batsbrew
 
i think i'm looking at: 
ATX form factor
Z97 motherboards that offer USB3.1
Intel i7 4790k @ 4.4ghz (4 cores)
8GB RAM (dual-channel) - maybe 16gb, depending on cost
 
i'm currently not connected to the net with my machine,
i need to add a WIFI solution, either on the new motherboard, or as an add-on.
 
maybe updated my “C” drive with something like a Samsung 850 PRO 256 GB Internal SSD

For the MoB, I am running is this one Bat https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97P/ it has two PCi slots and runs Win 10 64bit no problem.  This MoB is popular with many UK DAW builders.

The on board Graphics can support three displays providing they are
1. One Analogue
2. One Digital
3. HDMI

With the i7 4790k CPU 4 cores 8 threads. with one of these http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/479 to cool it down and it is exceptionally quite and capable of running the CPU over-clocked.


Go for 16 gig of ram, but do it with two 8 gig dims then you can add more if you need it, especially if you decide to go with the onboard graphics approach.
 
Think about having an SSD for your Boot and OS at least 250Gig better 500Gig seconds to up and running rather than a couple of minuets. 
 
All your old stuff should run fine, maybe a 650W PSU might be something to think about in the future and I agree with the modular approach on the PSU.

Is that better information

I would suggest you look at the age of your existing hard drives, that you seem to be porting over to the new system, from the old one.
 
The reason I mention that is two-fold.  First of all, those hard drives sound like they are more than a couple of years old, and in addition to being WAY slower than the SATA III drives (up to 6.0 gbps), your drives are SATA II drives (up to 3.0 gbps), they are likely GOING to fail.  Seagate drives seem to come with warranty support of from 1-3 years nowadays, and your new motherboard will have support for the SATA III drives.
 
You can pick up a nice shiny new 2 TB Toshiba SATA III 7,200 RPM HDD for $69.99, with a 3 year warranty, OR a 1 TB Toshiba SATA III 7,200 RPM HDD for $39.99.
 
You can also pick up a 120 GB SSD SATA III drive for around $40-$50, and a 240 GB SSD for around $60-$70.
 
Just some food for thought for you. :)
 
Bob Bone
 

If you want to go the budget route I would keep the case. Internal parts are subject to problems over time. For this reason most builders just replace them to avoid future problems, even if they worked on the old system. Old style hard drives which are spinning a platter every time you use them are subject to mechanical wear.
 
Re using the old power supply would be iffy but might be possible if the current drain on the new parts isn't over loading it.
 
Most vendors have matched cpu/motherboard combos already picked, so when you order the set you know it's compatible. You could order one of those with a new hard drive and OS,memory.. cross your fingers and be on your way.
 
One of these recent threads had what I thought looked like a crossover mobo from AMD with the PCI slots so you could  keep your M-audio card and also had usb 3.0. Really though, PCI is on the way out. If you aren't planning to keep the card for much longer why bother?
 
I wrote an article on building your own PC at my website, but if you just don't want to build it yourself I understand.
 
Total cost with DIY upgrades would be-
 
Mobo cpu combo
 
at least one SSD
 
New OS
 
16gb memory
 
new usb 3.0 interface
 
amd is less expensive. For simple recording you wouldn't notice a difference. Maybe some AMD people can chime in. I normally would recommend Intel but if budget is a real concern many have successfully built amd systems with no issues. My first build was an amd and I never had any trouble with it..
 
 

With today's technology it's good to have a go to knowledge source if you run into problems, but - I'm somewhat of a knucklehead with hardware and I made it through my latest build a few weeks ago using the wealth of knowledge on the Internet and about 4 hours in total time. I kept the case, the DVD burner, and wanted to keep the power supply and video card. With my technology choices and age, those last two had to be replaced. The power supply rating was just over the total load and I had a few small issues with that in cpu performance as I was tweeking after the initial build.

I decided on erring on latest technology AND covering my bases with connectivity. I am happy with that beacon if you will. I went Skylake - i7 6700k. With that CPU and the ability to overclock, I went large with cooling - twin whisper quiet fans on rather large heat fin blocks and whisper quiet case fans - Well worth it because it cut the noise dramatically. I cut most of my tracks next to the PC. So for connectivity, I wanted to to make sure I had ALL current USB standards covered - 1,2,3 and 3.1 / C. I also wanted thunderbolt AND an Ethernet port that is already AVB - TNS compliant. I chose a gigabyte Z170 ud5 thunderbolt mobo - about 80 bucks more than a good average unit. .

