't do my homework, which is normally not "me". ECS mobos are notorious for being nothing but problems, any model, any chipset. My old PC had a PC Chips mobo (same company as ECS), and it was nothing but problems. I resurrected it from the dead so many times that I started to get a "Jesus complex". If you have already put the computer together and it runs, you've gotten further than most people, but it will continue to give you problems, headaches, and sleepless nights. IMHO, no matter what you paid for it, it's worth taking the loss to get it out of your computer and your life.
Stay with the P4-1.6(a?), but get the Asus P4B266 for it.

Opus, I'm still trying to work-out the Athlon predicament. As we know, SIS is a no-no, and the AMD boards have VIA southbridges. With everything that I can figure, I think my best bet is the iWill XP333(no RAID). What do you think? Should I go for it, or do you have a better idea?