building a new pc for production.

  On 11/6/2013 at 5:39 PM, sheatheman said:

Eh, not everyone is a protools bro. It is nice for sure, but you can output to a pair of decent monitors with integrated graphics.

eh, you don't need to be running pro tools to reap the benefit of multiple high resolution monitors.

and yeah, you can. 1920x1200 monitors would be fine. you start using multiple high resolution monitors on integrated graphics though, and it'll start to choke especially when you're running plugins.

point is - graphics cards are not something you can eradicate from every audio set up.

Best PC for Audio Production is the new MAC PRO. 12 GIGS of VRAM! Get it with the producer's cube, a 10x10x10 reflective cube where every wall is a 4k screen.

*bump*

Also, this:

http://www.newegg.com/

Components can be sorted by best reviewed, some less expensive options with overall positive reviews.

*bump again*

So now I'm doing this, but under the watch of a former IT assistant manager for the U of M. Every impression I've been under is that there should be more than one hard drive to operate audio programs, and the BF wants to play games on it as well. Does this mean I need to have three drives? Or am I confusing what the hard drive does with what the CPU does?

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:21 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

*bump again*

 

So now I'm doing this, but under the watch of a former IT assistant manager for the U of M. Every impression I've been under is that there should be more than one hard drive to operate audio programs, and the BF wants to play games on it as well. Does this mean I need to have three drives? Or am I confusing what the hard drive does with what the CPU does?

that impression isn't correct really - I was running a production system for years on just one hard drive, and I'm sure many others here are too.

I have multiple drives in my main workstation now, but that's nothing to do with audio production, I'm just a greedy fucker when it comes to drive space. It's not necessary to have multiple drives, but you will of course see a benefit depending on how you're going to use said drives.

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:21 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

*bump again*

 

So now I'm doing this, but under the watch of a former IT assistant manager for the U of M. Every impression I've been under is that there should be more than one hard drive to operate audio programs, and the BF wants to play games on it as well. Does this mean I need to have three drives? Or am I confusing what the hard drive does with what the CPU does?

Unless you're doing RAID setups, it doesnt matter if you're using 1 or 10 hard drives. You just want there to be a lot of space and a lot of RAM. Games take up lots of space. If I were you I would use an SSD for my operating system and programs, so they load fast.

You want a lot of hard drive space if you are using a mechanical hard drive, so your OS doesnt need to put little pieces of files all over the place. Thats fragmentation, which slows down stuff. SSDs do not suffer from that problem. but if you always have 50% of your hard drive empty, you should be ok.

Get all the RAM that your OS and Motherboard can use. Max that out.

Computers can break for no apparent reason, so back-up frequently.

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:30 PM, oscillik said:

 

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:21 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

*bump again*

 

So now I'm doing this, but under the watch of a former IT assistant manager for the U of M. Every impression I've been under is that there should be more than one hard drive to operate audio programs, and the BF wants to play games on it as well. Does this mean I need to have three drives? Or am I confusing what the hard drive does with what the CPU does?

that impression isn't correct really - I was running a production system for years on just one hard drive, and I'm sure many others here are too.

 

I have multiple drives in my main workstation now, but that's nothing to do with audio production, I'm just a greedy fucker when it comes to drive space. It's not necessary to have multiple drives, but you will of course see a benefit depending on how you're going to use said drives.

 

Ok, it will probably start out with just one and expand from there, I'm eyeing a full-size tower.

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:30 PM, skibby said:

 

  On 2/17/2014 at 10:21 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

*bump again*

 

So now I'm doing this, but under the watch of a former IT assistant manager for the U of M. Every impression I've been under is that there should be more than one hard drive to operate audio programs, and the BF wants to play games on it as well. Does this mean I need to have three drives? Or am I confusing what the hard drive does with what the CPU does?

 

Unless you're doing RAID setups, it doesnt matter if you're using 1 or 10 hard drives. You just want there to be a lot of space and a lot of RAM. Games take up lots of space. If I were you I would use an SSD for my operating system and programs, so they load fast.

 

You want a lot of hard drive space if you are using a mechanical hard drive, so your OS doesnt need to put little pieces of files all over the place. Thats fragmentation, which slows down stuff. SSDs do not suffer from that problem. but if you always have 50% of your hard drive empty, you should be ok.

 

Get all the RAM that your OS and Motherboard can use. Max that out.

 

Computers can break for no apparent reason, so back-up frequently.

