Custom PC

[digitaldeath]

Hey guys, I'm getting a custom PC built for music production but I've been a Mac guy for so long now - I just don't know what's the best PC hardware out there at the moment.
If anyone would care to recommend the following, it'd be much appreciated:
Motherboard, CPU, RAM (I want at least 4GB), gfx card (dual-display minimum), hard-drives etc.
Thanks again!

 

[mick thompson]

eh...pentium 3 processor, voodoo 3dfx graphics card, 64mb ram, and a 5gb hard disk...google it! they're expensive but shit fast!!!

personally i'd go for a quad core intel, onto an intel motherboard, a nice 8800gt nvidia graphics card, 1 tb raid hard disks to be safe and have lots of space and crucial memory. its gona cost you a good bit though. check out ebay! the more expensive the better!

DO NOT BUY DELL!!!!!

 

[Melodeath]

maybe an i7 cpu, intel chipset mobo

Also, I hear RAID is not the best setup for audio.

 

[2000ContourSVT]

Core i7 is the best out there right now. It'll be fast but it'll cost you quite a bit.

 

[Metaltastic]

RAID always seemed kinda pointless to me, but that's probably because the only time I've ever had a HDD problem was when I accidentally unplugged my external from my school's Mac while PT was still open - corrupted the whole fucking FAT! (a situation in which RAID wouldn't do any good, I imagine)

 

[Damian B]

There are two different kinds of raid (well there's more, but 2 main kinds). RAID 0 takes two drives and combines them for a lot of space, and the OS runs faster. TERRIBLE for audio or any serious data, let me repeat TERRIBLE. Reason being, if one HD goes bad, your whole array is fucked.

RAID 1 is for redundancy. Data copied on one drive is also copied to the other for data backup purposes. This, also, isn't good for audio production due to the increased latency.

Best bet is to get a 120 or 160gb drive to run the OS, and a 500 or 640 (or even 1TB) drive to record to and store data on. You don't want to record to the same drive your OS is on.

Best processors right now are the Intel i7s. The trusty Q6000 quad cores still kick ass though, and are 100 bucks cheaper. Get a trusty board, like an ASUS, MSI, etc. Stay away from Biostar, ECS or any of the super cheap ones.

4gb is plenty, DDR2 is still a lot cheaper than DDR3, but check around on prices. Almost all ram is good (contrary to popular belief), and 99% of brands will have a lifetime warranty. Any of the major brands (Crucial, Kingston, etc) are great.

If you don't plan on gaming (which you shouldn't on this machine haha), just get a cheap card with two display capability. Almost anything will work.

Good Luck!!

 

[Damian B]

Oh and one other thing, you can save a ton by building the machine yourself! It's not as hard as you think, and there are a ton of resources online. Just saying

 

[Unavailable]

Yeah, build it yourself. It's fun.

If you can't afford a Core i7, get a Q6600. I'd recommend an Asus mobo, this RAM, and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what GPU to get.

Oh, and don't cheap out on the PSU. Go with a well known brand.

 

[Damian B]

Yeah, build it yourself. It's fun.

If you can't afford a Core i7, get a Q6600. I'd recommend an Asus mobo, this RAM, and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what GPU to get.

Oh, and don't cheap out on the PSU. Go with a well known brand.

Ahh good call, yeah a cheap power supply will fuck shit up! Get a nice thermaltake or another good brand

 

[JBroll]

Build your own.

Don't go for the best - leave that to fat, pimply nerds who have the money because they live in a basement instead of paying rent. Get something from a slightly older line and spend what you save on EQUIPMENT THAT WILL FUCKING LAST (microphones, general hardware, outboard gear...) because computers are easily the least likely major devices in your setup to keep their value better than a sieve in a waterfall. You'll be glad - trying to keep up with the curve is pointless, so get something reasonable and don't even think about having the best of everything and all of that wankery.

If you want help building a box, PM me - I've done this for a few forum members (and more other people than I can recall off the top of my head, for reasons I'm never clear on) and they've been happy as far as I know.

Jeff

 

[JoeJackson]

I'm going to kinda highjack you thread, dude.

Lately I've been thinking about building a hackintosh. I don't want to go Windows but I also don't want to spend shitloads on a Mac Pro. Did anyone here do that and use that computer for audio-stuff?

 

[cobhc]

Depends how much you wanna spend, you can get a nice system for about £800-£900.

CPU: - Intel Core i7 920 - £244
RAM: - 6gb Corsair DDR3 1333mhz - £123.04
Motherboard: - Asus P6T - £206.05
GPU: - 512mb Palit 9500GT - £43.67
Case: - Lian-Li PC7-B Plus II - £58.72
HDD: - Samsung 1TB - £79.91
DVD Drive: - Pioneer DVR-216DBK - £18.73
PSU: - Corsair HX620W - £107.66

Total: - £881.78

The reason I've chosen that GPU is because it's passively cooled (no fan) which means low noise, the stock coolers on the Core i7's are pretty quiet from what I've heard as well. Basically that PC will be very very fast for audio stuff, it just depends what your budget is. If your budget is lower, then you could go with an older quad core setup.

CPU: - Intel Q6600 - £153.71
Ram: - Corsair 4GB DDR2-800 - £44.44
Motherboard: - Abit IP35 Pro XE - £86.24

So that would bring the total down to £593.08.

So it's up to you which you want to go for, the stock cooler on a Q6600 again is pretty quiet unless you're trying to overclock it, in which case you'd be better off going for a better cooler. The chip is 2.4ghz stock, but you could get it up to 3.2ghz upwards pretty easily with a decent cooler.

 

[cobhc]

I'm going to kinda highjack you thread, dude.

Lately I've been thinking about building a hackintosh. I don't want to go Windows but I also don't want to spend shitloads on a Mac Pro. Did anyone here do that and use that computer for audio-stuff?

I tried that route, but found it very hard to get my soundcard working properly, but it's something I'm going to look into again soon.

 

[cobhc]

And as far as motherboard manufacturers, I wouldn't trust MSI.......infact I wouldn't trust MSI for anything, I've had nothing but trouble with their products, and they also seem to overcharge for their shit, which incidentally isn't that well made. And stick with Corsair or Seasonic for PSU's, they make the best in the business as far as reliability, efficiency and noise is concerned.

 

[digitaldeath]

Cheers for the tips guys, yeah I'll be building myself and I've even found a company that will sell me the cases they use for their rack-mounted PCs for audio. The Intel Core i7 seems a bit too expensive for my liking, but I'm sure I can get a decent PC built for a reasonable price. What JBroll said is true, no point putting too much money into this when I can get lots of other nice gear too!

 

[cobhc]

eh...pentium 3 processor, voodoo 3dfx graphics card, 64mb ram, and a 5gb hard disk...google it! they're expensive but shit fast!!!

personally i'd go for a quad core intel, onto an intel motherboard, a nice 8800gt nvidia graphics card, 1 tb raid hard disks to be safe and have lots of space and crucial memory. its gona cost you a good bit though. check out ebay! the more expensive the better!

DO NOT BUY DELL!!!!!

Actually Dells are pretty good, they're quiet as hell and are pretty well built. The main downside is that they use customized components, and while this means they can offer things at a low price, it means upgrading can be a real bitch, or even a no go in some situations. 8800GT's are a nightmare because they run hot as hell, and then the fan starts revving it's tits off and makes a serious racket, plus they're not worth the money these days.

 

[cobhc]

Cheers for the tips guys, yeah I'll be building myself and I've even found a company that will sell me the cases they use for their rack-mounted PCs for audio. The Intel Core i7 seems a bit too expensive for my liking, but I'm sure I can get a decent PC built for a reasonable price. What JBroll said is true, not point putting too much money into this when I can get lots of other nice gear too!

No problem dude, hit me up if you need some advice, I keep up to date on everything PC related, I've built a shitload of pc's and I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. I'll look into rackmount cases for you, I'm sure my buddy has one, I'll find out what make and model it is and see what I can get it for. The only thing with rackmount cases is that you may have to sacrifice the PSU and get a smaller lesser wattage one which might make things less stable (unless you're talking a 3U case).

 

[digitaldeath]

Cheers dude, I've emailed the company asking how many rack units their cases take up and will report back once I know a bit more.
I'm on a budget with regards to building this machine, but I do know that I want at least 4GB of RAM and will eventually want to run dual-screens, so I don't know how much this would effect my gfx card options.

 

[JoeJackson]

I tried that route, but found it very hard to get my soundcard working properly, but it's something I'm going to look into again soon.

Yeah?

I have to admit, that I have very little knowledge about hackintoshes, but I thought that after getting the core elements working there are little problems with drivers for periphery (eg soundcard).

What about USB/FW-devices? Do you need apropriate drivers for them, too? I use a Tapco USB-interface and a Firepod for audio-related stuff, so ... if they're not working, the idea of building a hackintosh gets dumped

 

[digitaldeath]

Yeah?

I have to admit, that I have very little knowledge about hackintoshes, but I thought that after getting the core elements working there are little problems with drivers for periphery (eg soundcard).

What about USB/FW-devices? Do you need apropriate drivers for them, too? I use a Tapco USB-interface and a Firepod for audio-related stuff, so ... if they're not working, the idea of building a hackintosh gets dumped

I wouldn't bother if I were you, unless you really wanted to use Logic. My flat-mate had major trouble trying to get his NIC working in OSX86.