Alright, so I need some feedback from the experts here.
 
Situation: I had a buddy of mine put together a shopping list for what he thought I would need to build a screamin' system for my home studio. He recently built his own PC, but the only problem is that he's a gamer, so I feel I need to run these specs by everyone here to see what I should change. ALSO, another buddy of mine had some HUGE issues when he had his custom PC built professionally -- when he installed Sonar 8, he kept getting the BSOD. After weeks of arguing w/ the "pros" that built it, they finally realized it was a compatibility issue with the Motherboard. So, please look this list over and let me know what you think.
 
Studio Use: Home studio, tracking, sampling, small setup, maybe have individual artists come in lay something down, but mainly will use for my own artistic purposes (as well as Video Editing using Sony Vegas)
 
Software: Cakewalk Sonar 8 (will upgrade soon), and Sony Vegas Pro.
 
Exhaustive List (b/c I really don't know what NOT to include):
- (1) Case:  NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
- (1) CPU  Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core
- (1) MoBo:  GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB ATX Intel Motherboard 
- (1) Memory:  G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
- (2) HD:  WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 6GB/s 64MB cache
- (1) Fans:  **NZXT Air Flow Series RF-FZ140-02 Case Fan
- (2) More Fans:  **NZXT FS-200RB Case Fan
- (1) SSD:  Intel 330 Series Maple Crest SSDSC2CT120A3K5 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
- (1) PS:  CORSAIR HX Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W Power Supply
- (1) Burner:  ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
- (1) OS:  Win 7 Pro or Ultimate (both 64-bit) -- can't decide which??
- (1) Video Card:  SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 11188-22-20G Video Card (OC Edition)
**not sure why my friend included 3 case fans in the list???
 
ANY HELP would be much appreciated! I know y'all get requests like these ALL the time, but please take some time to give me some feedback. Thanks!!

Hey musmin2415,

Using Firefox eh! Pretty hard to read but here goes and as always IMHO,

OS = Windows 7 Home Premium will limit you to only 16GBs of RAM. You're not future-proofing your system especially if you're into video editing.
--> Recommend that you use Windows 7 Professional at least.

Green drives = Very very bad..., usually only used for backup purposes and ideally as an external drive on a USB 3 port.
--> Recommend that you reevaluate your storage needs and consider SSDs if your budget permits this. If not, then 1 or more WD Caviar Black @ 7200rpm & 64MB cache would do.

AMD Cpu = Not the best chip for audio. Granted, they are cheaper but you get what you pay for.
--> Recommend that you seriously consider Intel instead.

These are the items that jumped at me at first glance. Good luck with your build!

musmin2415

not sure why my friend included 3 case fans in the list??? 

With two front-of-case fans instead of one, you can run them at a slower speed, resulting in less noise.

Alegria


Hey musmin2415,

Using Firefox eh! Pretty hard to read but here goes and as always IMHO,

OS = Windows 7 Home Premium will limit you to only 16GBs of RAM. You're not future-proofing your system especially if you're into video editing.
--> Recommend that you use Windows 7 Professional at least.

Green drives = Very very bad..., usually only used for backup purposes and ideally as an external drive on a USB 3 port.
--> Recommend that you reevaluate your storage needs and consider SSDs if your budget permits this. If not, then 1 or more WD Caviar Black @ 7200rpm & 64MB cache would do.

AMD Cpu = Not the best chip for audio. Granted, they are cheaper but you get what you pay for.
--> Recommend that you seriously consider Intel instead.

These are the items that jumped at me at first glance. Good luck with your build!

Thanks so much for your feedback!  I made some adjustments to my list in my original post.  This is what I've gathered from some other reading I've been doing today:
 
1.)  Firefox sucks for posting in this forum  :-)
2.)  Going with Win 7 Pro or Ultimate (both 64-bit) -- can't decide which??
3.)  Will do with (2) WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 6GB/s 64MB cache
4.)  What do you think of the Intel 330 Series Maple Crest 5" MLC Internal SSD??  (Someone suggested the 256MB)
5.)  Changing to the Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core
6.)  Now I'm lost about what MoBo to go with??
 
What do you (or anyone else) think?
 
Thanks for your time!

If we're going to get into specifics, I (we) need a bit more info such as:

1] What's your budget (an approximation will do)?
2] Is this budget flexible?
3] How silent do you want this machine to be?
4] What sample libraries are you using, if any... (eg. EWQL Hollywood series, Ominisphere, Trillian)?
5] Would you consider yourself a tweaker/geek or more of an artist that can't be bothered with such things?

Your revisions are a step in the right direction, but I believe it can be improved substantially once I (we) know more about the above.  

Alegria


If we're going to get into specifics, I (we) need a bit more info such as:

1] What's your budget (an approximation will do)?
2] Is this budget flexible?
3] How silent do you want this machine to be?
4] What sample libraries are you using, if any... (eg. EWQL Hollywood series, Ominisphere, Trillian)?
5] Would you consider yourself a tweaker/geek or more of an artist that can't be bothered with such things?

