EDM Production PC - Hardware Specs

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wernersp45

wernersp45

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Mar 23, 2012
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Hi all.

Ive been a loyal supporter of AMD for many years and trusted it to handle the processes it takes for streamline Electronic production. My initial goal back in the day was to build a PC only for production - however due to $$$ constraints and my laziness I've polluted my machine to such a state due to games and the like.

I'm taking my production more seriously and need to sort my tech out, specifically have a PC that runs optimally for production only. So the question becomes AMD or Intel?

A lot of fellow producers agree that Intel takes the charge. But I'd like some input from guys who have some better understanding of this.

Currently looking at a I5 (quad core processor, 3GHZ) - If I had a choice I'd go the I7 route, but that's mega $$$.

And lastly, Memory. I've been using a standard 4Gig dim, but looking at 8GB or even 16GB, but will there be any difference on such amount of Memory? Overkill in my perspective.

But let me know, which direction to go at?

Peace.
 
Solution
COLGeek
I would suggest, at a minimum, a quad-core i5 with at least 8GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 memory. Since this is a production system, no overclocking, but you should also consider using a good aftermarket CPU heatsink/fan like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for cool and quiet operations.

I would also suggest adding a 256GB SSD to load your OS to. This will improve overall performance a great deal, in general.

You don't need a bleeding edge system to meet (exceed) your needs. You want quiet, rock solid performance.
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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Apr 6, 2009
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What applications do you intend to run on the rig? Knowing this will help optimize your CPU/GPU needs.

Honestly, any quad core CPU (whether Intel or AMD) will meet (or exceed) most of your needs. Really comes down to a matter of your budget.

Today, 8GB is pretty much the basic amount of memory you should use (along with a 64-bit OS).

So, what tools do you intend to use and what is your budget?

 
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wernersp45

wernersp45

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Mar 23, 2012
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Sorry forgot to mention.

Primary DAW is Ableton and additional library of solid VST's. Since this is a pure Production PC I can stick to 64bit on OS7. A 500GB Partitioned to OS will probably added.

I'm sorted for PSU and HDD's. I don't want to spend more than $300 on MOBO, CPU and Memory only. I have a supplier of Intel here in SA with a decent discount. Problem is lately they have dropped AMD from their stock list for unknown reason.

Lately memory has become quite cheap than 5 years ago, so 8 - 16GB of memory is not far from my reach.

VST's and DAW's (Least of the time) are CPU intensive processes. My current Dual Core AMD with 4GB memory has been sufficient, but have noticed ambient CPU load around 45-60% on average. CLipping does happen when I load too many VST"s, which is to be expected.



 
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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Apr 6, 2009
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I would suggest, at a minimum, a quad-core i5 with at least 8GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 memory. Since this is a production system, no overclocking, but you should also consider using a good aftermarket CPU heatsink/fan like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for cool and quiet operations.

I would also suggest adding a 256GB SSD to load your OS to. This will improve overall performance a great deal, in general.

You don't need a bleeding edge system to meet (exceed) your needs. You want quiet, rock solid performance.
 
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wernersp45

wernersp45

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Mar 23, 2012
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Sounds good COLGeek.

From daddling with production over the years a High-end station is totally overkill. I agree with a quad core CPU and at least 8GB memory, This setup is almost double my processing power and memory I currently have and it runs smooth.

For the SSD - Until these HDDs' rediculous prices come down, which won't be any time soon, I will opt for it with out a doubt. Never mind a SSD for the OS, having your Production Library stored on one should be epic.

But thanks for the feedback, wanted to clarify on this a bit cause one can get quickly over saturated with other peoples "specs" and recommendations on the EDM Forums. I buddy I know Recently Upgraded his system to Intel on steroids - you name it, I7 3.3GHZ CPU, 32GB ram, SSD. Bloody nice when you got $1500 to blow...

Peace!
 
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