olemon
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My First Audio Workstation Build
I posted about the laptop I've been using as an audio w/s and I also asked for your recommendations on an upgrade. Thank you for responding. You know the last time I assembled a pc, the big decision was whether to go with AMD's or Intel's 486 cpu:) Anyway, I thought I'd post the list of the components I chose, good, bad, right, or wrong. I sure hope they're all compatible.... AMD FX-8350 Black Edition 4.0 GHz, w/Wraith Cooler http://a.co/filLEXAASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+ http://a.co/82bcYaiSamsung EVO 250GB SSD http://a.co/fpcsCKOCrucial Ballistix Sport 16GB DDR3 http://a.co/bbUCeqFMSI GT 710 Nvidia GeForce 2GB http://a.co/gDQpDRDFractal Design Define R5 Case http://a.co/6g5BBLbSeaSonic G Series 550-Watt PSU http://a.co/7PbvVm3 Still have to pickup Win 10 and a wireless card. Already have a 1TB HDD @7200rpm and display monitors.
https://www.reverbnation.com/scottholson Platinum, Studio One 3 Pro, Win 10 (x64), AMD FX-8350, ASUS M5A97 R2.0, 16GB, RME UCX, Digimax DP88, Faderport 8, Revive Audio Mod Studio Channel, Vintage Audio M72, Summit Audio TLA-50, KRK Rokit 5 G2 Monitors, Guitars "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute."
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BRainbow
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/13 11:38:54
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My 2 cents (sorry if I am ignoring your budget on the items that will actually affect performance): 1. Why, why, why AMD? If you are going to spend money for a powerful new workstation that you want to last, get an i7 5820K with an X99 Motherboard and use DDR4 RAM. (Yes, its all pricier but, dude!) 2. I'd get a little more power for future drive expansion - 750 watts 3. You can get a slightly cheaper 5450 video card that will work just fine - https://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-Radeon-5450-DVI-I-Graphics/dp/B01CN1F1ZM/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1489404951&sr=1-2&keywords=5450+video+card 3. Several reviews I have read rate the Fractal R4 as being superior to the R5 (I have 3). Its cheaper too -- under $100 bucks at Best Buy (free shipping to a store near you). 4. Yes to the Samsung EVO 250
Cakewalk (forever), Two WIN10 64-bit DAWs: home-brew ASRock x299 Taichi / i7 7820x w/ 64GB RAM and ASUS X99A-II / i7-5820K w/ 32GB RAM, ZOOM UAC 8, Mackie ONYX 1640i FW Mixer/Interface, Mackie ONYX 1200F, Avalon U5 PreAmp, NI Komplete 11 Ultimate, EastWest Composer CloudX, Yamaha MOTIF XS8, Ensoniq SD-1 and ESQ-1, Korg M1rEX, Yamaha TX-81Z, Roland D110, Line6 HELIX Rack and Native, POD HD-Pro, POD Farm 2.5, Yamaha NS-10 and Presonus Eris E8 monitors, Yamaha Disklavier Upright Piano, mics, guitars, basses, and the cutest little tambourine.
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robert_e_bone
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/13 14:44:21
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I actually have used AMD CPU's for the last 3 desktops I built, and they all worked just fine for Sonar.
YES, Intel chips are faster, however, my performance is plenty good enough with the AMD chips, and I was able to use the money I saved (a couple of hundred for each computer), to buy things like additional hard drives or more memory.
I do see that AMD's newest CPU may well give the i7 a run for its money, and my above comments do not include that CPU's performance.
I have been VERY happy with the performance of the AMD processors.
Bob Bone
Wisdom is a giant accumulation of "DOH!" Sonar: Platinum (x64), X3 (x64) Audio Interfaces: AudioBox 1818VSL, Steinberg UR-22 Computers: 1) i7-2600 k, 32 GB RAM, Windows 8.1 Pro x64 & 2) AMD A-10 7850 32 GB RAM Windows 10 Pro x64 Soft Synths: NI Komplete 8 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, many others MIDI Controllers: M-Audio Axiom Pro 61, Keystation 88es Settings: 24-Bit, Sample Rate 48k, ASIO Buffer Size 128, Total Round Trip Latency 9.7 ms
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BRainbow
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/13 22:08:44
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Fair enough, Bob. If the AMD CPUs work fine for you and save you money, what can I say. My AMD experience has been pretty bad. I have had 2 AMD DAWs and had trouble with both processors after about 6 months (this was circa 15 years ago). On the other hand, I have had 8 or more Intel DAWs since 1995 as well as dozens of Intel office workstations and 4 Intel laptops since 1989 with only 1 bad Intel processor out of all of them.
