http://www.musicxpc.com/products/s2/s2.htm
I need a new computer, and I was thinking about buying this.
Is it worth the $2600? Would I be better off buying $2600 in components and building it myself?
The S2 is the by far the most powerful and flexible computer for media production on the market. We listened to our customers and designed and built a computer that isn't just wickedly fast but dead quiet and incredibly flexible.
The S2 introduces new innovations as standard fare like: 3 hard drives; a peace-of-mind recovery utility that reverts the computer to yesterday's state, last week's or factory merely with a few keystrokes; a cutting edge cooling systems that results in virtually noiseless operation, and of course it's gorgeous.
Very Quiet Operation
The S2 uses the latest quiet cooling technology to achieve record breaking levels of operational silence. You will hear the drives turning or the DVD spinning before you will hear the deafening roar of fans that are a fact of life on so many other computers. The S2 case ensures that there is constant and sufficient airflow without the noise. When standing directly in front of the S2, ear inches from the chassis, don't be surprised if you hear other computers 7-8 feet away instead. It's truly amazing but then again we were shooting for amazing.
Performance
The S2 is fast and we're talking screamer here. For us musicians, composers, producers and media creators, speed and stability are top of the list of what we need from our computers. Processing bars that creep across the screen, slow redraws and CPU meters that go into overload before we complete our creative task waste our time - and as the old saying goes, time is money. The S2 features a Pentium 4 HT Processor on an 800MHz bus that is fed by Serial ATA hard drives. This combination delivers hundreds of linear audio tracks, manhandles virtual instruments and treats CPU intensive Effects plug-ins like child's play. If you want amazing speed, and who doesn't, with professional stability the S2 is your dream machine.
System, Library, Audio Drive
The S2 introduces the concept of the Library drive. Many of our customers buy virtual instruments [GigaSampler, HAlion, SampleTank, Atmospheres, Culture, etc.] that are connected to huge dedicated sample libraries. These customers need to have several Gigabytes of samples data instantly available to the workspace. The S2 provides an elegant solution by offering a dedicated, high performance 160GB Serial ATA hard drive for these large libraries. The other 160GB Serial ATA hard drive on board we suggest you dedicate to linear audio tracks. Combined with the 80GB system drive, the MusicXPC S2 comes with 400GB of hard drive storage standard, more than any other media production computer we have ever seen. If you think that's too much, you haven't been using the stuff long enough - just be patient, we know you're going to thank us.
Tweaked for Music
The real secret [and we mean secret so please don't ask] of the S2 is the tweaking that has been done to Windows XP to optimize the machine for audio and video production. This is not a machine for organizing photos, compiling MP3 or surfing the internet, although the S2 can do all these things, this is a power house computer designed for the heavy lifting of professional audio and video production. The S2 is the result of months of testing and decades spent building media computers. It's ready to go out of the box, just load your media application and start creating your magic.
Service and Support
The S2is not sold direct by us. We believe that the best place to buy this machine is at a Music Retailer where all the choices for sound cards and software are available to you. Our retailers offer excellent service and financing options and are an essential component of service to our customers. They also offer you a chance to actually see the machine in action instead of just reading about it on a web page. We believe in the human interface that our dealers provide. We back this with first class support for any problems you may have getting your MusicXPC going. Our service people are extremely knowledgeable and have many years of experience in music technology.
High Technology and Super Robust
The S2 is capable of some amazing feats that heretofore would never be attempted by other systems. For example, with its ultra fast GigaBit ethernet, the S2 can process and manage a project sitting on the hard drive of anther S2. Also with its Recovery Utility, you can recover the system even after it was accidentally formatted - yes, that's not a typo. Because the backup utility works outside of Windows you enjoy a degree of protection that really makes this the most robust of computers.
With all these bases covered, you can buy an S2 knowing that it will not just do the job in your studio, it will do it with ease and stability. You worry about the music, we do the rest. The S2 is simply the best there is, now all other computers have someone to look up to.
SPECIFICATIONS
* PROFESSIONAL S2
* Intel® Pentium® 4 HT processor 3.2 GHz 512K cache
* Intel Chipset
* Full Size Server Tower
* Aluminum Chassis
* 800MHz Front Side Bus
* 1GB PC3200 [DDR400] RAM
* DVD+/-RW/CD-RW 48x40x16x8
* ATA133 7200rpm 80GB System Drive
* SerialATA150 7200rpm 160GB Library Drive
* SerialATA150 7200rpm 160GB Audio Drive
* Microsoft Windows XP® Professional
* Expansion bays: 4 x 5.25", 7 x 3.5"
* 6 USB 2.0 ports
* 2 IEEE1394 [FireWire®] ports
* 2 Serial ports
* 1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1,000 Mbps LAN port
* 5 PCI slot
* 1 AGP 8X slot
* 1 Microphone input
* 1 SPDIF input/output
* 1 Line output/Headphone output
* 1 Parallel Port
* Dual-VGA output
* AC'97 support for 5.1 channel surround
* Length 482mm x Width 219mm x Height 436mm [19.0" x 8.6" x 17.2"]
* Power 400W (PFC)
* CPU Temperature Auto guardian
* Quiet cooling technology
* Net weight 14.2 Kg, Gross weight 16.8 Kg
* Retail price $2,599.00 USD
The S2 introduces new innovations as standard fare like: 3 hard drives; a peace-of-mind recovery utility that reverts the computer to yesterday's state, last week's or factory merely with a few keystrokes; a cutting edge cooling systems that results in virtually noiseless operation, and of course it's gorgeous.
