Friend PC

[pckid9234]

Suggesting a build to a friend. He is heavily into music and recording and stuff with his guitar. He was going to ask for a Mac or Imac and I said we should just build a PC for you. Cost about the same but will blow the mac out of the water. So here is what I came up with. http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=23132027

His budget is that of and around a new Imac/ macbook pro. Which is anywhere from one to 2k. So $1500 would be a number to aim for. How does it look?

[DC]

Originally Posted by pckid9234

Suggesting a build to a friend. He is heavily into music and recording and stuff with his guitar. He was going to ask for a Mac or Imac and I said we should just build a PC for you. Cost about the same but will blow the mac out of the water. So here is what I came up with. http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=23132027

His budget is that of and around a new Imac/ macbook pro. Which is anywhere from one to 2k. So $1500 would be a number to aim for. How does it look?

Ok - some impressions here for you to work with - though most of the people I know in the Music scene all use/prefer Mac, so I don't know if that's something your mate wants to take into account.

1 - Case: I like the 900 but at that price there's better options, he will probably want something with more sound proofing rather than air flow (as the 900 is a gamer case, acoustics weren't a priority). Also in general you can get that case for around $60-$70 AR. I'll have to look and see what's out there deal wise right now but I'd say this will need revision.

2 - SSD: Good call on the M4, though that price is high for a 64 gig variant - for $99 you can get the 128 variant, same can be said for the Samsung 830. Both are great drives, just that price sucks!

3 - Display: Spend an extra $80 or so and get the Catleap Q27 - he'll love you for it and that display is really going to be a winner.

4 - Sound Card: The Xonar is good, but the Omega seems to be the preferred choice for the audiophiles, I'd say start with this but talk to your friend to see what audio bells and whistles he needs/wants, he may need more than this card offers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829271001

5 - GPU: As he's not gaming, why not just use the onboard CPU GPU and save the $150?

6 - DVD: Look at going Blu-Ray, as your mate is a muso, he may have media he wants to work with that are higher res.

7 - OS: Maybe get your hands on a 3 pack of MS Win 7 upgrades - cost is the same and if he has a laptop in the house etc you can upgrade that to 7.

[pckid9234]

Wow thanks for the sweet write up i will deff look into stuff for him. And hes not a big gamer at all (hes xbox) but hes like oh if the pc can game then i will. But no like crysis or heavy duty. Just light games hence the cheaper gpu

[DC]

No worries mate - while I was thinking about this I thought of something - do some research into a "Hackintosh" - you might be able to give your mate the best of both worlds, a dual booting system that can do Mac O/S and Windows.

http://www.hackintosh.com/

[pckid9234]

well i know on mac computers. you can dual boot windows and mac and switch when ever you need too. But could I go out and buy OSX and load it onto a custom PC?

[DC]

Yep - read up on it.

[pckid9234]

DC whered you get your monitor? I couldn't find it on newegg or amazon. And is there a better place to buy it then fleebay?

[DC]

Well you have two options:

- Ebay
- Microcenter

I'd say read the thread: http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=362036

The rumor I'd heard was that Microcenter was ordering them in and charging $399 - but you had the advantage of being able to easily return it should there be a problem.

Now I can tell you my monitor was perfect - it arrived within 2 days of me ordering it and I couldn't be happier. My only suggestion would be to get a better stand for it - Monoprice do very sturdy stands VERY cheaply - around $20.

[hostage67]

Originally Posted by pckid9234

well i know on mac computers. you can dual boot windows and mac and switch when ever you need too. But could I go out and buy OSX and load it onto a custom PC?

I would not attempt to go that route. As similar as they are finally becoming MAC's have a very specific set of hardware, finding custom drivers for Mac's using hardware they were never designed to support is likely going to cause you many headaches in the future. If he's set on getting a mac let him get a mac. If he's open then help him build a PC and keep it a PC. But even today mixing and matching between a PC and mac is always a challenge (not impossible, just not worth the effort).