Has anyone built a new computer recently?

[Old Vantaa Man]

What was the spec, please?

Looking for ideas and thinking of putting a 64-bit system together running Sonar 7.

Comments most welcome.

[Doc Jones]

64 bit eh? which os were you thinking of using?

[Old Vantaa Man]

I dunno. XP, probably.

Is Cubase 64 bit yet?

[Timo]

Am in the same boat as you, OVM. Going to have to build my own system, as there are currently no affordable 17" laptops with TI firewire chipset (my former laptop died miserably). Thinking of core 2 quad-core, or maybe the next-gen quads ("Yorkfield": new fabrication at 45nm, SSE v4, 1.3GHz FSB, DDR3 support, 6 or 12Mb L2 cache) which will be released in around mid November.

Will likely install both XP 32-bit and Vista 64-bit for dual booting in parallel for the best of both worlds, and to further test compatibilities to see what software I stand to lose by moving over to V64 for good (my eventual goal).

It's a pretty exciting time for computing, but we're still at that awkward 32/64-bit, XP/Vista, DX9/10 crossover stage.

[Khazul]

Thinking of doing it.

I cant rememeber which mobo I was going to use - it wasnt an Asus this time around because they are using VIA firewire chips which are crap.

I think it was a gigabyte mobo, intel P35 chipset, TI firewire chip, intel quad core @ 2.4Ghz to keep it cheap unless the quad 3Ghz chip comes down in price. Also choosing the newer process G0 stepping CPU - lower power, lower heat etc which is good for keeping the whole machine more reliable and quieter. On memory - probably DDR2 as at any given speed DDR2 will be faster than DDR3, so DDR3 is only worthwhile when it gets alot faster. DDR2 goes upto about 1066Mhz I think and 1333 DDR3 is (I think) not quite at break even point relative to DDR2 at 1066.

As for gfx card - I guess just whatever is current with decent performance from nvidia. Again something with overkill quiet cooling on it.

Dont use stock intel coolers - my experience is they are way under spec'd once in a real machine with loads of harddrives etc, so am using a huge zalman cooler - also stuck one on the graphic card.

Case - antec P180 currently, though might look at one of their rack case next time around.

Hard drives - couple of WD 10000 RPM raptors and a couple of high capacity 7200 rpm of some random make. The raptors are for the OS and project drives, the others for relaiable main storage in a raid config.

Main thing on the case - find something with soft rubber mounting for the hard drives to cut down noise (have a look at that antec case to see what kind of thing they do) and very good airflow that allows for 120mm fans - they are much quieter and shift more air. Good dust filtering is advisable as well - as eventually the cooling fins will clog up with dust otherwise and become near useless.

[Doc Jones]

are you guys finding that all of your apps and drivers are fairly stable running in a 64 bit environment now? (I know that the devs for Ableton still recommend running their app in a 32 bit setup)

[Guzzy]

My new PC so far:
http://www.thesoundofmysynths.com/bilder/pc.jpg
Missing the main parts, that will be ordered this month, got a bonus at my job;-)

[Khazul]

I *still* cant get 64 bit drivers for my audio interface.

Hence my general hatred of yamaha at the moment.

[Juho L]

Speaking of 64-bit drivers, what the heck is taking so long? I've heard that only a laughable fraction of manufactuers has managed to release a proper 64-bit Vista drivers. Are they lazy or is there some problems with Vista like compulsory Microsoft driver sertification?

[Khazul]

I guess some give a shit - most dont.

Have to aplaud roland for getting most of their Vista 64 drivers out within a a few weekss so of vista 64 being launched - as a stable final too - not just as some flakey beta as was the case with many others who at least made the effort at the time.

To me this just points to the rest of the audio companies either not giving a shit or being incompetant (or both).

[Old Vantaa Man]

I got a 5-year old RME Multiface l. The German buggers are still supporting it with 64-bit amazingly. Great piece of kit.

[Old Vantaa Man]

To me this just points to the rest of the audio companies either not giving a shit or being incompetant

I think they are rubbing their hands together with glee at all the new sales for a low/mid-price 64-bit piece of shit. Reckon many could upgrade, but won't.

[Definity]

DO NOT GET VISTA!!!!! it is so crap it is unbelivible especialy for music well with my experience it is the OS system has been designed really badly

[Timo]

DO NOT GET VISTA!!!!! it is so crap it is unbelivible especialy for music well with my experience it is the OS system has been designed really badly

What specific problems/symptoms were you having with it? I take it you turned off all the eye candy (Aero), and stuff?

Were you running 32- or 64-bit?

[LivePsy]

Vista talks to you too much! How *do* you turn off Aero and then the frequent nags about things that are perfectly normal? I am the System Administrator on my network so I find it unbelievably annoying to be told to contact myself ...

Cheers,
B

[Doc Jones]

First rule of using vista - Turn off UAC !!!

[Guzzy]

I dunno. XP, probably.

Is Cubase 64 bit yet?

