I think it speaks for itself, I would try using pcmark @ http://www.futuremark.com/

Or try any of the numerous 'system' benchmark programs available on http://www.download.com

Hey, this is an ALL TEXAN thread! Alrighy - Pad'nah!

I like SiSoft's "Sandra". It is free, and very configurable. Someone said it adds Spyware, but I have not seen any of it. I use it mainly to "stress test" any new PC's I build for reliability and cooling. Also a good Overclocking tool. It will generate reports comparing your system to other standard systems. Also gives cool performance tips, and error warnings for incorrect settings.

The Videogame Benchmarks will tax your AGP/Video WAY more than an audio program would even dream of. They will NOT yeild accurate DAW performance results IMO.

Later :cool:

thanks for the replies, but I was asking more for buying a system, or actually, Motherboards, chipsets, memory, processors. You know shopping.

Alright y'all I'm crashing this all Texas party.

Hope you don't mind a little input from a Philly guy.

If I understand you correctly you are asking if a system that scores high on gaming benchmarks would make a good DAW. The answer is yes and no. Randy is right, the video would be stressed way more than anything a DAW or even video editing system would see. However it also stresses the CPU, memory, chipset and HDD's as well so something could be learned from it. I just wouldn't use it as my main test, as Randy mentioned there are better tests out there.

Overall gaming pounds a system far more than any other use (with the exception off servers) so it's not a bad yardstick for weeding out poor performing hardware but the advent of PCI express has changed some things. While AGP worked fine for DAW's, Scott from ADK and others report poor audio performance from PCI express. PCI express would score very high on gaming benchmarks but not so good on DAW benchmarks.

Since reviews of systems tested with gaming benchmarks are more plentiful than audio benchmarks my advice would be to buy a system that uses AGP and still benches well or talk to a company like ADK that specializes in DAW's. If your going to build your own then any gaming hardware that benches well (with the exception of PCI express Mobo's and Video Cards) would work well for a DAW.

We have also started a listing of users DAW's at the top of this forum that could give you some good info on what works well as well as searching the archives.

Good Luck!