Best sound recording comp

Well, A friend of mine asked me to make him a computer.. So I was wondering, does it make a difference which processor he uses? I heard somewhere that the HT was better for video editing/etc, but i'm not sure.

 

it depends what he want to do with it, and what your budget is.

for a cheap AMD computer (<$500), i'd recommend an Athlon XP processor, probably a 2800+. for $100 this will perform as well as a $150 pentium 4 in most areas.

for a cheap Intel computer, you might look at a P4 2.4C ($135). This is a socket 478 pentium 4 with 800mhz FSB and hyperthreading.

'HT' that you refer to on Intel Pentium 4's is beneficial if he is into video editing, but only in the case of a cheap computer, or a very expensive computer.

for a bit more money, i'd recommend an AMD Athlon64 processor, perhaps a 3200+ with the winchester core. This is the best price/performance CPU out there right now and will run very well on a nice motherboard. It also does video editing/encoding quite nicely. (Also VERY good for gaming)

the only processors that are better for video editing than AMD64, are the Intel P4 EE (Extreme Edition) CPU's, which are absurdly expensive. hope this helps some

 

Er, sorry. Didn't clarify in the actual post.. I meant which processor is better for sound editing. I know alot about computers.. Just not as much about hardware. And I haven't met anyone who has been into sound recording at home. I know the sound card and everything, I researched into that. Just need to know which processor is the best for sound recording and I can start budgeting from there.

 

the best overall processors available right now are the socket 939 AMD Athlon 64's. They're very good at sound encoding as well as video encoding, and are not too expensive.

the best one on a budget is the 3200+ (i just built a friend a very nice system for $1000, including an LCD monitor).

the more popular CPU is the 3500+ as it is not much more expensive, and the next step up.

 

Hmm. So the athlons are better for sound encoding? ( That is mostly the main question I have )

 

as far as recording, the processor isnt going to play a big role--as you know that depends on the sound card.

however, for encoding (both sound and video), the Athlon 64's do it the best in a realistic price range. as i said, the P4 EE's are the best, but they're only a tiny bit above the Athlon 64's and a LOT more expensive.

 

Ok. Thank you much.

 

yeah, recording and mixing has nothing to do with cpu usage at all, since all that is done on the sound card level. but if you want to manipulate it, like changing the bitrate or chopping it to pieces, it's a good idea to get a good cpu. in years to come is definitely right about amd's being more realistic for the price range.

but anyway, the sound card is probably going to be the most important part of the computer if you will record, play, and mix in your computer. i recommend something like the EMU line of cards. if you don't have any hardware supporting balanced i/o's, then get the emu 0404 ($100 retail). if you have balanced i/o stuff, then get the emu1212m ($200 retail) since that supports balanced stuff. those sound cards rival the medium range RME's that are available on the market now, and they also have full asio support, which is very useful. highly recommended for sound recording and mixing.