Building an audio production workstation...

[jeff45123]

Hi all, this is my first post on this forum, and I'm hoping I can get some advice. I haven't built a computer before, but it seems way more cost effective to do it.

So I'm going to be using the system for audio production, so it has to be a very fast system with good ram and a ton of hard drive capacity. My biggest questions concern the types of things I'm not used to worrying about: what case, that power supply, what heatsink? Here is the list of components I'm considering as of now:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz LGA 775

Motherboard: ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35

Hard drive: 2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800

Case: Antec Performance One P180 (would the P182 be better? Can't tell much difference between them.)

Power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W Power Supply (I've heard a lot of people recommend the Corsair 520HX...it's more expensive, but is there a reason it's better?)

Heatsink: Scythe SCINF-1000 120mm CPU Cooler

Videocard: NOT SURE


So, my biggest questions are what heatsink, powersupply, case and videocard to use.

Price IS a concern, so lower is better if possible.

I'm NOT going to be gaming, so that's not an issue. I DO want this computer to be as quiet as possible, so a videocard with no fan is optimal. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

- Jeff

[angelkiller]

Hi, and Welcome to SPCR!

I like the components you picked out except for the case and heatsink. First, the P182 fixed many minor issues the P180 placed. I would highly recommend the P182 over the P180. One of the largest benefits of the P182 is the improved cable management, which creates a neater and potentially cooler system. The P182 also keeps the awesome ideas the P180 featured. Read SPCR's review. Another case to consider would be an Antec Solo.

The Scythe Infinity is not the best preforming heatsink in low airflow environments that quiet pc's utilize. Two standout performers are the Scythe Ninja and the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. (Often abbreviated TRUE) However, you should know that the most recent revision of the Scythe Ninja uses Intel's infamous push pin mounting system, which has proved to provide poor CPU/HS contact. I would only recommend the Ninja if a more secure mounting system is used, such as the Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Through Kit. Both the Ninja and the TRUE will give fantastic results. The Ninja is notably cheaper than the TRUE.

As for the power supply, I think the major difference between the 550VX and 520HX is the lack of modular cables. I think this is the reason for the price difference. In practical usage, the noise and efficiency would be excellent. I think the deciding factor would be is the price difference worth the feature of having modular cables. Modular cables help cable management by eliminating many of the unused cables. You have to decide how much money this is worth. In my opinion, it's not worth $40. But at $15, probably.

For your video needs, I would recommend a passive ATI 2400 Pro/XT or a nVidia 8500GT. Both cards are cheap, silent and also will greatly assist the decoding of High Def content. The ATI cards are notably cheaper ($35-60) while the nVidia card sells for about $60-75. I see no significant differences between the two cards for you. Decide by price and budget. I've heard that nVidia cards have better Linux support. (If this pertains to you)

Well, I hope this has helped.

[derekva]

I'd recommend the ATI over NVidia for HD decoding - evidently the Avivo decoding / offloading used on the AMD cards is more efficient / better quality than the PureVideo of NVidia. Other than that, I agree with A.K. wholeheartedly.

Good luck! Sounds like a great rig!

-D

[seraphyn]

I like the components you picked out except for the case and heatsink. First, the P182 fixed many minor issues the P180 placed. I would highly recommend the P182 over the P180. One of the largest benefits of the P182 is the improved cable management, which creates a neater and potentially cooler system. The P182 also keeps the awesome ideas the P180 featured. Read SPCR's review. Another case to consider would be an Antec Solo.

The currently shipped P180 (and 180b) has all the P182 features as well, except for that little light inside the case. So pick the one you find better looking, should you go with this case.

[Tommy Jefferson]

Good write-up Angelkiller. Thank you.

[Cerb]

Having never done a build before, I would highly recommend avoiding the Ninja. The bolt-through kit is not easy to use on it, IMO. Best low-flow performance, but the TRUE will be effectively indistinguishable in performance. Get some good heatsink compound, too. My preference is AS Ceramique. It will be worth it just for ease of use.

