New PC for Professional Recording Studio

[Homerboy]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
This will be used in a professional recording studio. http://www.howlstreetrecordings.com/

2. What YOUR budget is.
$1,000ish

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
U.S. and A.

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
N/A

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.
no brand pref

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
The only thing to be carried over would be the sound board interface card: MOTU PCI-424
I'm pretty sure he has the older PCI version of the card, so a compatible slot will be needed on the MB.
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technotes/pci-424-compatibility/

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
default

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
dual monitor. One is a 32" TV running at 1920x1680

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Soon. Very soon

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Windows 64bit


Additional items:
4U rackmount required
The quieter the better. Studio can get a little warm at times si entirely passive probably not going to work.

Personally I think that an Intel i5 with 16GB RAM. (Current is a Intel G6950 Clarkdale 2.8GHz)
Storage wise he's running with a paltry 80GB main drive for OS and applications and 250GB storage HDD right now. (final storage goes to portable HDDs etc when done)
Definitely wants to go SSD for both drives -- so 250 and 500GB maybe?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Homerboy]

My first stab at it (minus the case as they don't list rackmounts)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($204.95 @ Adorama)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $729.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-13 16:42 EDT-0400

 

[dave_the_nerd]

There's no real need to have multiple drives. A single 500GB or 1TB class SSD is fine.

The "seperate drive for audio" dates back a long time, and doesn't really take into account multi-GB ram buffers, or hard drives faster than ATA/33, to say nothing of SSDs with near-zero latency.

 

[Homerboy]

There's no real need to have multiple drives. A single 500GB or 1TB class SSD is fine.

The "seperate drive for audio" dates back a long time, and doesn't really take into account multi-GB ram buffers, or hard drives faster than ATA/33, to say nothing of SSDs with near-zero latency.

I actually told him all of that -- he's just comfortable with the 2 HDDs for some reason. I'm still trying to talk him into ONE HDD (heck I could even partition it into 2 I guess)

1TB drives are just so $$$ still

 

[Homerboy]

Could add:
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-trn10025sat3960g

and save a few bucks

 

[Cerb]

1TB drives are just so $$$ still

They cost about what you've just specified with two...

A little crazy in its way, but a complete build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Macho-120 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX200 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($179.99 @ Adorama)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($82.51 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118CB/BEBE DVD/CD Drive ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Other: NORCO RPC-431 ($95.81)
Total: $968.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 00:17 EDT-0400

Made to have the front case fans replaced (both can be put on one PWM header, no problem). The PSU should remain passive most of the time, and not be much of an issue when it does kick on. A couple 2.5" to 3.5", or one 2x2.5" to 3.5" adapters will be needed. I would also just get 1 960GB+ SSD, of course. Were you to go all out and get the $$$ fans, just toss the rubber isolators in a junk drawer, and install the fans with screws.

 

[DigDog]

if you want professional, i suggest you build a hackintosh. i did just recently, works great. LogicPro X running happily on a 4790k.

 

[OlyAR15]

I agree with the idea of getting a single 1TB ssd and partitioning it into 2.

 

[ggadrian]

if you want professional, i suggest you build a hackintosh. i did just recently, works great. LogicPro X running happily on a 4790k.

Sure, he won't mind not being able to run when an update crashes his shiny hackintosh. Everyone loves spending time fixing his work computer instead doing the activity that actually makes money.

OP, if this recording studio needs a silent computer, I would recomend to increase the budget and go for a fanless PSU, RAID-1 512GB SSD (if that capacity is enough for him), high end air cooler with silent fans (Noctua maybe), and many very low-rpm case fans.

He also probably won't want to replace the computer anytime soon, so spending also a little more for an skylake i5 or even i7 might be a good idea.

 

[Homerboy]

if you want professional, i suggest you build a hackintosh. i did just recently, works great. LogicPro X running happily on a 4790k.

He doesn't want to run Apple -- plain and simple.
A PC works just as well as any Apple for the application.

 

[Homerboy]

They cost about what you've just specified with two...

A little crazy in its way, but a complete build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Macho-120 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial MX200 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($179.99 @ Adorama)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($82.51 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118CB/BEBE DVD/CD Drive ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Other: NORCO RPC-431 ($95.81)
Total: $968.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-14 00:17 EDT-0400

Made to have the front case fans replaced (both can be put on one PWM header, no problem). The PSU should remain passive most of the time, and not be much of an issue when it does kick on. A couple 2.5" to 3.5", or one 2x2.5" to 3.5" adapters will be needed. I would also just get 1 960GB+ SSD, of course. Were you to go all out and get the $$$ fans, just toss the rubber isolators in a junk drawer, and install the fans with screws.

Why the 32GB RAM? just future proofing?
Sadly your build doesn't include the case -- guess I can squeeze another $100 out of him.

I probably will end up going the single SSD as everyone suggested as well.

 

[Ken g6]

He did include a case: a NORCO RPC-431.

@Cerb, you also included a DVD drive, but I don't see any place to put it in that case. Don't know if the OP needs to burn CDs or something?

 

[Homerboy]

He did include a case: a NORCO RPC-431.

@Cerb, you also included a DVD drive, but I don't see any place to put it in that case. Don't know if the OP needs to burn CDs or something?

Yeah I TOTALLY missed that

burner will be required for sure.
As I said, finding a case is the least of my worries -- tons of options out there for $100 or so.
Probably should get a more "standard" and accessible case. Something with an external 5" bay -- maybe even a 3" bay to toss a card reader into too. Exposed USB ports etc etc.

 

[slippysoup]

Not sure about the H97 chipset but I had issues with my PCI soundcard on the Z68 chipset since it converts PCI to PCIE. Might be best to get a mobo with the C206(?) chipset as it has a real PCI lane.

 

[Cerb]

Why the 32GB RAM? just future proofing?

I think I clicked twice.

 

[Cerb]

Yeah I TOTALLY missed that

burner will be required for sure.
As I said, finding a case is the least of my worries -- tons of options out there for $100 or so.
Probably should get a more "standard" and accessible case. Something with an external 5" bay -- maybe even a 3" bay to toss a card reader into too. Exposed USB ports etc etc.

Aside from the time looking for one, that shouldn't be a problem. Definitely get a case with at least one front or rear 120mm, if you want it to be easy to keep quiet. With no GPU, you won't need anything one case fan and the PSU won't give you.

 

[Cerb]

@Cerb, you also included a DVD drive, but I don't see any place to put it in that case.

Good catch. I was paying more attention to the rest of the case features for the price. Between rackmounts rarely needing ODDs, and desktops increasingly not needing them, I just wasn't paying attention to that particular detail (I only have an ODD in my machine because I lost the bay cover ).

 

[Homerboy]

I think I clicked twice.

$75 saved!

 

[DigDog]

i'm sure reaper will do fine, instead of say, the industry standards - logic or protools.

 

[Homerboy]

i'm sure reaper will do fine, instead of say, the industry standards - logic or protools.

Huh? He uses protools already.

 

[DigDog]

omg im old. didnt even know PT had a windows edition.

 

[Homerboy]

Likely end up with this case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811165069

Only downside is the front USB are 2.0. There doesn't seem to be many options for Wu cases with front USB 3.0

Hopefully those doors come off though

Will grab a couple of silent 80mm fans for the rear exhaust.