pc build for audio production

Hey guys thanks for the replies. I definitley think I need a ssd and one other drive.
Though I know all about noise and vibration. I am mainly looking to get a system that I can upgrade over time rather than a top system straight away, which sadly my budget wont allow.

My idea is to get myself a at system, maybe with lower specs but with more room for being upgradeable and being future proof. Rather than gettin more but older processor/ram power that is at the end of its life.

Little fish in a big pond verses big fish in a little pond.

The other alternative I have, is upgrading my home pc, which I only use for movies, internet and playing one game (football manager).

The spec is:

DELL STUDIO XPS 435MT

PROCESSOR:

INTEL CORE I7 920 @2.67GHz QUADCORE (Bloomfield 1366 LGA)


MOTHERBOARD:

Dell 0R849J x58 http://microdream.co.uk/dell-studio-xps-435mt-0r849j-r849j-socket-1366-i3-i5-i7-motherboard.html



GRAPHICS CARD:

ATI RADEON HD 3650


SYSTEM MEMORY:

4GB DDR3 RAM (updateable to 24gb)


DISK DRIVES:

450gb HDD SATA3



The problem is its a Dell machine, and I was told they are harder to update (not includin ram) because of their small cases and own hardware?
 
server boards tend to have top end components like most top end boards with prices to match, will add a lot to budget but for me any with gold connectors would be fine/better

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-503-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1695

there's plenty that do the same thing tbh and a lot cheaper.

quote " The ASUS Workstation Series intelligently reduces operating noise and dissipates heat through advanced and environmentally friendly methods to accommodate user needs."

and its the noise bit you will be needing etc, but not this board, its ways over the top

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-508-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2174

an excellent sound board but again maybe over the top

Audio Feature:
- SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
- 1500 uF Audio Power Capacitor
- Golden-plated jacks
- X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™
- EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0
- THX® TruStudio PRO™
- Creative® ALchemy
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel

most her think im rubbish and give poor advice and not listened to much either, but my first post still applies to the thread,

quote" Which motherboard, would you suggest. I am guessing usb 3 and obviously pci for my interface.

---depends on many things, budget for one and parts you need in it...." end quote

but then again many think i speak rubbish and have no idea what im talking about so others may advice your board better, good luck
 
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I always used a laptop when I did any recording, my macbook pro used to be silent and of a decent spec! quite regret selling it now but still...

I think for a budget of £400 you won't get a full mid-range machine that will be fully upgradable to something high end in the future.

I think it would be most important to get items that you probably won't want to replace too quickly. For example, CPU/Mobo/Case. then later on look at your SSD's, quieter PSU's.

I'd go for a good noise dampened case to start with, a good skt 1155 motherboard and maybe an i5. then expand from there when you have more money?..

Another option would be go down the AMD route, but I can't vouch for any of their products as I've not used any for an awful long time...

Food for thought maybe....

YOUR BASKET
1 x ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x OcUK Tech Labs - BitFenix Raider Midi-Tower Case - Black - Noise Dampened £89.99
Total : £442.07 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Case will be preference, there are much cheaper available and you could always DIY :)

As I say... this is just one option you could take without buying all the components at once. This is what I would do If I had any ounce of patience ;)
 
Ethermaster said:
Intel Build - as you already have the sound card.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £139.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £72.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £36.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £390.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).



AMD build - as you already have the sound card

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £139.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £59.99
1 x Sapphire HD Radeon 6450 FLEX 1024MB GDDR3 Multi Display PCI-Express Graphics Card £44.99
1 x Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P 760G (Socket AM3+) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard £38.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £36.98
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38GM1600HC11DC01) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £401.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The AMD does show good value and that is a good GPU for multi screens as its only there to display a image on lots of monitor rather then demaning gaming :)

I know the Intel does support multi screens out of the box but its a if your monitors only have DVI out puts it means more adpaters :(

The Intel build has got a better upgrade path, and would be my personal choice but would need more money then you have to get a decent audio production PC.

You will need an optical drive, but these are cheap at least :)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £21.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).




To give you some idea about these 2 CPU see here.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/702?vs=698

Edit lucky post 555 !!!
Click to expand...
Hi Lazder, I think your build seems reasonable. I dont know much about motherboards and processors though. If I went for this one, would I be able to update to say a sandybridge processor at a later date or not?

Also I know I am on a budget but if there is another motherboard that is better that I would be silly not to get for say £20-30 more?

Thanks so much for your help.

This will actually be my first home built pc!
 
Yes, almost all Ivybridge motherboards can take a Sandybridge CPU.

I'd go for the AMD, in this instance though. The extra cores make a difference in most audio programs, as that's your main use, you'll almost certainly appreciate 8 cores over 4.

An SSD would be handy too, as you'll probably find you're doing a lot of reading/writing from/to the HDD. That said, as it's normally the same files being read/written, you can probably look into mounting a temporary ram disk - it may be worth looking into it if you're doing heavy editing
 
Hi Yeah I already have a kingston 120GB SSD that I will be using in the build.

I have always been told that the 'i' chips are the best for audio programs. I personally dont know though. I have tried googling but results and opinions seem divided.
 
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