For case fans, get the Scythe Slipstream 800, if you can (no location listed). Fine, versatile 120mm fans.

Beware, the P180 cases may take time to set up well. Browse the gallery, read the big review, get some tape (to cover unwanted vents, if any), and take your time. Especially as a n00b at building, patience will pay off.

[sjoukew]

The currently shipped P180 (and 180b) has all the P182 features as well, except for that little light inside the case. So pick the one you find better looking, should you go with this case.

The light is only available in the P182 SE, and not in the P182. And there are certainly differences between the P180 and P182, almost all differences are improvements.

[jeff45123]

thanks for responses

so, as for video card, does the motherboard come with onboard graphics, or do you NEED to buy a video card?

what brand of video card would you recommend for the ATI chip? MSI, Gigabyte, Sapphire?

Thanks,

- Jeff

[seraphyn]

And there are certainly differences between the P180 and P182, almost all differences are improvements.

Which then? I wasn't aware of another revision after the water cooling tubes + improved cable management holes.

[walkingjohn]

Price IS a concern, so lower is better if possible.

Forgive me if you've already been through this...

Are you certain, then, that you need 1TB of storage, four cores, and fancy memory?

If it's a home studio you're putting together, then IMHO you'll get better results by scrimping on the computer and spending the extra on good microphones and preamps.

[angelkiller]

thanks for responses

so, as for video card, does the motherboard come with onboard graphics, or do you NEED to buy a video card?

what brand of video card would you recommend for the ATI chip? MSI, Gigabyte, Sapphire?

Thanks,

- Jeff

A motherboard with a P35 chipset (like yours) does not feature integrated graphics, you unfortunately will need to buy a video card.

As for a manufacturer, I cannot recommend a single company. For some reason, I tend to stick with Sapphire. I've purchased three Sapphire ATI cards, and have yet to have problems with them. However this does not mean that Sapphire is superior. To a certain extent, the manufacturer choice is irrelevant because of the such minor differences between them.

Since you're buying a low-end card, I would most value the length of the warranty. Next I would compare the price and accessory bundle. Don't fret over clock speeds because in your case, you will not notice the difference in a overclocked card.

Again, I hope this has helped.

[Cerb]

I didn't even notice the RAM choice, earlier. Don't. Any old DDR2 800 1.8V 5-5-5-18 should do. A-Data, Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, Simpletech, Patriot, G.Skill, and others offer excellent RAM for very low prices.

[Alex]

I would get a "silent" 1 TB hard drive instead (Samsung and WD drives are quieter than 500 GB ones), the most silent PSU (so HX 520 is better than VX 550) and Slipstream 800 fans.

If you are anything like us here you want as quiet as possible (within reason).

Dual Core will be less warm (= lower noise at same temp.) but quad core might be interesting if your software can use all cores efficiently.

[jeff45123]

well regarding whether i really need a ton of storage, a fast processor, and a ton of ram...

i do software recording, so i run samplers, synths and that kinda stuff. so it's not really much audio i'm recording, besides vocals. so i'm running mostly software effects which take up a ton of processing power, and samples take up a ton of HD space.

i assume in the next year or so, software companies will write software to accommodate the quad cores, so I'm going to go with that for the future.

i'll look into the video cards with an eye on warranty and price, since it seems mostly they're equivalent.

[Cerb]

I'd not worry about warranty, if you go ATi. On the nVidia side, BFG and eVGA rock for warranty. OTOH, you don't need more than, at most, a $60 card (barring them starting to take advantage of stream processing on the GPU, but I would think multiple core support would come sooner), so if it fails after a year or two, is it really a big deal?

[croddie]

so, as for video card, does the motherboard come with onboard graphics, or do you NEED to buy a video card?

I think for Vista it's better at the moment to have a video card or else some processing power is taken up. But you can also disable Aero. No need for a video card for XP and some people recommend XP over Vista for audio production at this current point in time.

[Cerb]

'cept that the P35 has no video, and the board he wants to use is a P35...