Building a PC for Music Production - Help, Please.

Meek

Hi everyone,

So, I need to build a PC for music production (specifically for using a number of sound libraries--a number which will increase as the years go by). The basic essentials that I'm sure I have to have are an i7 processor, 16GB of RAM with space to upgrade to 32GB, and a soundcard / audio interface that supports ASIO drivers.

Budget is probably between €1000 and €15000 at the very most.

I'm quite new to all of this, so any help in layman's terms would be helpful.


Some further things I'm wondering about:

I was told that it would be preferable to have a 250 GB SSD to hold the OS and programs
and 2 TB magnetic HDD for the sound libraries? Would you agree? A video card with two DVI to allow me to run two video monitors has also been suggested.

I'm a little out of my depth with the lingo and what is necessary and (maybe equally as important for the budget) what is not necessary to have.

Any help you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Meek.

K.O.Kiki

Please fill:

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

Meek

1. What is your budget? [€1000-€1500]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Music Production involving VST sound libraries)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes - Preferably 2]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [Any of the following--19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

Yes, I need a keyboard, a mouse, I'm not sure what a wireless card or card reader are, and I need pretty good speakers for listening to mixes.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [I don't know what this is]

8. How can you pay? [Debit Card]

9. When are you purchasing? [In the next month or so preferably]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Carlow]

Slutmonkey57b

One point that often comes up with music production builds is that the PC should be silent: for that reason, choose a good quality case with soundproofing, and good quality silent fans, 120mm or 140mm. Noctua, Noiseblocker and Scythe generally make good fans if you find the ones with the equipment are still noisy. Stay away from watercooling, which involves randomly clicky, noisy pumps, and greater air noise (as they work by pushing air through a dense radiator, which means more powerful, noisier, fans)

Dual DVi is a bit unusual these days, but there's a passive graphics card with
1x DVI-I (dual link)
1x DVI-D (dual link)
1x Mini-HDMI (HDCP)

Build below selected for:
Silence
Processing power (Little difference between a Xeon and an i7 apart from the Xeon is cheaper)
Expandability.

Item|Price
Fractal Design Define R5 Black-Edition|€ 108,42
Scythe SCMGD-1000 Mugen MAX CPU-Kühler|€ 42,28
Palit GeForce GTX 750Ti Kalm X|€ 131,17
ASRock H170 Performance / Hyper|€ 129,10
Corsair CX-Series CX430M 430 Watt|€ 49,10
Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5|€ 217,99
Corsair Vengeance LPX Rot 16GB DDR4 Kit (2x8GB)|€ 70,18
SanDisk Ultra II SSD 480GB|€ 127,03
WD Purple WD20PURX|€ 79,08
Shipping|€16.99
Total|€ 984,33

Add two of These 24" LG monitors for another ~250. And if you're doing that you don't need dual DVI, these are HDMI monitors.

Keyboardwise, you might consider getting a backlit gamer's keyboard - good for night work and they have plenty of programmable keys that would come in handy for audio software.

Eoinmc97

Intel Xeon E3 1225V5 CPU: €230
MSI Z170A PRO Motherboard: €105
16GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM: €55
240GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD: €80 (for the OS and music software)
2TB Seagate HDD: €70 (for mass storage of music, sound libraries etc)
Creative SoundBlaster or ASUS Sonar PCI-E soundcard: €100
500W PSU from Corsair/beQuiet/SeaSonic/XFX: €60
Case to suit your style (must fit an ATX motherboard): €70
Cost of Build: €770

2x1080p 24" Monitors: €200
Windows 10 Key: €130
Decent speakers (you gotta look for these yourself, as I'm no audiophile)
Decent Seinnheiser headphones: €120
Logitch Comfort Keyboard: €20
Logitech Wireless Mouse: €15
Cost of peripherals: €485


Total cost plus estimated shipping: €1280


Buy the components of the build from Mindfactory.de and the other stuff (the peripherals and case) from Amazon.co.uk etc.

grindle

If you're expecting multiple video monitors and active studio monitors (speakers) and a soundcard for this price along with an i7 and all the storage that comes with a DAW+sample libraries, I'd find it very easy to glide past your E1500 budget.

What do you need in the way of i/o for the soundcard? What are your expectations? What kind of music do you make and what kind of equipment do you already have?

Have you been searching threads on Gearslutz to see what's worthwhile?

K.O.Kiki

Alpenfohn Brocken 2 is quieter than the Scythe Mugen Max & around the same in thermals.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6745/scythe-mugen-max-scmgd-1000-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html

*edit*

I'd also suggest to consider a Xeon E5 + cheap fanless GPU.

Digital Solitude

Do not get a Corsair PSU if you want a quiet PC.

A fanless 750 and a passive PSU 300w PSU will be plenty powerful. He's not going to be straining the GPU so it won't be pulling much power, so a higher wattage PSU is pointless and noisy imo.

Meek

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

Intel Xeon E3 1225V5 CPU: €230
MSI Z170A PRO Motherboard: €105
16GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM: €55
240GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD: €80 (for the OS and music software)
2TB Seagate HDD: €70 (for mass storage of music, sound libraries etc)
Creative SoundBlaster or ASUS Sonar PCI-E soundcard: €100
500W PSU from Corsair/beQuiet/SeaSonic/XFX: €60
Case to suit your style (must fit an ATX motherboard): €70
Cost of Build: €770

2x1080p 24" Monitors: €200
Windows 10 Key: €130
Decent speakers (you gotta look for these yourself, as I'm no audiophile)
Decent Seinnheiser headphones: €120
Logitch Comfort Keyboard: €20
Logitech Wireless Mouse: €15
Cost of peripherals: €485


Total cost plus estimated shipping: €1280


Buy the components of the build from Mindfactory.de and the other stuff (the peripherals and case) from Amazon.co.uk etc.

Thanks for this. Would you recommend somewhere that would build PCs like this for a reasonable price? Like I said, I'm quite new to all of this.

Meek

grindle wrote: »

If you're expecting multiple video monitors and active studio monitors (speakers) and a soundcard for this price along with an i7 and all the storage that comes with a DAW+sample libraries, I'd find it very easy to glide past your E1500 budget.

What do you need in the way of i/o for the soundcard? What are your expectations? What kind of music do you make and what kind of equipment do you already have?

Have you been searching threads on Gearslutz to see what's worthwhile?

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I have a Focusrite 2i2 right now, which has no MIDI ports, so will I have to upgrade to a 2i4 so as to use connect up my digital piano (Yamaha P-155)?

My expectations . . . at the start of this process, I would like to have appropriate i7, 16GB RAM (with space for 32GB), and a soundcard that supports ASIO drivers. Type of music . . . sometimes piano-based soundscapes, sometimes orchestral cinematic/'epic' music.

I haven't checked Gearslutz yet as the lingo can be very confusing for a relative newbie.