General Music Chat

I spent the last month checking out the i series of CPU's and MB's. Most of the i3 / i5 / and i7 boards only load windows 7 now days. However I did find a few Gigabyte MB's that still come with XP drivers included. Even some with 2nd generation Sandys!

Why keep XP alive? Because most of my recording programs aren't as happy even in XP mode (Under win 7) as they are under XP, and I'm not about to dump all my software for $ newer software. Not only that, but some recording software programs are not backwards compatible to the programs that I prefer, and you can't share cwb or bun files with others unless they also upgrade all their gear and software.

For anyone interested, better grab them now, because pretty soon all will be Windows 7 OS. I did buy an i3 and an i5 first generation MB because I knew that they were XP friendly, but then later after much searching I also found a second generation i5 board that comes with XP drivers.

Like I said, just for anyone who is interested in not trashing their Xp software but want to break into the i series of computers MB's.

GA-Z68A-D3-B3 is an i series MB that supports XP Vista and Win 7 second generation CPU's. (Socket 1155)
Many socket 1156 i series first generation boards still support Xp and Win7, but when they are gone you will be stuck with win7 only. But then again, perhaps no one but me gives a rats @ss.

Perhaps no one but you even knows what the hell your taking about.


I got a couple DAW-GS on my porch- ... does that count ?

I was going to say we need a new emoticon for hand goes over head while making a race car sound!
In this case that would apply to me!

The trouble with XP is that it works..., but... 32bit Platforms are fast becoming a thing of the past...Its all 64 bit (which Windows 7 works beautifully with).

Slacker, you might consider contacting the vendors of any prized software that you own. The cost of upgrades (for legitimately licensed, prior versions ) are not that expensive. and in my opinion, pretty much worth it (if only for the continued support options)

Of course, I would still hold on to XP until you knew for certain that all the vendors in question have made upgrades available.

Perhaps no one but you even knows what the hell your taking about.


I got a couple DAW-GS on my porch- ... does that count ?

MB = "Motherboard"
MF = "Mother F**cker" (AKA the current Motherboard in my PC)
CPU = "Central Processing Unit" (aka the Motherboard's Microprocessor chip)
Socket 1155 is what the Microprocessor chip gets plugged into. Specifically, its compatibility is for the Intel chips

Dog,

A lot of the vender's still only offer Windows 7 in the 32 bit platform for a newer MB even today, and a lot of software is still being written for 32 rather than 64 bit. I have both 64 and 32 bit OS. Just bought Win Premium for a handsome price, but I still prefer to use a lot of my present DAW programs.

I have Sonar for Win7 but I still like my older 32 bit version. Some software today is being written for both the 32/64 bit platforms.
The problem is that many vender's will not write software drivers for XP devices such as vid cards and sound cards, or MB devices.

I'm not about to trash my 24/96 or 24/192 sound cards that I spent hundreds of dollars on just because some jerk company is so greedy that they want me to purchase all new stuff to fill their bank accounts. I have 8 channel digital recorders that were pretty pricey, and they work great. Too pricey to just throw away because some jerk wants what little I have left to blow on recording gear. So the solution for me is to use two OS on each computer.
I loaded win7 64 bit and NOTHING liked that. So I loaded win 7 32bit, and some stuff worked with a great deal of prodding.

Solution for me is two OS per unit. I run XP on one Hdd and Win7 Eternity on the other Hdd. For recording, I see little difference in anything from 32 to 64 bit. The only difference that I have found so far is that they want me to spend hundreds on software that matters little in quality from the older software.

So for those like me, I thought I would inform them that they do not have to buy everything new just to run a faster newer system if they get a MB that will run both platforms. I also noticed that UBUNTU OS systems are not up to speed with the newer stuff yet either. (As most MB manufacturers will inform you) So you are pretty much at the mercy of the couple that support the newer platforms.

To me it is like being forced to buy a 6 core CPU so it can keep up with your typing when a 286 running DOS will do the job equally as well. It's all about forcing you out of what you paid good money for not that long ago.

The big hype today is hyper threading. The top i series of CPU's run two threads per CPU, and 6 CPU's per package. But only a few gaming programs even use hyper threading. So it's like paying for a stereo amp that has .005% Inter modulation distortion with a fast slew rate, when a really good human ear can only hear 3.0% distortion. They are simply selling numbers more than practical applications. (With the exception of a few games)

Dog,

A lot of the vender's still only offer Windows 7 in the 32 bit platform for a newer MB even today, and a lot of software is still being written for 32 rather than 64 bit. I have both 64 and 32 bit OS. Just bought Win Premium for a handsome price, but I still prefer to use a lot of my present DAW programs.

I have Sonar for Win7 but I still like my older 32 bit version. Some software today is being written for both the 32/64 bit platforms.
The problem is that many vender's will not write software drivers for XP devices such as vid cards and sound cards, or MB devices.

I'm not about to trash my 24/96 or 24/192 sound cards that I spent hundreds of dollars on just because some jerk company is so greedy that they want me to purchase all new stuff to fill their bank accounts. I have 8 channel digital recorders that were pretty pricey, and they work great. Too pricey to just throw away because some jerk wants what little I have left to blow on recording gear. So the solution for me is to use two OS on each computer.
I loaded win7 64 bit and NOTHING liked that. So I loaded win 7 32bit, and some stuff worked with a great deal of prodding.

Solution for me is two OS per unit. I run XP on one Hdd and Win7 Eternity on the other Hdd. For recording, I see little difference in anything from 32 to 64 bit. The only difference that I have found so far is that they want me to spend hundreds on software that matters little in quality from the older software.

So for those like me, I thought I would inform them that they do not have to buy everything new just to run a faster newer system if they get a MB that will run both platforms. I also noticed that UBUNTU OS systems are not up to speed with the newer stuff yet either. (As most MB manufacturers will inform you) So you are pretty much at the mercy of the couple that support the newer platforms.

To me it is like being forced to buy a 6 core CPU so it can keep up with your typing when a 286 running DOS will do the job equally as well. It's all about forcing you out of what you paid good money for not that long ago.

The big hype today is hyper threading. The top i series of CPU's run two threads per CPU, and 6 CPU's per package. But only a few gaming programs even use hyper threading. So it's like paying for a stereo amp that has .005% Inter modulation distortion with a fast slew rate, when a really good human ear can only hear 3.0% distortion. They are simply selling numbers more than practical applications. (With the exception of a few games)

No Argument there.. I totally understand and agree with your sentiment. The vendors piss me off for the same reasons you described.

Also I have issue with the 3D gaming developers , who do everything in 64 bit, throw a few adapters in for 32 bit market and then crash on a brand new PCs... (I was teaching my self how to program mods, and map levels, and then had to stop because my video card literally fried). The disparate technologies are like working with a three legged monkey...

The PC market and Software market (For domestic uses) are extremely volatile. I think it sucks that a feller can't rely on stability with these products...

BTW if anybody sees a triple core unit for low priced sale, its most likely it was build as a Quad core, and one of the processors didnt work... Just an FYI.. (happened to me) LOL!