Cubase/Nuendo 64-bit Preview version for Windows Vista 64-bit editions
http://knowledgebase.steinberg.de/260_1.html

[Guzzy]

Vista, so far:
1. The Yamaha USB-midi driver that never worked on my previous PC now works, great!
2. Virus TI, only audio driver works.
3. Steinberg Midex-8, driver don't work.
4. Roland Fantom XR driver don't work.
5. Korg microKONTROL driver don't work.
6. Cubase studio 4.0 works.

Next:
Installing all drivers on XP partition(not 64-bit version).

[GROW]

I just built a beast:
Core i7 3.2
Asus p6t
6 gigs of ddr3
two velociraptor in a raid 0 for os
two tb drives in a raid 1 for backup
still using my old emu 1616m soundcard though works great:)

Started with Vista 32 bit...thought it was great but after a friend (hes a musician and a software developer) talked me into rolling back I did...I'm back to xp 32 and Im running WAY BETTER. Vista was a failure imo stick to xp.

I was wondering how you are planning on running your TI OS3 with Vista 64 though...do you guys know something I don't yet. I am new to this forum but I haven't seen anything about a 64 bit vst interface. Please enlighten me as my Virus is the last piece of gear I have that isn't supported and I would love to switch to Windows 7 beta and start using all this ram:)

[annikk.exe]

I'm a Network Administrator for my day job, and built a new computer specifically for writing music earlier this year.

I'd recommend giving www.scan.co.uk (http://www.scan.co.uk) a call. Ask for a guy called Paul Moss and tell him Luke from Aberdeen sent you. Tell him you're interested in having a music computer designed. He'll sort you out.


Beyond that, here's a few things to consider:

1. Do you need the computer to be quiet? Only truly important if you are going to be recording in the same room.

2. Are you likely to use vast swathes of samples? If so, you may need to consider getting a 64 bit computer. As VC doesn't work in 64 bit OS's, you might want to consider getting a "main" DAW in 32bit to drive your Virus and your sequencing software, then farm out all the sample processing and VSTs to a seperate, 64 bit DAW - and then join the two together with something like VST System Link (in Cubase).
You cannot get more than about 2.5 gigs of RAM in a 32 bit computer.
Hence having a 64bit box with loads of memory for your samples/VSTs.

3. Will you be mounting it in a rack? You can get rack-mountable computer cases (like mine!)

4. What Operating System will you use? I'd recommend Windows XP Pro (NOT Home Edition). It is very stable and good for music writing.




Specs of my DAW:


<10db operational noise

Quad-Core 2.15GHz
4gig RAM - 2.7 useable
random A-Bit motherboard

Fanless GFX card
Drive Noise Dampeners
120GB Solid State OS Drive
2 x 750GB drives in Raid 1 Array

Cubase 5 Studio Edition
Onyx 400F
2-port DVI/USB KVM Switch
Funky Blue Lights To Make It Look Awesome ^_^

Price including Assembly, Tax, Delivery: £2,500.00


It's in a giant black rackmountable metal case. The whole thing is so full of heat sinks (instead of fans) that it weighs around 40kg. Quite tricky to lift it.. :>

[Timo]

Built mine over a year ago now.

• Intel Core2 Quad Q9450 (2.67GHz) w/ Zalman 9500 heatsink+fan
• Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 motherboard (based on the Intel P35 chipset)
• WinXP-x86, Vista-64x, Win7-64x tri-boot
• 2GB CAS5 Corsair DDR2 800
• 2 x 500GB Western Digital Caviar RE2 enterprise (for better reliability) hard-drives
• 512MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT. Great for gaming.
• Corsair HX520 (520W) PSU.
• Nzxt Lexa case.

Total cost ~£1K.

Solid as a rock with XP. Never had a single blue screen on this computer.

Vista created DPC spikes when I first tested it for audio work, but I think this was due to early graphics card drivers at the time but I've not since tested it in over a year as XP just works so well.

Not tested Win7 for audio yet, but it's much faster than Vista in general use.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/MoboThumb.jpg (http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/Mobo.jpg)

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/CaseThumb.jpg (http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/LexaCase.jpg)

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/InsideThumb.jpg (http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/Inside.jpg) http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/BlueLEDsThumb.jpg (http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii133/TimmyEdwards/LEDs.jpg)

[Hollowcell]

Holly crap Timo, that thing looks like it could take off!

Actually my studio machine is very similar to yours spec wise (although a few of your components a little bit better than mine), but it doesn't look no where near as flash!

[zeno]

Intel i7 920 2.6ghz quad core x 2 threads each core
intel dx58so board
6gb Corsair ram
Antec 900 case
corsair 550 watt psu
WD 500gb drive
UAD-1 powered plugins card
ATI Raedon 2600
LG Dvd burner

http://zenodub.com/units/i7-1.JPG

http://zenodub.com/units/i7-2.JPG

Running dual boot XP and Win7-64

Very very solid with everything. Also very very very very very very very very fast ableton rarely goes past 12% cpu. <3

http://zenodub.com/units/cap.jpg

[XLR8A]

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/566/dscf0744.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/904/dscf06401024kl0.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1743/dscf0742o.jpg

Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz
Asus P5K-E motherboard
2GB Kingston CL4 ram
Antec P182 silent case
Antec Neo HE 430 watt psu
Hitachi 500gb SATA2 drive
RME 9632 PCI audio card
nVidia GeForce 7300 GT
Pioneer DVR-215D burner

[Talos]

Hey DrJonez,
Looks great, I'm looking at building something very similar.
How much did that beast cost, with & without the UAD-1?

