Spec me a reliable workhorse please.

[lttlejoe]

Hi guys, I'm sure you can help here.
It's been about 6 years since I was last on here seeking advice when I last built my current computer and to perfectly honest it's been excellent and it still does mostly all I need but I now need to build another machine to go in my home recording studio mostly to edit the files from my Zoom 24 track recorder, which I'm in the process of setting up at the moment.

I'm totally out of touch with today's computer components etc and haven't the time to do all the research that I did when I built this computer so basically what I want to build is probably a steady away AMD based system into a micro ATX case with a decent PSU, SSD, dual h/drives, minimum of say 16 Gb fast RAM, dual optical drives and multi card reader and with preferably decent on-board sound and graphics but with spare slots for the addition of decent sound and video cards which I would add if need be.

The specs wouldn't need to be super fast as I wouldn't be using it for gaming or overclocking but it wants to be a reliable workhorse and it must run cool/quietly so a good CPU cooler and well ventilated case would be essential. I've been happy with the Gigabyte mobo and AMD processor so far but I'm sure that things have moved on considerably since I built this rig which was relatively low spec even back then but it's done what I ask of it admirably and if I can build another in the same vein but just a more up to date then that would be even better.

So your advice on which components that would do the job cost effectively would be much appreciated.

 

[Pocah]

The main difficulty I see here is the case. Many new cases don't have any space for optical drives or card readers so I would recommend a bequiet Silent Base 600. It has the advantage of lots of anti-noise features including some nice silicon drive mounts. Tons of space for drives ( the 800 has even more but is a very large case ) including the must-have three slots for optical drives and card readers. It's a really excellent case and not very expensive either if you get the one without glass panels.
That case is not the best when it comes to temperatures, but I am assuming you don't play games on it so it shouldn't be an issue. Worst case you will have to replace the case fans for something more powerful, but I think it will be just fine.

 

[lttlejoe]

The main difficulty I see here is the case. Many new cases don't have any space for optical drives or card readers so I would recommend a bequiet Silent Base 600. It has the advantage of lots of anti-noise features including some nice silicon drive mounts. Tons of space for drives ( the 800 has even more but is a very large case ) including the must-have three slots for optical drives and card readers. It's a really excellent case and not very expensive either if you get the one without glass panels.
That case is not the best when it comes to temperatures, but I am assuming you don't play games on it so it shouldn't be an issue. Worst case you will have to replace the case fans for something more powerful, but I think it will be just fine.

Thanks for the reply. I definitely won't be using it for gaming and therefore it won't be filled with high heat output equipment so as long as it generally keeps cool that will be good enough.
The BQ 600 case you've mentioned is definitely worth consideration and just within the height limit I'm restricted to. If the worst came to the worst I could swap cases and use this case that I'm currently using but I'd prefer to keep things as they are if possible and go for a more up to date case.
A decent case and sound PSU is a good starting point. So next are the innards! Most drives etc from past experience are generally much the same and I've always been happy with AMD processors so I'm quite happy to stick with those but nothing is set in stone...I won't be playing games so I won't need the highest spec processor or mobo but I do want enough computing power to draw on when needed and definitely reliability with a bit of future-proofing thrown in should I need it. I've not tried out the music editing software I'll need but I suspect it won't be too demanding though I might as well have a bit of power in reserve just in case..

Any suggestions?

 

[JasonM]

I'm a software developer and i'll give you my brain dump on building workstation machines. I'm going into note form.

1) When building a computer you earn money from the most important thing is it switches on every day.

2) The most important things for any good computer are PSU and case.

3) You need to think about ergonomics, if your sitting next to a computer you want it quite as possible

4) I use Seasonic Gold and Platinum PSU's as there especially quite. I like the Silverstone FT-02 cases as they have great air-flow and are quite if you put the bottom 3 x 180mm fans on the 5v.

5) For workstation HDD's I like Western Digital Black but there not as quite as some others.

6) I prefer Gigabyte motherboard today and if I was buying would get a i7 8300, i would not bother with the K as it's two expensive.

7) Arctic cooling make some good coolers especially if running stock. They make a i32 CO thats semi passive and also has high lifetime fan bearing. Thermal paste I like IC Diamond 24 as I've never once had replace it once fitted.

8) I like Kingston memory as apparently it has the lowest failure rate for desktop RAM on the market.

