thanks again all for the suggestions.

Does anyone have an opinion on splitting a PWM fan header twice? One Y-cable into the header, then another Y-cable into one end of the first Y-cable. Safe to do something like this?

thanks for the excellent suggestions. I'll be putting PWM splitters in every PWM-configured header on my boards. I'm even thinking of splitting one side of a split line for a total of 3 PWM fans (is that a bad idea?) From what I've read, many mobo's allow fan headers to be switched between PWM or DC...

To summarize... Current Asus boards come with a rats nest of mixed fan headers. The CPU fan headers are always PWM (so I'm totally SNAFU'd with my new Noctua NH-D14 -- its fans are DC) The chassis fan headers are always DC controlled Only 3 of the 5-6 headers on the board are supported by FanXpert. ...

Apparently some of the Asus fan headers only use voltage, not PWM to control fans. That explains why FanXpert has been controlling one of my 3-pin fans. Maybe this explains the issue I'm having, because I am using PWM fans. Might be exchanging the Scythes for some Noctua's Here's what a Asus forum m...

Thanks for all the suggestions! I tried two versions of FanXpert (as it comes bundled into the Asus "AI Suite"). Versions 1.05.22 and 1.05.33 Tried disabling fan controls in the bios and setting them only in FanXpert Tried setting fan controls only in the bios and uninstalling FanXpert Tried in XP a...

I'll try uninstalling FanXpert, but as far as I can tell it's really just a GUI pasted onto the bios controls, so prob. will be no change. I'm sure the fan itself is fine. I suspect the Asus bios fan control just isn't set up for heavy tweaking. Too bad, I bet I could spin these fans down to barely ...

I'd love to get my fans going that slowly/quietly! My bios fan control is set to "silent" (other options include "standard", "turbo", etc.) Asus FanXpert also allows for user-defined profiles, but the fan speed value can't be set any lower than 20%, and unfortunately FanXpert considers 20% to be ~95...

My bios fan controller utility (Asus FanXpert) won't spin them down any lower than ~950 rpm. According to FanXpert this is 20% of full speed (even though Scythe rates them at 200-1300rpm). My sys and cpu temps are at ~24 degrees. Under sustained heavy load I can get the CPU up to 40 degrees. Seems t...

Thanks in part to the great reviews here at SPCR, I just picked up an Antec Solo II. The retail tech tried to talk me out of buying it, claiming that Solo II's HD suspension system increases the risk of HD failure. He claimed that the vibration of the free-floating drive will cause the drive to be i...

Does anyone know of any low-noise external eSata HD enclosures that can hold at least one 3Tb drive? A product that holds two or three 3Tb drives would be perfect I checked out the SPCR reviews, and found older reviews of... -Icy Dock eSATA external HDD enclosure -Antec MX-1 ...but neither are rated...

I'm just about finished what might be the final build list, but I'm totally hung up on the heatsink choice and hoping someone can help me out. The Asus P8Z68-V Pro has a PWM-enabled CPU fan header, so I thought it would be best to get a heatsink with a stock PWM fan. Seems like a simpler way to go t...

This DIY DAW builder is getting very impressive latency performance out of his z68/2600K rig and no problems with his PCI audio card... http://www.gearslutz.com/board/7234651-post16.html ...though it sounds like he's not a fan of the Marvell controller. Looks like his issue might be more about the O...

2 X Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 HDS5C3020ALA632 (spindle speed is now listed as 5400rpm) Not sure where you'd have seen that, but I doubt it's right. The original 5940rpm spec was found only on a highly detailed, technical OEM manual for the DS5K3000-2TB & CS5K2000, not in any of the normal spec or pro...

. Have you considered any fancontrolling? I'm very intersted in fancontrolling. Have I chosen the wrong fan models for that? I thought all the scythe models were PWM. The mobo I picked has ~4-5 fan headers. I'm very interested in getting the fan rpm's down as far as possible. I have to do more rese...

SSD: What exactly do you mean with "bleeding edge, best quality SSD"? I guess I meant the "money-is-no-object" SSD or the cadillac of SSDs. Because the "work" SSD can be so small, I thought it might be worthwhile to get the best of best. But exactly what that is, I have no idea. As I mentioned abov...