Your revisions are a step in the right direction, but I believe it can be improved substantially once I (we) know more about the above.  

Thanks so much, Alegria.  And very sorry that I've been skimping on the details.  I know everyone's busy that answers these forums, so I was trying to keep things short.  But I will gladly answer the questions if it'll help y'all out!.....
1.) Anywhere from $1000 - $1500
2.) Yes, somewhat.  If it's absolutely crucial that I go over the $1500 to get what I want, then yeah.  But I hope to stay under that.
3.) That's a tough question.  I don't mind some noise, but I will be recording some in the same room.  I don't think I can afford complete silence (if that makes sense), especially if I look to get a decent video card for rendering HD video.  (FYI though, Audio work comes first to me, Video editing second.)  Like right now I'm just running an off-the-shelf PC that I fixed up to handle my needs, and it's alright.  Sorry if that doesn't clarify much.  If I had some comparisons, then maybe I could give a better answer :-)
4.) Not sure of that either.  Right now I'm using any library that came with Cubase (Halion??) and Sonar.  Again, sorry.  I'm feelin' like a bit of an idiot here - lol
5.) I'm more of an artist, but I think it'd be KILLER to learn more about tweaking a rig to get it to its optimal performance -- especially if it'll save me $$$.
 
Does that help?  Thanks for taking the time to answer & your willingness to help!  I'm going to be changing the original list that I started with as I learn what's going to be best. 

Ok.  I'm REALLY hoping that all the help hasn't gone away!  I've updated my orginal post (see very top) with the new hardware I'm looking at.  Man, it's getting expensive.  Not really decided on a case (or fans), video card, or SSD yet.  Also, is my power supply listed overkill?  Or is anything that I've listed overkill????  I'm beggin' for some feedback here! Please? 

It's looking much better now. You've been doing your homework. I've also noticed that you have an ongoing thread over at Gearslutz. Have you gone as far as you can go, or will the list be revised again?

"musmin2415"
Also, is my power supply listed overkill?

The only variable here that may override your current choice (which is sufficient @ 750w. IMHO), is the graphic/video card(s). I haven't forgotten about your video editing needs even though your priority is audio. You just have to make sure that you review the video card(s) power requirements.

"musmin2415"
Man, it's getting expensive.

It's a bottomless rabbit hole. 

Note: Your ram @ 2 x 8GBs is a smart choice, giving you the flexibility to add another 2 x 8GBs down the line. Is it rated for 1.65v or 1.5v?

It's looking much better now. You've been doing your homework. I've also noticed that you have an ongoing thread over at Gearslutz. Have you gone as far as you can go, or will the list be revised again?

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for gettin back with me.  Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Gearslutz.  Love it.  One reason I came over here is because I knew I was going to be using Sonar as my audio software, and I figured I couldn't go to a better place than the source to make sure everything was going to be compatible.  Another reason, to be COMPLETELY honest, is that I've posted on other forums, and it seems that i might get one reply to an initial post, but then as soon as I come back with some follow-up questions, it becomes a ghost town and I can't seem to get anyone to respond.  I know I'm new at this, and there are certain rules of etiquette (plus, this is all free advice people are offering), but I'm really excited about this so I wanted to do whatever I could to get the answers.
 
Yes, although I'm nearing the end, I will probably revise the list again.  I'm having trouble understanding & deciding on a case & cooling system.  It's one of those things where I wish someone could say, "Here, I feel ya, and this will fit your needs (without spending another $300)."
 

The only variable here that may override your current choice (which is sufficient @ 750w. IMHO), is the graphic/video card(s). I haven't forgotten about your video editing needs even though your priority is audio. You just have to make sure that you review the video card(s) power requirements.

Still trying to decide on a video card that won't break the budget, as well as the power supply.  Any suggestions would be welcome :-)

Note: Your ram @ 2 x 8GBs is a smart choice, giving you the flexibility to add another 2 x 8GBs down the line. Is it rated for 1.65v or 1.5v?
 
 

1.5v I believe. That's fine right?
 
One more thing someone just mentioned.  Should I not go with the wireless/bluetooth version of the MoBo?  Have they been known to cause clicks/pops in recording?  If that's the case, should I not go with a wireless keyboard & mouse (wireless would be IDEAL in my setup)? 

"musmin2415"
I'm having trouble understanding & deciding on a case & cooling system.

I tried to use the search feature as I've seen some very good suggestions in this forum..., without any results (temperamental feature it seems). I would start a new thread on this specific subject and am sure you'll get some feedback.

"musmin2415"
Still trying to decide on a video card that won't break the budget, as well as the power supply. Any suggestions would be welcome

I'm using onboard graphics (audio only DAW) and don't feel comfortable in suggesting anything at this point. But once you're set on this, your PSU needs will be much clearer.

"musmin2415"
I will probably revise the list again

Cool. I'm looking forward to it.