HI- I've made a number of songs with computer software...however the continuing problem is Glitches (or freeze up of program) I have upgraded cpu again to a Dual Operton 248s with 2Gig memory(400 speed) and 2 10,000 drives (raided)tascam us122 card.....and I still get glitches when I put on more than 1 or 2 effects on 4 or 5 tracks...I am wondering if this is the reason Pro tools set ups go for the Thousands and if there is a way to avoid that kind of investment. Any advice??

I've a much simpler system, and I'm getting 16 tracks (16Bit 44.1Khz) no sweat.
That's using Logic Audio 5.5, a Athlon 1.7GHz, and standard 7200 RPM drives.
Your PC should be able to handle this without such hicups...
One thing to try is adding a IDE controller PCI card and attacthing only the drives that you use for audio.
Keep your DVD / CD ROM drives on the IDE slots on the motherboard, and your System harddrive on the IDE primary of the motherboard.

BTW - What program are you using?

The nature of the platform is the problem. Somebody like Steve Gibson or other master of machine language needs to write a great MIDI application for the PC using machine code only.
In the meantime, try using a stadard First In First Out IDE Controller instead of a Buss Master. You want the fifo because that is exactly how the MIDI transmission is ocurring, thus eliminating other data to slip in and putting the other data aside, causing a data break (or what you call a glitch)in the transmission of the serial data.
To me, both PC's and Macs are essentials musically. Next time however, instead of buying more PC componentry, and if you want to eliminate this headache once and for all, go with a Mac. Yes, it, and its software costs more money, but most music applications do a lot more too. For instance, you can make changes on-the-fly, realtime with just about anything. Even drastic changes can be made. With the PC versions you usually cannot. Mac MIDI software is so fine tuned these days, that you can manipulate in realtime at any level. Oh and of course it's all free of data breakages. You can even daisy chain keyboards together these days (something that was once a taboo practice and asking for problems)and at the worst, maybe squeeze a milliseciond of latency out of the system using a Mac.
PC's defineately still have their place and time. They are far better in post production at tasks like wav editing. These days using 3+ GHz machines, I can usually batch an entire long noise reduction multi-process with a PC and complete an entire job in the same time it would take a Mac for the first cut and paste of the same multi-process (although it never used to be that way). Searches in a sound library are faster with PC's too, as more search handles are enabled than Mac, and so with more handles, much more of the processor chip is utilized while searching.

im not about to start arguing the mac vs. pc thing and i hope noone else does eather i forgot how sick i was of hearing ones better than the other.

besides its easy to tell witch is better look at your mouse , how many buttons you got ? 1 ? haha you stink i got more :P

anyways if you dont know how to use it, it wont work right and it dont matter what it is. thats the truth.

so ya with that much pc you should be able to do 50 tracks of 16Bit 44.1Khz. i can get 42 tracks with a 500mhz processor.

what else are you useing your computer for ? do you have alot of consumer type junk in the back ground like anti virus(usless , do you have a virus? dont trust your anti virus software . know your computer. i dont use antivirus) , does anyone else use that pc ? do you have yahoo messenger or other simmaler , is it connected online thru a network? do you know how to shut those programs off and to you now how to make it not be online ? do you let your OS make sounds you know like ding and swishes when you open menus and minimize windows and such? whens the last time you defraged thoese drives? and updated drivers? oh are you online thru AOL thats another thing i'll never use its a constant stream of comercials. i could go on theres lots of consumer stuff pc are set up to do you can get a pc from walmart you cant expect it not to be full of useless sh#t. oh and last but not least are you useing hacked plug ins off kazza ? some cracks dont work you know and can cause all sorts of "glitches".

the reason macs are seen as "better" they dont come with alot of that stuff. well imacs but soon theyll be at walmart too. it use to be you could do one thing at a time with a computer now you can do so much at a time that you computer messes up just keeping track of all the things you make it do. jack of all trades master of none kind of thing. most people get mac to do one thing with most people get pc and try to make them do one more thing and one more thing and . . .

if your seeing things up there that are striking home with you you should get a cheep used computer for playing around on line with then you can have your master computer and tune it up!

sorry about the spelling and stuff im mostly typeing this as i think it

[This message has been edited by djboomstick (edited 01-01-2005).]