PC For DJ Remix/Mixing Purposes

L

Laughter

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Jun 10, 2005
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Hello!!!

This is my first post and I'm so glad to have found this site!!!

I wanted to ask for advice on a PC that I need to purchase. I mix dance music as a hobby and want to record my mixes to CD. It's been suggested that I opt going digital (via a sound card, etc.).
I'm willing to go that route, but the more I look into it, the more questions I have!

The pre-built "Dj systems" are easily $1700 and up and I wanted to stay in the $1,000 range, ideally. As far as building my own, I am not comfortable enough with choosing the individual components (I am not sure what I specifically need, I'm afraid of under or over-buying, not to mention compatibility issues between hard/software, etc.). It would be a "miracle" if someone would be willing to specifty exactly what hardware I needed to complete a system!!

I am entirely fine with buying all of the right components from a reputable on-line store (like newegg.com) OR buying a system that's prebuilt (Dell, HP, Gateway, MAC, etc.) that would meet the needs I mentioned above. Any recommendations, one way or another?

Here's a few other details:
Mixer is a Numark Matrix 2
I mix CD's only
I don't plan on doing any gigs outside of the house
I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse & really nice studio monitors

**I also would like to "rip" my CD collection to the harddrive (300+ CD's).

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for your help! ~Laughter

P.S. Here is my "Wish List" from newegg.com, that is based solely from what I have read on-line (in other words, I winged it!):

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: A8N-SLI Deluxe $176.00

ASUS EAX300SE/TD/128M Radeon X300SE 128MB DDR PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: EAX300SE/TD/128M $62.00

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester Integrated into Chip FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BIBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3000BIBOX $147.00

CORSAIR 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) ECC Registered System Memory Model CM72SD1024RLP-3200 - Retail
Model #: CM72SD1024RLP-3200 $139.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380013A-RK 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail
Model #: ST380013A-RK $83.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160023A-RK 160GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail
Model #: ST3160023A-RK $105.00

SONY White IDE DVD Burner Model DRU720A - Retail
Model #: DRU720A $86.99

(*not available from newegg.com*) Echo Mia MIDI PC Digital Audio Interface
24-bit/96kHz Recording. MIDI in/out. 24-bit coaxial S/PDIF digital I/O. 2 balanced 1/4 in. analog inputs and outputs $129.00
 
Though you chose a very good setup, this may be one of the few times I suggest an Intel setup over AMD. Since you are mixing multi channel music, Intel's hyperthreading becomes a very large benefit.

I would suggest a 600 series P4 or a newer Pentium D over the socket 939 setup purely for hyperthreading.

If you can wait a bit, I would suggest an AMD X2, but I think that will bust your price bracket.
 
A few things:

1. Why get an SLI board? You won't use it

2. ECC Regisitered RAM is not supported by that board. Find some unbuffered stuff. Newegg has 1gb corsair valueram pc3200 for $87 right now

3. Ditch that burner and getter a better and less expensive NEC 3500a or Lite-on 16x burner

As for HT being advantagous to multi-channel music, I'm not so sure; just because the music is multi-track doesn't mean that the applications are multi-threaded
 
yah, the motherboard is way overkill for just a mixing pc...ur not gonna toss two 6800 ultr's in there are you? then I suggest a regular nforce 4 ultra board..which will cost less...

and O yah, when the music multitrack..it is barely gonna be using any of the cpu's power anyways...
 
Agreed with these guys above, not only do you not need a sli board, but the video card your dropping into it is not sli supported. Ditch the board and get a single card board with the same chip set. You'll save enough to pay for the sound board you want to get.
 
Vertigo Acid said:
A few things:

1. Why get an SLI board? You won't use it

2. ECC Regisitered RAM is not supported by that board. Find some unbuffered stuff. Newegg has 1gb corsair valueram pc3200 for $87 right now

3. Ditch that burner and getter a better and less expensive NEC 3500a or Lite-on 16x burner

As for HT being advantagous to multi-channel music, I'm not so sure; just because the music is multi-track doesn't mean that the applications are multi-threaded
Click to expand...

Hello!

Answer to #1---is because it "looked good" on newegg.com; it has TONS of 5-star ratings AND it has 4 SATA slots, which I was told I should look for. (Remember now, I have never built a system and don't know much about the insides of a PC case!) :eek: Can you please post a link for an ASUS motherboard and CPU that would be recommended for audio/music purposes?

Answer to #2---I'm all for buying the Corsair valueram. I have seen it advertised at newegg.com a lot lately.

