Will openMPT run under this system?

[Harbinger]

My local Windows dealer will custom-build me a system with the following specs:

AMD SEMPRON 64 LE-1250 1600FSB 512K AM2
MSI K9A2GM-F V3 A740G AM2+ MATX DDR2
Onboard Radeon HD2100, 8CH HD Audio, GBE, 16x PCIe, 1x PCIe, 2PCI, 2DDR2, SATA2
240PIN 1GB DDR2 800MHZ KINGSTON
80GB WESTERN DIGITAL SATA-II 7.2K RPM 8M
LITEON DVDRW 20X DL IDE B/W BZL
KEYBOARD LABTEC STANDARD PLUS
LOGITECH BF90 OPTICAL SCRL MOUSE PS2 OEM
ENLIGHT 2409 MATX 300 WATT
WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION SP3 OEM

I don't want to spend $500 without making sure i can run the programs i'm getting the hardware for. If anyone can understand the above specs, will MPT run under this system without problems?
Some of you who keep up with me here on these forums may remember that i run MPT under Windows 98 emulation from my Mac, and i know so very little about Windows systems. From what i understand the processor speed, while neither the best nor the most exact, is not the main factor, but rather the "Bus speed," the interaction between the processor and the motherboard. I guess there's not a problem with the OS, which in this case is Windows XP, but i wanted to see what my limitations were...

[Saga Musix]

the only things you have to care for are soundcard and cpu for plain mods, and even more cpu + ram for VST stuff. I don't know how fast that sempron is, but you're seriously missing a good soundcard. i always go for custom systems and never for pre-compiled stuff. so what i'd recommend as a minimum is: 1 GB RAM minimum (the more, the better), some GHz (my 1900+ machine is getting slow these days), some cheap gfx card if you're not into games or demos (onboard shall be enough), and definitely more HDD space. hell, what are 80 GB these days?
This doesn't sound like a good deal for $500 for me, although I'm not completely sure what dollars are worth these days.

[älskling]

I'm pretty sure MPT will run without problems (unless there are any problems I'm unaware of) on PC with those specs. If you plan on using VST:s then you will want a faster CPU and more memory.

However, as that computer is pretty much as low spec you can go these days, I think you should shop around. I'm not saying you should get the latest most expensive stuff, but I think you might find yourself in a situation where you'll want to upgrade pretty soon. I know Dell usually have pretty good deals, and you can most likely find something better for 500$ there.

[LPChip]

The question can be answered fairly simple.

If that machine can run windows, it will very certainly run OpenMPT.

If it can run windows xp, you won't have to worry about compatibility problems either.

So the answer is a most definate yes! (unless you're not aiming at windows )

[Harbinger]

the only things you have to care for are soundcard and cpu for plain mods, and even more cpu + ram for VST stuff. I don't know how fast that sempron is, but you're seriously missing a good soundcard.

Yes, the soundcard is important; i'll ask about that. But what kind of capability am i looking for exactly?

i always go for custom systems and never for pre-compiled stuff. so what i'd recommend as a minimum is: 1 GB RAM minimum (the more, the better), some GHz (my 1900+ machine is getting slow these days), some cheap gfx card if you're not into games or demos (onboard shall be enough), and definitely more HDD space. hell, what are 80 GB these days?

My mac has got a 10GB HD and i STILL haven't filled it up!! I think 80 will be just fine, even with all the sound files, mp3s, MPT-generated .wavs, VSTs & VSTi's, etc...

This doesn't sound like a good deal for $500 for me, although I'm not completely sure what dollars are worth these days.

For Monsieur Pauvre here, $500 is a LOT!! It feels like i'm spending $50,000!!


And BTW, alskling, i hate Dell's commercials. If i give them my money, then that's implicitly surrendering to their idiot ads, good product or not.

[Saga Musix]

$500 is a LOT!!

and too much for this computer (IMO).

if you want a "real" soundcard, you will most likely not find it at a computer shop. i don't know how it's like in the USA, but you won't find really good sound cards lying around in computer shops here i got mine, an ESI Juli@ from a well-known music shop here for €129. That's some nice'n'sexy toy of course, but there's also good stuff available for under €100. Anything that's not SoundBlaster and more expensive than €50 should be ok.

[älskling]

Anything that's not SoundBlaster and more expensive than €50 should be ok.

Oh I don't agree with that. Unless you need balanced inputs some of the Audigy and X-Fi models are pretty good! In fact, I'd prefer spending that 50€ on a faster CPU and more memory and stick with the built-in sound and ASIO4ALL (provided the computer won't be used for recording).

[Saga Musix]

sorry, but SoundBlaster drivers always suck, they still suck today and they will suck in the future as well.

[älskling]

sorry, but SoundBlaster drivers always suck, they still suck today and they will suck in the future as well.

Well, I can't argue with such substantiated arguments.

[bvanoudtshoorn]

Whilst SB isn't renowned for producing great drivers, I must admit that I haven't had any problems whatsoever with my x-fi. With ASIO, the latency is nice and low, and I'm not pumping anything into it, so there's no problem there. I get an inordinately low SNR in my soundcard/headphone combo.

