musmin2415;

Your list of components for your new 'home built' computer looks fine; as someone who has been building home builts since the 1990's I know that it is an ongoing affair (you are never quite satisfied with what you end up with, but that's OK!) you always want to build it better, but when the money is there.

So with that being said, if money is a deciding factor then build it as good as you can get it now, knowing that in the future that there will be newer and faster and cheaper ways to upgrade your; now newly built computer.

Just my 2 cents.

musmin2415


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!!

Suggestions:
 
 
Case: Take a look at Lian Li Cases (Newegg)
HD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
SSD: Intel 520 Series instead of 330
OS: Win 7 Pro 64-bit
Video Card: NVIDIA not AMD
 
Good luck!
 
 

Del

Just my 2 cents.

Hey, a comment like that is worth more than 2 cents!  I really appreciate it.  I always welcome advice!!

PapaBear
 
Case: Take a look at Lian Li Cases (Newegg)
 

Will do! Thanks!

 
SSD: Intel 520 Series instead of 330
 

Any particular reason why?  Just curious.

Newegg and their technicians are very helpful if you call them and talk to their agents. 

My last upgrade (earlier this year) was mostly via Newegg. They can help you match the parts that you want and need. Also make suggestions that might work better for you.

Of course there are others on the 'net'.

Good Luck!  

(P.S. it is both exciting and a pain in the back side (rebuilding your own computer); but in the long run its worth it!)

The 520 Series is faster and has a longer warranty.

- (1) Video Card:  SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 11188-22-20G Video Card (OC Edition)

This choice makes no sense in a DAW.  
It's huge... puts off lots of heat... and doesn't afford you any greater DAW capability than a passive cooled HD5450.


If you were editing video with Vegas Pro 11 (or Premier with the Mercury Engine) and wanted hardware assisted video acceleration/rendering, you'd want a fast Nvidia GTX card (so it doesn't even make sense in a Audio/Video context).

Musm

#1. Listen to what Jim Roseberry has to say..... +1, +1, +1
#2 Alegira has some great thoughts as well....
#3. Stay with that Phantom case.........Stay with that Phantom Case.........I did my own build last year, and I used that very same case.....At that point it was my 2nd choice

But now a year later.....SO Happy with it......I maxed out the case fans (and yes stay with the NZXT fans......Stay with them fans.....

I also bought the Fans with the Blue LED's....Pretty Lights!!!!!.....I love the case.....it runs and keeps my DAW nice and cool, Was easy to work in....has loads of HD space and everything routed nice and neat.......It has fan speed control and I am able to run the case on very low speed and it still never ever gets hot...Hardly even warm in fact...and I've run the thing on several occasions for 20 hours at a crack........

The only draw back to this case are:
1. Mounting the HD's in their cradles before you slide them into the case were a bit of a PITA ...........but so be it
2. The wiring instructions for the case fans leaves A LOT to be desired.....in fact it down right sucks......but if you take a breath and sit and think about it for a bit it becomes clear and you get it done.......besides if you screw it up you can always re do this step and once done .......you do not have to do it again.......

out side of that....  I love the case and am glad I bought it..... I would buy it again in a heart beat

Clifford

two important things are your case and fan,these are overlooked alot,
the fans i have are shock  w/mount rubber gromets to improve vibration and noise,you want a pc that makes no noise.

also try looking into a place called microcenter,i buy all my builds from there.

Jim Roseberry

- (1) Video Card:  SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 11188-22-20G Video Card (OC Edition)

This choice makes no sense in a DAW.  
It's huge... puts off lots of heat... and doesn't afford you any greater DAW capability than a passive cooled HD5450.


If you were editing video with Vegas Pro 11 (or Premier with the Mercury Engine) and wanted hardware assisted video acceleration/rendering, you'd want a fast Nvidia GTX card (so it doesn't even make sense in a Audio/Video context).

Perhaps he use it as gaming rig too? 

Perhaps he use it as gaming rig too? 

I hope not...   
If that were the case, he'd want a fast GTX video card.