there is no doubt that if you want a beefy computer and sampler software,
it'll be more expensive than a sampler but it all depends with what you want
to gain. i own an EMU E5000 Ultra with 128 MB of ram and it is more expensive
than a computer with hardware to do the same thing.
a compuer with 128 MB of ram, win98se/ME a display card and a sound card
shouldn't cost more than $1700. an Emu E5000 with 128MB ram is a little below
$2000..and i don't see it sending emails :-)
as for operating systems, the ideal is to have seperate machines. but it is
always a good idea to have either a seperate drive or partition in your
system for audio files and a seperate partition or drive for windows and
programs.
try to keep your audio machines free of internet browsing games etc, use a
different drive or machine for that. a good thing is to have a computer with
removable bays that you can always stick a new drive/system is and out in no
time... money wise??? removable bays and frame cost around $30...
Eitan Teomi.
<A HREF="
http://ourworld.cs.com/teomi">
http://ourworld.cs.com/teomi</A>