As far as AMD's new Ryzen processor, maybe they are finally going to force Intel to up its game. As you have probably read, Jim Roseberry's has done some testing and made comments in the recent threads.
Aloha,
Bill
Cakewalk (forever), Two WIN10 64-bit DAWs: home-brew ASRock x299 Taichi / i7 7820x w/ 64GB RAM and ASUS X99A-II / i7-5820K w/ 32GB RAM, ZOOM UAC 8, Mackie ONYX 1640i FW Mixer/Interface, Mackie ONYX 1200F, Avalon U5 PreAmp, NI Komplete 11 Ultimate, EastWest Composer CloudX, Yamaha MOTIF XS8, Ensoniq SD-1 and ESQ-1, Korg M1rEX, Yamaha TX-81Z, Roland D110, Line6 HELIX Rack and Native, POD HD-Pro, POD Farm 2.5, Yamaha NS-10 and Presonus Eris E8 monitors, Yamaha Disklavier Upright Piano, mics, guitars, basses, and the cutest little tambourine.
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Jim Roseberry
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/13 22:33:12
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At least for now, Ryzen isn't quite ready for (low-latency) prime-time.
Once 2nd generation motherboards are available (after several BIOS revisions)... it'll be interesting to see if low-latency performance improves. If not, that would suggest the issue is architecture related.
Video rendering with Ryzen shows great promise.
Of course, in this application, low latency isn't a factor.
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robert_e_bone
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/14 08:14:31
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I think my next computer would likely also be AMD-based, but as Jim indicated, I would NOT want to get stuck with some cutting edge nightmare - I would likely stay with the A10 7850k or 7870k - both of which are really great bang for the buck - quite stable, and quite inexpensive - they even have bundles of CPU's and motherboards for super cheap. These both allow for overclocking, but I choose not to use that feature. (heat is not good for longevity of CPU's)
My AMD A10 7850k computer literally runs 24 hours a day, and has never crashed, other than a power failure, since I built it almost a year ago. Everything runs quite smoothly, including Sonar, and that's that.
Bob Bone
Wisdom is a giant accumulation of "DOH!" Sonar: Platinum (x64), X3 (x64) Audio Interfaces: AudioBox 1818VSL, Steinberg UR-22 Computers: 1) i7-2600 k, 32 GB RAM, Windows 8.1 Pro x64 & 2) AMD A-10 7850 32 GB RAM Windows 10 Pro x64 Soft Synths: NI Komplete 8 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, many others MIDI Controllers: M-Audio Axiom Pro 61, Keystation 88es Settings: 24-Bit, Sample Rate 48k, ASIO Buffer Size 128, Total Round Trip Latency 9.7 ms
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olemon
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/18 00:13:58
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BRainbow
1. Why, why, why AMD? If you are going to spend money for a powerful new workstation that you want to last, get an i7 5820K with an X99 Motherboard and use DDR4 RAM. robert_e_bone
I actually have used AMD CPU's for the last 3 desktops I built, and they all worked just fine for Sonar.
I appreciate the discussion. It wasn't an easy choice, but there seem to be several experienced Sonar users on both sides of the debate. In the end I went with the $90 cpu. As of this afternoon, all the parts have arrived except for the power supply which is due here Monday.
https://www.reverbnation.com/scottholson Platinum, Studio One 3 Pro, Win 10 (x64), AMD FX-8350, ASUS M5A97 R2.0, 16GB, RME UCX, Digimax DP88, Faderport 8, Revive Audio Mod Studio Channel, Vintage Audio M72, Summit Audio TLA-50, KRK Rokit 5 G2 Monitors, Guitars "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute."
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olemon
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/23 03:41:18
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Assembled this evening. No issues or problems. Up and running with Win 10 Pro installed. Will update this thread after I get latest drivers, SPlat, UCX, and vst's installed etc.
https://www.reverbnation.com/scottholson Platinum, Studio One 3 Pro, Win 10 (x64), AMD FX-8350, ASUS M5A97 R2.0, 16GB, RME UCX, Digimax DP88, Faderport 8, Revive Audio Mod Studio Channel, Vintage Audio M72, Summit Audio TLA-50, KRK Rokit 5 G2 Monitors, Guitars "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute."
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fireberd
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/23 10:35:13
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Wireless is a known cause of audio dropouts, noise, etc. If you experience any issues, disable the wireless. Only use wireless if absolutely only choice.
"GCSG Productions" Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors, Ozone 5, Studio One 4.1 ISRC Registered Member of Nashville based R.O.P.E. Assn.
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Cactus Music
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/23 23:01:29
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☄ Helpfulby olemon 2017/03/24 09:48:54
Just a thought on Power supplies.... DO we really still need 750 watt PS? With all the power saving we get with SSD and whatnot I would think 550 Watt is more than enough.