UPDATED BUILD (nothing from the original list remains :D ) Case: Antec Solo II [ swap out single rear stock fan? ] CPU: Intel i7 2600k [ 2700k is +$40, worth it? ] Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V Pro [ GEN3 is +$30, worth it? ] Memory: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile Blue 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 1.5V DIMM (...

As far as video goes, I'm not sure I would ever use integrated video for a workstation that needs graphics acceleration (and believe me, a DAW does need it). Thanks for all the heads-up suggestions. Here are some DAW users who give the green light for using integrated GPUs... http://www.gearslutz.c...

Nice proposed build. One caveat: I came across this post in the RME user forum by googling "RME sandy bridge". Apparently, the 'avoid Sandy Bridge' stuff is due to Intel's implementation of the PCI to PCI-e bridge (starved for bandwidth). While Intel has updated the bridge firmware, you might want ...

Hi With a budget of 2K I would think about using 2 SSD's. If you're used audio tracks fit in a SSD (128 or 256 GB) this would be probably very fast. So 1 SSD for OS and programs and 1 SSD for the audio tracks that are active (read, in use in that job/session/jig/...). hey Alain, that's a great idea...

MikeC wrote: Most of Z68 motherboards have HDMI and DVI, and both can be used in an independent dual display configuration.

My monitors are VGA/DVI, so I might end up needing the ASUS nVidia GeForce GT210 after all. Man, this rig building stuff can sure get complicated.

Zolishoru wrote:...I would add a 500GB-1TB 7200RPM single platter drive as work drive, just in case...

Can you recommend a model? How do you find out how many platters a drive has?

MikeC wrote: A Z68 chipset board is what you want. Supports the built-in GPU & adds full overclocking support for CPU, memory and integrated graphics.

I've never used a mobo with a built-in GPU/integrated graphics. Will it be able to handle my two 22" monitors?

Is it possible to suspend two drives and then mount another drive in a HD bay? Below the lowest supension there room for a 2.5" drive, for example a second SSD. On top it's possible to add a 2.5" drive upside down, not a problem for a SSD. It should be possible to add a 3.5" drive below, but not wi...

After some more research on DAWs and HDD speeds, I'm feeling a little less certain about going with WD Greens. Steinberg, the maker of my DAW platform, says "RPM rating has a direct influence on how many audio tracks the hard disk can record and play simultaneously" (June, 2011), see... http://www.s...

Nice proposed build. One caveat: I came across this post in the RME user forum by googling "RME sandy bridge". Apparently, the 'avoid Sandy Bridge' stuff is due to Intel's implementation of the PCI to PCI-e bridge (starved for bandwidth). While Intel has updated the bridge firmware, you might want ...

I guess an SSD for the OS drive will pretty much nuke that problem. Don't know if DAW software uses a scratch disk like you can for Adobe: use a very fast drive for editing, use slow drives for storage. Other semi-obvious stuff to look out for: - low latency mobo - does your apps s/w, plug-ins, add...

OK, here's the new build in progress. Thanks to all for helping me get this far. All suggestions welcome. Case: Antec Solo II CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K Quad-Core Socket LGA1155 3.50Ghz Mobo: [Not sure. It needs an integrated GPU and one of the expansion slots must be PCI. Any suggestions?] Memory: 16...

I just read through a pile of threads at gearslutz.com re: DAW performance and 7200rpm vs. 5400rpm drives. There was no clear consensus, though I did see many more 5400rpm proponents than I expected. From what I understand the performance of 5400rpm drives is not all that different from 7200rpm driv...

@kuzzia I don't know that much about the technical details of how HDDs impact the performance of a DAW. In my case, I don't think HDD performance is important in terms of recording multiple simultaneous tracks of audio (as I suggested above). The bottleneck for that is on my audio card, which in its...

I'm sold on the WD Greens and SSD suggestions. The Solo II is also looking like a great option. Can it really hold two suspended drives and another one on grommets? The specs on the Antec website say... 3 x 3.5" / 2.5" using tray mounts with preinstalled silicone grommets OR 2 x 3.5" with suspension...