New HD & RAM

Nolberto

Hi all,

I need to make some changes to my setup and was hoping for some advice. 2 questions really, first relating to new HD and second relating to RAM.

Current PC setup:
Dell Dimension 1800, P4 1.8 GHz, 256Mb SD-RAM, 80Gig HD (almost full…), USB 1, Windows 2000

Requirements:
Need a second HD to (a) store mp3s & videos (b) use as my main audio HD for recording (Cubase)
Will probably get some more RAM while I’m at it to help with the audio processing (need to run Cubase & soft synths with minimal latency)

Question 1 – New HD
Basically I’m not sure whether to go for an internal HD or to get an external HD & new Firewire / USB 2 card.

I’m going to be using the new HD for storage (mp3s, etc.) but also as my main audio HD for working in Cubase so I need to know it will run smoothly with minimal latency. I was thinking this might be an issue if I go the external + firewire route.

My limited knowledge is telling me this...

Internal HD:
Pros:
Should run Cubase smoothly
No need for firewire card
Cons:
May not be transferable if I get a new PC (eventually) – SATA vs. IDE?
Was looking at the Seagate Baracuda but I’m not sure if there will be SATA/IDE issues since my PC is quite old (don't want to buy a huge HD now if I can't keep it when I eventually upgrade...)

External HD:
Pros:
Can easily move to a new PC and keep all my files
Portability (although this isn’t really a priority at the moment)
Cons:
Would need to get a firewire / USB 2 card (not sure of the implications)
May have some latency issues running Cubase

Question 2 – More RAM
At the moment I’ve got 256Mb SD-RAM. I’m looking at this on Komplett. If my current RAM setup is 1x256 then I’ll probably just add another 512. If it’s 2x128 then I’ll probably get 2x512 to replace this. Again there might be some conflict issues here that I’m not aware of. Also is DIMM-168 the standard connection for new RAM?

Okay, lots of questions in there… I hope some of that made sense.

Any advice much appreciated!

Cheers.

8T8

PCI IDE controllers are available so even if you transfer to another new PC which does not have IDE ports you can take your HDs with you.

(It'll be another year or two before you see motherboards completely ditch integrated IDE controllers)


There is one area you have left out external-SATA this would be served from a PCI controller and allow you to have an external HD with few drawbacks and better speed vs USB2/Firewire. You can get enclosures that will allow you to use an internal SATA HD externally.

See vantec controller at the bottom of this page.

If you wanted to continue using the SATA drives externally current motherboards allow the use of a bracket which can route the internal SATA connections externally so you could do away with the controller when you move on to a new PC.

As for the RAM your motherboard uses SDRAM which was replaced by DDR-RAM then DDR2-RAM which is whats on the latest hardware. Crucial DIMM's tend to be very good compatibility wise so you should not have any trouble.

Depending on how many slots present on the motherboard, for instance if there are only two you may want to get a single 512 module and see how it goes from their with 768MB of RAM (512 + 256 existing) as you cant re-use that RAM in new PC's so no point wasting money on two 512MB modules if the above works out.

Cuddlesworth

Dont waste your money buying new parts that are obsolete. For instance a gig of DDR is around 90, and so much faster. Save up and buy a new pc.

Nolberto

krazy_8s wrote:

Dont waste your money buying new parts that are obsolete. For instance a gig of DDR is around 90, and so much faster. Save up and buy a new pc.

Yeah, that's the plan eventually... But in the meantime I'm in a situation where I can't record anything or download any new music.

Might just go with a new HD for now and see how the 256Mb copes with it. Are these IDE/SATA convertors used a lot or should it be avoided? If I do get a new machine I want to be able to move my music across easily.

Thanks again!

8T8

An IDE or SATA controller basically is a peripheral that plugs into a PCI expansion slot on your motherboard and has the ports on it for hard drives that use whichever type of interface.

So with the card installed you plug in your HD and then in Windows install the driver and it will identify the controller and the HD will appear in My Computer.

If you get an IDE hard drive you can plug it into the existing computer immediately and likewise for any future computer within the next year or so.