 

Oh, I've already had the physical HD vetoed, my only option is SSD. The motherboard has a preposterous amount of slots for memory, and the RAM will end up being maximum space, as well. I'm budgeting for under $1500 for the entire setup, software will have to be thought of after tax refund season.

So here is the setup we have plotted:

Case: Rosewill THRONE-W 149.99

Power Supply: Rosewill Hive-650 79.99

Motherboard: ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 149.99

CPU: AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz 199.99

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 159.99

Video Card: ASUS GTX650-E-2GD5 GeForce GTX 650 2GB 139.99

SSD: SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 154.99

Optical: LG Black 14X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X 67.99

Monitor: BenQ GW2750HM Glossy Black 27" 4ms 219.99

edit: readability...GoogleDoc does not copy/paste well.

-Use this to double-check compatibility issues.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

Some lesser known compatibility issues are voltages for cpus and ram being compatible with the motherboard.

CASE

- I think the Raven style upwards oriented motherboard mounting is pretty brilliant for cases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163185

Cases are whatever though for the most part. Go full size. Smaller creates heat issues, and they are a pain in the ass. Only reason for a small PC case is to make it portable.

HARD DRIVES

- If you aren't planning on running an external for data storage then you don't have enough hard drive space.

if you want you can most definitely skip on the 16gb and go with 8gb ram for the time being. I doubt you will ever use 16gb unless you are doing some really intense stuff.

So, depending on how much of a music producer you are will determine a necessity for 16gb-32gb. I like that RAM though. The latency is good, and the speed is good.

- These are good secondary drives.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236624

Also, grabbing two 500gb Raptors instead of an SSD is not the worst idea in the world.

PROCESSOR

- I use intel processors, because personally I like them better. I don't know much about AMD anymore. I think that the price of that processor for a 8 core 4.0 ghz seems pretty wacky. I'm guessing that is an older processor socket from the price. Personally, when building a new pc. I think buying the most recent socket is one of the most important factors. You can check Tom's hardware to figure out which is the most recent socket, and which socket is planned to be used in the future.

GPU

- The 650 is a little weaksauce in my opinion. I wouldn't go with anything less than 660. But it depends on the games that your bf plays really. The 650 only has like 380 cuda cores compared to all of these cards that are under $200 and have double or higher cuda cores.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600315498%20600007782%204017%20600364401&IsNodeId=1&name=960

This one is almost the same price and it is miles ahead.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130863

So, what it's refurbished. If you can send it back for RMA then it doesn't matter imo.

If you compare the price difference to performance difference I think it is very much worth it.

MONITOR

- Also, speaking from experience. I would not buy a monitor I have not seen in person. Never heard of Benq though. I usually like Acers, Asus, and the other name brands.

SOUNDCARD

If you aren't planning on using an audio interface I think you should buy a nice soundcard. My understanding is that you will get better sound as well as better performance. Others probably know more about this than I do, but it's the same idea as having a graphics card.

  On 2/19/2014 at 12:16 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

-Use this to double-check compatibility issues.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

 

Some lesser known compatibility issues are voltages for cpus and ram being compatible with the motherboard.

 

CASE

 

- I think the Raven style upwards oriented motherboard mounting is pretty brilliant for cases.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163185

 

Cases are whatever though for the most part. Go full size. Smaller creates heat issues, and they are a pain in the ass. Only reason for a small PC case is to make it portable.

 

^I like that style, other than the window, which seems pointless aside from something to glance at when I'm not staring at the monitor, I'm not partial to any particular style, but he finally agreed on that Rosewill I found.

 

I also read that the more space you have for larger fans, the quieter it will be, which the case I picked has a place for a 230mm fan on the side, and the other spots have room for nothing smaller than 140mm fans.

 

HARD DRIVES

 

- If you aren't planning on running an external for data storage then you don't have enough hard drive space.

 

^Uh, yes. There will be a Tb on the side if it kills me.

 

if you want you can most definitely skip on the 16gb and go with 8gb ram for the time being. I doubt you will ever use 16gb unless you are doing some really intense stuff.

 

^I run Reason, and I have no confidence in any stock CPU's ability to run it without crashing, so I intend for the RAM to be overkill in the first place.

 

So, depending on how much of a music producer you are will determine a necessity for 16gb-32gb. I like that RAM though. The latency is good, and the speed is good.

 

 

- These are good secondary drives.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236624

 

Also, grabbing two 500gb Raptors instead of an SSD is not the worst idea in the world.

