My dad built a computer a few months ago. He has been talking about building a new one for a few years now, so it was about time he got around to it. He had always talked about building a computer that he use to record some of his music on and he wanted something that was more cutting-edge than his current desktop. I think he succeeded quite nicely and although I would tweak a few things if this was a machine for me, I think it fits the bill.
- SAMSUNG T240HD Rose-Black 24″ HDTV Monitor (my recommendation!)
- CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W 80 PLUS Certified PSU
- COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
- ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
- Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) (x2)
- Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 95W Quad-Core Processor
- SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive
- LG Black 8X Blu-ray Burner Model WH08LS20 (free media)
- HIS Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card
- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders – OEM
- HIS Gift – Stormrise Game Coupon Bundle (free w/4870)
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
Total: $2200
That’s pretty expensive for a desktop these days. I was really surprised by the expensive sound card, although it does allow him to record multiple inputs, which he plans to use to plug his guitar into the computer. When I built my mom’s budget desktop back in 2008, I was able to do it for about $300 (without a monitor). She was just going for a bare bones system though. Of course this thing is a beast compared to that thing. I’d be interested to see how the Core i7 is working. Apparently, up until a few days ago, he was having trouble with the machine randomly freezing, but it looks like that problem has sorted itself out. He also grabbed a fancy webcam, so we’re able to chat on Skype.
All-in-all, it’s a very nice machine that makes me quite jealous. I had fun giving him my thoughts as he was picking everything out. Too bad I don’t have some spare money lying around because I’ve been brainstorming for an HTPC recently. Oh well, some day!
I'm Jonathan Blackhall, a 4th year medical student at RMC. This is my blog, where I ramble about technology, medicine, free software, and other random stuff. 
Dad said:
Thanks for sharing!
Seriously though, thanks for your help. The Win 7 forum was a big help in fixing my memory problem. I’m not sure where I would have found a place to get the proper guidance to avoid that compatibility issue. You can say “I told you so” about the X-fi. The current Creative drivers still don’t work completely. I should have gone with my one of these:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=PCIinterfaces
for less money. Hindsight is 20/20. All in all though, it’s all working really well. I’ll let you know how the recording goes. One of the first up will be “House at Pooh Corner” for Lily, you, Harm, Megan, Matt, and Lauren.Thanks again to you and Usama for all the advice.
Jonathan Blackhall said:
Those cards look pretty cool too. No need for “I told ya so” though. It’s a good idea for what you wanted to use it for. It’s just weird because everyone used to want Creative cards, but the onboard ones have gotten good enough to where it almost doesn’t even matter. If you weren’t wanting the recording functionality, I’d say it was a waste, but I don’t think there are any onboard ones that can record that well. Hopefully they get their drivers sorted out soon so that you can get full usage out of the thing!
Also, I see M-Audio offers linux drivers too
Dad said:
That would be one big step toward making the open source plunge….again.:-)
Jonathan Blackhall said:
True. Although drivers are one thing. Software that supports the inputs and actually works appropriately to do that kind of recording is another. Although I shouldn’t be snarky. I bet there’s stuff out there that can do it. I just don’t have any experience with it.