If you get a SATA hard drive you require a controller like this one as your existing computer does not support the interface. A SATA hard drive can be plugged into any current or future motherboard.

As for SATA vs IDE, the SATA hard drives will be slightly faster and you don't have to use the bulky IDE cables that tend to get in the way, that's about it.

zilog_jones

I agree with krazy_8s with regards to RAM - new SD-RAM is a complete rip-off for what it is. Look for some second hand stuff on adverts.ie or eBay - earlier this year I got 2x256MB SD-RAM for a much less painful €50 (incl. delivery).

PogMoThoin

krazy_8s wrote:

Dont waste your money buying new parts that are obsolete. For instance a gig of DDR is around 90, and so much faster. Save up and buy a new pc.

:rolleyes: I agree, buy a new pc. Especially if your tryin to run cubase, cubase eats ram & your pc will struggle, even with 1GB of ram. Write your letter to Santa

obrienb

You could always buy an internal IDE HDD and when upgrading buy an enclosure for that. At the moment there isn't really much of a speed difference between PATA and SATA because on both discs the platter spins at 7200RPM (unless you go WD Raptor route). Perpendicular recording on HDD's adds a slight performance boost but this in only on the huge capacity HD's. Also NCQ does give the SATA HD's a boost but not enough to warrant buying a PCI SATA card just so you can use a SATA HD. My advice, buy a big IDE HD and then an enclosure when you upgrade so you have an external disc.

Definately do not use an external as any sort of swap disc for any program. Especially an audio program as you will get a huge number of underruns.

For the RAM question, be very careful! Many old Dell computers are limited in the amount of ram they can take. My gf has a Dimension 2100 with 512MB PC133 SDRAM. I was going to put more in (get it from eBay, it's extortionate when buying new) but found out that it can only take 512MB in total. I couldn't understand why Dell would sell a computer with 1 stick of 512MB and limit the computer so the other RAM slot couldn't be used... Also, for some reason I cannot fathom, it will only take certain manufacturers (crucial is one) and only a certain rev number of them manufacturers!

Be warned because if you buy the RAM and can't use it then you are basically f**k*d because you will only be able to sell it for a quarter of what it cost!

Nolberto

PogMoThoin wrote:

:rolleyes: I agree, buy a new pc. Especially if your tryin to run cubase, cubase eats ram & your pc will struggle, even with 1GB of ram. Write your letter to Santa

Yes I think a new PC is in order.

Did a bit of spring cleaning on my PC last night and cleared another 18 gigs so that should keep me going for a while. I'll keep my eye on adverts.ie for some cheap RAM to tide me over.

One more question... Any recommendations for new PCs online. Would rather not go the Dell route but want to go somewhere reputable all the same. Are Komplett's pre-built PCs up to scratch? They seem to be excellent value! I'm relatively competent in putting PC parts together but don't think I'd be up to building one from scratch...

Once again thanks for the advice!

"Dear Santa....." :rolleyes:

PogMoThoin

Try here: http://ankermann-pc.com/en/

obrienb

Trust me on this. Building your own is so easy! It's like putting lego together! There are excellent guides online and there are plenty of us here to help with questions. komplett is definatly the best source of components online. And a huge advantage is that if there is a problem with a component you only have to send that off and not the whole PC!

A DIY is recommended because you can tailor it to suit your needs. If your using it for audio then you don't need an expensive gfx card and will probably be using an external sound box such as one from Digidesign, Edirol, etc, so no internal soundcard is needed. Intel are better for audio processing than AMD and make sure you have plenty of the fastest clocked and lowest latency RAM you can get.

A big point for audio production is noise. A silent PSU (like Thermaltake make), heatpipe cooled mobo and gfx card, and a large fan (large fans spin slower but cool as effectively) on your cpu.

Points such as this are not taken into account with generic PC manufacturers. If you want and if you live around the South Munster region I will build it for you for a small fee as I have done for others.

TonyM.

I have 2x256 of PC 2100 if its any use to you.

SeanW

yeah, definately consider doing a DIY build. One you got the parts it's like assembling a high tech jigsaw puzzle.