AMD or Intel?

[locust]

Ummh, I'm shopping for a new system and I just wanted to straighten a few things out and ask a few:

I have a RME Hammerfall Lite 9636 card.

Should I go with AMD or Intel?

Which Chipset? Seems like Via and SIS are catching up with Intel somewhat?

Mobo? ASUS seems good but a little pricey here in Sweden, how about MSI, ABIT etc.? I've been lurking around here for a couple of days but decided I had to ask.

Please point me to a good thread about this if you haven't got the patience to answer yourself. I get dizzy just trying to absorb some of the info gathered in this forum, that's why I had to ask.

Thanks,
/Henrik

 

[Opus2000]

You think you get dizzy! lmao!
Ok...if you are going with a single CPU system I reccomend Intel as that is the safest option to go with nowadays. If you look on RME's site they specifically state they do not reccomend AMD based systems due to too many incompatabilities with the chipsets. Via, I wouldn't go as far as saying they are catching up with Intel....their past track record has left them untrusted and unworthy in the audio world....
Sis, you have a small point there but they are still incompatible with Echo and Aardvark. Intel works with everything...plain and simple. You want a hassle free setup? Go with Intel. You want to learn that your card doesn't work with it, go for it and have the hassle of swapping mainboards.
Now, Yes, Asus is pricey and I'm amazed it's not cheaper over there since Asus is located in Europe. Abit's are good boards but recently their quality has gone way down hill and most people are jumping ship on that aspect. You want reliability, quality? Go with Asus, plain and simple.
Opus

 

[SonOfSmawg]

AMDs are great if you want to learn more about building and cofiguring computers. You will spend a LOT of time trying to get everything to "play nice" together. Athlon mobo choice is a matter of choosing your idea of "the lesser of the evils". It's not the brand of mobo that's the prob, it's the chipset. You're stuck with choosing between VIA, SIS, AliMagik, or nForce. Each chipset has it's own individual problems, and the problems are not minor. I have an Athlon running on an Iwill XP333 mobo, and it's a POS. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with an Intel, period.
The last thing that you want to skimp-on is your mobo. Sure, Asus boards are more expensive ... but why do you think that's the case? Because they are imfamous for being solid and reliable. Asus has earned an excellent reputation with Intel processors. However, if you decide to go the AMD route, stay away from their models with SIS or nForce chipsets ... they are having problems.
1) Go with Intel/Asus.
2) Use an Enermax, Antec, or PC Power & Cooling power supply.
3) Get a Matrox G550 graphics card.
4) CDRW - Plextor.
5) 512Mb DDR SDRAM
6) Don't sacrifice quality just to save money. You will find that the money you saved isn't worth the aggravation and/or lack of quality that you've received.

 

[Opus2000]

Is there an echo in here?!!

 

[Doublehelix]

Is there an echo in here??? :roll:

 

[SonOfSmawg]

TEST ... test ... test ... test ... test ... test ...
Sure enough! :roll:

 

[raize]

don't bother with the matrox g550, get an ati or nvidia dual head offering if you need the multimonitors.

for the cd-rw i also recommend plextor, but i would stay away from the 24x/10/40a and either stick with the older 16x/10/40a or go right for the 40x/12/40. i've used all three drives in the past, and the 24x plextor really hated my system. while doing research on the possible problem i came across many people running into versions of the same problem i was having. so for security's sake, get the 16x or the 40x if you have the extra money.

for cpu go with AMD. cheaper and more bang for the buck. pick up an ASUS a7m266-D dual processor board so you have the option of expanding to dual processors down the road if you like. the board is reasonably priced and rock solid.

i also have the RME 9652 hammerfall, complete with AEB 8/I and AEB 8/O addin boards for it. in the last year i have had not a single problem with any of these components. i also spent less than 1500 bucks (canadian) on the system. the asus dual processor board uses the AMD761 MPX chipset, and will run with a single AMD athlon XP chip in it until you're ready to upgrade to dual if you like.

at that point you can even get another XP chip and if you're comfortable soldering, get around the fact that you're supposed to buy the much more expensive validated amd athlon MP chips when you put more than one in a system.

also make sure you get a good harddrive. don't buy the IBMs as they've conceded they have too many problems with their drives, and have recently gotten out of the harddrive business. if i had to choose, i'd go maxtor now.

any questions? =P

getting chilly.. cold and ugly.

