New LGA2011 3930k build - please check

jamesg

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
hey guys, wanna order this ASAP for an audio workstation, no games.

Intel Core i7-3930K
Thermalright True Spirit 140 BW OR Cooler Master Hyper 412S
ASRock X79 Extreme6, Sockel LGA2011, ATX
32GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance Pro Silver PC3-12800U CL 9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1600)
Corsair Professional Series HX650 80PLUS Gold 650W
Nanoxia Deep Silence Two Dark Black

Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB SATA 6Gb/s (System)
Samsung SSD 840 500GB SATA 6Gb/s (Sample Libraries)
Seagate Barracuda 7200 2000GB, SATA 6Gb/s (Audio/Project Data)

any obvious don'ts in there? i picked this rather cheap MB because of the I/O setup it has, both internal and external, fit my needs best.

and i still need a simple silent dual head GPU, any sure shots?

~1600€ / 2,100$ US, plus GPU

thanks in advance!!
 
Solution
I didn't have a problem with my 3930K when it was released, but because I had an Asus motherboard with the BIOS flashback feature, I was able to update the BIOS to a version compatible with my CPU before I actually installed my CPU.

Also, check out this review for the 4960x:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-4960x-ivy-bridge-e-benchmark,3557-10.html

Granted, the 4960 is better than the 3930, but the difference isn't all that great. In some benchmarks the 3930 and the 4770 beat it. The 4930 will not perform better than the 4960. If I were going to wait for something better, it probably would be something beyond the LGA2011 socket if I wanted to see some real performance differences. Who knows when that will be?

If you...

jamesg

Honorable
Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
ok thanks,
but thats gonna be like 3770 vs 4770, right?
100mhz faster stock speed, no other big changes?
i think the TDP is the same, but real world consumption is told be be a bit lower with IB-E compared to SB-E ?!

also the new gen. CPU always have plenty problems for the first motnhs, and the price drop for the 3930 prolly will be around 50-70$ only....
 

jamesg

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
thanks for the link, didnt see an in depth review of the IB-E before, gonna check it out..

other than the CPU, do you see any problems or bottlenecks with my config?
 
Spec wise, the 4930 is only a few hundred mhz faster than the 3930, same cache, same power, same cores.

It is way more efficent powerwise though when all 12 cores aren't being used and smaller die size which usually translates into less heat, less power, long life for a chip.

The big plus will be the x99 chipset with DDR4 RAM support. In an audio system, every bit that slows down can add latency, which can be a killer trying to use real-time plugins. I can see DDR4 really helping out in that situation.
 

jamesg

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
ok thanks getochkn,
you guys nearly got me, but my main fear is that both DDR4 and the whole x99/IB-E platform, both boards and CPUS will suffer from serious starting problems as most new CPUs do, which would mean i'd have to either wait 3-5 motnhs or gamble on the reliability of my new system?!

even waiting those 30 days until the 4930k will be released seem really hard to handle for me, then there might be avbailability problems etc etc....
 
Me either. If there is no x99 coming soon or DDR4, probably not a huge deal to get one now if you can't wait. The biggest issue I see in waiting, is the chips come out and the MB you buy needs a BIOS update to work with it, but you can't update the BIOS without an old chip working, and get caught into that loop.


For audio, looks like a solid build. If you use lots of plugins, they will love the 12 threads and 32GB RAM. What software do you use? some is better at multi-core than others.
 
For audio production, you don't need the 6-core 3930K, but it definitely makes things a lot quicker.

On the other hand, if you're going for an audio workstation, specifically, you could even go with an i7-3770 or i7-4770 and you wouldn't really be settling at all. This will also save you a ton of cash. You have a good strategy going with the disk separation as most of the good audio packages will require you to have the application on one drive with the data on another.

I run Protools on an i7-930 with multiple plug-ins and input devices simultaneously and it works great. If you're a one-man recording/production show and are recording no more than 3 instruments at a time, a 4-core/8-thread 3770 or 4770 (and you don't need the K version since you'll have no reason to OC) processor works great. The savings going with 1155 or 1150 processor and motherboard as opposed to a 2011 motherboard will put tons of money in your pocket for audio interfaces and plug-ins.

Now if you're getting into video production and 3D and other effects (or if you want the flexibility to be able to do this in the future), that's a different story. You'd definitely get the 3930K for the additional cores/threads.

When it comes to a video card, you want to be able to plug in two or three monitors for an audio production setup. This will allow you to watch your plug-ins on one or two screens and the main application timeline on another. Most video cards will allow you to plugin and run with two monitors without a problem. I'm using a Radeon 5450 on my DAW with two monitors.