Very Quiet Operation
The S2 uses the latest quiet cooling technology to achieve record breaking levels of operational silence. You will hear the drives turning or the DVD spinning before you will hear the deafening roar of fans that are a fact of life on so many other computers. The S2 case ensures that there is constant and sufficient airflow without the noise. When standing directly in front of the S2, ear inches from the chassis, don't be surprised if you hear other computers 7-8 feet away instead. It's truly amazing but then again we were shooting for amazing.
Performance
The S2 is fast and we're talking screamer here. For us musicians, composers, producers and media creators, speed and stability are top of the list of what we need from our computers. Processing bars that creep across the screen, slow redraws and CPU meters that go into overload before we complete our creative task waste our time - and as the old saying goes, time is money. The S2 features a Pentium 4 HT Processor on an 800MHz bus that is fed by Serial ATA hard drives. This combination delivers hundreds of linear audio tracks, manhandles virtual instruments and treats CPU intensive Effects plug-ins like child's play. If you want amazing speed, and who doesn't, with professional stability the S2 is your dream machine.
System, Library, Audio Drive
The S2 introduces the concept of the Library drive. Many of our customers buy virtual instruments [GigaSampler, HAlion, SampleTank, Atmospheres, Culture, etc.] that are connected to huge dedicated sample libraries. These customers need to have several Gigabytes of samples data instantly available to the workspace. The S2 provides an elegant solution by offering a dedicated, high performance 160GB Serial ATA hard drive for these large libraries. The other 160GB Serial ATA hard drive on board we suggest you dedicate to linear audio tracks. Combined with the 80GB system drive, the MusicXPC S2 comes with 400GB of hard drive storage standard, more than any other media production computer we have ever seen. If you think that's too much, you haven't been using the stuff long enough - just be patient, we know you're going to thank us.
Tweaked for Music
The real secret [and we mean secret so please don't ask] of the S2 is the tweaking that has been done to Windows XP to optimize the machine for audio and video production. This is not a machine for organizing photos, compiling MP3 or surfing the internet, although the S2 can do all these things, this is a power house computer designed for the heavy lifting of professional audio and video production. The S2 is the result of months of testing and decades spent building media computers. It's ready to go out of the box, just load your media application and start creating your magic.
Service and Support
The S2is not sold direct by us. We believe that the best place to buy this machine is at a Music Retailer where all the choices for sound cards and software are available to you. Our retailers offer excellent service and financing options and are an essential component of service to our customers. They also offer you a chance to actually see the machine in action instead of just reading about it on a web page. We believe in the human interface that our dealers provide. We back this with first class support for any problems you may have getting your MusicXPC going. Our service people are extremely knowledgeable and have many years of experience in music technology.
High Technology and Super Robust
The S2 is capable of some amazing feats that heretofore would never be attempted by other systems. For example, with its ultra fast GigaBit ethernet, the S2 can process and manage a project sitting on the hard drive of anther S2. Also with its Recovery Utility, you can recover the system even after it was accidentally formatted - yes, that's not a typo. Because the backup utility works outside of Windows you enjoy a degree of protection that really makes this the most robust of computers.
With all these bases covered, you can buy an S2 knowing that it will not just do the job in your studio, it will do it with ease and stability. You worry about the music, we do the rest. The S2 is simply the best there is, now all other computers have someone to look up to.
SPECIFICATIONS
* PROFESSIONAL S2
* Intel® Pentium® 4 HT processor 3.2 GHz 512K cache
* Intel Chipset
* Full Size Server Tower
* Aluminum Chassis
* 800MHz Front Side Bus
* 1GB PC3200 [DDR400] RAM
* DVD+/-RW/CD-RW 48x40x16x8
* ATA133 7200rpm 80GB System Drive
* SerialATA150 7200rpm 160GB Library Drive
* SerialATA150 7200rpm 160GB Audio Drive
* Microsoft Windows XP® Professional
* Expansion bays: 4 x 5.25", 7 x 3.5"
* 6 USB 2.0 ports
* 2 IEEE1394 [FireWire®] ports
* 2 Serial ports
* 1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1,000 Mbps LAN port
* 5 PCI slot
* 1 AGP 8X slot
* 1 Microphone input
* 1 SPDIF input/output
* 1 Line output/Headphone output
* 1 Parallel Port
* Dual-VGA output
* AC'97 support for 5.1 channel surround
* Length 482mm x Width 219mm x Height 436mm [19.0" x 8.6" x 17.2"]
* Power 400W (PFC)
* CPU Temperature Auto guardian
* Quiet cooling technology
* Net weight 14.2 Kg, Gross weight 16.8 Kg
* Retail price $2,599.00 USD
Is it worth the $2600? Would I be better off buying $2600 in components and building it myself?
