need help building music/gaming PC

[bball_1523]

I want to start off saying that I am a beginner when it comes to PC hardware and building PC's. I have been trying to do some reading on all the different hardware parts that when built, become the PC, such as motherboards, cpu's, videocards, etc. I am still in the process of reading about these hardware devices, but I still wanted to come here and ask for input on what parts you guys think would fit my description of a system that fulfills my needs. I will try to take your guys' suggestions into consideration, but will most likely make a lot of improvisations the more I do my research.

Ok, so I want to build PC mainly for recording/mixing music and games. More specifically recording acoustic and electric guitar, and vocals, hooking up midi keyboards and real keyboards, and using external devices such as mixers, rack effects, etc. I am a beginner at recording and learning little by little, but I know a few things here and there, so you guys don't really need to go out and look for all the music parts for me, unless you guys know what a lot about recording music. Now not only do I want a recording PC, but I also want to be able to play video games, such as Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (when it comes out), The Sims 2, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, and once in a while the FPS games such as HL2, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004.

Now talking about games, I am not a graphics freak, so I don't care about seeing the cells in the blood gushing out of the players in doom 3 (exaggerating of course). I just want to be able play these high end games at great speeds, as long as the graphics are good enough. Oh and I usually use around 1024x768 resolution, if that helps. I'm sure a good video card and RAM will do the trick, but you guys know more than me, so go ahead and make suggestions.

Now people have told me to go with AMD because it runs games better, but then I feel neglected to get one because I hear others tell me to go with Intel because it will work better for music and can run games just as good. So I'm stuck between the two and I need your help!

Now here's what I was thinking, but feel free to englighten me about any problems with this.

Intel P4 HT 3.2-3.4 ghz 2 mb L2 cache, 800 mhz fsb
no idea for motherboard
2x512 1gb ram
nvidia Geforce FX 6800 gt 256 mb
Seagate/WD 80 gb 8 mb ata/100 or ata/133
Seagate/WD 160 gb 8 mb ""
my own choice of soundcard for music
no idea for case
Ben Q dvd-burner 16x or 8x whichever is better/efficient
DVD-ROM drive
floppy
I have a monitor and speakers

BUDGET: $1000-1500

so what do you guys think?

[Abhoth]

How goes? ...... Yes, go P4 if you're going to be heavy into sound recording ... but if you have more time than money AMD64 will do the trick. Either way, go as high end as you can afford.

Would go with SATA hard disks for better speed, another budget concern there.... but not too bad...

What sound card is your choice??? You'll want to go high end there for certain, just curious... ;-)

Floppy drive eh? Why? Unless you're planning on keeping Win98... not recommended! ;-) Keeping Win98 that is....

[bistro]

I noticed you selected a Pentium chip with the 2mb cache. That means you need a 775 socket board. But you also are currently using an AGP graphics card. While there are some 775 mobos out there with AGP, the vast majority of them are sporting PCI-Express for the graphics. If you want to keep your current card, that's fine...it's not a bad card and it will easily handle those games you mentioned. If then you don't upgrade to PCI-Express, then one suggestion for a mobo would be the Asus P5P800. You also would not have to invest in DDR2 memory...takes "regular" DDR. I would go for 1Gb of PC-3700. But here's the rub on the mobo: PCI-Express is the up and coming new standard...AGP will slowly be phased out. If you have the bucks and want to do an upgrade that will "last" a year or two, then consider a 775 mobo with PCI-Express, a PCI-E graphics card and DDR2 system memory.

Sound card: I suggest the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro...either with the internal or external I/O unit. Have at least a 5.1 set of speakers (5 speakers with a woofer). A two speaker setup will not do if it's a music PC you want.

Case: You have a choice....steel or aluminum. If you are like me and like to go inside the computer often and tinker around in there, then you want to make the case as light as possible in order to avoid going to Hernia City. Go with aluminum. If you don't care to go "under the hood" and expect the system to just sit there obediently, then a steel case is fine. You are looking for an "ATX mid-tower". Lots of places to look for one on the Net. Try Newegg, Directron, or Coolerguys for starters.

To top off the system, I would definitely recommend Windows XP Pro.

[bball_1523]

Abhoth: the reason I want a floppy is because people still use them here and if a friend came to me with a floppy with important files, like a word document that he wants to print out, then I'd at least have the capabilities to do so. Until floppies are 100% gone (like those old 5.25 disks or whatever you call them), I want to have a floppy drive.

Bistro: I don't have any parts yet, I don't have the 6800 gt, no processor no nothing other than me old pc that you see in my signature.

I want to get a P4, but I don't know which will suit me better, 1mb or 2 mb cache? I'd prefer a 3.2-3.4 ghz computer with 800 mhz fsb. I want a motherboard with pci-e because I have heard it's the future of videocards, but I can't find any decent ones unless you can guide me to them. I wouldn't mind spending a little less cash for a top notch AMD 64 chip, but I want to hear how good it will work with music recording applications, like pro tools, cubase, adobe audition, etc.

I'll probably end up with Aluminum because I'd like to go under the case. I also will look at the mid-size ATX cases.

Thanks for your suggestions so far. You're welcome to suggest anything more.

[bball_1523]

I forgot to mention that my budget is between $1000-$1500

[greyeyezz]

Floppy drive eh? Why? Unless you're planning on keeping Win98... not recommended! ;-) Keeping Win98 that is....

If he gets a sata drive you will need floppy to load the drivers at the F6 prompt, no?