Answer to #3---I agree. NEC, Lite-On and Plextor come to mind. Will make the change! ;)

Thanks for the post, Vertigo Acid! ~Laughter
 
aZn_plyR said:
yah, the motherboard is way overkill for just a mixing pc...ur not gonna toss two 6800 ultr's in there are you? then I suggest a regular nforce 4 ultra board..which will cost less...

and O yah, when the music multitrack..it is barely gonna be using any of the cpu's power anyways...
Click to expand...

Hi aZn_plyR,

I don't plan on putting two 6800's in the system because I don't know what they are! :D

I did a search at newegg.com for an nforce 4 ultra motherboard, and it only came up with "BFG VNF4 Ultra".......are there ones made by ASUS that are similar?

I agree that I don't need a super computer for music purposes.....I want one that won't "lag" while I am doing music-related stuff and also one that can store all my music, etc....

What motherboard and processor would you personally use if you were to build this?

Thanks again! ~Laughter
 
ncantador said:
Agreed with these guys above, not only do you not need a sli board, but the video card your dropping into it is not sli supported. Ditch the board and get a single card board with the same chip set. You'll save enough to pay for the sound board you want to get.
Click to expand...

Hi ncantador!

Now you know why I am asking questions! Great point about the video card not being compatible.........hmm.......

I'd like to ask you the same question as the other people who have posted comments---what motherboard and CPU combination would you use if you were to build this system?

If I get a motherboard with an intergrated video card, is that all I need video-wise since it's a PC for audio purposes?

I REALLY like the idea of saving money on the video card and applying it to the cost of the audio card! :)

Thanks for everything! ~Laughter
 
Treyshadow said:
Though you chose a very good setup, this may be one of the few times I suggest an Intel setup over AMD. Since you are mixing multi channel music, Intel's hyperthreading becomes a very large benefit.

I would suggest a 600 series P4 or a newer Pentium D over the socket 939 setup purely for hyperthreading.

If you can wait a bit, I would suggest an AMD X2, but I think that will bust your price bracket.
Click to expand...

Goodmorning Treyshadow,

I've never heard of hyperthreading. In a layperson's terms, how could that make a difference with mixing music, etc.?

I'll bet that the AMD X2 would be a bit too $$$ when it first comes out, plus I'd like to have this PC sooner rather than later. :)

What motherboard and processor combo would you personally choose.......Pentium 4 (600 series) and what else?

Thank you for the post & your input!!! ~Laughter
 
Stick with an Athlon 64 for the performance gains in cutting up, reattaching, and running filters, normalization, etc. over your audio. That's a pretty nice kick over the P4 which will only be faster at encoding the final product. *IF* the progams you use are multithreaded, save up and get an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ or 4400+ shortly, instead. (4200+ and 4200+ will be about $550-$590 when they first become available later this month.)

As was said, don't get ECC RAM, it won't work with a Socket 939 board, and don't get an SLI one. Here is my full build recommendation, minus the sound card (your call on that, I'm not a sound person.) Bear in mind if you DO NOT want to build the machine, you can go to MonarchComputer.com and configure it for very little added to the cost of parts.

CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ Venice, 3200+ Venice or Athlon 64 X2 4200+ or 4400+ if you do a LOT of encoding work
Motherboard: Chaintech VNF4/Ultra
RAM: 2 x 512 MB or 2 x 1024 MB sticks of DDR400 Corsair Value Select
Video Card: cheapest thing you can find. ;)
Hard Disks: Seagate 7200.7 or 7200.8 series disks in whatever sizes you require
Optical Drive: NEC ND3520A DVD+/-RW Drive, invaluable for writing backups of loads of music..
Case / PSU: Antec Sonata case w/ True380 Power supply

Also, if you'd like to make the machine as quiet as possible, install a 2nd 120mm fan up front in the case, 2 Zalman fanmates to limit their speed, and a Thermaltake Silent Boost CPU cooler. You can also get an enormous overclock and performance gain out of a Venice CPU with very little effort; even enough to trump $850 CPUs from AMD and Intel with no cost investment. :D

Good luck. :)
 
Contact me, either email or AIM.. I've spent the past month making PC DJ mixing systems, I can give you a bunch of pointers. Depending on how you do it, a lot of these suggestions are serious overkill. It's all about memory and storage space for your media.
 
Cool, someone knows what they are talking about. Share with the rest of the class so we can all learn, though...
 
I am not trying to thread crap, but you should get a Mac. ;)

Afterall, it is what BT, my favorite Electronic artist uses... :p

Seriously though, a LOT of professional multi-track audio recording/mixing is done on the Mac. It might be something to consider.
 
and is there reason for that?

