Music production build

JJimmyJ

JJimmyJ

JJimmyJ

Associate
Joined
21 Jan 2010
Posts
573
Hello

Colleague at work has asked me to spec him a machine for music production. If it was gaming I'd have no problem, but music isn't my forte.
Programs used include:
Reaper, Cubase, Soundforge
Are these programs more reliant on cpu speed, or cores? (quick google didn't give me much)
Rough budget of £400.
Needs:
Case
CPU
Motherboard
8g RAM
1-2TB hard-drive
Power Supply
Several USB slots
Ideally as quiet as possible

Any help appreciated.

Thanks
 
 
You'll want something far superior to a xonar card for music production. Something like an m-audio, emu or similar that fully supports ASIO would be wisest.
 
Hi both,

It turns out he has an external sound card so that can be knocked off the budget. With that in mind, would it be better to go for a beefier processor? Maybe the 6300? Or is the A8 more than capable for running those programs?

Thanks
 
JJimmyJ said:
Hi both,

It turns out he has an external sound card so that can be knocked off the budget. With that in mind, would it be better to go for a beefier processor? Maybe the 6300? Or is the A8 more than capable for running those programs?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The 6300 would require a graphics card.

A similar priced CPU/mobo would be an i3 ivybridge so that could be an option.

In my opinion the A8 would be more than capable.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x ASRock Z77 Pro4-M Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £77.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £56.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G186C9K) £49.99
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £32.99
1 x Xigmatek Helios XTK231 Mini Tower Case - Black £25.99
Total : £349.54 (includes shipping : £10.50).



a similar priced i3 system (if you delete the zonar above)

For quietness, i would add an aftermarket cooler.
 
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Thanks nkata,

I'll put both builds to him. Maybe the intel one would be slightly better as he can add a graphics card later if needed.
 
Eeeeh... what's that - help, or doing you an ill turn ?

It all depends on how big projects are - for example, mixing in best quality in realtime (preview) 64 tracks + VST instruments/effects = prr.. prr.. prrr... in between rendered sounds, even with o/c-ed i5, as I've spoken once with some guy :)

Considering this "big projects" option the best would be i7 (like used 1366 socket) + some o/c in most power-hungry projects, but in practice such level is to be done by mixing used (refurbished/B-Grade) parts with some new ones.

I'd do easily such setup, just look for i7 2600 (used) for about 150 quids. I can see now mobo+CPU+8GB+H80, upto 250 you may bid. Rest (150 pounds) is a case, some low-level graphic card - as P67 mobo doesn't support iGPU, HDD and PSU. By the way - sound card in case of real-time recording must have ASIO extra low latency. Like M-Audio Delta 2496, for about 20 quids on Ebay. If auction would be too high:

mobo (50):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-310-MS&groupid=595&catid=689
CPU (Ebay upto 150)
memory(48):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-133-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
... plus some aftermarket cooler, or advice to your friend loong cables to separate case and rest of hardware in different rooms (mouse, keyboard, monitor & mic) :)

Case (27):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-026-XG&groupid=2362&catid=2277
Graphics (26) - not required in case of any H61/Z68/Z77/B75 motherboard AND i7-2600 CPU:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=1711
HDD (52):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-024-TS&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279
PSU (33):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-173-AN&groupid=701&catid=123

BTW, does he have some decent speaker set, like (for exampe) any of those ?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?catid=22&groupid=702&sortby=priceAsc&subid=1848
 
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