Looking into a PC for recording music, etc.

[MrAnthony]

Hi there, I could really use some advice here.

So in little over a years time I'll be off to university, hopefully to study Music Technology/Performance. So, in the mean time I need to save up some money to avoid dipping into my student grants/loans, etc.

So, if I can come up with some £600-800 perhaps, what am I likely to be looking at considering the current market? For that budget am I likely to be including a screen and keyboard/mouse, etc?

Understandably, products are bound to change, cost more, cost less in a years time, but if I could just get a rough figure of something that I'll be able to use off campus but of a (near)professional quality that would be really useful.

There's no rush, but thanks in advance.
- Anthony.

 

[Surveyor]

Pre-built system or components to build it yourself?

 

[MrAnthony]

Pre-built system or components to build it yourself?

Preferably components.

- Anthony.

 

[robfosters]

Is it just for music programs, like Cubase and Ableton?

 

[robfosters]

I put this together for £835.

Included an SSD as I find them very beneficial for audio software like Cubase.

there is no peripherals, but they can be got for little money. Someone else may have a better suggestion, but I think this would run along nicely for an audio workstation. I would prefer an i5 or i7. But your funds are tight.

You will still need an audio interface as the mobo ones will not be good enough for serious use. I use the Steinberg CI2+. Very nice unit. http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ci_series/models/ci2_production_kit.html

YOUR BASKET
1 x IIyama Prolite E2473HDS 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £159.95
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £94.99
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte P67X-UD3 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £84.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x MSI HD 6850 "Dual Fan Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus' Power Supply (CMPSU-500CXUKV2) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £855.95 (includes shipping : £20.10).

 

[Bacon?]

Personally (no offense rob) I find that spec appalling for what he will be using that for. I daily run music recording, making and editing software and I would reccomend at least an i5 and 16GB of RAM.

You don't really need a 24" monitor or a SSD, and would be a lot better of with a Z77 mobo for £80. Even if you just buy the 3450 you will notice a performance increase over a dual core i3.

 

[MrAnthony]

Thanks for both the suggestions guys, truly helpful.

The saving process is well underway, £200 in the pot at the moment. I'm set for OS & software - already bought that, and I'll probably go secondhand on peripherals, so that should allow for some better components. If necessary I'll eat into the student grant a little but if I can avoid doing so I shall.

Just for comparison, which pre-built system would you recommend? (Aimed at anybody)

Hopefully I can make a start by December/January time, even if it's only a case and motherboard.

Thanks,
- Anthony.

 

[robfosters]

Bacon, I used to run Cubase, Halion and wavelab perfectly well on a Q6600, so I don't see how an i3 is underpowered.

I agree about the 16GB, but an i3 is acceptable and the extra real estate on a 24 inch monitor can be much appreciated.

However, I take your suggestions and have come up with an alternative. If you want to overclock that i5 you will need an aftermarket cooler.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2212HM 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £173.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT128M4SSD2) £94.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £89.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 650W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXV2UK) £78.98
2 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99 (95.98)
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £29.99
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £839.88 (includes shipping : FREE).

 

[MrAnthony]

Seems like an ideal basket there.
Our family PC at home currently has a 22" monitor which is plenty big enough when you're sat at the desk, but as you said - I'm sure the extra 2" would be welcomed.

Thanks for the help, I'll keep my options open for now and like I mentioned, hopefully make a start at the end of the year.

- Anthony.

 

[Bacon?]

Correct me if I am wrong but Haswell comes out the first quarter of next year?

 

[Zuban]

depends on the type of audio work your doing but if your doing live recording anywhere near your pc its worth keeping in mind how loud the pc will end up being. If your running a lot of vst instruments etc you'll need a meatier cpu but if its just samples then its less important, lots of memory is needed. Decent set of monitors also could cost more than the pc .