Replacing PC - Recommendations?

D

duanetribune

New Member
Computer infuse to record audio is starting to haemorrhage problems I updated the motherboard, chipset, etc... a few years ago, had it built about 10 years ago so its time put it to rest. I want to stay with a PC, running CUBASE ELEMENTS 7, KOMPLETE 10, stuff like that. Also Windows 7. Have been looking at Sweatwater‘s Creation Station. Anyone have experience with that unit? What are some of you using...besides a MAC? Suggestions?

DT
 
My last two have been from Purrrfect Audio also known as Studio Cat. I think they do better stuff for a better price than Sweetwater. You'll get a decent i7 from Studio Cat for what you'd pay for a run of the mill i5 from Sweetwater.

One thing I like about Jim is that he talked me down from spending the extra coin on his top of the line setup. Told me it would be overkill unless I'm doing heavy orchestral arrangements and/or lots of video in conjunction with my audio.

I went with the Pro Studio DAW with a few customized components added. (nothing major... think I added a drive and FireWire card).
 
If I was building a new PC today, I would certainly go with the latest LGA 1151 Intel motherboards that support DDR4 memory and the new 6th Generation Core i7-6700K CPU which is the first to also support DDR4 memory in addition to hitting the 4GHz mark stock however you will have to watch closely when they are in stock as they are selling out every week right now but priced at the same as the previous generation.

Buying already built PC's is convenient but building your own is always a little cheaper and you build to your personal specs.

  • LGA 1151 Intel motherboards $200-300
  • i7-6700K CPU $350
  • 16GB or more DDR4 Memory $120
  • 3 Hard Drives $300
    • OS 500GB-1TB - I would go with SSD or a Hybrid SSD drive
    • Data/Recordings 2TB or more - WD 7200 Black drive
    • Data/Samples 1TB or more - Could go with SSD if only for samples, otherwise WD Black to store Synth and Drum samples and misc file storage
  • Medium range dual DVI or HDMI 2GB or more graphics Card $150 - Yes it does make a difference in performance vs using on-board video despite what many say.
  • Heatsink and case fans $100 - Noctua are the quietest I've ever found and highly recommend them.
  • 650 Watt or more PSU $100 - Corsair makes many where the fan doesn't spin unless its hot, highly recommend to reduce sound. I almost never hear or see mine spinning. In fact between this and the Noctua fans, I now only hear the Harddrives but not sure how to silence them.

Along with a new PC Case it would be around $1500 to build and is probably a better performing PC than any of those already made studio PC's.

Most likely by end of this year I will build a new one and that's the specs I will be going with. Although I already have most of these parts on my existing system, case, PSU, harddrives, fans, graphics card, cdrom so a refresh will come out around $600 for just the MB, CPU and Memory. Not sure how much of your existing PC is reusable but may save you some money.
 
Thanks for giving me your suggestions everyone. You've given me some food for thought. I have thought about possibly building one but I don't know. When I have had to crack the case I've thought, hmmm, everything is basically modular. I have changed out certain things but I'm sure it's probably not as easy as it looks, but still something to consider. I have heard of the other two suggested companies and will certainly check them out.


DT
 
hi dmusic,

I did a simillar thing a while ago - Main thing to me was performance and silence - I went with a fanless PSU, & a variable speed LARGE CPU fan that's is very very quiet. This worked admirably. Start of the show however is the SSD drives - Make sure to Use SSD drives for both the music and the OS disks.

Pauly
 
Stay away from "newest" "cutting edge" as compatibility and drivers are always buggy.

Audio does not need a Gen 6 I7, g4 memory or usb 3. Do your homework before wasting money on overkill.
 
Severed said:
Stay away from "newest" "cutting edge" as compatibility and drivers are always buggy.

Audio does not need a Gen 6 I7, g4 memory or usb 3. Do your homework before wasting money on overkill.
Click to expand...

This. Compatibility is by far the most important thing. Jim from StudioCat is pretty active on the Cakewalk forum and he recently recommended on a similar thread there to skip the first round of these new mainboards until all the bugs are worked out. Common sense tells me thats a good idea.

Even if you build your own, do your research snd find out what is known to work well with your audio components. For me it was worth the peace of mind to buy one that I know was made with high quality components that have been tested. If you roll your own don't cut corners on a cheap motherboard, case, or power supply. Back when i was into building my systems i did it for quality, not cost savings.
 
