Advice on spec please - audio work

[jimfos]

Hi all

First time here though long-term PCS customer. I'm looking to buy a new PC and would value some advice. It'll be for general office and web use, the only demanding task being audio work (using Ableton Live as a DAW, connecting with an external MIDI keyboard, and recording audio via a USB audio interface), and occasional video and photo editing.

I don't game at all, and don't intend to overclock unless required (unlikely, I think). I would like a system that will be highly usable for c5 years. I currently have a 1080p monitor, and may upgrade to a 1440p soon.

My budget is c£1,500, and I have built the following spec which is just over. I can stretch to this if necessary but would value thoughts on whether I can cut back on a few specs. I'm no PC expert but have some basic understanding.

Key questions:

1) Is this a sensible CPU? I've opted for i9-9900k as I understand this is a very fast chip, works well for both single and multiple threaded applications, and should last me a while. However, I don't know how much real world difference it would make to my audio work if I dropped to the i7-9700k (noting it's not hyper-threaded), to save some cost. Incidentally, I've not opted for Ryzen 3rd gen after reading that there can be problems with latency (a big no-no in audio work).

2) If going for i9-9900k, would the Noctua cooler be sufficient (noting that I'm unlikely to be pushing the chip to extremes)?

3) Am I likely to need 32GB RAM?

4) When playing with the configurator, I found that only a few cases allowed me to have a DVD drive - does that sound right, or have I somehow confused it?

5) I need fast storage, and am tending toward a 500MB SSD for OS and key programs, plus 1TB SSD for files, samples and other programs. But would it make any appreciable difference if I just opted for one single larger SSD, with everything on it?

6) Is my suggested GPU sensible or could I get away with a cheaper card (or even none)?

Many thanks for any thoughts!



Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache

FREE Red Dead Redemption 2 & More! w/ select Intel i7 & i9 CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Radeon Graphics

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint -OR- Borderlands 3 w/ select AMD Radeon GPUs
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on DVD
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,671.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/68XV9FuUfB/

 

[Scott]

I would go for something like this. The 750D wouldn't be my case of choice but it's tricky now as the options are pretty slim. If you wanted to send your own case in I would look at purchasing a Define R6.

Faster RAM, storage re-configured for value, dropped the GPU as you don't need it, powerful cooler to keep the temps in check.

I don't think you really need the 9900k to be honest, 8 cores on the 9700k would probably have you more than happy but that depends on what software you are using and what level you are working to. I'm not sure on 32GB of RAM either, but on a professional case it may be warranted.

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 750D FULL TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache

FREE Red Dead Redemption 2 & More! w/ select Intel i7 & i9 CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on DVD
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,591.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/HsqTJdy2St/

 

[Cheeky Mashup Maker]

3) Am I likely to need 32GB RAM?

If you're mostly recording live instruments, 16GB will last you a fair amount of time, however using a large number of samples in your mix will demand more RAM for them to be loaded to your project. Your skill level also plays a factor: beginners will be less ambitious thus won't require so many files to be in use at once; producers on a professional level can often find themselves with a huge number of audio tracks consisting of, both, recordings and samples.
If you'd like to save a bit of cash now (and your musical demands allow it), opt for the 16GB and upgrade to 32GB later.

6) Is my suggested GPU sensible or could I get away with a cheaper card (or even none)?

Like the reply said above me, you can get away with no GPU. A few video editors out there benefit from a GPU, but as you said you'll only do occasional video-editing, I assume there won't be a need for any powerful graphics processing and your CPU can take care of the editing work for you
----------------
Sorry there's not much more advice I can give; I'm not the most tech-savvy person around so take what I say how you please, and do a bit of research for yourself too. I've been configuring a laptop for similar purposes though, hence I thought my knowledge could be of help to you ^^

 

[jimfos]

I would go for something like this. The 750D wouldn't be my case of choice but it's tricky now as the options are pretty slim. If you wanted to send your own case in I would look at purchasing a Define R6.

Faster RAM, storage re-configured for value, dropped the GPU as you don't need it, powerful cooler to keep the temps in check.

I don't think you really need the 9900k to be honest, 8 cores on the 9700k would probably have you more than happy but that depends on what software you are using and what level you are working to. I'm not sure on 32GB of RAM either, but on a professional case it may be warranted.

