Scope home: Any tips on buying a pc?

johnsonboro · Post by **johnsonboro** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:51 pm

I'm looking to buy Scope home and a new PC. Is there any things I need to look out for when buying a PC to go with it?

i.e. Pentium better? Preferable motherboard?

Appreciate any help here as it's a big investment for me!!!

Also, i'm assuming that I won't have any problems with latency! If I'm using Cubase with VST instruments and Reason will I be able to play with no delay? May be a daft question but have had soooo many problems with latency on cheaper cards I don't want any more headaches!!!

[ This Message was edited by: johnsonboro on 2005-09-03 00:56 ]

Post by **garyb** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:57 pm

avoid cheap, "bargain" parts. an intel chipset is preferable. an 800 series is probably best but the asus motherboard with the 925 chipset has shown itself to be very good. the next chipset choice is nvidia nforce3(NOT nforce4!), especially with an amd processor. avoid sis and via chipsets like the plague!

do a little searching here and you'll find a wealth of info on the subject.....

latency is never an issue if you monitor off the scope mixer, lots of info on this subject as well. the scope card is a little different from the usual computer soundcard. it is a computer in itself. to get the most out of it, make the scope environment your actual virtual studio. the sequencer is just like a vs880 with midi functions. the audio and midi ports are placed in your scope project and cabled just like the hardware piece...the real and virtual worlds can be cabled together in any logical fashion. tip: any output can feed multiple inputs(like the mixer AND the sequencer).

i'd consider a project card if i were you. the extra devices and horsepower make it a head and shoulders better deal. you'd really like having the bigger mixer, extra effects and synths(the Minimax in the synth and sampler pack is worth the price of admission by itself). the project has those 16 digital ins and outs the can be connected to and ad/da that has ADAT lightpipe connectors and then your computer has a patchbay that can be used in real time for monitor mixes, mutiple mics and real time use of external effects. it may seem to be expensive in the short run, but in the long run it'll save you money.

[ This Message was edited by: garyb on 2005-09-03 01:14 ]

johnsonboro · Post by **johnsonboro** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:07 am

Thanks for the fast reply, I was fairly up to date with a lot of this stuff a few years ago so need to do plenty of homework!!!

Great start though cheers!!!

wayne · Post by **wayne** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:07 am

I'm considering putting one together like AndreD mentions inthis thread - looks good.

johnsonboro · Post by **johnsonboro** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:38 am

That's great advice. The only thing is I have a budget of around £1000. I doubt that I'll need vast amounts of power as I'll be mainly producing house tracks and recording demos. i.e. acoustic guitars, vocals etc... My old system could hack it most of the time apart from the latency using VST instruments and before the internet poisoned it!!! So I would imagine there will be a noticeable jump from a PIII 700 with an audigy card!

I've just looked at PC prices! Are they seriously that low for a decent system? How much have other people spent on systems recently?

[ This Message was edited by: johnsonboro on 2005-09-03 01:48 ]

Post by **garyb** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 12:54 am

you have plenty of money for a top notch system. make sure to get another hd for your "tape".

johnsonboro · Post by **johnsonboro** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:18 am

I don't have £2100. I'm looking to spend £1000 on a scope home, pc and a larger monitor (less important but a 15" screen is a total pain!)