$1k-$1.5k Audio Workstation DAW Build newbie

[darkmatter2]

Hello! I'm new to building PCs but not new to PCs I'm looking to build a new DAW with a minimum of 16GB RAM, a couple of 1TB drives in addition to the O/S drive, i7 2600, etc. I'm very interested in finding out what you'd advise as far as hardware, i.e. case, MOBO and the rest.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2 weeks

Budget Range: 1000-1500 post rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Audio processing/recording, casual internet/email

Parts Not Required: keyboard, speakers, mouse, monitor.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no particular preference, open to suggestions

Country: U.S.

Parts Preferences: Intel i7 2600, nVidia GFX

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe - don't know?

Monitor Resolution: 1600x1200 min

Additional Comments: Must have Firewire connectivity, WiFi dongle, 16GB RAM min, SSD for O/S preferred but not required in addition to 2x1TB or higher SATA II.

THANKS!!

Vince

 

[darkmatter2]

Wow the enthusiasm is contagious!!

OK so here's what a friend suggested but I think it's more than I need??


1x Intel Core i7-970 Gulftown 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7970 - $549

1x COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front 1x 230mm top 1x 230mm side and 1x 140mm rear - $260

2x Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $259 total

1x COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US 1200W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $159

1x ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $275

1x SONY Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BWU-500S - $129

1x EVGA 02G-P3-1559-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $170

 

[xxyougotownedzz]

The Only thing that is bugging me in what you said is that for the price of that i7 970 you could get the new generation i7 3930K wich will perform a lot better.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492
And with it you could get this Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157283

 

[darkmatter2]

Thanks.

How's this revised list? I added a Firewire card...


1x G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL11Q-16GBZL
$139.99

1x Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case
Model #:FD-CA-DEF-R3-USB3-BL
$119.99

1x Seasonic SS-560KM Active PFC F3, 560W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91, 80Plus Gold Certified, Modular Power Supply
Model #:X-560
$134.99

1x Noctua NH-C12P SE14 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
Model #:NH-C12P SE14
$74.99

1x SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
Model #:SH-222BB/BEBE
$15.99

1x Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K
Model #:BX80619i73930K
$599.99

1x Rosewill PCIE FireWire 1394a Card 2+1 Ports Model RC-504
Model #:RC-504
$21.99

1x Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$194.99

1x ASRock X79 EXTREME4-M LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$218.99

Subtotal: $1,521.91

 

[xxyougotownedzz]

In my personal opinion this build would be pretty awesome. I think you maybe forgot to put in the GTX 550 TI 2GB that you mentionned earlier.
Also you won't need a firewire card since the motherboard features a firewire 1394a port on the back of it.

 

[ltpenguin]

Did you look into sound cards? They can make a large difference audio processing/recording and worth looking into as you will not need a 550ti for casual internet usage, it would be money well spent. As for graphics I would go with a $100 graphics card check here for the best cards for the price

 

[xxyougotownedzz]

Yes but if you only need a display (you won't even be able to do basic gaming) but you will be able to do internet browsing by buying something like a ati 5450 or 6450.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338

 

[darkmatter2]

Thanks. I actually went a cheaper route, didn't spend quite that much and didn't go that high-end:


- Intel Core i7-2600K Processor
- G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL11Q-16GBXL
- Rosewill BRONZE Series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,Active PFC"Compatible ...
- Cooler Master Computer Case RC-692-KKN2
- ASUS LGA 1155 - Z68 - SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 - ATX Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2200 Intel ? LGA 1155 Motherboards (P8Z68-V LE)
- Rosewill RNX-N250PC IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft PCI Draft N 2T2R Wireless Adapter Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates WPA/WPA2; WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK;
- NH-C12P SE14 Cooling Fan/Heatsink
- 2 of Barracuda 7200RPM 1 TB SATA 6 GB/s NCQ 64 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive - ST1000DM003
- SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM

Total including tax and shipping came out to about $1,150.00.

I'll be using the onboard graphics for now, we're not playing games with this machine. It'll be in our rehearsal/recording room just for music. The ASUS has a Firewire so we'll be using that to connect to an 8 channel FirePod unit.

Just getting started with the build:

Question I have is the i7 CPU drops in just fine, but when I try to close the bracket it's not letting me do so easily and it's nerve wracking. I don't think I'm doing it just right lol...

 

[xxyougotownedzz]

If the processor is aligned propoly it should just drop in. The bracket should take a little bit of torque but not too much.

 

[darkmatter2]

Everything seemed aligned just fine, triangle @ bottom left, notches in place, but the bracket bar wouldn't go past vertical which was strange...

 

[darkmatter2]

OK, got it in this time without any issues.

Installed Win7 64bit Platinum and all's good! Now I need to understand all of the different MOBO settings. Man they've come a long way in BIOS GUIs haha! Love the interface. That Noctua sink is sick, awesome design, easy to install really. I'm not sure I positioned it the best but it seemed like the only option if I was going to position the pipes sideways. The other direction would have not fit, pipes would have hit the RAM.

Can anyone suggest best OC settings for the configuration above? Right now I set the RAM @ 2196 and that's what it's showing. The drives are connected to the SATA 6 connectors but it's still showing an Experience Index of 5.9 due to the drives. What can I do to increase or is that just what it is?

I'm still getting a CPU Fan not present error. I'm a little confused by this as the connector for the Noctua fan is a 3 pin. The CPU fan connector on the ASUS is a 4 pin, so it's not seeing it as such. Any way to change that or is that just the way it is?

 

[xxyougotownedzz]

The drives are connected to the SATA 6 connectors but it's still showing an Experience Index of 5.9 due to the drives. What can I do to increase or is that just what it is?

Since it's a Hard Drive and not an SSD, you won't get a very good transfer performance unless it's like a Western Digital Velociraptor 10 000RPM. In my personal system i have a Sata II SSD and my performance are rated at 7.8 in windows. The only way you could increase that speed is putting them in RAID 0 but i would not recommend that especially if you have some important stuff on these drives because in RAID 0 if one of the two drives fail, you will loose all of you're data on the other one too.

I'm still getting a CPU Fan not present error. I'm a little confused by this as the connector for the Noctua fan is a 3 pin. The CPU fan connector on the ASUS is a 4 pin, so it's not seeing it as such. Any way to change that or is that just the way it is?

You will have to buy a fan the same size but a PWM (4 pins).