Helpful Replybuying a new pc for music production

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Ditcher
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2015/07/05 17:43:00 (permalink)

buying a new pc for music production

Hello there folks,

I am planning on buying a new PC only for music production this week.

I have made the following setup, and would like to know what you think and what can be better. My budget is 800 - 900 eur.


post edited by Ditcher - 2015/07/05 17:50:15
#1
kevinwal
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 19:20:12 (permalink)
I'm no expert but this looks like a pretty nice system to me. I would personally consider going for more than 520 watts in the power supply. I'd shoot for 650 to 750 watts to give me some flexibility in adding PCI cards or additional drives. That may be a bit old school, so I would like to hear other opinions on that. 
 
Good luck!
#2
cclarry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 19:29:34 (permalink)
Have you talked to Jim Roseberry about a Studio Cat PC?
He's a forum Member and builds Music Workstations...

His website...

http://www.studiocat.com/
post edited by cclarry - 2015/07/05 19:35:47


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TerraSin
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 20:55:22 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2015/07/06 14:27:24
Dump the Seagate, get a WD Black drive.
RAM is cheap now. Go with at least 32GIG
You will probably not need an aftermarket cooler. If you're trying to save money, the stock one will work fine. All my machines use stock coolers.
Also, take a look at ASRock motherboards. I've been using them pretty exclusively for the past 6 to 8 years and they have been great.
#4
dwardzala
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 21:34:38 (permalink)
A couple of recommendations:
I second the WD Black HD.
I would get a Samsung EVO SSD over Crucial.
And I would avoid Gigabyte MBs like the plague.  Asus is a much better choice.

Dave
Main Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD
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#5
kevinwal
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 22:50:14 (permalink)
There have been a spate of issues with the Samsungs, at least if you trust the reviews on Newegg. I don't know if those issues have been resolved or not, so some due diligence is in order. I've also read many folks swear by Gigabyte MB's for DAW's. Why do you avoid them like the plague?
#6
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/05 22:50:37 (permalink)
Almost anything can run a DAW nowadays... Just go for the fastest CPU, RAM of at least 16GB (keep slots free for later expansions if you can), and the fastest/largest hard drive you can afford. Don't forget to look at the support options.

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dwardzala
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 11:19:47 (permalink)
kevinwal
There have been a spate of issues with the Samsungs, at least if you trust the reviews on Newegg. I don't know if those issues have been resolved or not, so some due diligence is in order. I've also read many folks swear by Gigabyte MB's for DAW's. Why do you avoid them like the plague?


I had a gigabyte MB and had to use a special BIOS created by tech support to do audio.  Then after 3 years, it dumped the BIOS and the backup BIOS was corrupt, basically bricking the MB.  Also, I have seen other problems with  Gigabyte and other recommendations against Gigabyte on this board .
 
As far as Samsung, several IT professionals I trust are only using them in their personal and corporate builds.  I see some of the reviews are infant mortality failures, but most seem to be crappy cloning software related.  That Crucial has only 6 reviews and Crucial has been suspect in the past.

Dave
Main Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD
MotU Ultralite AVB, Axiom 49 Midi Controller, Akai MPD18 Midi Controller
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#8
TerraSin
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 11:37:37 (permalink)
I'm personally looking at getting a Samsung Evo Pro. They are more expensive but come with a 10 year warranty and are known to be very good devices.
 
I know a lot of pro gamers are using Crucial these days but I don't know that I trust other companies besides Samsun for SSD at this point.
#9
DarinBad
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 14:03:12 (permalink)
My experience with Gygabyte motherboards has been great since they started the UltraDurable series. I've built several systems with them over the last few years and not had any problems at all with any of them. I've just ordered 4 more to replace all of my old ones in preparation for Windows 10, the oldest being about 7 years, which has been used daily for my personal computer.
 
As for Asus boards, I've had to replace 3 in the last 5 years or so for family/friends. Though I should say that that all of those boards were budget-boards. The higher-end boards might be better. I don't know.
 
