Well, I'm about to buy Athlon XP system (no I do not want to go with P4 . I was considering VIA chipsets, but there seem to be a lot of problems with audio cards and VIA chipsets... what are some of the alternatives? I would like to have RAID, fast EIDE interface, at least 6 PCI slots and AGP slot, possible one that accepts both DDR and regulat 133/150 RAM...
Anything with AMD761 North Bridge, my favorite is ASUS A7M266, some guys like the Gigabyte or Epox AMD761 board. This gives <i>much better performance</i> for streaming data from your DSP boards than ANY via chipset including the new VIA KT266A (I have tested KT266A last month, same sad VIA PCI performance).
Hopefully I will get a chance to test nForce very soon.
I still think a 1.9Ghz(or higher) P4 +DDR or RDRAM is the best system for a higher end audio workstation, and I have had the opportunity to test just about every machine for this (KT266A, AMD761, AMD760MP, BX, KT133, KX133, i815, i815EP, i845, i850...)
Hey, Sub!
I read that a test showed the AthlonXP perform 15-16 percent better than an equally fast P4, at least in the matter of 3D Graphics. But what about Audioperformance (VST and DirectX)? Is there any official head-to-head comparison of these two in the matters of Audio? I couldn´t find any, so far...
Yah, hm, I cannot afford the fastest machine available today, I´m rather looking for the best bang per buck... I`ve been a kind of intel fetishist so far, but the relations point straightly towards AMD right now, so I believe my next machine won´t be an intel anymore, the first non-intel since my Amiga500-ages.*g*
What I´m exactly looking for is a rock-solid test of Audio/VST and PCI performance, as much as system stability is my most important point of decision. Is AMD really(!) to be trusted in stability by now, or are there still some issues up to that?
There are plenty of people using Athlon based pcs in their studios now and with great stability. Check out the Nuendo forum, there are plenty of people their using Athlon pcs.
As for motherboards, I've tested the K7S5A with SiS735 chipset and also the K7N420 Pro with the nForce 420D chipset. Both were good, but I would go for nForce. Note that nForce runs particularly great in Windows XP.
Subhuman,
Dammit! I just ordered a Gigabyte GA-7VTX-H (VIA KT266A) from Newegg with plans to use it with a Pulsar!!! Is there really a problem with this chipset? I've been reading everywhere that this chipset kicks ass!
Can you tell me exactly what the deal is here?
'prec
Mark
Yes that board has major PCI problems - <b>LIKE EVERY VIA CHIPSET BEFORE IT</b>. RMA it and get the ASUS A7M266, or Gigabyte GA-7DX. You will get much better performance for music, with the AMD761 north bridge. The VIA chipset is optimized for high AGP traffic - good for games. AMD761 has nearly twice the PCI!
Done. Damn 15% Newegg restocking fee...
Oh well, I'm sure I'll forget about that when the goodies are flowing like mana from heaven!
Thanks again for the last-minute heads-up, Sub.
Could you be more specific if the nForce has enough Throughput for Pulsar cards? How and what did you actually test it on?
...As for motherboards, I've tested the K7S5A with SiS735 chipset and also the K7N420 Pro with the nForce 420D chipset. Both were good, but I would go for nForce. Note that nForce runs particularly great in Windows XP.
. I was considering VIA chipsets, but there seem to be a lot of problems with audio cards and VIA chipsets... what are some of the alternatives? I would like to have RAID, fast EIDE interface, at least 6 PCI slots and AGP slot, possible one that accepts both DDR and regulat 133/150 RAM...