 

[Opus2000]

Hmmm...interesting
What issues are you having with the 24X models? I've built 5 systems in the last 2 weeks with those and not a single problem has arrived...
As far as ATI or Nvidia....huh? The G550's are the most reliable and compatible cards so far. I've seen two systems with the ATI cards that have 2 RME 9652 cards in them and with that combination it caused crashes when working on the second screen...swapped out for a G550 and the problems went away.
With the Dual AMD system you need serious fan cooling and power supply...430watt minimum when going dual. So if you go single for now and want to go dual will need to upgrade the processor and PSU!!! so in the long run that doesn't make sense.
AMD is hanging on to a thread at this point in the game...if their new processors don't sell enough you can say good bye to AMD!
AMD definately has some great processors with their FPU ratings but to be honest, this argument is well overdone....compatability is the key issue here. Even RME states on their website they can not reccomend AMD based systems due to too many incompatabilities.
Most people using RME and the AMD chipsets are having no problems...again, if using anything else for a chipset their are issues...currently the only board offering AMD chipsets on the north and south bridge is the Dual Asus board!
If you want to use a different card, say MOTU or Echo, your SOL! Too many problems getting things to work correctly.
I built the dual AMD system for PRS himself and it works great but you have to look at in the overall picture....dual systems like that can run pretty expensive...
I'll reiterate it again...ifyou want reliablity and compatibility stay with Asus for mainbaords and Intel chipsets...with that you won't have any problems....
Opus

 

[raize]

i still disagree.

and the reason i disagree is because my suggestions are very specific in their reasoning.

the computer purchases i'm making are based on price, compatibility, and problems i've encountered. i'm not sure that that henrik has the kind of money PRS does to build his dream system, because according to his post he's claiming some components that he's seen are "pricey".

to further qualify my suggestions, the system you've specified, with my additional substitutions gives you MY system. again, overall cost for it was under 1200 dollars canadian, and it's a beefy system.

i have great cooling, and if you really want to get technical, the cost of the chip i purchased last year is very similar to the new athlons which are fabricated at 0.13 rather than the 0.18 mine is.

so, to summarize, yeah there are a lot of situations and configurations that will work but if you want to talk tried and true, i'm giving henrik tried and true based not on the idea that he'll be upgrading to a MOTU or anything else, but that he needs a fast, affordable system that will work with his hardware and leave him free to do other things with some of the extra money.

i figure one year of uninterrupted stable usage qualifies the system i built as solid, well setup for the RME card, powerful enough to handle what he'll be doing (because i probably do more with a more robust card), and upgradable in the future for a low cost.

as for the 24x cdrom, i've got no idea what happened with it. not even plextor could figure it out, but all over the google groups i was able to find sympathizers with my problem to some extent. i also noticed people had difficulty with their 8x scsi burners in the same fashion. again, i'm not sure why, but i couldn't playback cds through the player, burning barely worked.. maybe just a factory defect. swapped it to the 40 and it was fine (price difference of 30 dollars after tax, doin't ask why i didn't just buy it in the first place =).

so yes, while i agree that the general ideas for reliability and compatibility hold true in most cases, i don't believe my system is any better or worse than that for my, or henrik's specific hardware. if anything it'll be a cheaper and better alternative.

besides, i'm sure if he upgrades it'll be to another RME if he enjoys his current one. no reason to grab a pain in the ass motu. and he'd probably prefer the RME to the echo stuff anyway. of course, that's just generalizing.

speaking from experience as well,
c&u

 

[Opus2000]

See...this is why I love forums...we get to bash each other to death with information! lol

As far as the plextor...odd! Nothing but great success on the burning...never use them to play CD's so I can't say I can confirm that or not...is this through the "Enable Digital Audio feature" in Win2k or XP or is it via the little CD audio cable that goes to the sound card?
Opus
(great discussion by the way...but Intel still kicks ass...ha ha ha ha!!...that ought to rile you up some! )

 

[locust]

I'm really find this discussion helpful! I have the Intel/AMD discussion with a friend every time we see each other in a home recording context. After a little scouting around the swedish web shops I've found that a complete system, 512MB RAM, Monitor, Chieftech case, G550 graphics (not counting HDD and CD/RW) would cost:

1) Intel P4 1,8 (Northwood), ASUS P4B266: ~$938

2) AMD Athlon XP 2100 1,733, ASUS A7S333 or MSI 745 ultra: ~$859

I'll gladly trade these $79 for the added feeling of buying something that many users have found glitchless. I understand that you can't compare AMD/Intel clocks, but the possibility of easily oc'ing the ANUS makes me smile. Will a 340W power supply be sufficient for oc'ing? Up to which frequency?

I'm happy to say that I'm a very happy RME user with Creamware A16 Ultra 16 in/out converters.

Regards,
/Henrik

 

[teddancin]

currently the only board offering AMD chipsets on the north and south bridge is the Dual Asus board!

Um, I have the Tyan thunder k7, and it has AMD chipsets on the north and south bridge. Just thought I'd point that out. Nice to see you all again btw.

 

[Tommy P.]

Like a musical instrument, if two different systems work well for some and not for others, it all comes down to specific needs. :tu:

Tommy P.

P.S. Check out my new guitar rig in the guitar forum. It kicks arse!

 

[Opus2000]

I deleted a post that had nothing to do with this post and wasn't even in English. If you want to post a message to someone than do it in a Private Message please. There is no need to post messages in a different language to someone else. That is considered rude and makes people wonder why and what it is that you said...so in the future please make this a mental note to PM people and not do this again.
Thanks for understanding
Opus