Computer help for recording

<20000109192923.01004.00000@ng-ci1.aol.com
There are thousands of sources. I'll give you two that I like. I won't shill
for these companies on this newsgroup or I'll get killed. if you want the
companies for these 2 systems, e-mail me. One's a major manufacturer you'll
recognize, the other is a mail-order indy located in California.

System 1 (major manufacturer):

733MHZ Intel Pentium III Processor
128MB 133MHz SDRAM-1 DIMM
13.6GB ATA-66 hard drive (7200 RPM)
8X/40X ATAPI DVD ROM with software decoder
1.44MB 3.5in floppy drive
32MB nvidia TNT 2 Pro
128 Voice PCI Wavetable Onboard Sound w/Advent AV009 Speakers
Standard speakers
56K 3Com V.90 Data/Fax Winmodem
Microsoft Intellimouse
Mid-size Tower
Microsoft Office 2000 SB
5/3 year limited parts warranty with 1 year onsite service

The price was $2,047+shipping (no tax to NY). The only thing you have to add
is a monitor and a real sound card. And of course, your gear. By the way,
the cheapest thing you can do is buy the biggest baddest 21-inch monitor you
can find. I did this in 1995 and am still using this monitor 3 systems
later.

If you want to save even more (maybe 15-20% or so) and assume a little risk,
you can go with any number of independent system builders. If you're going
to do this, it's usually best to find one of those little neighborhood
computer stores that's run by an Asian dude (don't flame me, it's not an
insult, it just seems that every indy PC store in the NYC area is owned and
operated by Asians. They seem to have a knack for this, they build great
systems and have saved me a lot of money over the years).
Of course, you'll have to pay tax, but you'll have someplace to bring it
back if there's a problem.

Or you can get slightly more adventuresome and have an mail order indy build
you a system:

System 2:
How's this for a basic setup:
Part# Description Quantity
MB6508 ABIT BE6-II Pentium?? III/II, 440BX AGP 3x168pin DIMMs ATX 1
IC7439 Intel 600MHz Pentium III processor w/512KB L2 cache 1
MICK606 Pentium?? III/II SECC2 heatsink with cooling fan 1
MYDM404 16Mx64 3.3V SDRAM 168-pin DIMM PC100 (128 MByte) 1
FDNS475 Teac 3?? 1.44MB FDD 1
HDG1305 IBM DTTA-371350 13.5GB 9.0ms 7200rpm Ultra/66 2048KB Buffer 1
HDR103 Iomega Zip ATAPI Insider 100MB Bulk Internal for PCs 3?? EIDE 1
DAG713 Diamond Viper V770 AGP4X RIVA TNT2 32MB SDRAM OEM 1
CRI829 Optiquest Q95 19"/18" Color 1600@76Hz .26mm 1
HCR126 Plextor PlexWriter 8X/4X/32X ATAPI ReWriter Drive Internal 1
HCV110 Toshiba SD-M1212 DVD 6X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM 1
MI862 IDE Internal 24inch Long Cable for 2 Devices 1
BS500 Aureal Vortex2 SuperQuad Digital PCI OEM AU8830 320V +S/PDIF 1
MIS115 Cambridge Soundworks PC Works FourPointSurround speakers 1
BFC714 SmartLink 5634PEW Internal V.90 56K Voice ESS chipset 1
BNE703 SmartLink 10/100 Combo PCI Ethernet WOL 1
CT701 Addtronics Super Tower ATX 8x5?? / 3x3?? 300W ATX UL 1
KT705 Acer Keyboard-52TB 104-key w/Win95 keys, 6-pin DIN for PS/2 1
MUS508 Logitech USB Wheel Mouse, 3-button w/ scroll wheel 1
SO780 Microsoft OEM Windows 98 CD-ROM 1

Total cost $2,530

You could easily pair this down to $2,100. Get rid of the network card, the
gaming sound card, the Cambridge speakers, and maybe the DVD-ROM. You'll
still have a kick ass system that will track like crazy, and has a CD
writer, a 19" monitor, and a Zip. Not bad.

Yes, you can put together a great system this way. The components are mostly
top flight (Acer keyboard? I don't think so. Everything else looks good or
very good). But, you're buying mail order so you better have a good comfort
level with ripping the case off and making changes yourself. There's no one
to help you because these types of vendors typically can't afford much in
the way of support.

But hey, half the fun is battling to get all the gear to work right.

-Marc