Building for strictly Audio Production

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Jgod
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 4:14 pm

Building for strictly Audio Production

Post by Jgod » Sat May 10, 2014 4:51 pm

Hello, this is my first post and I've been reading everything I can. I've assembled a system that I think meets my needs but I'm curious to hear other opinions.

Requirements:
I need to be able to record and mix in the same room as it, willing to compromise some power/cooling potential to achieve that.
I'm just going to be running my DAW (Renoise) and several VSTs (plugins) most of the time.

What I have: Noisy q9300 w/ 4gb ram

What I'd like:
CPU: Would like to continue to take advantage of multi-core in my DAW (renoise). I hear hyper-threading doesn't work well.
Graphics: I don't need anything more than integrated. Maybe I'll run 2 monitors at some point (1920x1080).
Storage: All SSD. I'm thinking a solid primary for OS/programs and an ok secondary drive for samples and exports. I use cloud backups.
Form Factor: Not important, but smaller is preferred.
Sound Card: I have one but I am opting for an external audio interface that I've bought (Mackie Onyx USB).

Trying to keep the price ceiling no higher than $800. Looking for ways to cut back and tame this machine (do I need to use a cpu cooler?).

Tentative Build (link):
CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($31.30 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 400W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $782.19

CA_Steve
Moderator
Posts: 7650
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Building for strictly Audio Production

Post by CA_Steve » Sun May 11, 2014 1:00 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

If you really want to go small and silent, there's always the Akasa Tesla H. Buy an Intel NUC mobo and away you go. Here's a review at Bit-tech.

RAM: How much you need will depend on your VST levels. If you only need 8GB, go with 2 x4GB to get the performance boost of dual channel.

SSD: The downside to the current generation of 120GB class SSDs is the small number of chips needed to populate them means appreciably slower write speeds than at 250GB. Whether or not it matters for recording audio is a <shrug> as a 120GB Evo is still faster than a WD Black HDD.

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