If you decide to go with Gygabyte, you should consider one of their 'Black' edition boards. They go through a 168 hour burn-in test at the factory before being shipped off.

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Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 14:27:07 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Mitch_I 2015/07/08 14:14:22
Doktor Avalanche
Almost anything can run a DAW nowadays... Just go for the fastest CPU, RAM of at least 16GB (keep slots free for later expansions if you can), and the fastest/largest hard drive you can afford. Don't forget to look at the support options.



Depends on what your definition of "run a DAW" is...
ie: If the motherboard doesn't expose certain BIOS parameters, you will not achieve lowest possible DPC Latency.
If the motherboard doesn't expose all parameters necessary to control CPU throttling, you won't achieve maximum performance.
 
Off-the-shelf (general-purpose) machines are built for a completely different target market.
They're not built/configured specifically for sustained maximum thru-put... but rather users running office apps, Facebook, surfing the net, watching YouTube, etc.
A general-purpose user isn't going to notice a 2ms hiccup in data flow (from high DPC Latency).
For someone running heavy loads at a 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, that 2ms hiccup in data flow results in a glitch or drop-out.  
 
For any high-performance application (racing, computing, etc), a custom solution is always the best option.
You get exactly what you want/need... and nothing more/less
 
Regarding online store "reviews":
I'd make sure to read them carefully.
If you have a fair bit of experience, you'll see a LOT of "pilot-error" in many of the reviews.
Also, folks tend to dislike the make/model that failed them...  (Can't blame them)
But that doesn't necessarily mean the whole product range is bad.
 
 
post edited by Jim Roseberry - 2015/07/06 14:37:23

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#11
Mesh
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 14:29:29 (permalink)
TerraSin
Dump the Seagate, get a WD Black drive.
RAM is cheap now. Go with at least 32GIG
You will probably not need an aftermarket cooler. If you're trying to save money, the stock one will work fine. All my machines use stock coolers.
Also, take a look at ASRock motherboards. I've been using them pretty exclusively for the past 6 to 8 years and they have been great.


+1 on ASRock MB's....the one I have has been excellent and offered much more than what ASUS & Gigabyte offered for the same price.
Not sure how good the stock coolers are now, but when I got my i7 2 yrs. ago, many folks here recommended getting an aftermarket cooler (and I did :)). Couldn't be happier with my whole build!!

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#12
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 14:53:31 (permalink)
Jim Roseberry
Doktor Avalanche
Almost anything can run a DAW nowadays... Just go for the fastest CPU, RAM of at least 16GB (keep slots free for later expansions if you can), and the fastest/largest hard drive you can afford. Don't forget to look at the support options.



Depends on what your definition of "run a DAW" is...
ie: If the motherboard doesn't expose certain BIOS parameters, you will not achieve lowest possible DPC Latency.
If the motherboard doesn't expose all parameters necessary to control CPU throttling, you won't achieve maximum performance.
 
Off-the-shelf (general-purpose) machines are built for a completely different target market.
They're not built/configured specifically for sustained maximum thru-put... but rather users running office apps, Facebook, surfing the net, watching YouTube, etc.
A general-purpose user isn't going to notice a 2ms hiccup in data flow (from high DPC Latency).
For someone running heavy loads at a 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, that 2ms hiccup in data flow results in a glitch or drop-out.  
 
For any high-performance application (racing, computing, etc), a custom solution is always the best option.
You get exactly what you want/need... and nothing more/less
 
Regarding online store "reviews":
I'd make sure to read them carefully.
If you have a fair bit of experience, you'll see a LOT of "pilot-error" in many of the reviews.
Also, folks tend to dislike the make/model that failed them...  (Can't blame them)
But that doesn't necessarily mean the whole product range is bad.
 
 


We shall just have to disagree on that one. A computer is a computer in my book. Of course the more money you can up your specs in whatever areas you desire will make your DAW perform better, as well as optomizing your windows.

The obsession that DAW's must have maximum performance with custom built hardware I don't agree with. Like I say DAW's will run fine on most reasonable spec'd PC's, you might want to customize the fan noise though. And it's always a good idea to optimize Windows which really isn't too hard. DAW's don't need top notch performance unless the engineer is recording shed loads of tracks and six orchestras. That is a custom requirement.

Sonar min specs really haven't changed very much over several years but hardware has got cheaper and much faster so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that equation. You may end up buying a power house but only end up using 40% of it which is a waste of money.

People who build custom rigs and go for maximum performance either have some sort of massive custom requirement or are mistaking DAW installations for gamers rigs IMHO. Or perhaps have too much money... Otherwise off the shelf PC's can do the job perfectly fine if you keep specs reasonable.
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/06 15:03:33

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#13
Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/06 17:55:49 (permalink)
BIOS settings I'm referring to are *paramount* to achieving lowest possible DPC Latency.
Low/consistent DPC Latency is critical if you're wanting to work (effectively) at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size.
(ie: To allow effective realtime monitoring thru software based EFX/processing)
Off-the-shelf BIOS also don't expose parameters that allow complete control over CPU throttling.
The harder you're pushing low-latency performance, the more important the above settings
 
The beauty of a custom system is that it's *exactly* what's wanted/needed.
There's no guess-work... or lessening expectations because of a "dumbed down" BIOS.
 
 
For any high-performance application (doesn't matter what field or what type machine), a general-purpose solution will never match a fully customized solution.
 
Composers making heavy use of Vi's are a good example of "pushing the limits" at low-latency audio settings.
Message any of these folks... and ask them if they use off-the-shelf machines.
Evan Jolly (composer) had us ship a machine to the U.K.
The shipping was costly... but Evan knew exactly what he needed to work effectively.
He got the fastest Rack-mount machine that could be built.
Something not possible with any off-the-shelf machine... and a build (at that time) not offered by any other custom builder.
 
@OP:  If high-performance at smallest ASIO buffer sizes is important to you, you're best with a custom build.
Doesn't matter if you're talking self-build, ADK, Studio Cat, etc... (as long as the person building/configuring makes good choices).
 
 

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#14
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/07 20:33:36 (permalink)
Yup but then that;s the beauty of running anything within a reasonable spec (as long as it's configured correctly) is it just works as well. My Dell is four years old and still works great... I've got a Platinum project with about 40 NI plugins running, quite complex, and about 15 audio tracks - CPU at around 60%. Go figure! 
 
Most of us don't need a formula one car to run a DAW. 10 years ago it might have been a different story but the horse power is on the shelf now with mass production PC's. There are millions of cheap branded PC's I'm sure running DAW's on any old BIOS that just works.
 
For those who want power houses and think DAW's should be run on gamer PC's fair enough (but why?). And for those doing huge projects - fine. But otherwise sorry nope - sorry but I disagree...
 
As far as having great latency with ASIO etc that's really about the interface itself, the operating system it is running on, how well it is optimized within the OS, and how well written the driver is. I don't really have any trouble with four year old technology myself so I can't really see how a state of art custom built thing is going to make it any better.
 
Maybe in future the software will end up using a lot more CPU/memory, or interfaces will demand a lot more than what is offered off the shelf at present (like what it used to be in the past)... but we still await that day to come back.. Apart from maybe gaming (which is a bottomless pit) or scientific applications/development.... cheap hardware with reasonable specs generally is at least double the spec than what is actually required.
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/07 20:46:40

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#15
Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/07 21:30:48 (permalink)
Yes, the audio interface (buffers) has to allow low round-trip latency...
BUT... if you plan to sustain heavy loads at that 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, the parameters to which I refer are paramount.  No off the shelf machine is going to match that level of performance.
It's not voodoo... it's simply a matter of not providing the necessary parameters.
200-300uSec DPC Latency is not good enough.
 
Things like running multiple convolution reverbs bring a four year old quad-core CPU to its knees.
Not so with a 4790k at 4.4GHz (no CPU throttling and extremely low DPC Latency)
You can run them... and sustain them at super low latency settings.
 
Be happy with your off-the shelf machine...  
I'm glad it works well for you.
Ever try editing/rendering video with said machine?
As I said before, some folks are fine playing Squier or Epiphone guitars.
Others prefer higher performance instruments.
A custom DAW is no different than any other higher-end piece of music gear.
A low to mid level guitar will never be the equal of a fine crafted PRS or Gibson.
Does that mean everyone is going to run out and order a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul?  No.
But to act like such a piece of gear has no advantage/value is a bit short-sighted.

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#16
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 09:45:27 (permalink)
Well I repeat again if you want to build a formula one car then fine. Not arguing that if you build a power house you will get a power house.
 
> No off the shelf machine is going to match that level of performance.
 
Pretty much any off the shelf PC will perform perfectly well for a DAW. Hardware performance has caught up with software this isn't 2005. The idea that no off the shelf PC cannot be optimized for good latency performance is ludicrous. It might not match your custom build PC but then most people don't need that sort of power.
 
> BUT... if you plan to sustain heavy loads at that 32-sample or 64-sample ASIO buffer size, the parameters to which I refer are paramount.
 
If I was going to use 100's of tracks and 100's of plugins on a project I would agree with your point. Most people don't need that requirement but I acknowledge that some people might. I would argue they are very much in the minority however.
 
> Ever try editing/rendering video with said machine?

Yup use Adobe Premier regularly. CPU whilst rendering is the main bottleneck here. If custom built PC's use custom built CPU's please let me know ;)
 
> A custom DAW is no different than any other higher-end piece of music gear.
A low to mid level guitar will never be the equal of a fine crafted PRS or Gibson.
Does that mean everyone is going to run out and order a Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul? No.
But to act like such a piece of gear has no advantage/value is a bit short-sighted.
 
As I was saying it's down to requirements. I've already stated requirements for a custom built DAW. I've also stated most off the shelf PC's with reasonable specs will perform with DAW's just fine... not only that.. well!
 
I also think the analogy to a custom Gibson is a distraction. You are assembling mass produced parts. You are simply assembling parts from China just like Dell or whoever does on their product lines. The difference is that with a custom built PC you can react quicker than they do when faster technology becomes available (although the latest tech does not it's the most reliable, that's a factor missing in this conversation. And I again argue most people don't need gamers performance) and you can throw in quieter fans and cooling systems (which you can replace yourself anyway on an off the shelf PC). Also you are paying somebody (hopefully) to optimize your operating system rather than do it yourself (not a very hard job IMHO but if people want to pay for it so they can bypass it who am I to judge). That's the service being offered if it is needed.
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/08 09:56:14

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#17
BobF
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 11:12:45 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby cclarry 2015/07/09 16:42:38
As a hobbyist recording a pair at a time, I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my off the shelf machine.  Sometimes I need to freeze/bounce as a project grows, but that's OK for me.
 
OTOH, if I was a Pro doing BIG projects day in and day out?  Roseberry would be supplying my machine and his number would be in my speed dial.  For some people super high performance and reliability aren't just luxuries.
 

Bob  --
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#18
Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 11:26:02 (permalink)
If you use Premier regularly, then you have to know a 4-year old CPU processes/renders HD video slow as molasses.
 
At the risk of repeating myself:
Off-the-shelf motherboards can not be optimized to the level of a quality/selected motherboard.
Why?  Because the BIOS has been dumbed down.
A 4-year old quad-core Dell may be all you want/need, but I assure you that's not the case for many.
The advantage of a custom machine is that you can put in exactly what functions best for a DAW.
  • No compromises on any component
  • No compromises on the configuration
And this translates to no compromises on performance
The funny thing in all this, it's really not that expensive...
 
I'm not talking running a 100 tracks... and doing so at high ASIO buffer sizes.
Set your audio interface to a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k (for lowest possible round-trip latency).
Set up a 24 track project (24 contiguous 24Bit/44.1k tracks of audio).
Apply quality 3rd-party dynamics and 4 bands of EQ to each track.
Set up three convolution reverbs via sends (one for the drum kit, one for vocals, and one for leads).
Bus each track to one of the reverbs.
Now try recording a 25th track using software based input monitoring.  
You can do this with a well-configured current generation machine.
The only way you'll do this on a 4-year old off-the-shelf machine is to crank the ASIO buffer size thru the roof.
 
