If you are starting from scratch you should get an i7 processor. If you absolutely can't afford an i7 then a quad core. With the rate a computer becomes obsolete you don't want to shoot yourself in the keyster by starting four years behind the technology. I think you are indicated two WD Black drives and that is good. One for OS and programs and one for recording destination. If the case is in the same room as your microphones you need to think about noise suppression. Get at least three 8cm fans with variable speed settings. It is better to have large fans spinning slowly than small fans spinning fast. If you don't have spots for at least three 8cm fans in your case then you either need to modify or buy a new case. Heat kills components.

I agree with Jack. It looks like the 775 socket is going out of style. I bought mine just over a year ago and just recently started thinking about upgrading.

Check into what is compatible with Pro Tools. They're a bit finicky with specs. Their website is a good starting point, but I've noticed it is a bit outdated. I checked around and noted what turnkey systems were using, then researched what would work best for me. If you do stick with the 775 socket, double check on the P43 chipset. An incorrect chipset was a roadblock I ran in to a few times.

From what little I know, DDR3 is the next step up in memory. You may want to consider that when finding the right motherboard.

Good luck!

DDR3 is a pre requisite. And a motherboard with at least the ich9 controller.

Thank you so much for the advice. I've updated the components based on your comments and have come up with the following:

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

EVGA 01G-P3-N958-LR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I visited the Digidesign website and it appears that Windows 7 is still in beta. I plan on purchasing Win 7 (not sure on 32 or 64 bit), but until then, I guess I'll stick with XP pro. Also, I noticed that many people like to use Asus motherboards. Is there any reason for this? EVGA was highly recommended because of there support. Again, thank you for the advice.

I personally would get 3 sticks of RAM and take advantage of the triple channel RAM controller the i7 and that motherboard can use.

Neighborator, post: 299177 wrote: Thank you so much for the advice. I've updated the components based on your comments and have come up with the following:

EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX X58 SLI LE Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

EVGA 01G-P3-N958-LR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I visited the Digidesign website and it appears that Windows 7 is still in beta. I plan on purchasing Win 7 (not sure on 32 or 64 bit), but until then, I guess I'll stick with XP pro. Also, I noticed that many people like to use Asus motherboards. Is there any reason for this? EVGA was highly recommended because of there support. Again, thank you for the advice.

Gigabyte UD5...
Built in Texas Instrument chipset
Gigabit Lan
Superior build quality, outlay, and genorous usage of copper.

Please help a student of music to build a DAW

Hey I'm a student building my first DAW and would like some advice from anyone who's willing to give it! I have a few questions.. This is the setup I'm looking at so far:

I also have an M Box 2, I'm running Pro Tools LE 8 and have a fairly low budget

. Quality ATX Tower Case with 650W Heavy Duty and Super Silent Power Supply, 2 front USB, SPK and MIC Ports
. Asus P6T Motherboard (Intel® X58 / ICH10R Chipset)
. Intel Core i7 930, 8Mb Cache, 4.8GT/S QPI, LGA 1366 CPU with Intel 3 Year Warranty
. 6Gb DDR3 (3X2G Triple kit) RAM with Lifetime Warranty

Is this enough RAM?? I was considering doubling up..

. 1000G (1Tb) SATAII HD
additional 500 G SATA HD

Is it significant which brand of Ram and Hard Drives are used?

. 1Gb DDR3 GeForce nVidia 9800GT PCI Express Card with DVI and HDMI

Would this allow for multiple monitors?

. 24X SATA DVD+/-RW with Nero 8 Software
. Integrated High Definition Sound
. Integrated Gigabit LAN
. Preloaded All MB drivers, Nero 8, Adobe Reader 9.1 and New Antivirus software

Is this all necessary?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

You probably should have started your own thread or just followed the advice in this one that's only three months old.

First: building a DAW is more than throwing a bunch of parts together. Pro audio computer builders have researched what pieces are most compatible with other pieces to allow the potential of the computer to be at a higher level. It's not rocket science but it is more time consuming than skipping over to Newegg and looking some stuff up.

Now the comments:
A true DAW machine shouldn't be attached to the net so you will not want antivirus software. Also, you aren't ever going to use the integrated audio chip on the mobo for a DAW. You are likely to want a better sound card than the MBox as well which for LE means an 003 or whatever 004 variant is due out next year.

HDD: I use flash drives for my OS and 500gb drives for audio and storage. The 500gb drive is more stable than a tb drive for a variety of reasons.

DDR3: If you operating system is 64bit then more than 4gb is fine. If your operating system is 32bit then there absolutely zero point to more than 4gb since it cannot be used. I'd use Win7 Pro 64bit if it were me.

I always recommend rackmount cases as they are sturdier and not much more expensive. As to the mobo itself, you'd need to research it. I haven't kept up on releases for the past year as I've been busy. That said, the Asus mobo's tend to be decent. For heavier performance look at server class mobos. More expensive but more stable.