I switched to a 27" iMac 4 years ago and it was the best decision I have ever made for my home computing needs, fast reliable and solid, using Logic as my DAW. We still use Windows machines at work and I hate them!
 
Severed said:
Stay away from "newest" "cutting edge" as compatibility and drivers are always buggy.

Audio does not need a Gen 6 I7, g4 memory or usb 3. Do your homework before wasting money on overkill.
Click to expand...


Well first of all, the cost of the Gen 6 I7 is exactly the same as Gen 5 and DDR4 memory is the exact same price as DDR3 so there is no money being saved unless you get a slower CPU but why would anyone want to do that. If you get a good brand motherboard like Asus for example, bugs are usually minimal or none in many cases. Older boards do not guarantee no bugs either but most are the OS like Windows 10, that's cutting edge you stay away from for a year in the studio.

Far as power, its not overkill depending on what you do. I personally am always having to bounce tracks to save CPU on my Gen 4 CPU but if I had more power, I wouldn't need to and workflow would be smoother. If you just track live recordings, probably no issue, but if you run drum software, synth multi plugs it begins to add up quick.

Cutting edge used to mean paying premium price but that's just not the case this round.
 
WatersDeep said:
Well first of all.....
Click to expand...

Hey man, whatever works for you. It's still not required, as we've been getting along just fine to this point.

I do not recommended going with the newest tech when building your own, especially if you're not "good" with computers.

That is all.

8)
 
WatersDeep said:
If I was building a new PC today, I would certainly go with the latest LGA 1151 Intel motherboards that support DDR4 memory and the new 6th Generation Core i7-6700K CPU which is the first to also support DDR4 memory in addition to hitting the 4GHz mark stock however you will have to watch closely when they are in stock as they are selling out every week right now but priced at the same as the previous generation.

Buying already built PC's is convenient but building your own is always a little cheaper and you build to your personal specs.

  • LGA 1151 Intel motherboards $200-300
  • i7-6700K CPU $350
  • 16GB or more DDR4 Memory $120
  • 3 Hard Drives $300
    • OS 500GB-1TB - I would go with SSD or a Hybrid SSD drive
    • Data/Recordings 2TB or more - WD 7200 Black drive
    • Data/Samples 1TB or more - Could go with SSD if only for samples, otherwise WD Black to store Synth and Drum samples and misc file storage
  • Medium range dual DVI or HDMI 2GB or more graphics Card $150 - Yes it does make a difference in performance vs using on-board video despite what many say.
  • Heatsink and case fans $100 - Noctua are the quietest I've ever found and highly recommend them.
  • 650 Watt or more PSU $100 - Corsair makes many where the fan doesn't spin unless its hot, highly recommend to reduce sound. I almost never hear or see mine spinning. In fact between this and the Noctua fans, I now only hear the Harddrives but not sure how to silence them.

Along with a new PC Case it would be around $1500 to build and is probably a better performing PC than any of those already made studio PC's.

Most likely by end of this year I will build a new one and that's the specs I will be going with. Although I already have most of these parts on my existing system, case, PSU, harddrives, fans, graphics card, cdrom so a refresh will come out around $600 for just the MB, CPU and Memory. Not sure how much of your existing PC is reusable but may save you some money.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is really helpful.
I love building my own machines, but I haven't kept up with the latest components.
This gives me a great shopping list!
 
I can second the noctua fans. I have been building my own PC's for about 20 years now.

I have never come across a quieter and efficient fan assembly- I just could no believe the difference--not just the quiet my cpu and MB heat dropped to around 30-33 F and that's where it stays. Amazing. Sure spikes up a bit at times but it takes an awful lot. I use Noctua NH-U12P and various versions of it.
 
So here is the update. After much consideration and a research I decided to not build one myself but to have won built. I went with the Pro Studio Daw built by Purrrfect Audio, which was Genghis' suggestion. I contacted the company and Jim (Studio Cat) was very helpful. They are located in Grove City, Ohio and I live in Columbus so saved some $$ because I can just go pick it up when it's ready ( 5 business days). Looks like it will be a great machine. Thanks for the feedback everyone!


DT
 
Congrats! Jim is awesome. I'm so glad he convinced me NOT to spend the extra coin on his top of the line monster setup. The one I have now should serve me well for several years. It never breaks a sweat, and I probably use more drum software and synths than most rockers do. (Like to experiment with some electronic synth sounds a bit.)

That's really cool that you are close enough to go pick it up too.
 
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