Re: [LAU] hardware & distro recos for using with Presonus Firepod?

Intel is generally considered faster for a single processor workstation these days, but unless your planning to do a lot of very CPU intensive stuff (silly amounts of plugins or softsynths) It really shouldn't matter. In my opinion stability / quiteness (power consumption) is more important than CPU power. If you need 3d graphics then AMD do have some nice low power solutions, otherwise go with whatever is easiest for you. My list would be 1) A case with good sonic insulation. (the last one I bought for an audio workstation was an Antec something 180) 2) A high quality power supply with as large a fan as possible (larger fans make less noise). 3) Possibly a 3rd party CPU heat sink/fan combo design with quiteness in mind. 4) Look for a board with esata - It's very handy :) A lot of parts are rated for their noisyness at http://www.silentpcreview.com/ last time I built a workstation I cross referenced their reccomended parts with what my hardware people had until I found a match. Of course if you have your machine built into another room etc you won't need to worry so much about sound.