I haven't even brought up heavy hitting virtual-instruments like Diva.
Put Diva in "divine" mode... and play some sounds with 16 voices of polyphony.
Many composers want to be able to play these types of instruments at very small ASIO buffer sizes for tight feel/response.
 
All depends on your wants/needs/expectations...
High performance always means a custom solution (doesn't matter what field).
No "distraction" necessary.  
We've been in business 20 years.  That speaks for itself.
 
 
 
 
 

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#19
Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 11:28:32 (permalink)
BobF
As a hobbyist recording a pair at a time, I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my off the shelf machine.  Sometimes I need to freeze/bounce as a project grows, but that's OK for me.
 
OTOH, if I was a Pro doing BIG projects day in and day out?  Roseberry would be supplying my machine and his number would be in my speed dial.  For some people super high performance and reliability aren't just luxuries.



Level headed response Bob.
In a couple of sentences... you've summed it up well.  

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#20
Mesh
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 12:32:47 (permalink)
Ditcher
Hello there folks,

I am planning on buying a new PC only for music production this week.

I have made the following setup, and would like to know what you think and what can be better. My budget is 800 - 900 eur.




Ditcher, just ditch what these guys are yakking about buying one and build your own!!
 
 

 
 

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#21
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 14:22:09 (permalink)
Mesh
Ditcher
Hello there folks,

I am planning on buying a new PC only for music production this week.

I have made the following setup, and would like to know what you think and what can be better. My budget is 800 - 900 eur.




Ditcher, just ditch what these guys are yakking about buying one and build your own!!
 
 

 
 


I notice that PC would perform 20 to 40% better if you replaced the BIOS ;)

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#22
Mesh
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 14:25:34 (permalink)
Doktor Avalanche
Mesh
Ditcher
Hello there folks,

I am planning on buying a new PC only for music production this week.

I have made the following setup, and would like to know what you think and what can be better. My budget is 800 - 900 eur.




Ditcher, just ditch what these guys are yakking about buying one and build your own!!
 
 

 
 


I notice that PC would perform 20 to 40% better if you replaced the BIOS ;)



Ughhhh!!! Bloody off the shelf PC's!!!

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#23
BobF
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 14:27:28 (permalink)
"You Joes are funny guys!"

Bob  --
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#24
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 14:37:39 (permalink)
Jim Roseberry
I'm not talking running a 100 tracks... and doing so at high ASIO buffer sizes.
Set your audio interface to a 64-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k (for lowest possible round-trip latency).
Set up a 24 track project (24 contiguous 24Bit/44.1k tracks of audio).
Apply quality 3rd-party dynamics and 4 bands of EQ to each track.
Set up three convolution reverbs via sends (one for the drum kit, one for vocals, and one for leads).
Bus each track to one of the reverbs.
Now try recording a 25th track using software based input monitoring.  
You can do this with a well-configured current generation machine.
The only way you'll do this on a 4-year old off-the-shelf machine is to crank the ASIO buffer size thru the roof.
 
I haven't even brought up heavy hitting virtual-instruments like Diva.
Put Diva in "divine" mode... and play some sounds with 16 voices of polyphony.
Many composers want to be able to play these types of instruments at very small ASIO buffer sizes for tight feel/response.
 
All depends on your wants/needs/expectations...
High performance always means a custom solution (doesn't matter what field).
No "distraction" necessary.  
We've been in business 20 years.  That speaks for itself.


Btw I can pretty much do this with a 4 year old machine. ASIO on 64 buffers, I have a good audio interface that runs on FireWire (not even PCI). Admittedly convolution reverbs need to be minimized (really 3 convolution reverbs?) but it's hardly the end of the world. I've never got to 100 tracks yet but near. So imagine what a new machine can do?