9) Graphics card, don't get a gaming card. Get a Quadro card as there more reliable for profession use, the main difference is the drivers. You don't have to spent a lot as you can find clean pulls second hand. Look for something like a Quadro 600.

10) I don't understand why you ask about on-board sound, if your building a recording studio should you not be using a professional card?

 

[TheSkateyBird]

When working with audio the amount of noise from the system is a big deal. I personally love the Fractal Design Define cases that have treated panels. I personally have an older R3 and it is amazingly quiet.

@JasonM - I imagine as he mentioned recording on a Zoom 24 track which is an external recording device that the onboard sound will be outputting the audio from the PC as the recorder won't be handling it. Although definitely a good shout to get a decent usb sound card if you're serious about recording/mixing. Anything from a Focusrite would do fine.

 

[lttlejoe]

I'm a software developer and i'll give you my brain dump on building workstation machines. I'm going into note form.

1) When building a computer you earn money from the most important thing is it switches on every day.

2) The most important things for any good computer are PSU and case.

3) You need to think about ergonomics, if your sitting next to a computer you want it quite as possible

4) I use Seasonic Gold and Platinum PSU's as there especially quite. I like the Silverstone FT-02 cases as they have great air-flow and are quite if you put the bottom 3 x 180mm fans on the 5v.

5) For workstation HDD's I like Western Digital Black but there not as quite as some others.

6) I prefer Gigabyte motherboard today and if I was buying would get a i7 8300, i would not bother with the K as it's two expensive.

7) Arctic cooling make some good coolers especially if running stock. They make a i32 CO thats semi passive and also has high lifetime fan bearing. Thermal paste I like IC Diamond 24 as I've never once had replace it once fitted.

8) I like Kingston memory as apparently it has the lowest failure rate for desktop RAM on the market.

9) Graphics card, don't get a gaming card. Get a Quadro card as there more reliable for profession use, the main difference is the drivers. You don't have to spent a lot as you can find clean pulls second hand. Look for something like a Quadro 600.

10) I don't understand why you ask about on-board sound, if your building a recording studio should you not be using a professional card?

Just to address the last point.
Many years ago when I was young I was a professional full time singer/guitarist for 14 years from which I retired quite a long time ago and the only reason I'm putting the studio together now is to record some tracks for posterity as I have a life limiting illness and my daughters have encouraged me to record a few tracks.

The 24 track multi track recorder I have is a standalone unit with onboard mixer which can be played back through my large active studio monitors and can be even mixed down and stored on an SD card so really I just need the computer to be capable of handling external editing software (DAW) for individual tracks if I need to edit further and expandable if the onboard sound chips are insufficient for my needs.

I'd fully agree with you that the case and PSU are the foundation of a good base unit. The only component that I've ever had fail in several computers over the years has always been the PSU. The one in this computer has been excellent and still running 6.5 years on and I rarely switch it off.
I won't have any superfluous equipment such as computers running while I'm actually recording. The computer will be switched to sleep mode during recording so that will take care of any noise issue as the computer will only be used post-recording.

I have yet to find out the minimum specs I'll need to handle the software and work from there as the computer will get very little use after it's served it's purpose but I'd have thought a decent quad core processor should be sufficient but just to be sure I've got a 'lite' edition of DAW software so I'll stick it on my current computer and see if it will actually handle it.

 

[ExoMale]

any of the stallions will be reliable

 

[lttlejoe]

When working with audio the amount of noise from the system is a big deal. I personally love the Fractal Design Define cases that have treated panels. I personally have an older R3 and it is amazingly quiet.

@JasonM - I imagine as he mentioned recording on a Zoom 24 track which is an external recording device that the onboard sound will be outputting the audio from the PC as the recorder won't be handling it. Although definitely a good shout to get a decent usb sound card if you're serious about recording/mixing. Anything from a Focusrite would do fine.

I definitely agree, I need something quiet as even if the computer won't be running during recording, it will be distracting if using it for editing. I have the active studio monitors which are quite large so they'll handle the output from the recorder or the computer edited and saved tracks. If I use the computer it will be for editing and then the results mixed down and saved to disk. I agree a decent sound card would be good but I'll add one if I find I need it!

It's a far cry form when I was on the road, unless we had access to a professional recording studio, we were restricted to a 4 track Teac or Revox reel to reel decks for home recording. Things have moved on indeed.