I ma jump off the brigde, you might consider it too heheh
 
Are you planning on producing at all. If so, you might want to consider investing in a good sound card. That's going to be the most important factor when it comes to latency when syncing a midi keyboard with plug-ins and samplers. If you want something that is good, but on the cheap, look for an m-audio audiophile. Good stuff, and has excellent asio drivers. Unlike the incredibly laggy asio drivers for the audigy.

I use the rig in my sig below to record the mixes that I've done using my turntables. I can also give you some hints on how to make that perfect mix tape/cd by using multi-tracking software.

Send me a pm, if you want to discuss.
 
aZn_plyR said:
and is there reason for that?

I ma jump off the brigde, you might consider it too heheh
Click to expand...

A couple reasons...

Also check out the specs and the studio gear.

Or if you wanted to start a little smaller, you can always check out Ableton Live.

Sure it's multi-platform, but if you've ever been in a professional recording studio, you won't see a Wintel box hooked up to the $30,000+ soundboard. ;)
 
aBSoLuT_0 said:
I am not trying to thread crap, but you should get a Mac. ;)

Afterall, it is what BT, my favorite Electronic artist uses... :p

Seriously though, a LOT of professional multi-track audio recording/mixing is done on the Mac. It might be something to consider.
Click to expand...

Hi aBSoLuT_0,

Thanks for your message! Hmmm....MAC, eh? I'm open to what will work the best for the right amount of money. If it turns out to be a MAC (which I have never even seen in person), so be it! :)

Whoa! BT is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great music!!!!

Thanks again, ~Laughter
 
Epicenter said:
Here is my full build recommendation, minus the sound card (your call on that, I'm not a sound person.) Bear in mind if you DO NOT want to build the machine, you can go to MonarchComputer.com and configure it for very little added to the cost of parts.

CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ Venice, 3200+ Venice or Athlon 64 X2 4200+ or 4400+ if you do a LOT of encoding work
Motherboard: Chaintech VNF4/Ultra
RAM: 2 x 512 MB or 2 x 1024 MB sticks of DDR400 Corsair Value Select
Video Card: cheapest thing you can find. ;)
Hard Disks: Seagate 7200.7 or 7200.8 series disks in whatever sizes you require
Optical Drive: NEC ND3520A DVD+/-RW Drive, invaluable for writing backups of loads of music..
Case / PSU: Antec Sonata case w/ True380 Power supply

Also, if you'd like to make the machine as quiet as possible, install a 2nd 120mm fan up front in the case, 2 Zalman fanmates to limit their speed, and a Thermaltake Silent Boost CPU cooler. You can also get an enormous overclock and performance gain out of a Venice CPU with very little effort; even enough to trump $850 CPUs from AMD and Intel with no cost investment. :D

Good luck. :)
Click to expand...

Hi Epicenter,

I wanted to thank you for the specs and feedback! I'm writing them down now. :D

~Laughter
 
As mentioned before, ever think about going the MAC route?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a PC user, but I recall reading somewhere, that something to do with the driver layer (might've been the HAL) adds a higher latency to the sound processing in Windows NT/XP.

I'm trying to find the article, but I read somewhere, if you do go the windows route, you might want to stick to a product off of the Windows 9x family, as it doesn't suffer from the same latency problems.

This is the same reason why Final Scratch uses Linux on the PC, and runs native in Mac OS.
 
No need to get a mac
I think macs used to be faster back in the day but that isnt the case anymore
about the latency issue i think the new sound cards take care of that problem

only advantage i see in macs is the fact that you dont have to worry about viruses as much
but if you have norton running and dont downlaod stupid things you should be fine on windows

question
whats so good about those programs posted above?
 
stunna said:
No need to get a mac
Click to expand...

Sure. :rolleyes:

I never said that it was going to be a faster solution, just a better one. I wasn't recommending the Power Mac for its hardware necessarily, but it does have the best audio and video production software available on the OS X platform.

Now I'm no Apple expert, but I was just suggesting the platform that a plethora of audio and music industry professionals swear by.

I am certainly not recommending Apple because I want to see a "switcher" per se, but I feel that the quality of the OP's work would greatly reflect upon the power and ease of use that the Apple platform offers.
 
seeing as how i'm a mac and pc user. i'm finding it better to use a PC for audio then in the mac. most programs i've seen point to Cubase SX 3.0 (i think its SX. whatever the full app is it retails for abot $550 new). From my readings people recommend this, plus the local college near my house teaches with cubase.

Macs do have soundtrack pro and logic 7.0 or 8.0 going for them, but its not that great compared to the programs available for the PC. check out http://www.zzounds.com/item--STECUBASESX

i'd recommends zzounds.com if you're buying stuff. i love their selection and they know what they're doing. if you come across something different, let me know.
 