I think the only proper way to run a pc setup is to have 3 hard drives. If money isn't an issue get a back-up for the back-up. I'm serious.

 

SSD for OS and Programs

 

HD for data

 

HD for back-up

 

^I'll be relaying this. Every time I look for info on a build intended for music production, I hear mention of multiple drives, but he seems insistent that it won't be necessary with an SSD with 500G and a powerful processor with a ton of RAM on the side.

 

PROCESSOR

 

- I use intel processors, because personally I like them better. I don't know much about AMD anymore. I think that the price of that processor for a 8 core 4.0 ghz seems pretty wacky. I'm guessing that is an older processor socket from the price. Personally, when building a new pc. I think buying the most recent socket is one of the most important factors. You can check Tom's hardware to figure out which is the most recent socket, and which socket is planned to be used in the future.

 

^I'll revisit that piece, but I'm not interested in paying more for a popular brand just because I recognize the name...

 

GPU

 

- The 650 is a little weaksauce in my opinion. I wouldn't go with anything less than 660. But it depends on the games that your bf plays really. The 650 only has like 380 cuda cores compared to all of these cards that are under $200 and have double or higher cuda cores.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600315498%20600007782%204017%20600364401&IsNodeId=1&name=960

 

This one is almost the same price and it is miles ahead.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130863

 

So, what it's refurbished. If you can send it back for RMA then it doesn't matter imo.

 

If you compare the price difference to performance difference I think it is very much worth it.

 

^The end goal is to have an adequate gaming setup, he's not a "serious business" gamer, so I'll mention this to him, but I think he knows what he'll need to play what he intends to.

 

MONITOR

 

- Also, speaking from experience. I would not buy a monitor I have not seen in person. Never heard of Benq though. I usually like Acers, Asus, and the other name brands.

 

^THIS is where I get to my "whatever" face, I don't really care about the screen as long as I can see wtf I'm adjusting.

 

SOUNDCARD

 

If you aren't planning on using an audio interface I think you should buy a nice soundcard. My understanding is that you will get better sound as well as better performance. Others probably know more about this than I do, but it's the same idea as having a graphics card.

 

^Will probably happen, I know that most of that list isn't designed specifically for audio.

Thank you!

  On 2/19/2014 at 7:21 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

 

  On 2/19/2014 at 12:16 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

-Use this to double-check compatibility issues.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

 

Some lesser known compatibility issues are voltages for cpus and ram being compatible with the motherboard.

 

CASE

 

- I think the Raven style upwards oriented motherboard mounting is pretty brilliant for cases.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163185

 

Cases are whatever though for the most part. Go full size. Smaller creates heat issues, and they are a pain in the ass. Only reason for a small PC case is to make it portable.

 

^I like that style, other than the window, which seems pointless aside from something to glance at when I'm not staring at the monitor, I'm not partial to any particular style, but he finally agreed on that Rosewill I found.

 

I also read that the more space you have for larger fans, the quieter it will be, which the case I picked has a place for a 230mm fan on the side, and the other spots have room for nothing smaller than 140mm fans.

 

It depends really. It stands to reason that less fans = quieter, but you can also buy fans designed to remain quiet. Usually any decent quality fans are rather quiet. It's not a wrong assertion though. I like that case style because it makes ports easier to access because the are on top and all your PCI cards will be facing upwards and it should help with getting heat out of the case. That being said you aren't going to experience heat problems with any proper size case really. Unless you start overclocking.

 

HARD DRIVES

 

- If you aren't planning on running an external for data storage then you don't have enough hard drive space.

 

^Uh, yes. There will be a Tb on the side if it kills me.

 

500gb is pretty good size for an SSD. I thought yours would be 250 gb. That isn't really enough.

 

if you want you can most definitely skip on the 16gb and go with 8gb ram for the time being. I doubt you will ever use 16gb unless you are doing some really intense stuff.

 

^I run Reason, and I have no confidence in any stock CPU's ability to run it without crashing, so I intend for the RAM to be overkill in the first place.

 

So, depending on how much of a music producer you are will determine a necessity for 16gb-32gb. I like that RAM though. The latency is good, and the speed is good.

 

 

- These are good secondary drives.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236624

 

Also, grabbing two 500gb Raptors instead of an SSD is not the worst idea in the world.

I think the only proper way to run a pc setup is to have 3 hard drives. If money isn't an issue get a back-up for the back-up. I'm serious.

