[Ardour-Users] Motherboard hints and tips?

[Mark Greenwood]

Hi All,

Having delved into why I'm getting 30% CPU usage with 4 tracks in 
Ardour, my VIA motherboard would seem to be to blame. So, it's time for 
me to build a new PC. I want to build it from scratch, since I've never 
done it before and I like a challenge and also I don't want to buy an 
off-the-shelf PC and get a useless Vista CD.... Back when it was my job 
to understand this stuff, I understood this stuff, but that was a long 
time ago. I've been researching and find myself bewildered by the range 
of options and makes and terminology.

I've decided on a Core 2 Duo processor since heat generation and 
therefore fan noise is one of my top priorities (my current Athlon 
system sounds like a vacuum cleaner and keeps me awake at night from the 
next room!). Also I don't want to run a 64-bit system because I still 
want to be able to use it 'normally, and I've read of a few software 
compatability problems with 64-bit systems.

So, does anybody on the list have any recommendations for motherboard 
brands, chipsets, kernel optimisations, etc etc etc. I'm floundering 
here so any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark.