If you are using a computer for recording your audio, there are lot's of different configurations available. Which is best for you??



· For the operating system, most of you will want to be running either Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition or Windows Millenium Edition ("Windows Me"). For the more hard-core among you, Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 2 (essentially Windows NT version 5.0) is more 'industrial strength'. You'll need at least a Pentium II 300 with 256MB of RAM for Windows 2000 (384MB or more recommended). Windows XP is brand new, and is just now gaining support from audio hardware and software manufacturers. If you are upgrading, be sure to check with the maker of your audio hardware and software to make sure it's XP-compatible.

· Windows 98 Second Edition is a good choice if:
o You have a computer that will work well with it, like a typical Pentium 166 MMX or faster, loaded up with at least 128MB of RAM, ...NOT a Pentium 75 with 16MB of RAM.
o You are using ATA-100 hard drives, USB, FireWire devices, and/or you intend to attach digital video (DV) cameras to your computer. All of these technologies are supported better in Win98SE than in Win95 or WinNT.
o You are doing extensive MIDI work and must have good MIDI timing and lots of MIDI channels. By turning off the extra doodads that Windows 98 installs by default, you can usually get very good MIDI timing in your sequencer apps under Win98. Also, check out 98lite for a cool way to strip Win98 down to its bare essentials.


· Windows Me is a good choice if:
o You have a computer that will work well with it, like a typical Pentium II 300 or faster, loaded up with at least 128MB system RAM (256MB or more is recommended).
o You are buying all new hardware, including the latest USB and FireWire gadgets.
o You never need to run a DOS prompt.
o You don't mind finding WDM drivers for all your hardware.


· Windows 2000 Professional is a good choice if:
o You are very good with PCs and you don't mind being the System Administrator for your setup. If you don't know what this means, Win2000 is not for you...
o You have a recent-issue PC that will work well with it, like a Pentium II 300 MHz or faster, loaded up with at least 256MB of RAM (384MB or more is highly recommended), ...NOT a Pentium 200 with 32MB of RAM!
o You have software that will work with it, like Cakewalk Sonar or Pro Audio 9,Cubase VST 5 , Sound Forge 5, or Cool Edit 2000, and NOT Digidesign ProTools LE or Emagic Logic Audio.
o NOTE: Software that requires Microsoft DirectX 5.0 or later is supposed to work in Win2000, since it comes with DirectX 7.0 built in. Software synths like Nemesys GigaSampler and Seer Systems Reality are DirectSound accelerated apps that rely on DirectX to work their magic. Unfortunately, it appears that life in Windows 2000 is not as simple as that (big surprise!), as these apps have been problematic in Win2000. As usual, check with the manufacturer(s) of your favorite software before you upgrade.
o You have music hardware that will work with it. While most audio hardware will work in Windows Win2000 using WinNT 4.0 drivers, not all hardware that works in Win98/Me will work in Win2000. Check with the manufacturer(s) of your hardware to see if it is compatible with Win2000, before you upgrade. Also note that there are severe audio latency (delay) problems with the native Windows 2000 WDM driver architecture. One of the only professional soundcard manufacturers claiming to offer full support for its products in Win2000 is RME Audio.
o Speaking of hardware... please note that even though Microsoft promises support for all the latest Digital Video, FireWire and USB gadgets in Windows 2000, this does not mean that your particular gear is guaranteed to work with it. Once again, check with the manufacturer(s) of your hardware before you upgrade!
o You are doing mostly audio work, not intensive MIDI sequencing work. This is because MIDI timing is generally worse in Windows 2000 than in Windows 95/98/Me, due to Win2000's fully protected-mode, 32-bit architecture. Since Win98/Me allows 16-bit real-mode access to the hardware, MIDI can be made to run much more smoothly. The downside is that this makes Win98/Me less stable. Please note that this does not affect audio timing, which is often better in Win2000 than in Win98/Me.
o NOTE: This becomes less of a problem with a faster processor and hard disk subsystem. Cakewalk recommends at least a Celeron 400 MHz processor for use with Pro Audio 9 in Win2000. Now that Pentium III 750 MHz and faster processors are commonplace, this should become less of a problem.


· Windows XP Home Edition is a good choice if:
o You are good with PCs and you don't mind being the System Administrator for your setup. If you don't know what this means, XP is probably not for you... or you should buy a book to help you learn how to use it.
o You have a brand new computer that will work with it, like a Pentium 4 running at 1.3GHz or faster, loaded up with at least 256MB of RAM (with RAM prices being so low these days, 512MB or more is highly recommended). Your old Pentium II 300 with 128MB of RAM just won't cut it for XP.
o You have software that will work well with it. Check with the manufacturer of your music software to make sure.
o You have music hardware with drivers that will work with XP, like the Lynx Studios LynxONE, DAL CardDeluxe, Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! or RME soundcards, or a MidiMan BiPort 2X4s or Roland MPU-401 or compatible MIDI interface, ...NOT the Digidesign Digi001 multitrack audio/MIDI interface or the MidiMan 1X1 or 2X2 MIDI interfaces, as these are for Windows 98 or Me only.
o Speaking of hardware... please note that even though Microsoft promises support for all the latest Digital Video, FireWire and USB gadgets in Windows XP, this does not mean that your particular gear is guaranteed to work with it. Microsoft claims that hardware supported in Windows 2000 should also work in Windows XP, but once again, check with the manufacturer(s) of your hardware before you upgrade!


· Linux is still really only useful for computer programmers. It may yet become a viable alternative for musicians, and there is still some work going on aimed at making Linux a workable OS for the masses. The Corel WordPerfect Suite is available for Linux, Netscape has had a Linux version of Navigator available for a while now, and more programs are sure to follow. More soundcards are gaining Linux support, including the Sonorus STUDI/O, SEK'D Prodif Gold, Zefiro Acoustics ZA-2, Aureal Vortex 2 (Turtle Beach Montego II and Diamond MX-300), and the Ensoniq AudioPCI (audio only), while the venerable Roland MPU-401 is supported for MIDI I/O. Unfortunately, there still aren't any sophisticated music production tools available for Linux. Musicians who are interested in Linux should check out Open Sound System and the Linux MIDI & Sound Applications website.


2) PCs often come with poor quality sound circuits built in, so a better quality soundcard should be purchased and installed. Soundcard marketing is a morass of false advertising and hyperbole, but there are many really good products available. I have direct experience with several soundcards, and it definitely pays to do your homework before you buy.


3) A big IDE or SCSI hard drive, at least 18.2GB or larger. You'll have to decide if you want to use the typical PC's internal IDE (a.k.a. ATA) hard drives and CD-R/CD-ROM/DVD drives, or if you want to invest in a SCSI adapter to connect your PC to external hard drives and CD-ROM/CD-R drives. While older PCs worked much better for audio when equipped with SCSI hard drives and CD burners, newer PCs are so fast that they're able to work just fine with today's "ATA-100" IDE and FireWire drives.

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