What kind of audio software are you planning to run? In some cases, the software will have a video card requirement.
 

Higher-end ASUS motherboards have BIOS Flashback functionality that allows you to update the BIOS with a USB stick and only a power supply plugged into the motherboard. This is a great way to avoid the situation you've mentioned above. You update the BIOS on these boards before you install any of the components (including the processor) with the exception of the PSU. This is one of those innovations that makes me tend to buy ASUS motherboards.
 
Good post Uber. It does depend on what the OP plans to do.

Number of tracks and plugins will determine what CPU would use best.

If you record external effects and just pump pre-processed audio into the PC, then a 3770 would more than do, and save a ton of money as Uber said.

If you are doing 80 track orchestral ensembles using samplers and running 15 different IR reverbs, then the 12 thread CPU would rock.


Depends on your needs. If I didn't need a $800 CPU + MB combo because I was using less plugins, I would spend $400 on a decent 3770 and MB and that extra $400 on more HDs or bigger SSD's for recording to, etc.
 


Nice, I knew some boards here and there had it, but didn't know Asus sort of made that a standard.
 

jamesg

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510


thanks a lot homie,
this is not my first DAW, i use an i7 930 right now and its choking on every single project. i dont work with audio tracks so much, mostly CPU-hungry plguins, both instruments & effects. i can use every single bit of CPU power, and the 3930 has a nice edge over the 4770 still...

and thanks for the GPU suggestion, will look into it. maybe i'll try using my old passive Nvidia 9600GT, even though on my current system it's having issues every now and then.

i use cubase 5/7 with tons of third party plugins. no hardware DSP yet.

so, nobody sees any problems with the RAM/cooler etc etc in this config? i still gonna think about it 1-2 days but i dont see me waiting 1-2 months for a next gen CPU...
 
If your a plugin monster and already choking a 970, then yes go 3930 then.


RAM looks good and cooler but aftermarket coolers get in the way of RAM with heatspreaders sometimes.

An aftermarket liquid cooling like the h100i if it works with the 2011 socket, and cool your system nicely.
 


Makes sense, then. Stick with the 3930K.

The parts you've chosen will work just fine. Have you considered an H80 for a CPU cooler? I've found this type of cooler makes it a little easier to work around the system with the bulk of the CPU cooling at the exhaust port rather than covering RAM slots.

 
Unless you truly want to waste your money. I think the 4770 is good enough for any level of audio workstation. Really, you probably won't need more power than the i7 4770 has to offer for a much lower price than going LGA 2011.

Really don't just throw the money.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Yeah I agree with this. There's just no reason to put that kind of money into a rig.
 


Not sure if anyone caught this. I think jamesg needs more CPU than most.

Before I read that, I thought he didn't need the 3930K.
 
Sangeet Khatri and g-unit1111. The OP has already stated that his i7 970 hits 100%. Another slightly newer I7 with the same cores and threads probably isn't going to help them much. both of you saying you don't need that power have never run a DAW and run virtual instruments and plugins. They can take as much power as you can throw at and beg for more and most DAW software and plugins are very well multi-threaded and would love those extra 4 threads the 3930 would give over a 4770. It's easy to say it's overkill based on numbers, but I've been using audio software on PC's since the mid 90's in tinkering with recording and I have maxed out every system with ease if I turn on too many plugins or virtual instruments. I don't do much now so my 6-core AMD is fine for casual usage, but if I was back into it, the most cores-threads I could get, I would on top of.

I understand you trying to save the OP money, but unless you work on a DAW, you have no idea how much power they can use and there is no such thing as overkill for it. I've seen bigger studios with 4-5 dual operton CPU boxes all linked together using Steinburg system link, and still struggle and have to bounce tracks down to get more processing power.

It's like 3D rendering. you can never have enough power. The only thing that will happen is your animation will be done quicker, and in terms of deadlines a 4 day render time vs a 2 day render time vs a 6 hour render time is HUGE.
 

jamesg

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Aug 14, 2013
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10,510
thanks guys,
but it's really like getochkn & ubercake said: i can't have enough power. if i got some power left, i can still replace some simple EQ plugins with some better sounding and thereby more cpu-hungry vintage EQ plugins. just as an example. or i could start throwing nice saturation or tape machine plugins on EVERY chanel instead of the busses only. etc etc etc.

big orchestration studios run 3-5 mac pros in a cluster setup.

i usually buy a top end PC every 3-4 years and can work with it flawless for the first 1-2 years, then i run into the cpu meter ceiling.