New audio build (using fruity loops)

[link575]

Hey guys, building a computer for my brother. He uses Fruity Loops and has tons of pretty hardcore plug-ins. Just wanna make sure this stuff fits the bill for what he wants and goes together. Also have no knowledge on sound cards so if anyone could point me in the right direction for what he wants to do.

Case
Antec 300

PSU
Corsair 650W

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Mobo
MSI Z77A-GD55 LGA 1155 Intel Z77

CPU
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz

Sound Card
?????

Any help's appreciated

 

[po1nted]

Asus Xonar or SB Titanium, perhaps. Or better yet, an external device for better shielding.

If he is that into audio try this site for info on higher end sound cards:

http://www.head-fi.org

 

[link575]

I didn't even think to look there. I go there all the time to look at headphones. Good idea, thanks.

 

[captaincharisma]

i would stay away from SB cards there drivers are not that good. go with a card by asus or HT omega. if you are just using the integrated GPU then maybe you can get a sound card that uses the PCI-E slot although i never heard anything about the advantages of having a sound card that uses a PCI-E slot

 

[link575]

Yea he's not into gaming or anything graphics intensive so the ivy bridges new igpu should be fine. Also I'm more concerned with if everything will work together or if you guys have any suggestions that'd be more efficient for this type of build. The sound card I could just do some research and find one that's good with VST's.

Edit: What about this card? Ego Systems Juli@ PCI Sound Card

 

[jmsellars1]

You are going to want an audio interface, that's basically a professional sound card. An external one is usually best. Choose one based on which inputs you need. M-Audio, Line 6 and E-MU are some brands to look for. I have the E-MU 0202, that's a good budget choice if you don't need MIDI inputs.

The integrated graphics on that i5 are excellent, more than good enough for audio so you won't need a graphics card.

You only have a 77W CPU and no graphics card so you only need like 150-200W, I'd grab a 300W+ PSU. The 300W Seasonic's are good value.

A quieter case might be a good idea for this kind of thing too, there is a version of the Antec Sonata that comes with a great 380W PSU. Maybe that would be a good idea instead of the Seasonic one.

This kind of thing would really benefit from a SSD if you can afford it, the Intel drives are supposed to be the most reliable.

 

[link575]

Thank you very much, I'll check into those sound cards and I'll check out the case and psu. Have to see what the total comes to before I look for an SSD.

 

[captaincharisma]

sure the integrated audio is decent these days but the mobos only have the basic connections. pro sounds card have both optical, coax, and sometime RCA connections. not to mention some pro card come with a header you can install to the front of the machine that will let you have access to all the connections up front and also with integrated audio you run the risk of interference. keep going with a dedicated sound card.

i forgot about m-audio and just looked at the m-audio website and the cards they make are pretty advanced take a look:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=PCIinterfaces

 

[link575]

Thanks captain. Now last two questions I think, does anyone know if there are advantages/disadvantages between internal and external audio interfaces/sound cards and just to be sure, these cards take stress off the CPU during the use of programs such as reason and fruity loops correct? Or am I mistaken?

 

[jmsellars1]

They won't take any stress off the CPU, they're doing a different job entirely. They will give better sound quality and drastically reduce latency when recording. Also you will get jack/XLR/MIDI inputs for instruments and microphones etc. Higher end ones will give even more features too.

 

[link575]

So really it just comes down to if and what he wants to connect to the computer e.g. midi, xlr, 1/4 is what your saying?