PC Build Recommendations for Music Production

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Cyber Samurai

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Hey All.

Was wondering if I could get some advice here. I Want to build a machine for the primary purpose of Music Production (possibly some gaming GTA 5 type)... Not to fuzzed by ultimate graphics.

What I need help with is that I really don't know about Computers that much, I know what I want and went on woot and ended up with a 57K PC without peripherals. Which is way out of my budget.

Budget 35-40K ZAR (closer to the 35k would be best) no peripherals - I need about 5k for the sound card interface

My thinking is this. I would like the latest technologies available as I wont be able to upgrade for some years and when I do, it would be best to have the easiest options by having the latest tech. I need High processing power, many threads/cores (Not sure if that is the same thing) Lots of RAM 32GB min, Primary m.2 storage for the ops system and production software, VST Plugins to cut on latency issues, secondary storage (High Capacity) for Music Production Projects, Third High Capacity Storage for Music Samples (I currently have 9TB of samples), another drive for any other games or rubbish, downloads, whatever...

I kind of want to keep my system separated from music and other stuff.

I am not too fussed about looks, but I would love a Black and Purple build...Watercooling etc, but function over form

Thank you in advance for the Help.
 
Honestly a 14" M2 Pro machine with a few externals would be my recommendation with a few externals.

If your firmly on the Windows bus see below from Wootware.
f4904aa78f52b9db83c6bcb08745797d.jpg

You'll need to compromise on somethings. Better recommendations shall also come I'm sure
 
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Tbh for software reasons you should probably get a mac book. You can always emulate Windows with usb passthrough if you need something specific

But what you will also want is a neutral dac/amp and headphones. I can reccomend an odac2 from mayflower electronics, together with a pair of Fostex T50RP Mk. III - Version 1 (the neutral response cans)
 
To some extent this will depend on the software that you want to run. As an example, some people use MacBooks if the preinstalled software software works for them. This saves money on buying the Windows software, resulting in a lower overall cost. Other software sometimes has a list of the minimum system requirements, although you will want to aim higher for a better experience. An example is the popular Pro Tools: https://avidtech.my.salesforce-sites.com/pkb/articles/compatibility/Pro-Tools-System-Requirements

If you are building your own then you need enough horsepower while keeping the latency as low as possible. The CPU and cooler combination you selected looks good. You will want a reasonable amount of cores for multiple tracks and plugins. The RAM should be OK, but you can always increase this. It will be difficult to have too much RAM for this job. The GPU is more than you need, unless you are going to use this computer for other things. The motherboard does not have WiFi so you will have to add a card if you are not using Ethernet. Having a reasonably fast NVMe drive for your system and projects you are working on is good. It looks like your total storage capacity is less than your stated needs. I am lukewarm to the Thermaltake power supplies, but there are some people here who know a lot more about these things that can advise. Don't forget to factor in the cost of Windows and a backup system (imagine losing a month's hard work).
 
Cyber Samurai said:
Hey All.

Was wondering if I could get some advice here. I Want to build a machine for the primary purpose of Music Production (possibly some gaming GTA 5 type)... Not to fuzzed by ultimate graphics.

What I need help with is that I really don't know about Computers that much, I know what I want and went on woot and ended up with a 57K PC without peripherals. Which is way out of my budget.

Budget 35-40K ZAR (closer to the 35k would be best) no peripherals - I need about 5k for the sound card interface

My thinking is this. I would like the latest technologies available as I wont be able to upgrade for some years and when I do, it would be best to have the easiest options by having the latest tech. I need High processing power, many threads/cores (Not sure if that is the same thing) Lots of RAM 32GB min, Primary m.2 storage for the ops system and production software, VST Plugins to cut on latency issues, secondary storage (High Capacity) for Music Production Projects, Third High Capacity Storage for Music Samples (I currently have 9TB of samples), another drive for any other games or rubbish, downloads, whatever...

I kind of want to keep my system separated from music and other stuff.