It might even be overkill.
I was surprised when I opened this HP desktop I inherited that it only had a 200 watt PS... It is a fairly top of the line HP with i7 and advertised as gaming ready. I put a SSD drive in it and kept the original 1TB drive as a data drive. I also put a 500 GB data drive in it.. No smoke or crashes so far. And it has enough USB 2 and 3 ports to light up a city.
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olemon
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 09:48:42
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fireberd
Wireless is a known cause of audio dropouts, noise, etc. If you experience any issues, disable the wireless. Only use wireless if absolutely only choice. I'm skipping a wireless card. The cable modem and router are located in the spare room studio so I'm just connecting a cable to the router when I need web access. Cactus Music
Just a thought on Power supplies.... DO we really still need 750 watt PS? With all the power saving we get with SSD and whatnot I would think 550 Watt is more than enough.
It might even be overkill. I ran a compatibility check at PC Part Picker https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ and a PSU calculator at Cooler Master http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/ which calculated just over 300w.
https://www.reverbnation.com/scottholson Platinum, Studio One 3 Pro, Win 10 (x64), AMD FX-8350, ASUS M5A97 R2.0, 16GB, RME UCX, Digimax DP88, Faderport 8, Revive Audio Mod Studio Channel, Vintage Audio M72, Summit Audio TLA-50, KRK Rokit 5 G2 Monitors, Guitars "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute."
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fireberd
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 10:28:24
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"overkill" on a power supply generally equals less heat generated by the power supply. I used a 650 watt in my new i7 6700K built, but I'm not using a separate video card, just the Intel video in the 6700K which is more than adequate for Sonar or general web surfing.
"GCSG Productions" Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors, Ozone 5, Studio One 4.1 ISRC Registered Member of Nashville based R.O.P.E. Assn.
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Cactus Music
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 14:25:44
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So therefore are larger power supplies quieter?
I would have thought the oposite
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Bhav
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 18:23:25
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Even an I3 would have been better than an FX CPU for productivity uses.
Edit - it does not have integrated graphics (I thought it did)
I7 6850k, Asus RV10E, 32 Gb ram, SLI GTX 980 Ti, Creative Soundblaster Z, Yamaha DGX 630, Creative Aurvana Platinum headphones.
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fireberd
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 22:07:18
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If the power supply is working closer to its rated power, generally its hotter (warmer) and thus the cooling fan may be running faster. My 650 watt fan usually is at a low RPM as the power supply is not pushed. I've seen some new power supplies that the fan will only run if needed thus even quieter.
My new build for all practical purposes is "dead quiet". It has a quiet case, quiet power supply and quiet liquid CPU cooler.
"GCSG Productions" Franklin D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar (primary instrument). Nashville Telecaster, Bass, etc. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero M/B, i7 6700K CPU, 16GB Ram, SSD and conventional hard drives, Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Pro Insider Pre-Release Sonar Platinum/CbB. MOTU 896MK3 Hybrid, Tranzport, X-Touch, JBL LSR308 Monitors, Ozone 5, Studio One 4.1 ISRC Registered Member of Nashville based R.O.P.E. Assn.
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Cactus Music
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/24 22:57:20
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Thanks Jack for the clarification. I myself have out of habit gone for larger quiet rated PS. Both my latest builds have 650 watt. I was surprised to see the HP which is a more powerful machine cheeped out with the small PS.. that said, it is a noisy machine.
That's why we build our own in a nutshell.
The HP was $1,800 I think.
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filtersweep
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/25 01:33:02
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fireberd
If the power supply is working closer to its rated power, generally its hotter (warmer) and thus the cooling fan may be running faster. My 650 watt fan usually is at a low RPM as the power supply is not pushed. I've seen some new power supplies that the fan will only run if needed thus even quieter.
My new build for all practical purposes is "dead quiet". It has a quiet case, quiet power supply and quiet liquid CPU cooler.
So a 200 W PS delivering 200W will be warmer than a 650W PS delivering 200W? Is that independent of thecefficiency rating of each PS? Just curious.
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Bhav
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Re: My First Audio Workstation Build
2017/03/25 01:42:20
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Cactus Music
So therefore are larger power supplies quieter?
I would have thought the oposite
This is something I remember reading on PC forums, that if you go overkill on a PSU especially with a eco mode fan, the fan will never have to even turn on. Unfortunately for me, combining a gaming PC full of fans with recording wasnt too great an idea, however the latest Creative Soundblaster Z cards have an input filter that silences any fan noise so that works.
I7 6850k, Asus RV10E, 32 Gb ram, SLI GTX 980 Ti, Creative Soundblaster Z, Yamaha DGX 630, Creative Aurvana Platinum headphones.
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