Question about Sound Cards and Audio Interfaces in general

Hi again..
 
I am very lucky in that I am currently getting to spec and build a new PC worstation for my work.  The primary purpose of this build will be for a hi-end CAD/3D Graphics/Video edit & render and engineerng workstation.  The added bonus is that I work from home and I can also use this new rig for my DAW
 
So...my question is....what should I be looking for in terms of audio cards for a decent DAW?
 
I will post the specs of the workstation at the end of this post but you will see there is no dedicated audio interface (yet!!).
 
At present I use a Behringer USB Guitar link for analogue guitar input and I have a decent Yamaha MIDI-USB interface from my digital piano for a MIDI controller.  My previous efforts revealed that my old PC sound card was not up to the playback...lots of click and buzzes etc.  however using the Behringer Guitar Link with the ASIO drivers worked great for playback.
 
Any advice on if I should be considering another audio interface for this new set up?  Will the onboard audio be good enough? The specs are as follows.  As ever all input is very much appreciated!
 
Motherboard:
ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/SABERTOOTH_X79/
CPU:
Intel Core i7-3930K Hexa-Core Processor 3.2 Ghz 12 MB Cache LGA 2011
http://ark.intel.com/prod...ache-up-to-3_80-GHz%22]http://ark.intel.com/products/63697/Intel-Core-i7-3930K-Processor-12M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz
 
CPU Cooler:
ZALMAN CNPS9900
http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=416
 
RAM:
G-Skill Ripjaws 4 x 8GB ultra low profile
http://www.gskill.com/pro...1&c1=1&c2=3%22]http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=481&c1=1&c2=3
 
Primary HDD:
Samsung 512GB S840Pro SSD
http://www.samsung.com/uk...840-pro/MZ-7PD512BW%22]http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/memory-cards-hdd-odd/ssd/840-pro/MZ-7PD512BW
GPU:
Asus GTX 670 4G
http://www.asus.com/Graph..Cards/GTX670DC24GD5/%22]http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GTX670DC24GD5/
 
PSU:
Cougar 700W 80+
http://www.newegg.com/Pro...tem=N82E16817553002%22]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817553002
 
Case:
Zalman MS800 PLUS
http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Product_Read.php?Idx=748
 
Monitor:
HP ZR30W
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/%5Bprimary-term%5D/hp_zr30w_30-inch_lcd_review
 
PS....this will be a self build...wish me luck!

karma1959


There are many existing threads on this subject in the forum.  A few searches will likely yield lots of options.

More info would be helpful to give you reasonable recommendations:
- price range?
- how many inputs are you looking for?
- What type of I/O in general do you need?
- Will you be using sample libraries?
I have an RME UFX and love it, but it's pricey.  Generally speaking, anything RME is worth looking at, however again, it would depend on what other features you're looking for.

Another point - you have a single drive outlined above.  This will be fine in many cases, however if you're going to be using sample libraries extensively, you may want to consider a second (or third) hard drive to split I/O between OS & apps, Sonar data and sample libraries.  I haven't used SSDs, so can't comment on that - but there are also many threads on this subject in the forum as well.

Hope that helps.
Russ

 
Thanks for your reply...the single SSD is only the primary drive...I have a plenty of other 1TB or 500Mb SATA drives that I can cannibalize for extra storage!!
 
I am only a lone operator so I am not looking for something that can handle dozens of inputs simultaneously...just me and my solo messing around...if I can ever find a real drummer with a real drum kit that may change though!
 
Thanks for the advice...I will dig about the forums for some wisdom...as you have probably guessed I am a newcomer to this forum so I am just happy to get a response!
 
Thanks again
 
Peter
 

Since you're slipping the daw functionality in through the back door, it may affect your choices.

Most audio interfaces are external, which might be hard to justify on a system not intended primarily for audio.

It's easier to slip in an internal PCIe card without anyone noticing :-)

If you have no such constraints, there are very many audio interfaces to choose from and you'll have to do some research (and notice little things like presence or absence of separate monitor and phones controls). In addition to the interface, you also have to consider good monitors, good headphones, room treatment, etc.

Peter,can I send you a copy of my book ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFZ7ZrsTl3g

id be willing to send you a free copy, just message me :)

im sure you know well above and beyond what your doing, im just trying to gauge feedback from users who build/don't build.

it will probably take you about an hour to read, its got over 60 photo's.
I honestly believe in order to give a visual to someone about building you need walk them through with photo's almost every step of the way.

I only build about 3-4 daw's a month(some daw's, some personal computers, gaming systems.
but ive got it to the point now where I can build a entry level Daw more than capable of handling heavey loads in sonar for under 500.00

send me a message,i'll send you a download link.

Thanks,
charlie

AT


It depends upon how many channels you want to record at once and how much you want to spend.  It seems like you are looking for stereo in/out.  The best low priced stereo interface I know of it the TC Konnekt 6.  Great sound quality.  Downside, only one mic preamp and Firewire.  For USB it is hard to go against the Roland stuff for SONAR, although many here like the Focusrite USB units.

The best quality units are usually convertor-only units - Burl or a used Universal Audio unit.  Those go for $2000 or more, and you still need to get them into your computer.

The RME/TC and Lynx units are all more reasonable priced but plenty of pros use them, esp. the Lynx.

But any of the lower-cost units in the early pp will work fine and can get pro results.

@

AT thanks for the input..the TC Konnect 6 looks very nice.  Would this be able to drive a pair of 6 ohm speakers direct from the monitor outputs wth the need for another amp?

If we talk about best quality you'll probably have to look for Prism Sound Orpheus, but the price will go to almost double what you'll have to pay for Burl or Universal Audio.

Hi,

I scratched about for ages with several sound cards and eventually went with an external (Roland Quad Capture) it seems to do a better job than the various sound cards I tried and works with everything. easy to install (plug it into a USB port) plug the output into the speaker amp.  Plug in the guitar or mike and go for it.  The keyboards go in via a separate USB connection.

However I am also new to this.