spec check for music production

A

andwad

Member
Hi,
Is the follow spec suitable for (in order of priority)
1. Music production
2. photo editing
3. gaming
4. possibly watching blu ray movies.
A quiet PC is very important when doing the music production. I'm planning on a separate audio interface hence the choice of on-board sound.
Not sure if i really need overclocking?
I was considering an SSD but was wondering if I should leave that for 12/24 months until the prices start to drop and they are making more use of sata 3.

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS 1000 SILVER SILENT CASE
Overclocked CPU
OverClocked Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz @ max 3.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P6X58D-E: DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory (RAM)
6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X TRI-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (3 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1280MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX470 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11 + MAFIA II
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£49)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
CORSAIR 650W PSU (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET (£76)
Processor Cooling
COOLIT ECO A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER) (£59)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD OVERCLOCK THERMAL PASTE
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 PORT USB 2.0 INTERNAL PCI CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard & Mouse
Logitech® Wireless Desktop® MK250 Keyboard and Mouse Combo (£19)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,311.00 including VAT and delivery.

thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Yes this is looking spot on! Near identical setup to my rig. Consider an Hx1000w psu if u want to add a second gtx 470 in sli in there later on.

Yes gen 3 intel ssds are releasing q4 2010 / q1 2011. Rumours of sata 6g implementation (the drive still doesnt max out 3g...)
 
A

andwad

Member
thanks guys.
I was wondering if overclocking the cpu and its additional cooling requirements would cause too much extra noise?
Are the fans in these cases variable speed i.e. they will ramp up and slow down if required ?
I'm guessing that most of the time when I'm doing non-gaming stuff, the system will not be stressed for long periods and therefore I'd rather have the fans chugging along at quieter volumes.
My current set-up (5 years old now) has a manual fan speed adjuster and its a bit inconvenient having to remember to turn it up for gaming and sometimes I forget. I rather not have to keep an eye on system temperatures and instead just focus on what I'm doing.
Thanks again.
 
R

Rmonkey808

Member
You'd probably want to look at more RAM, depending on what software you actually use, although it's easy enough to put in at a later date obviously.

Maybe consider a Caviar Black for the drive where any audio will be stored as well. Anything to stop the click at 5:29 that makes you re-render everything eh? ;)
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
Ye possibly a black, as your primary drive, green as your backup fdrive as tehse power down after a while to save electricity.

6GB of TRI-channel RAM should be ample, the tri channel will help immensely.

The OC isnt really required but, if you want it, why not.

The fan will increase/decrease in speed automagically (I have the Titan Fenrir and it does this privided Q Fan control in senabled in BIOS). If you do a BIOS update this option will be reset to disabled so you have to re-enable it. Just bear that in mind.
 
R

Rmonkey808

Member
I'd say if the OP is heavy on sampler and general audio use then 12Gb of RAM would be very welcome.

I have a grand piano sample set and a fair number of orchestral soundbanks that wouldn't even fit into 12Gb of RAM, ignoring the fact that you have the OS and DAW open. It all depends on the tools being used really, if we're talking mainly VST synths then it won't be as necessary.
 
A

andwad

Member
that's great. thanks a lot.
I'll go for the black and stick to 6gb for now - my current set-up is 2gb and only recently am i having out of memory problems and I'm mostly vst plugins atm. As you say, Rmonkey808, I can always upgrade later and then prices may have dropped.
And I'll stick with the 650 psu as the temptation of additional graphics cards will be sure distract me from more creative pursuits!
I just need to make sure all my s/w works in 64-bit OS now but that'll be for another forum I expect - any pointers welcome - I'm using ableton live 8.2 primarily atm.
Thanks again everyone.
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
andwad said:
that's great. thanks a lot.
I'll go for the black and stick to 6gb for now - my current set-up is 2gb and only recently am i having out of memory problems and I'm mostly vst plugins atm. As you say, Rmonkey808, I can always upgrade later and then prices may have dropped.
And I'll stick with the 650 psu as the temptation of additional graphics cards will be sure distract me from more creative pursuits!
I just need to make sure all my s/w works in 64-bit OS now but that'll be for another forum I expect - any pointers welcome - I'm using ableton live 8.2 primarily atm.
Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...

Memory WILL have dropped, 8GB single modules of RAM are due for release soon with sandybridge, so, 4GB will drop in price, and, 2Gb even more so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top