Unfimiliar build need some advice.

[Proxy]

Hey guys, I have been building PC's, Servers, and gaming rigs for some time for friends. I just got a request to build a PC for capturing audio. I have not done a build like this before, the person told me they are using software form this place. A few things I wanna know, what kind of audio hardware might they need, and can this software run with 64 bit Vista. Or should I get 32bit? I wanted to give them more than just 3 gigs of ram. I have never dealt with this software before, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't run on 64bit Windows.

As far as sound, I was just thinking a really nice X-Fi?

 

[Odin75]

Ok, I gave a quick glance at the website, and some of their software doesn't support Vista 64-bit OS. Here's a quote from their site.

System Software

* Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition
o 32-bit OS Installation Only
o With Windows Vista Service Pack 1
* Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
o With Windows XP Service Pack 3

* Not Supported:
o Windows Vista 64-bit (any version)
o Windows XP 64-bit
o Windows XP Media Center Edition
o Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, 95, 3.1, DOS

* Not Tested:
o Windows XP SP1 or SP2
o Windows Vista without SP1
o Windows Vista Home and Home Premium Edition
o Although Windows Vista Home and Home Premium Edition have not been tested or qualified by Digidesign, there are currently no known issues with Vista Home and Home Premium 32-bit operating systems and Pro Tools LE 8.0 compared to the supported Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition operating systems.

So yeah, Vista 32-bit might be the best choice.

As far as sound card, don't get them an X-Fi, except if it's not Creative. Those are gaming sound cards. So, what kind of connectivity do they need? Do they need headphone amps, or maybe hdmi inputs, or perhaps they just want plain analog? Do they need it Stereo, or needs to be multichannel? What kind of devices? All this things need to be clear before we go into conclusions.

 

[Proxy]

OK well, he said he has a FireWire Rack, and the PCI card for it. So I guess that's all taken care of. He said of bought all of the hard ware from Digi so I will just leave room on the MB for the PCI card. Thanks.

 

[wavewerx]

He's looking to have a DAW built. Proc and RAM are important for this. Technically, all of his "audio" will still be data untill it hits his firewire interface / rack. His Audio will be outboard gear so integrated on the mobo will be fine. A entry level video card to keep the load split from the system memory will do good too.

Just my .02