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 750D FULL TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache

FREE Red Dead Redemption 2 & More! w/ select Intel i7 & i9 CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
1TB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on DVD
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Price: £1,591.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/HsqTJdy2St/

Many thanks for taking the time to look at this - it's very useful to hear your views, and I'll reconsider my options!

 

[jimfos]

If you're mostly recording live instruments, 16GB will last you a fair amount of time, however using a large number of samples in your mix will demand more RAM for them to be loaded to your project. Your skill level also plays a factor: beginners will be less ambitious thus won't require so many files to be in use at once; producers on a professional level can often find themselves with a huge number of audio tracks consisting of, both, recordings and samples.
If you'd like to save a bit of cash now (and your musical demands allow it), opt for the 16GB and upgrade to 32GB later.



Like the reply said above me, you can get away with no GPU. A few video editors out there benefit from a GPU, but as you said you'll only do occasional video-editing, I assume there won't be a need for any powerful graphics processing and your CPU can take care of the editing work for you
----------------
Sorry there's not much more advice I can give; I'm not the most tech-savvy person around so take what I say how you please, and do a bit of research for yourself too. I've been configuring a laptop for similar purposes though, hence I thought my knowledge could be of help to you ^^

This is all very helpful, thanks. I'll weigh up the pros and cons of more RAM. It sounds like you're looking into similar issues so I'll mention that I'm using a large sample library (Albion One by Spitfire) as well as recording live instruments in Ableton Live. I am unclear as yet whether 16GB is sufficient - it may be ok in my proposed new spec when paired with a decent CPU, though my current ageing system is getting frustratingly slow (i7-4790, 16GB DDR-3 1600MHz). I don't understand how to deduce the relative contributions of CPU and RAM (and possibly other components, but I'm assuming they're key) to the real world performance of my PC when doing audio work. However these comments are helping.

Looks like the GPU can be dropped, which would save me some pennies.

Thanks again - really great advice.

 

[Cheeky Mashup Maker]

No problem! Glad I could help

It seems like 16GB will be good as a starting point, but you may find yourself wanting a little more headroom as your skills develop and your projects become larger - especially with sampled audio. If you know that you plan on running several applications at one time - not just your DAW and plug-ins - more RAM will make things run smoother. In this case, 16GB is usually enough, unless of course your project is using a very large number of files.

(I think you're right in saying that it might be fine paired with the CPU, since that is the main powerhouse of your computer and decides exactly how fast calculations are done )

I'm glad you mentioned the use of Albion One; I gather your projects are going to get large in file size and use quite a lot of samples for real instruments - those types of samples tend to need more RAM (when you're using several at once) as opposed to, say, a simple drum sample. With this in mind, 32GB will be more costly, but will be very future-proof for you. I'd again advise prioritising your computing/budget needs for this type of work and researching some of the specific tasks that you'll be doing to find the general specs used, and configure the PC accordingly.

It may be worth finding forums for the DAW, plug-ins and sample library and enquiring there also, just to gather as much advice as you can.

 

[jimfos]

No problem! Glad I could help

It seems like 16GB will be good as a starting point, but you may find yourself wanting a little more headroom as your skills develop and your projects become larger - especially with sampled audio. If you know that you plan on running several applications at one time - not just your DAW and plug-ins - more RAM will make things run smoother. In this case, 16GB is usually enough, unless of course your project is using a very large number of files.

(I think you're right in saying that it might be fine paired with the CPU, since that is the main powerhouse of your computer and decides exactly how fast calculations are done )

I'm glad you mentioned the use of Albion One; I gather your projects are going to get large in file size and use quite a lot of samples for real instruments - those types of samples tend to need more RAM (when you're using several at once) as opposed to, say, a simple drum sample. With this in mind, 32GB will be more costly, but will be very future-proof for you. I'd again advise prioritising your computing/budget needs for this type of work and researching some of the specific tasks that you'll be doing to find the general specs used, and configure the PC accordingly.

It may be worth finding forums for the DAW, plug-ins and sample library and enquiring there also, just to gather as much advice as you can.

Thanks again - I'll do some searching on forums as you suggest. Cheers!