 

SSD for OS and Programs

 

HD for data

 

HD for back-up

 

^I'll be relaying this. Every time I look for info on a build intended for music production, I hear mention of multiple drives, but he seems insistent that it won't be necessary with an SSD with 500G and a powerful processor with a ton of RAM on the side.

 

This is suggested for multiple reasons. Firstly, usually you don't buy a large enough SSD to store all your stuff, and the person of it is to run programs and the OS for speed. Secondly, SSD's are still considered a bit unstable. I have experienced this myself but people fear that they will fail due to the inherent nature of flash memory. So the second cheaper drive just need to have a lot of space for the most part. The third drive would literally exist as a copy to make sure if the other drive fails you don't lose anything. It isn't meant to be running in some special configuration. Although I believe you can setup a raid configuration to make it super dope but I've not done it. I've also been told you can link drives together in a raid configuration to make traditional drives much faster. I have not done this before.

 

PROCESSOR

 

- I use intel processors, because personally I like them better. I don't know much about AMD anymore. I think that the price of that processor for a 8 core 4.0 ghz seems pretty wacky. I'm guessing that is an older processor socket from the price. Personally, when building a new pc. I think buying the most recent socket is one of the most important factors. You can check Tom's hardware to figure out which is the most recent socket, and which socket is planned to be used in the future.

 

^I'll revisit that piece, but I'm not interested in paying more for a popular brand just because I recognize the name...

 

Yeah, I mean the brand is whatever. I'm just under the impression that Intel is better. I've not really looked into it. But I would suggest if you want to have an easier time upgrading your machine down the road that you buy the most recent CPU socket type. I dont' know what that is for AMD, but for intel it's like LGA 1155.

 

GPU,

 

- The 650 is a little weaksauce in my opinion. I wouldn't go with anything less than 660. But it depends on the games that your bf plays really. The 650 only has like 380 cuda cores compared to all of these cards that are under $200 and have double or higher cuda cores.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600030348%20600315498%20600007782%204017%20600364401&IsNodeId=1&name=960

 

This one is almost the same price and it is miles ahead.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130863

 

So, what it's refurbished. If you can send it back for RMA then it doesn't matter imo.

 

If you compare the price difference to performance difference I think it is very much worth it.

 

^The end goal is to have an adequate gaming setup, he's not a "serious business" gamer, so I'll mention this to him, but I think he knows what he'll need to play what he intends to.

 

I mean I would personally buy the better card refurbished for almost the same price. I've not had issues with refurbished items going bad.

 

MONITOR

 

- Also, speaking from experience. I would not buy a monitor I have not seen in person. Never heard of Benq though. I usually like Acers, Asus, and the other name brands.

 

^THIS is where I get to my "whatever" face, I don't really care about the screen as long as I can see wtf I'm adjusting.

 

Yeah I get that. Quality of picture is generally easy to predict by the stats, but the form factor of the monitor is what is important.I bought a 27" Acer off newegg adn it turned out to be quite a deal bulkier than I thought. Only a slight disapointment really.

 

SOUNDCARD

 

If you aren't planning on using an audio interface I think you should buy a nice soundcard. My understanding is that you will get better sound as well as better performance. Others probably know more about this than I do, but it's the same idea as having a graphics card.

 

^Will probably happen, I know that most of that list isn't designed specifically for audio.

 

Just get an audio interface. You will need one anyway if you start using any hardware at all. I think even Aphex said it doens't matter which a/i you get. They all have different character and stuff. Just so long as you have the proper inputs and outputs. I'm sure there are other considerations but I"m not adept enough at using hardware to make any suggestions.

 

Thank you!

 

No problem.

CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

MOBO (picked randomly)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

HD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W014B1465

Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130948

RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

LCD SCREEN

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129180

Interface
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_madiface_xt.php

Speakers
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/event-opal-2-way-750-watt-active-monitor

  On 2/20/2014 at 12:35 AM, skibby said:

CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

 

MOBO (picked randomly)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

 

HD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W014B1465

 

Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130948

 

RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

LCD SCREEN

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

 

Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129180

 

Interface

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_madiface_xt.php

 

Speakers

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/event-opal-2-way-750-watt-active-monitor

nice one skibby! i guess u did your homework.

soon i'm gonna buy a new comp, the same processor (best buy), mb, ssd as these maybe could buy this ram and case too, they're not bad. this video card is a total over-kill for me. i dont play games so i wouldnt need a card of that level.

the speakers (Opals) was on my list but i changed my mind cause they're too big for my room so i'll probably by PSI A17-M speakers instead, similarly priced but smaller BUT more precise. i read that the opals are great in a bigger room, push almost into the mid-field distance.