CrimandEvil said:
Your whole arguement was negated <snip>
Click to expand...

Negated my ass.

His whole statment is negated by this-

What's so bad about them?

If you've ever seen BT perform his Laptop Symphony live, you wouldn't ask silly questions. He can put on a live remixing show with a Powerbook, mixer, and mini-keyboard.

On another note, just watch this. True, Pro Tools is multi-platform, but take a look at this toy.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=media.ozonicvideo
 
let me clear things up
he wants to build a pc.
the macs makes things a lil more expensive with no real benifits
and why would a dj want to use those particular programs
protools and other industry standard programs also run on the PC
 
[h]ardc[h]ris said:
As mentioned before, ever think about going the MAC route?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a PC user, but I recall reading somewhere, that something to do with the driver layer (might've been the HAL) adds a higher latency to the sound processing in Windows NT/XP.

I'm trying to find the article, but I read somewhere, if you do go the windows route, you might want to stick to a product off of the Windows 9x family, as it doesn't suffer from the same latency problems.

This is the same reason why Final Scratch uses Linux on the PC, and runs native in Mac OS.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! I am open to getting a DELL, MAC, home-built system, etc.........no doubt about it.

In fact, could you guys give me some input on the following "combo"?

A MAC Mini (1.42Ghz with 80GB hard drive) coupled with an item from this link:

http://www.micronet.com/General/prodList.asp?CatID=99&Cat=Product

Is the Mini able to "support" the miniMate, power-wise, etc.?

It's not my intention to start any kind of MAC vs. PC discussion...to be candid, I have never even SEEN a MAC in person, BUT if it would be the "best match" for my needs, then great! If not, great as well! :D

Thanks to everyone here. You're offering a lot of input and you also make me laugh!!!

~Laughter
 
stunna said:
let me clear things up
he wants to build a pc.
the macs makes things a lil more expensive with no real benifits
and why would a dj want to use those particular programs
protools and other industry standard programs also run on the PC
Click to expand...

Hi stunna,

You're 100% accurate.

I do want to get a system for dj purposes only (just an at-home hobby set-up). I don't mind if a MAC costs a few more $ if there are less crashes, issues, etc....it all works out in the end (thinking positive!).

I REALLY need to learn the BASICS of how any of those programs work, from square one! Sure, I have done my fair share of downloading music sofeware demos from the best of sites, but if I can't get any of them to work the right way, then I have a lot to learn! :(

With that said, please let me know if anyone can recommend a "Music software 101" resource or link!!! You guys had to have started out from scratch somewhere along the line, right? :D

Take care, ~Laughter
 
I don't think you can say Mac or PC is 'better' for an audio studio. There is great software for both systems. I think Mac is designed for media production, but a PC can be set up for that also. And I've seen live mixing performances done using a PC, so Mac isn't the only solution there either.

I think you should see what you can get for your $ either route, and base it off the value that way. Both systems have the software and capabilities.
 
sup man. nice to see a fellow dj around. i built a computer last year for recording my mixes (i spin vinyl) and production.

my specs are:
amd64 3200+ winchester
msi k8n neo2
creative audigy 2 (i'd recommend going m-audio)
nvidia 6800gt
1gb patriot ram
nec 3500a

so how does this differ from my old 400mhz pc for recording? hardly at all.

my specs definately help out in the production/encoding/decoding part but for basic recording you just need a decent soundcard (i can definately tell the difference between my old onboard sound and the audigy).

if you're not gonna be gaming or producing then the specs you first listed are just overkill. in fact, you could prolly buy an mp3 player with a good line-in and record straight to that and just upload it to your current computer.

as for the mac vs. pc arguement, it's up to you. my current setup is rock-solid and i'm sure a mac would be too. if the idea of portability seems good to you then get a decent laptop and an external m-audio sound card. if you want a stable desktop setup then anything over 1ghz will do you fine. if anything, try to get some good ram and aim for at least 512mb of total ram.
 
just a little note to this thread, i used to be a pc fan boy and bash the apple users somthing rottern, however after using my flatmates laptop for a couple of days i decided i needed one. baught the mac mini and ive never been happier. its basicaly be on constantly since ive had it. 2 main reasons behind this, 1st is that it doesnt hang or crash, ever. and the second is the quietness of it. the first reason might not be a benifit foer you as im guessing you dont record 24 - 7 however the second is valuable. in a way.

also, it is hassle free, no drivers needed and everything is where it works best.

mac i feel would be the way forward for you.

if your not convinced, try to borrow one for a week or so, but if you cant get your mits on one, then just find the mac store and try one out for an hour, you'll see.
 
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