Thoughts on a new DAW build

[mocoze]

Approximate Purchase Date: this november

Budget Range: around 1500$

System Usage from Most to Least Important: DAW (digital audio workstation), music production.

Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: all

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca

Location: City, State/Region, Country : Montreal

Parts Preferences: by brand or type Intel-centric machine basically

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: noise level is a concern but not over the top.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I don't have a computer for audio recording.

Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts. Please do not post only links.

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1098784

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1098784

Antec EarthWatts Series EA-750 Green 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145347

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (OS drive)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448

2x Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (music and sample drives)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Black Pearl Silent ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352021

Noctua NH-U9B SE2 92mm SSO CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016

ASUS ENGT440 DC SL/DI/1GD3 GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121469

SIIG FireWire 2-Port PCIe Model NN-E20012-S2
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800998059CVF

so about 1540$ with shipping

 

[getochkn]

Looks like a good system. I assume the firewire card is for your audio interface? If so, go to their message board or google and see what is a good firewire card for that interface as some don't play well with certain chipsets, etc. That's the one thing I've found with Pro firewire interfaces. Either they work awesome or they conflict and cause all kinds of problems, so do you research on the interface and the card you're thinking.

I'd also say an external drive or a secondary drive to backup your music to. Nothing worse than loosing music you've worked on and all your masters because of a crash.

What software are you thinking of using, although most software is nicely multithreaded so it will take advantage of all the cores of your CPU.

 

[mocoze]

Looks like a good system. I assume the firewire card is for your audio interface? If so, go to their message board or google and see what is a good firewire card for that interface as some don't play well with certain chipsets, etc. That's the one thing I've found with Pro firewire interfaces. Either they work awesome or they conflict and cause all kinds of problems, so do you research on the interface and the card you're thinking.

I'd also say an external drive or a secondary drive to backup your music to. Nothing worse than loosing music you've worked on and all your masters because of a crash.

What software are you thinking of using, although most software is nicely multithreaded so it will take advantage of all the cores of your CPU.

Thanks for the reply.

I already asked the audio interface company about the specs for the firewire so I chose accordingly. Basically they say to prefer TI of VIA chipsets and from other sources, I read that TI must be preferred.
I already have an external HDD for backups, so I'm covered there.
As for software, it will revolve around Cubase mostly, and evolve from that.

 

[manofchalk]

Given that this is essentially a work only machine, you dont need a lot of the enthusiast features found on the Sabertooth. Could get away with a much lesser board such as this.
AsRock Z77 Pro4. $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296

That RAM is fairly tall and I am very sure will conflict with the Noctua. Need a Low Profile kit.
G.Skill Ares 16GB (4x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $75
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231545

That PSU is far stronger than it needs to be. A system like this will have a fairly small power draw.
XFX Core Edition 550W, 80+ Bronze. $74 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

This SSD is faster and cheaper.
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB. $105
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791

With those changes, it'l be a nice little productivity rig.

EDIT: Just realized, no sound card on a music production build?

 

[getochkn]

EDIT: Just realized, no sound card on a music production build?

He has a firewire audio interface as stated above.

 

[mocoze]

Given that this is essentially a work only machine, you dont need a lot of the enthusiast features found on the Sabertooth. Could get away with a much lesser board such as this.
AsRock Z77 Pro4. $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296

That RAM is fairly tall and I am very sure will conflict with the Noctua. Need a Low Profile kit.
G.Skill Ares 16GB (4x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $75
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231545

That PSU is far stronger than it needs to be. A system like this will have a fairly small power draw.
XFX Core Edition 550W, 80+ Bronze. $74 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

This SSD is faster and cheaper.
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB. $105
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791

With those changes, it'l be a nice little productivity rig.

EDIT: Just realized, no sound card on a music production build?

Thank you for the input.

I do have an audio interface that will connect via Firewire.

Do the AsRock boards have a good reputation, like Asus our Gigabyte?

 

[manofchalk]

They aren't as well established or reputable as those two giants, but their modern-gen boards have been quite good.
I use one in my rig personally and have no complaints.