I am not too fussed about looks, but I would love a Black and Purple build...Watercooling etc, but function over form

Thank you in advance for the Help.
Click to expand...
Are you just starting with making music or you been at it for a while? Not sure what DAW you're using & what your sample management is like but maybe just make sure your DAW is caching your samples on the primary m.2 drive when you load them rather than constantly pulling them from the sample HDD. Dunno - 3 drives seems like overkill. Get a primary m.2 for o/s, your DAW and pretty everything except your samples. Get a second HDD drive for your samples and check your DAW to cache them.
 
Whatever PSU, chassis or CPU fan you get, make sure they are silent types - you dont want fan noise in your studio.

If you're on a budget, you could potentially skip the Gfx card completely, and get a CPU with onboard graphics - which means you would only need a +-350-400w PSU and less cooling (less noise) - and put that money towards the audio interface or extra storage.

And before you purchase, just do a bit of research/googling/check the audio forums etc, and make sure whatever chipset architecture and motherboard you decide to get is compatible with your audio interface/drivers, etc and they are stable together and that other people arent having issues - some just dont play well together and that can result in audio dropouts, etc.
 
Pho3nix said:
Honestly a 14" M2 Pro machine with a few externals would be my recommendation with a few externals.

If your firmly on the Windows bus see below from Wootware.
f4904aa78f52b9db83c6bcb08745797d.jpg

You'll need to compromise on somethings. Better recommendations shall also come I'm sure
Click to expand...
Thank you, This will help think the Graphics card is a bit too much for my purpose, would rather save a few K and distribute it to other parts of the build.... AMD over Intel? never really knew which would be better or why?

Honestly as for Apple, I am really no fan of Apple. I find them way overpriced and not too user friendly, also long term your only option is to buy a new one, not upgrade.
 
saor said:
Are you just starting with making music or you been at it for a while? Not sure what DAW you're using & what your sample management is like but maybe just make sure your DAW is caching your samples on the primary m.2 drive when you load them rather than constantly pulling them from the sample HDD. Dunno - 3 drives seems like overkill. Get a primary m.2 for o/s, your DAW and pretty everything except your samples. Get a second HDD drive for your samples and check your DAW to cache them.
Click to expand...
I am not new to music production, but still have a lot to learn, I generally use FL Studio, but am starting to migrate to Ableton (Ableton is so different in its user interface need to get the FL Studio shortcuts and flows out of my head).

Yes i would like to have multiple m.2 drives for ops, DAW and samples... the other drive is for games, downloads, music, movies and other crap.
 
nickm said:
Whatever PSU, chassis or CPU fan you get, make sure they are silent types - you dont want fan noise in your studio.

If you're on a budget, you could potentially skip the Gfx card completely, and get a CPU with onboard graphics - which means you would only need a +-350-400w PSU and less cooling (less noise) - and put that money towards the audio interface or extra storage.

And before you purchase, just do a bit of research/googling/check the audio forums etc, and make sure whatever chipset architecture and motherboard you decide to get is compatible with your audio interface/drivers, etc and they are stable together and that other people arent having issues - some just dont play well together and that can result in audio dropouts, etc.
Click to expand...
Silent would be great, but silence can be costly from what i have found. I would want a Graphics card as at times I need to just zone out of the creative space and do some mindless gaming. But as for 4k gaming high resolution... As long as the game can run, really dont care too much for ultra graphics.
Thank for the advice on checking compatibility between the sound interface and the build, i didnt think to check on that. 100%
 
CPTBoy said:
This is an interesting video regarding the M3's for music production :
Click to expand...
As mention, not really liking Apple too much, i dont like that they are overpriced and dont really have options for upgrading... I have been saving for Eons to build a new rig. my current PC is a gen4 i5 9GB mismatched ram intel board, onboard GPU and honestly I am surprised it has even lasted this long.

I would prefer a desktop PC as late I can upgrade as possible....
 
Cyber Samurai said:
As mention, not really liking Apple too much, i dont like that they are overpriced and dont really have options for upgrading... I have been saving for Eons to build a new rig. my current PC is a gen4 i5 9GB mismatched ram intel board, onboard GPU and honestly I am surprised it has even lasted this long.