Harbinger, that computer will work fine for OpenMPT. More RAM and a faster CPU is always nice, but given what you've been working with up to now, what you'll get in the system you've specced out will be more than sufficient. Although, over time, you'll find yourself wishing you had a faster computer. I built myself a fairly high-end system a few years ago, and I'm wishing I had more grunt for some of my tracks.

As an alternative to getting your dealer to put the machine together, have you considered doing so yourself? I always custom-build my machines; I managed to shave around AUD$250 off the price of my system by buying the parts from four different stores. If you need a checklist for components, I'd be more than happy to oblige. I can even provide instructions for putting it together. (Briefly: stick plugs into their matching holes.

[Saga Musix]

putting 'puters together is really not that complicated, i dunno why people always fear that you can't do wrong many things...

[Harbinger]

Two things:

1. What makes a good soundcard? What specs you think i should look for? As a side note, all the music files i've put up at our site was the .wav file generated by MPT, then encoded to .mp3 by one of two Mac apps. The emulator just uses Windows 98 SoundBlaster.

2. I'm not ABOUT to build my own computer. People have spent time learning how to do that, and i'm willing to pay for their expertise (which is 100% more than what i have, even if they weren't any good!). They can spend the time to put it together, and i'll spend my precious time coming up with decent music...

[psishock]

AMD SEMPRON 64 LE-1250 1600FSB 512K AM2 agrh... this sounds very bad imo, basically the processor is your main weapon in VST music making, don't go easy on this one. I would recommend the "Intel Core2Duo E6300" or similar, it is a great overclocker (can get almost 100% performance gain, default is 1.86ghz but i'm running mine on ~3.2ghz on very safe 40-42 celsius) and very cheap, plus the dual core can additionally improve your performance on many applications and VSTi-s.
MSI K9A2GM-F V3 A740G AM2+ MATX DDR2 Onboard Radeon HD2100, 8CH HD Audio, GBE, 16x PCIe, 1x PCIe, 2PCI, 2DDR2, SATA2 i wouldn't recommend any MSI product, they are the most cheapest on the market but i had enough bad experience with them. Try to aim for a nice Abit or Asus motherboard (mine is asus p5b deluxe). Also i don't recommend any onboard sound or graphic card, they will usually decrease your overall system performance, they are unflexible and very bad quality (you could experience some noise cracklings on your speakers while there is a HDD/Processor activity and similar annoying stuff).
Get a decent sound card as the others recommended before me, and get a very cheap PCI express graphic card, since you're not planning to work with graphic anyway.
240PIN 1GB DDR2 800MHZ KINGSTON I would say, 1GB is not enough nowdays, i'm almost filling my 2GB up with those heavy VST instances, so go for 2GB if you can. 800MHZ should be ok.
80GB WESTERN DIGITAL SATA-II 7.2K RPM 8M - it's allright, you can extend any time you'll have more money/need for additional space.
LITEON DVDRW 20X DL IDE B/W BZL - anything is fine, you basically won't use it nowdays, maybe for some really occasional DVD reading. You see, everything is "pendrive" now =)
KEYBOARD LABTEC STANDARD PLUS alright
LOGITECH BF90 OPTICAL SCRL MOUSE PS2 OEM alright
ENLIGHT 2409 MATX 300 WATT it should b alright
WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION SP3 OEM alright

What makes a good soundcard? What specs you think i should look for?

IMO, if you are focusing on VSTi, almost any decent (30-50$) sound card will do. The whole audio generating process is handled by the processor/applications, the soundcard is basically "unused" here. If you are planning to work with real instruments or use external sound recording, work with samples or similar sound input/output through your sound card, only then should you aim for a "more expensive/quality" card.

[LPChip]

PsiShock, no hard feelings, but I completelly disagree with what you just said.

The AMD sempron might not be the best, but with what you suggest it'll become like 4 times as expensive.

True, the AMD sempron isn't the best, but it'll do for what he wants. It'll be a big leap for him.

I have had alot of great experiences with MSI, and alot of BAD experiences with Asus. I would recommend MSI if you need a cheaper board. There are alot worse cheap mobo makers out there.

Yet again, the rest basically goes the same principle: it will make the pc alot more expensive, so is it really necessary? no. 1 GB is enough to run XP on and run OpenMPT on.

The only thing I'm questioning here would be how the HDD is connected. If its in a raid configuration, then it might become a bit hard to install it, in which case you would need an extra floppy drive for installing the SATA drivers during windows installation. Unless ofcource the shop will install XP for you.

[psishock]

LPChip we're cool ^^, i'm also trying to find the best solution for Harbinger as we all do, and told him my opinion.

It'll be a big leap for him.

I agree, but that wasn't my point. If he will focus on multiple VST instances, he might find himself on the need of upgrading again very soon. The AMD SEMPRON 64 LE-1250 is one of the weakest processor in production nowdays, maybe he shouldn't aim for this when his buying a new rig.

I have had alot of great experiences with MSI, and alot of BAD experiences with Asus. I would recommend MSI if you need a cheaper board.

I can't argue with this. =)