Music production build-need some advice

[minezis]

Hey guys & girls. Just had a few simple questions in regards to the equipment ill be purchasing. This new build's priority will be focused on music production and light gaming if any.
This will be my first build so please bare with me and feel free to give me some advice if need be. First question will be overall performance for music production? Not running full studio, but a decent home studio with pleanty of vst's and digital recording (Cubase 6). Second question would be qualitly of equipment Im purchasing? Mobo, Ram, PSU, etc. Third question is about the PSU for running a low budget system. How much power would be suggested and if the one listed below any good? Thats it! Thanks.

I feel that the current build I have below will suit my needs by far and will upgrade in time when my wallet gets a bit fatter.

case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216
motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665
cpu: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx Item=N82E16819115211
cpu cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
ram: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225
graphics: GIGABYTE GV-R567D3-1GI Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125360
hdd's x2: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
drive: ASUS Black 2MB Cache SATA - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
psu: TR2 RX 750W Modular Power Supply - http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0323928
os: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

That should do it. Let me know if I am forgeting anything! Thanks again.

 

[aznshinobi]

Well personally I say scrap it all and just get Sandy Bridge next month. Personally it'll suit you better. I just did this build on the forums real quick, it won't give you a gaming graphics card but it is pretty good overall build for production use.

Do you plan to game?

i7 2600 (300$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071&cm_re=i7_2600-_-19-115-071-_-Product

H67 motherboard, this is just a basic layout, I wouldn't use this exact motherboard but it's just out before the release of the Sandy Bridge motherboards. (100$)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138296&cm_re=h67-_-13-138-296-_-Product

Patriot 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 1333 85$ (65$ AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220466&cm_re=Patriot_8gb-_-20-220-466-_-Product

Samsung F3 1TB 60$
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299119618&sr=8-1

OCZ Fatality 550w 80+ 60$ w/ Promo (40$ AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

Total 565$ AR

Not the 2600, but still it's basically the same chip just with unlocked multiplier, the comparison would be pretty similar.
i7 2600K vs i7 950
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/100?vs=287

2600 has integrated graphics. The good thing about it is during Transcoding and editing, Quick Sync, works out if you don't have a dedicated graphics card. I don't usually recommend H67 but only the H67 chipset uses quick-sync and in your case you don't require a dedicated card, so that's why I recommend it.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/9

 

[minezis]

Awesome thanks for the response and Ill definetly take a closer lookg at the i7 2600k. I had my eyes on that for a while now, but was unsure about motherboards etc. Gaming, well I would say "light gamer" maybe play some games every now and then. I want to keep my options open to lets say upgrades in the future. Better graphics, bigger PSU, better cpu. As far as I know, the hard drive you listed would not be suitable for my needs as for speed. 5200 rpm is just shy.....i need something around and above 7200 rpm. Costs too, would want to stay in the 1,100 range. Thanks!

 

[aznshinobi]

Amazon has really bad editors. The F3 is a 7200 RPM drive, costs 55$ I just noticed off Newegg. Guess Newegg wants to compete. Here is the same exact drive, more accurate specs though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=HD103SJ

As for upgrades then, switch the board I listed for a P67 board. Granted you lose quick sync, but if you want upgradability it's the way to go. I suggest getting the Asrock Extreme4 P67. 150$ it's a great board. ATM the only ATX P67 board for sale on the Egg is the Biostar board. And it does leave room to upgrade, but I wouldn't suggest Biostar boards personally.

 

[minezis]

Awesome deal for those drives. 1 tb 7200 rpm 32 cache 3.0 sata looks good to me. thats double the storage as the WD's. Thanks for that. Ok so lets say I bag the whole i7 950 1366 route, which Im still debating, because the whole i7 Sandy Bridge thing looks a+, will 1155 boards be out soon? and what brands would i be looking at (asus, gigabyte, msi ???). Also what will be the route if I stick with 1366 route..what new processors will be out for those boards or will those be obsolete after sandy bridge? let me know thanks for the advice too!!!!!

 

[minezis]

also upgrade wise....1366 or 1155 for future reference ? what would be a wise choice?

 

[aznshinobi]

^ All boards have been fixed, Australia, Canada, Europe already have the boards for sale. We are the last to get them, I believe some where around next week to next month. At most, the beginning of April is when they will return, but I think we can expect mid march.

Check out my site for more advice etc. etc. in my siggy.

As I said you should look at Asrock for P67 boards in your case. I suggest you get the Asrock Extreme4 P67.
Review: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1098/pg2/asrock-extreme4-p67-and-fatal1ty-professional-p67-vs-x58-with-core-i7-950-review-asrock-p67-extreme4.html

 

[aznshinobi]

Just saw your post, P67/1155 will be able to work for the next chipset (Z68) which will replace 1366. In short.

P67 = Upgradable
X58 = Dead

 

[minezis]

ok cool. i really appreciate the advice and looks like ill be doing the waiting game. maybe a few more example builds would be nice so i can get a feel for what Im looking for. if not all good. i just really wanted to purchase the 950 because of the price, but like you guys said waiting for the next best thing does seem worth it in most area's of the build i want to do.

 

[minezis]

so 1366 chipsets will be obsolete in the near future?

 

[aznshinobi]

Yes 1366 will be obsolete. It already is with the exception of the 990X.