[Martian101]

I'm looking for suggestions on parts to build a computer that will be used to run sound for a highschool blackbox theater. As of now we run everything through CDs, soundboard, amp, and speakers. Switching CDs and cuing up tracks is a pain, so trying to shift to a computer.

Here's a bit of info:

-Its going to be used mainly to store sound effects/music, but possibly some very minor sound editing.

-Only needs to be the computer, the theater has everything else (amps, speakers, etc)

-Needs to sound good (We're looking into getting JBLs and a much better amp, so sound issues will be heard)

-Needs to be cheap (but not so cheap all quality is sacrificed)

Here's pretty much what I've been thinking, if anyone has experience on this and has a better suggestion, please let me know.

Take an old(er) computer. Stick in a larger hard drive, a few sticks of RAM, and a new sound card.

Any suggestions on above parts, or any other related suggestions?

If this isn't enough information to give any ideas let me know, and I'll try and figure out a few more details.

Edited by Martian101, 22 December 2008 - 10:24 PM.

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Hello and welcome to geekstogo,
What is the budget of this build?
If you are attempting on connecting high end speakers to your computer, I'm assuming that you will be using an amp. Am I correct to assume this?
James

[james_8970]

Hello and welcome to geekstogo,
What is the budget of this build?
If you are attempting on connecting high end speakers to your computer, I'm assuming that you will be using an amp. Am I correct to assume this?
James

[Martian101]

Thanks

As of now there is no fixed budget, but it needs to be pretty low as there is not much money for it. If a part is on the more expensive side I'll consider it, and can possibly get slightly more money. For now... as low as possible. I'm open to suggestions on a good budget for this too.

Yes, it will be through an amp. As of now our amps are... pretty bad, but we're probably going to be buying much better ones soon.

Edited by Martian101, 24 December 2008 - 02:52 PM.

[james_8970]

Take a look at what these cards have to offer, I think they are your best bet. If this computer is only for audio purposes, I'd pop one of these guys into a older computer and I think it'll work just fine. Assuming the older system has XP or a more recent OS.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829132007
or
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829156001
Both are great cards and neither break the bank.
James

[Martian101]

Thanks.
These look good.

Quick question: For mainly storing/playing, but possibly editing music, how much RAM would you suggest.

Edited by Martian101, 25 December 2008 - 10:03 AM.

[james_8970]

Quick question: For mainly storing/playing, but possibly editing music, how much RAM would you suggest.

That would depend on the system and a number of factors, such as what OS you are running. To be honest, whatever that computer has, should already be sufficient for storage purposes.
James

[Martian101]

Here's the computer I'm thinking about using.

http://h10025.www1.h...n...7829&dlc=en

It has 512MB ram, but no HD since the one that it had was destroyed by a virus.

Does this seem like it would be adequate if I put in a HD and a sound card?

Edited by Martian101, 25 December 2008 - 04:14 PM.

[Martian101]

Okay... another question, related to hard drives. I've noticed that seagate and western digital seem to be the majority of HDs. Is one company normally better than the other?

If there is not a major difference, how does this seem?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148261

Edited by Martian101, 25 December 2008 - 04:56 PM.

[james_8970]

Actually, Seagate sells far more hard drives then any other manufacturer. The hard drive you have chosen is great and I use it in all my budget builds.
To answer your question, yes, adding a hard drive and a sound card will be sufficient, but are you sure that they past hard drive is none functional? Virus' don't kill hard drives. Additionally, unless you are planning on installing a Linux distro, you're going to need to purchase a OS (XP is preferable) as well.
James

[Martian101]

Alright.. the sea gate it is.

The HD had to be brought to bestbuy to have everything recovered because the computer would only boot in safe mode. While it may still be salvageable, it is old, and only around 40 GB. Plus, I'm not exactly sure where it is.

I still have the XP disk from the computer, and have reinstalled it on this machine before, so OS is taken care of.

Thanks for your advice.

Edited by Martian101, 25 December 2008 - 11:33 PM.

[Martian101]

The AuzenTech is currenty unavailable on Newegg, and is more expensive on other sites. Is there a normal time before they restock, or is it arbitrary. Also, should newegg not get it soon, how does the HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 compare?

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829271001

Thanks

[Martian101]

Here's another small question. There is seagate identical to the one I mentioned earlier, except it has a 16 mb cache rather than an 8mb, and is $5 more. That's not much, so I'm switching to the 16mb, but is there a noticeable difference?

8mb: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148261

16mb: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148262

[james_8970]

Sorry about my delayed reply, your thread must have follen threw the cracks.
When it comes to hard drives, additional cache make a negligible difference in performance. I wouldn't spend the extra 5$ myself.

As far as that striker sound card goes, I think it would be a good purchases for your needs.
James

Edited by james_8970, 30 December 2008 - 10:58 AM.

[Martian101]

Okay... hopefully the last question.
The mobo currently in this computer only has IDE ports. Any suggestions on controller cards/cables that I can use to attach a SATA HD?

[Troy]

Maybe something like this?

Troy