New Computer

So I'm almost 100% sure I'm going to upgrade my main computer this weekend. The only reason I can find to upgrade these days is audio. On my AthlonXP 1600+ with 512MB there's almost nothing I do that taxes the system other than when I get all hardcore with music. My maybe new system: AthlonXP 2600+ CPU, Abit NF7 Nforce 2 Motherboard, a gig of DDR400 PC3200 RAM and a Thermaltake Volcano 11 CPU fan. This will cost me $635 Canadian before tax. Factor in an additional $100-$130 for another power supply if I decide I want to get this 1600 back up and running again as a secondary audio machine.

This upgrade has, as usual, spiraled stupidly out of control. It started out as "hey, I should buy a new motherboard and processor. that'd be nice". Then it didn't seem worth it if I didn't also upgrade to newer faster RAM. That doubled the price. Then I wondered if my Zalman Quiet CPU Cooler CNPS3100-Plus (which I love) would work with this new chip. I wrote to QuietPC and they told me it wouldn't work in quiet mode on it. So I'm buying what looks like a new quiet fan but I may wind up getting hosed on that as well.

The big question right now is how badly do I want this 1600 back up and running right away. It may be useful as a secondary audio machine which I could use to play soft synths off of. But one of the things I'm hoping for with the upgrade is that Cubase will be better able to do all of this stuff inside it rather than having to dick around with other devices and software and computers. Ho hum.