New Micro ATX/ ITX build for Audio - ideas and thoughts please...

bigbadjon303

bigbadjon303

bigbadjon303

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14 Dec 2020
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Hi All,

I'm looking for a bit of advise please.....

So its that time of year when I've got a Christmas bonus coming. I built this system 10 years ago based around a I5-3470 running at 3.6) and even though it works still fairly well with my DAW of choice Reason 11, it has become really slow - instead of reformatting, I'm going to take the plunge and build a new one.

So, the case I've got is a really nice ATXm Thermal Take Armor A30...so this limits what MB I can use.

Update - I've been now looking a ITX - looks like there is more choice in case size - the RVZ03 looks quite funky and this case size will suit the space I've got.

Budget is around £700-800.

From a CPU point of view I'm thinking of going AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (cooling via a Noctua NH-L12S).
Motherbaord MSI B450M Motor, with 16 GB of G Skill or Corsair 16 GB 3200 CL16.
1TB SSD, PSU (No idea). Obviously this will change if I go ITX!!
I'll have to get a GPU, but nothing powerful as just use this PC for Music, surfing and streaming from YouTube on a 55 inch TV.
I also need an External USB audio device to input an outboard synth.

I'll be running Windows 10.

Am I missing anything, going in the right direction? I've not built a PC for the last 10 years, so I've been out of the whole components scene. I do like this case, but it maybe better to get a different one (the A30 is great as I have very limited space - this has worked a treat).

Thanks
Jon.
 
If it helps, Gigabyte tend to have a dac friendly usb port. Or at least their atx boards do, not sure about itx.

How well does your software scale thread-wise? A 3700x would give you another 2 cores for not that much more.
 
I'm going to be using an external Audio interface to keep the noise down, but I'll take a look at the Gigabyte boards (the ones I've used in the past have been rock solid).

I've just had a look and threading wise it seems to increase the performance and stability of Reason significantly, so looks like i'll be having a gander. Is it the fact it has more cores and the clock speed is the same?

A powerful GPU is not important so I'm looking at maybe a GT1030 (don't laugh!)?
 
Yeah you'll get similar clock speeds and another 2 physical cores.

If you can get a good price, the 3900x gives you 12 cores, but that may be more than Reason can use.

Pretty sure the 1030 only had a single hdmi, so a 1050 might be with looking at to get a displayport too (if you change screen or want a dual screen setup).
 
I'd echo the comments for a GTX1050 or above. It give you more outputs, but will also have the nvenc engine which can significantly improve encoding times on the rare occasion you need it, plus also be all round that bit snappier to go with the CPU you're getting.
 
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