Gaming and Audio Recording System

simonb530

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Trying to help build a computer for a friend who wants to play some games and do some audio recording for his band. Any recommendations are welcomed.

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next couple weeks

Budget Range: up to $1000 maybe a little bit more if it is worth it.

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
Audio Recording: Cubase, Ez Drummer, Antares, FL studios, bias, and a lot of VST instrument plug ins

Gaming: Overwatch, Pillars of Eternity, Fortnite and possibly Fallout 4 with at least high settings

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon - free/cheap shipping to alaska

Parts Preferences: Cpu - intel

Overclocking: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Current Build:

MB: ASRock Z170 Pro4 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157635

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117559

CPU FAN: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

RAM:CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233833

HDD:SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147372

OPTIC DRIVE: ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

PSU:CORSAIR CX series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular Active PFC CP-9020060-NA Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048

CASE: Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Could I drop the cpu to an i5 and still get good performance for his audio recording and gaming?

The total is $869 without a graphic card need recommendations.

Thanks.
 
Solution
Another thing to mention is that the r9 390 may be a good option for you, as you won't be hitting an 8gb vram limit anytime soon. Below is about as future proofed as you can get in your budget, not to mention a badass color scheme:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State...

turbopixel

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You could also take a board and cpu without overclocking ability and a H97 based board with Xeon processor. This would be cheaper with similar performance. I changed the psu to a much better one (quality wise, better for the whole components in your rig) with only 550 W. This wattage should be enough for any graphics card you throw in. I also changed the cpu cooler and case to a better one. And all these components without graphics card costs only $689.06. I added the graphics card too, to show you the full build.

Btw, does your friend have monitor, operating system, hard disk with more space (if needed), speaker system and mouse+keyboard?

[PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($343.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($72.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.45 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1033.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-01 17:59 EDT-0400
 

Storm-cooled72

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Jan 23, 2015
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I agree with turbo, here. Get a xeon 1231-v3, and deck the thing with low-noise.
However, with the xeon, the D14 is unnecessary.
Another thing to mention is the asrock mobo. That thing is bad. Go with a better one such as the asus h97 plus.
The build below is an overall higher quality machine. Here is my suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($319.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($17.45 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1110.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-01 18:17 EDT-0400
 

simonb530

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Storm and turbo thank you for your input. One of the reasons, I went with the newer chipset was to make it a little future proof. Would ddr3 ram still be around in a few years? I thought this type of stuff changes quickly once it becomes affordable.
 

Storm-cooled72

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DDR3 is still as good as ddr4. If you look at this video you will see how. The future proofing factor isn't there either, as the xeon is much better than the 6600k.

https://youtu.be/utWnjA4NzSA
 

Storm-cooled72

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Jan 23, 2015
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Another thing to mention is that the r9 390 may be a good option for you, as you won't be hitting an 8gb vram limit anytime soon. Below is about as future proofed as you can get in your budget, not to mention a badass color scheme:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($314.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($102.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1174.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-01 18:54 EDT-0400
 
Solution

simonb530

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Storm thank you for your input. This is way I post my builds for friends up here. I get people that are way more knowledgeable about computer parts. I will let him decide between the i5 or xeon build. Thanks again
 

Storm-cooled72

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No problem! Just make sure to mark the solution. It lets other people know that the thread is solved.

Happy gaming!