Budget Home Studio Build

Chugfrenzy

Chugfrenzy

Chugfrenzy

Associate
Joined
13 May 2012
Posts
5
Hi there, been out the loop with PC builds for a few years and my machine is currently at death's door (P4 1.8Ghz).
I'm looking to build a cheap but relatively future-proof barebones machine capable of running Sonar X1 and recording 24 channels of audio, mixing with a pile of FX etc without having to freeze tracks every 2 minutes to avoid my PC melting!
Hard drives and case I can re-use and I'll obviously be keeping my M-Audio Delta 1010 sound card.
Also need it to be able to run dual monitors as mixing on a single screen is a nightmare.
So, money is tight but as I say, I need this one to run for a good few years so I don't want to skimp too much.
I was thinking of -
AMD FX 8120 CPU
Asus M5A 78L-M USB3 Mobo
OcUk Value 500w PSU
8 Gb Ram

Or would it be better to get an older CPU and a better mobo because I can't find much info online about the Bulldozer's ability to be used in a studio setup.

Thanks in advance for any hints guy!
 
You will need a better PSU because the value one you have selected is unreliable and will not perform very well. I would recommend looking at OCZ PSUs as they are fairly cheap but still offer great reliability.

As for the Bulldozer... Not sure. Maybe the 8 cores will benefit you here, but the Bulldozer can take longer to do certain tasks than the Intel i5.
 
whats the max budget your looking at using ?

are the hard drives sata connection ?

looking a the site, if its sonar x1 studio, then min requirements are :

Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.67 GHz/AMD Phenom Quad Core 9750 2.4 Ghz

also, worth noting :
* Windows XP Media Center and Windows XP 64-bit are not officially supported.

so no point having more than 4gb of memory unless they've released an update to allow 64bit o/s.

came across a forum thread whereby a mod on the cakewalk forum said:

"The problem with giving a definitive answer on this is that while a dual core with 2GB of ram will function, it's going to be relative to what you are doing. If you plan on using multiple virtual instruments you may find yourself tapping your resources quickly. There are also some plugin fx that require a lot from your system thus multiple instances will tap you out quickly also. But I would also take in mind that having more cores and more ram will give you more room to work with as far as instruments and fx go and also lower latency. "
 
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Thanks guys, I've taken that onboard, how do you think this would work for the DAW build (btw the drives are - one 2tb Seagate 7200 SATA drive and an old 320gb IDE one for audio storage - it's reliable enough until I can get a little more cash, then I'll get an SSD for the system drive and use the 2tb one for the Audio - obviously I'll have to use an adapter to get it work on this board until then though!).
This is pretty much right on my budget but if I'm missing anything I can try and free up some extra funds from somewhere :-) -

specs.jpg



Edit - added a new case as I've just realised that my existing one has crack right across the left panel!!
 
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Sorry if I'm asking too many questions but as I say, it's been a long time since I built my last PC and I'm trying to find my feet again.
I noticed that OcUk do a FX 8120 clocked to 3.6ghz - would I be correct in assuming I'd need a decent cooler and a bigger psu to run that, or for that matter would it even OC on that Asus mobo?
The savings involved might even get me that beautiful SSD a little earlier :-)
 
Since your in a studio enviroment:
*You may benifit from having 8GB RAM. 8GB 1600MHz only cost like £40.
*Slightly better motherboard. I have some feeling that the cheap asus one would limit you.
*Maybe a cheapy graphics card. Not even sure if a system can run that well without one with Bulldozer.
*Perhaps a better case but not really a issue :)

Edit: Did not see the Windows limitations. In that case, I would recommend 4GB 1600MHz ram which is more or less the same price as the ones you have already selected. Does Bulldozer even efficently work with XP?

A 500W PSU should be fine. I normally recommend OCZ PSUs but I have no idea why that one is so cheap compared to others :P As for overclocking on that motherboard, not sure I'm afraid.
 
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looking at that budget you would be able to swap the setup for an ivy bridge processor (just not an overclockable version).

might be worth a visit to the forum of the software manufacturer and see if you can recommend the bulldozer or ivybridge setup.
 
ShortWarning said:
Am I missing something? This line says Win XP x64 is unsupported not that vista/7 x64 are unsupported. He didn't mention what OS he is using.
Click to expand...

exactly, he didn't mention it so thought it worth be worth noting ?.

not sure how old/new the software is so would be worth checking for vista/win 7 compatability.

mentions 64 bit, ok so its xp and might be driver related but no good having stuff and it not working, when a few minutes having a look around could confirm it.
 
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Thanks again guys, seriously appreciated and I think I'm getting there! :-)
Running Windows 7 Professional 32bit so 4gb Ram will have to do I guess, easily upgraded if I splash out on Win 8 64bit later in the year though :-)
Anyway, how does this look and is everything compatible or have I messed something up? Is 500w still gonna be enough with the added pci-e card I wonder?
Definitely seems like the AMDs are lookin promising with regards to audio recording - I know the i5 blows it away for gaming but the DAW community seems split at the moment :-)

specs.jpg
 
Ide get this.

I have an i5 and it rip though anything i throw at it recording wise, and its had to handle some pretty large projects. with all the VST you can think of loaded all at once.
And 4gb of ram will "do" but 8gb is much nicer.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £143.99
1 x Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £49.99
1 x OCZ CoreXtreme 500w '80 Plus' Power Supply £29.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML4GX3M2A1600C9) £25.99
1 x OcUK Bos Midi Tower Case - Black/Red £24.98
1 x Asus HD 5450 SILENT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Low Profile Graphics Card £19.99
Total : £309.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
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