Like I say over and over again if people need Max performance then sure go your way. But I suspect 95%+ of people won't need it. I also suspect any high specced off the shelf PC can handle pretty much anything, they could even go for a HP Z workstation for instance.
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/08 14:44:59

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#25
Jim Roseberry
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 14:56:04 (permalink)
Doktor Avalanche

Btw I can pretty much do this with a 4 year old machine. ASIO on 64 buffers, I have a good audio interface that runs on FireWire (not even PCI). Admittedly convolution reverbs need to be minimized (really 3 convolution reverbs?) but it's hardly the end of the world. I've never got to 100 tracks yet but near. So imagine what a new machine can do?

Like I say over and over again if people need Max performance then sure go your way. But I suspect 95%+ of people won't need it. I also suspect any high specced off the shelf PC can handle pretty much anything, they could even go for a HP Z workstation for instance.



Four year old CPUs can't sustain the load presented above at a 64-sample ASIO buffer size.  
Doesn't matter what audio interface you're running...
The CPU can't process the small ASIO buffer quick enough to keep it filled (no glitches/dropouts).
 
Now you're just being contrarian...   
What advantage does a Xeon CPU bring to the table (DAW wise)?
Short answer is... none
You'd pay more for a CPU running at significantly lower clock-speed.
Now that would truly be a waste of money... unless you're wanting a corporate server.  
 
In any event, the natives grow tired of this discussion.
Off to ship out some DAWs...
 

Best Regards,

Jim Roseberry
jim@studiocat.com
www.studiocat.com
#26
Rimshot
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 15:38:55 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby cclarry 2015/07/09 16:43:53
Jim Roseberry PC's are the best and not that much more expense. They are totally worth the investment. He stands behind them 150% and knows exactly what he is doing. 
I would not hesitate to buy from him again. His stuff is superb.

Rimshot 

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Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/08 20:59:37 (permalink)
Jim I said if a four year old off the shelf PC can do this can you imagine what the latest PC will do? I am not telling people that everybody should go and buy off the shelf 4 year old PC's am I? I'm arguing that most of shelf PC's can generally fulfill the specs a custom one can. Just pay the more money and you get better specs. Maybe custom PC's have a six month advantage ahead of the mainstream manufacturers.. But then again that six month advantage is never really going to improve a DAW performance that much in reality. And just to have that advantage will cost significantly more.

Nope custom PC's are great if you want somebody else to optimize your PC to be silent and to optimize performance. I argue though it isn't hard for anybody to do this themselves.

I wonder how many people are running a massive custom built powerhouse recording 48 tracks for guitar, bass and drums. If they are I recommend they should be running the seti@home screensaver at the same time and put their spare processing power to good use ;)

Anyway if anybody has a custom PC requirement, I'm sure Jim would be the best man for the job.... ! All is said and done..
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/08 21:20:13

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#28
Mesh
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/09 13:05:10 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Rimshot 2015/07/09 15:58:20
The one benefit of having a custom PC built is you get a peace of mind. Meaning, you know exactly each & every component in your machine has been hand picked for the job at hand. Even if the "off the shelf" PC's internal components are fairly good, the parts they use are generally the cheapest available and made solely for mass production.
 
Yes, they may work out really well, but you won't get that peace of mind you get from a custom built machine. Now if you're a techy kind of guy and like to fiddle around with the PC (or just can't afford to have one built), then an off the shelf may work out well. Generally speaking though, most people are musicians and would rather spend their time on their craft than be troubleshooting PC issues......."peace of mind".   

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#29
Doktor Avalanche
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Re: buying a new pc for music production 2015/07/10 06:44:38 (permalink)
I get peace of mind with a worldwide support contract with a company big enough to store spares for everything in case something goes wrong.
The idea that problems only happen with of the shelf PC's, and less likely to happen with custom built is ludicrous.. 
Custom PC's have parts are that are built for mass production as well. And the motherboard parts are not organic either ;).
post edited by Doktor Avalanche - 2015/07/10 07:00:07

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