Final check on revised build for music production, compatibility etc

hexagonsun

hexagonsun

hexagonsun

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24 Dec 2010
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Ok, so I think I have settled on a build to be used for music production, may add more RAM and an SSD at a later date, and I have an OK sound card which I may also upgrade in future, but I think this will do for now. Are there any potential incompatibilities or things you would change?

Case - May just use my old Antec PlusView 1000AMG (Any reason why not?)
PSU - Corsair CX 600W ATX Power Supply (Enough power?)
CPU - Intel Core i7 870 2.93Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156) (Worth getting over the 860?)
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard (Seems to be good?)
RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (May increase to 8GB in future.)
Graphics - Gainward GeForce 8400GS "SILENT" 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express Graphics Card (Don't need anything particularly great for graphics, it's not for gaming.)
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Cooling - Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (OCUK seem to be using this in many of their bundles so I assume it's good?)
Optical Drive - Samsung SH-S223L 22x DVD±RW DL & RAM with LightScribe SATA Optical Drive
 
Not convinced about spending £220 ish on a cpu for a dead socket.

If you need lots of cores for music production why not consider a AMD hex core setup?

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £141.98
(£118.32) £141.98
(£118.32)
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9) £97.99
(£81.66) £97.99
(£81.66)
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £95.99
(£79.99) £95.99
(£79.99)
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £50.03
(£41.69) £50.03
(£41.69)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £46.99
(£39.16) £46.99
(£39.16)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £40.99
(£34.16) £40.99
(£34.16)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £12.49
(£10.41) £12.49
(£10.41)
Sub Total : £405.39
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £83.08
Total : £498.47
 
Funnily enough, on the first revision of this build which I posted up on the 28th of Dec, I was going to use an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition, but nearly everyone told me to go for an i7 instead. Now that SandyBridge is out, two weeks later 1156 is suddenly a "dead socket", gotta love technology. :p

I don't think I'm going to bother with SandyBridge due to cost, and most people seemed to recommend an i7 even over the 1090T for music production. I think about three people suggested an i7 instead, one person suggested an i5 760, but obviously the i7 is better, and one person stuck up for the AMD.

The only benefit I can see is the fact that AMD will probably continue to release socket AM3 CPU's, which will allow me to upgrade to an 8 core or something in the future but I don't tend to upgrade often, my current laptop is about 5 years old as it is. :p
 
Aretenon said:
I'm pretty sure that a Sandybridge build will cost a similar amount to a Lynnfield build.
Click to expand...

Erm, not so sure, really. Cheapest 1155 mobo is £100. Cheapest cpu for music production (an i7 2600k) is around what, £270 this week, normally £300?

EDIT: Just had a quick spec check, cheapest I can find an i7 2600k build for is £596 - excluding SSD and a cooler.

Its around £520 for an i7 2600 coupled with a H67 chipset - means no overclocking, but can use onboard.

i5 2500k would be an option, but still pushing budget to the max, won't have a SSD and no graphics.
 
Last edited:
Hexagon

The build you did use a mobo which is 85, gfx 25 and cpu 215, thats 325, a SB build would be similar

Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £233.99
Asus P8H67-M Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £81.98
Total : £315.97

This doesnt need a gfx card as it has v good integrate gfx

Alternatively AMD as Stulid posted above, CPU 140 and personally Id go for a better mobo with better integrated gfx, an 880G chipset can be had for 70, thats 210, over a ton cheaper, thats why Stulid recomended AMD yes i7 will be slightly better, but AMD is cheaper, if you do go i7 route, then as I showed above you should still go SB i7 as its same price and better performance
 
Actually you're right, on closer inspection a SandyBridge build might be affordable:

Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - £233.99
Gigabyte P67A-UD3 Intel P67 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - £103.99 (This week anyway)

That is with a 2600 though, not a 2600K, it says "The K series edition processors are unlocked on the multiplier allowing overclocking", does that mean I won't be able to overclock on the 2600?

As you can probably tell I am partial to getting a Gigabyte motherboard, had an Asus before that died on me so I am reluctant to buy another.
 
Only the K series can be overclocked. The K series also have the 3000 GPU as compared to the 2000 GPU, which is comparable to an Ati 4550.
 
Intel Core i7 870 2.93Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1156)

£227.99

Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard

£83.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

£41.99

Shipping : £9.50

Total : £365.36

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intel Core i7-2600 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor

£233.99

Gigabyte P67A-UD3 Intel P67 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge)

£103.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

£41.99

Shipping : £9.50

Total : £391.37

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

£26.01 extra for a SandyBridge build, not too bad I guess. I assume the XMS3 RAM is still compatible?

I'm not sure I'm willing to fork out nearly an extra £100 over the original build for the K-series CPU, but the performance benefits of the 2600 over the 860 for just £26 do seem worthwhile.
 
Last edited:
hexagonsun said:
Is the 2600K that much better than the 2600? It's almost £60 more expensive and unless you are overclocking I assume there's no difference?
Click to expand...

Correct. 2600 cannot be overclocked at all.

Yes, XMS3 will be completely compatible and is generally used by most companies for "the" ram when it comes to overclocked bundles.
 
To be honest I probably won't even need to overclock it, I'm not an overclocking enthusiast, nor am I a gamer, I would probably do a small overclock if possible for the right price, but I'd rather save the money.
 
as you have a budget i would have thought the i5 2600 would be silly to get instead of the i5 2500.

the 2500 is cheaper and only a fraction less powerful, its much better value for money. Its still better than the old i5 and i7 range and the AMD x6 cores. id go for the i5 2500.
Surprised no one else suggested this.
 
ashatron said:
as you have a budget i would have thought the i5 2600 would be silly to get instead of the i5 2500.

the 2500 is cheaper and only a fraction less powerful, its much better value for money. Its still better than the old i5 and i7 range and the AMD x6 cores. id go for the i5 2500.
Surprised no one else suggested this.
Click to expand...

For music production more threads are handy. If you're not going to overclock then go the for 2600 and a H67 motherboard so you can use the onboard GPU.
 
Orcvader said:
For music production more threads are handy. If you're not going to overclock then go the for 2600 and a H67 motherboard so you can use the onboard GPU.
Click to expand...

+1

2600 has hyper-threading, 2500 does not. This means that more of the cores are being used more often - more efficient use.

H67 chipset - while it won't let you overclock, lets you use the onboard graphics (equivalent to a HD4550) which will be sufficient for your uses.
 
I personally prefer dual core for music production, a cooler chip needs less cooling so the result is a far quieter computer. i3 is good but if you runa lot of plugins at once then maybe the 2600 would be a better choice...
 
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