I would prefer a desktop PC as late I can upgrade as possible....
Click to expand...
Sure thing, this was before you posted you are not really keen on Apple, so thought I would just share if you are looking that way.
 
Cyber Samurai said:
Hey All.

Was wondering if I could get some advice here. I Want to build a machine for the primary purpose of Music Production (possibly some gaming GTA 5 type)... Not to fuzzed by ultimate graphics.

What I need help with is that I really don't know about Computers that much, I know what I want and went on woot and ended up with a 57K PC without peripherals. Which is way out of my budget.

Budget 35-40K ZAR (closer to the 35k would be best) no peripherals - I need about 5k for the sound card interface

My thinking is this. I would like the latest technologies available as I wont be able to upgrade for some years and when I do, it would be best to have the easiest options by having the latest tech. I need High processing power, many threads/cores (Not sure if that is the same thing) Lots of RAM 32GB min, Primary m.2 storage for the ops system and production software, VST Plugins to cut on latency issues, secondary storage (High Capacity) for Music Production Projects, Third High Capacity Storage for Music Samples (I currently have 9TB of samples), another drive for any other games or rubbish, downloads, whatever...

I kind of want to keep my system separated from music and other stuff.

I am not too fussed about looks, but I would love a Black and Purple build...Watercooling etc, but function over form

Thank you in advance for the Help.
Click to expand...
So I went on Wootware again and built this.. it is a little over the budget so I need to bring it down by around 5k. But my thinking was this.

1707134567958.png
 
I'm no pro with music production at all, so my advice may be limited.

You've paired a very high-end motherboard with a mediocre CPU and the fastest RAM you can find. Possibly there are benefits to this for your workflow, but it seems an odd match.

Personally, I'd rather get an EVGA/Seasonic/Super Flower/Asus PSU than a Montech one. In my mind they're B-tier and a PSU should always be A-tier.

In essence, without further research, I'd likely drop to a cheaper board, 6400 RAM and a better CPU maybe. But definitely a better PSU.
 
Cyber Samurai said:
So I went on Wootware again and built this.. it is a little over the budget so I need to bring it down by around 5k. But my thinking was this.

View attachment 1656882
Click to expand...
What's the reason for spending more on a board than CPU? A B760 board will be enough of a saving that you get a better processor. The 14400F and 14500 are very dissimilar CPUs even though they're both Core i5s. 6 P-Cores + 4 E-Cores vs 6 P-Cores + 8 E-Cores, and an additional 300 MHz on the maximum P-Core speed.

You're wasting a LOT of money on RAM, as running four modules is exceptionally hard on the IMC. Intel only guarantees 4800 MT's with four modules, and anything over and above that is gravy. Realistically, you'll probably top out somewhere around 5600-6000 MT/s. For the most part, the performance difference between 6000 MT/s and 7200 MT/s is going to be borderline immeasurable, never mind imperceptible.

I'd get a decent PSU. The PSU is one point you should never skimp. EVER. I hardly feel comfortable selling crappy PSUs to people trying to revive a 20 year old Pentium 4, so in a R 40k build I'd certainly look at something better.

Do you need/want an AIO cooler? I'm an advocate for even a mid-range air cooler over a high-end AIO, as if a fan on an air cooler dies (extremely unlikely) you might not even notice as airflow throughout the case should keep temps in check (not low, but low enough that you won't hit thermal shutdown), and when you do you just slap on a new fan and carry on. If a pump fails, you're 100% out of action until it's replaced.

I'd not use a Purple drive for storage. They're designed for surveillance and may allow write errors. With surveillance, a bad or weak sector causing the drive to try writing to the same sector several times may result in several seconds of missed footage, which is far worse than a few incorrect pixels in a frame of video (or even a fully corrupted frame). Purple drives are designed not to continuously try writing the sector, but rather skip past it as quickly as possible. For pretty much anything that doesn't require real-time writing, a Purple drive is potentially a recipe for disaster.
 
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