The reason for all the different connectivity options? I have both a MOTU 1248 AVB Thunderbolt, and Presonus RM32 / CS18 AVB FireWire units. To be certain, the MOTU works just fine with USB 2 - but - Windows started supporting THUNDERBOLT 1, 2 and 3 back in November I believe. Motu just announced asio support this spring. Think about that - 40gb speeds. Boggles my average mind. I will need a TB3 to TB1 unit for the MOTU, they start coming out this month. The moral is - when I chose the mobo, MOTU had not yet announced. Both MOTU and Presonus are in the game with AVB TNS. Windows isn't ready with TNS support - yet. I will convert to TNS as soon as it is ready.

So you might want to consider.- right cooling - right amount of power - connectivity options.

Take care.

LL

LLyons
With today's technology it's good to have a go to knowledge source if you run into problems, but - I'm somewhat of a knucklehead with hardware and I made it through my latest build a few weeks ago using the wealth of knowledge on the Internet and about 4 hours in total time. 

Take care.

LL

Congrats!  
 
Some people are justifiably skittish about building a computer, especially if they have zero experience. Some people probably should get someone to do it for them if they have no mechanical ability. Usually though, the average person who can handle a screw driver, and who uses the information freely available on the web and elsewhere can do it themself if they want to do it.
 
 
I think what you said above is key. You were able to get the knowledge you needed on the internet and it only took 4 hours.
 
 
 

May I chime in... I'm currently researching for a motherboard for either i7 6700K or i7 4970K. I needed the 2nd PC for outdoor / live use.
 
Since my current i7 2600K is still going strong, I figure either 4970K or 6700K will do the job fine. Instead, I based my selection on Anantech DPC latency test, if it makes sense.
 
For Z97 (scroll down to DPC latency chart)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8045/asrock-z97-extreme6-review-ultra-m2-x4-tested-with-xp941/6
 
Edit (more Z97)
http://anandtech.com/show/8276/z97-miniitx-review-at-140-asrock-z97e-itx-msi-z97i-ac-and-gigabyte-z97n-wifi/6


For Z170
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10206/the-asus-maximus-viii-extreme-review/6
 
Edit (more Z170)
http://anandtech.com/show/10236/the-msi-z170a-sli-plus-review/6
 
Sitting at the top (at 20 micro sec DPC latency) is Asus Maximus VIII (Z170) but the cost is way too high for me.
 
Next (at 39 micro sec DPC latency) is ASRock Z97 Extreme6, at a good price too. This board (the one tested) does not come with USB 3.1. However, there is another version of ASRock Extreme6 + USB 3.1 at a higher price.
 
To be fair, Anantech mentioned that any board with DPC latency of less than 500 micro sec (which all of them are) should do the job fine.

wow, lots of great info coming in...
i hope this can help someone else....
 
so, i have a lot of questions to dial this in,
but my main one at the moment,
is how do i figure out which of the current crop of motherboards, will support the video card i already have, and want to keep?
 
it seems that most of the motherboards i've looked at, have built in video graphics....
 
i've always thought it wise to keep the video separate from the MB......?

and, 
i don't quite understand the 'hyperthread' capability.....
and if i need i7 versus i5;
i don't want to mess with overclocking;
i mostly work with audio files;
 
i guess i'm not what you would consider a 'power user', because i don't do video or gaming,
and don't use large libraries, or any samples really, other than superior drummer....
 
 
 

To use a separate video card or not depends if you are running other graphics intensive application, or need to support more display monitors that the build in graphic can't..
 
For my 2nd PC, I would use the build in graphic since it's going to run on one display monitor only, mainly Sonar and other audio application.

With my limited understanding.. I suppose the 'hyperthread' capability makes a quad-core CPU appears have 8 threads.
 
Also, if I'm not sure if a target CPU is good, I'll always google 'target cpu' vs 'your current cpu' to try to have an idea if the performance / price is worth it. It may not be accurate, but at least some reference for me to make a decision ?