  On 2/20/2014 at 1:26 AM, xox said:

 

this video card is a total over-kill for me. i dont play games so i wouldnt need a card of that level.

 

Don't forget about CUDA, some audio processing can be done through the video card.

  On 10/30/2013 at 5:42 PM, MadameChaos said:

RAM, you need RAM

I'm pretty sure this is how it goes though. You have bottlenecks all over your pc.

RAM

GPU

CPU

Hard drive speed

Anyone of those are going to slow down your performance depending on what you are doing. From what I understand unless you are doing extremely high level processing you aren't going to go over 16gb ever, and if you are just using Reason, it's doubtful you'll go over 8gbs. I haven't pushed limits on this myself though. I just suspect this.

You might use over 8gbs for gaming on a super new machine but I still doubt that. GPU and CPU will bottleneck you on gaming first.

But your cpu is going to choke up before your RAM chokes up I'm pretty sure. Most likely when doing production. Now if you are going to have tons of different applications open you'll probably need 16gb. But just straight up running Reason and using 16gbs? I don't know about that. Maybe if you are making the most complicated track I've ever seen.

And hard drive is a non-issue because you are getting an SSD.

Oh and if there is going to be an emphasis on RAM you need focus on getting the faster speed your mobo is compatible with as well as the lowest cas latency. Just make sure toe check voltage compatibility.

Word.

Hokay, if I'm reading this correctly, the mobo I have in mind already has an audio chipset included...which is apparently sold separately anyway...does doubling up do anything?

edit: Nevermind, apparently not...

  On 2/21/2014 at 10:57 PM, OneToThirtySix said:

Hokay, if I'm reading this correctly, the mobo I have in mind already has an audio chipset included...which is apparently sold separately anyway...does doubling up do anything?

 

edit: Nevermind, apparently not...

Basically, all mobos will have this. You can run sound directly from it if you are trying to cut costs, but from what I understand you will get superior performance from having a separate soundcard. As far as audio quality? I'm not sure. That is what they usually advertise with soundcards. Does it actually add up? I've never looked into it. One thing is that a lot of soundcards give you extra functionality. LIke my soundblaster xifi pro, has a 5.25 bay connector for routing things into my pc. It is quite old though. This is something I would really have to research to speak 100% intelligently on. This whole is issue can be solved just by buying an "audio interface" which you are going to need eventually anyway. I'ts basically an external soundcard with plugs for peripheral devices such a mic, or keyboard.

If I had to guess I would say PCI slot soundcard = better quality than USB Audio Interface. But that is just from my judging the quality of PCI connection vs USB. It is merely a slight educated hypothesis.

I have this audio interface.

Personally I wish I would have gotten one with extra USB slots for my laptops. Once my desktop is finished it won't matter though.

That being said you can get away with onboard soundcard and a usb midi controller, or no midi controller at all if you want.

  On 2/25/2014 at 1:43 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

That being said you can get away with onboard soundcard and a usb midi controller, or no midi controller at all if you want.

 

From what I'm hearing, an interface would be more practical for recording, but most of what I do is entirely digital, so I'm thinking this path will be fine.

so, finally ordering tonight after a bunch of random bills and debts killing my money for months,

nvidia gtx 770 - £250

samsung 840 EVO 250gig SSD £95

Noctua - U12s Fan £50

Coolermaster USB 3 case £125

Seagate Barracuda 1TB HD £50

Hyper X Series 8 gb 1600 mhz RAM £57

MSI z87-gd65 Gaming motherboard £130

Intel core i7 quadcore 3.50ghz 8mg processor £235

Corsair professional AX 760 fully modular platinum power supply £130

total £1130

Noctua fans are fucking brilliant. I spent well over £100 just on fans for my case, all Noctua ones.

went for it, took me two days to get it all working from youtube tuts, but its sweet as fuck. 7.8 out 7.9 on the windows scale thing. gonna load up ableton and make a tune with a billion vst's just cos i can.

  On 5/16/2014 at 1:06 AM, messiaen said:

went for it, took me two days to get it all working from youtube tuts, but its sweet as fuck. 7.8 out 7.9 on the windows scale thing. gonna load up ableton and make a tune with a billion vst's just cos i can.

how do you score a 10 then? your setup looks quite nice.