[zeno]

Hey DrJonez,
Looks great, I'm looking at building something very similar.
How much did that beast cost, with & without the UAD-1?

The UAD-1 is something that I had from my old system which was a P4 3.0 gig w/ 1 gig (single core). For the record, this syststem BLOWS that sucker away.

Obviously.

The total cost of the system was about $1200 USD around 2 months ago. Also, I have to say, this is the BEST case I've ever owned. It' ergonomic, great panel features, sexy look, quiet and even has a little spot at top to store your keys, USB drives, weed, or connectors!

You can get a used UAD-1 for around $175. They've been replaced by the UAD-2. Luckily, this board as a PCI slot, so I was able to accommodate the old technology...

[Talos]

Thanks for the info.
Coincidentally the system I am replacing is the same! P4 3ghz, absolute crap in the current market.
Same as you I already have my RME soundcard and TC Powercore.
I priced mine to about £1.2k aswell, but that is with good quality components ofc.

[Keith Phillips]

Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz
Asus P5K-E motherboard
2GB Kingston CL4 ram
Antec P182 silent case
Antec Neo HE 430 watt psu
Hitachi 500gb SATA2 drive
RME 9632 PCI audio card
nVidia GeForce 7300 GT
Pioneer DVR-215D burner

XLR8A, did you turn that Asus into a Hackintosh???

That's what I did to my years old P5K-Premium (I have that same case too!) I wiped my XP x64 and ditched Sonar after all these years to go with Mac OS X 10.5.7 and Logic. Best move I ever did. Only running a 3.0GHz Core2Duo with 4GB of RAM, but no need to go faster just yet... This thing is really solid.

I was surprised that all of my hardware would work so well with OS X on this thing. My iLok works perfectly for my software licenses, the MIDIsport 4x4 works, the Zoom H2 field recorder works as an input device as well as a standard field recorder, and my Toneport works perfectly (would like to maybe switch to something else later though.) The fucking devices even pass through onto an XP install inside of VMware Fusion and work in legacy software there. (not many programs that I have to run on XP but it works great.)

A lot of that stuff didn't work in x64... That was some annoying shit right there..

[nutrinoland]

Intel i7 920 Processor
Gigabyte ex 58 ud3r mobo
kingston DDR3 1333MHz 1.5V 6 GB
Nvidia 512 mb Gforce display card
MAudio Delta 4x4 Interface
Samsung 20 inch 2033 SW monitor
7200 RPM IDE Hard Drive (old)
Glacial Power 650 Watt PSU
Cooler MAster Cabinet


I still have to assemble this computer....just got it...

I wanna use a 64 bit OS cause i wanna utilize all 6 GB of RAM.
I am also running Protools. As of now Protools only supports Vista 64 which sucks...so i'm gonna have to get used to using vista for a while....till windows 7 works with Protools..
Also my audio interface drivers are only compatible with vista 64...

i really do not wanna sacrifice 2 GB of RAM by going with a 32 bit OS..

so VISTA IT IS !!

[mitchiemasha]

Much needed to do, running a 3ghz p4, running out of power on every project now, even after streaming things down.

Going to wait to go all 64bit, loads of ram, with the new windows. feels like a waste to upgrade now, when such a massive jump up is only months off (more like half a year when you get round to it.

Just hope my emu card will be 64 bit. or I could just sack it and use the virus. never thought of that till now.

[rdilago@zonnet.nl]

I bought a i7 Quad Core system Win7 64nit from Carillon, which i would NOT recommend to you all.
Not the best service!!!

any way i noticed that i still had to do some BIOS tweaking to get ridd of some audio pops and clicks that i didn't expect.
basicly you better turn off those "Green" options in your BIOS.
since it will sometimes force the PC to put an item in sleep for instance and out of sleep, causing some noticable audio disruptions.
When you are working you don't want energy saving crap, if you want to save the planet you wouldn't be in electronic music : -)

consult you BIOS manual, you really can win some.

[nutrinoland]

Intel i7 920
6 Gb 1333 MGHz RAM
Gigabyte UD3R motherboard
7200 RPM 1 TB hard drive
NVidia 512 BAsic Graphic card

and the remaining peripherals..keyboard , mouse, monitor etc...

[Khazul]

I guess vanta dood has built and dumped 2 systems by now - thread is 4 years old :)

[nutrinoland]

Lol ... :D

I wonder what he built finally .. ?

[Juho L]

Lol ... :D

I wonder what he built finally .. ?

I bet that old fuck didn't build anything and bought a premade PC. Hoho.

[mitchiemasha]

I'm due a new build now cubase 6 is out. It's been that long I've got no idea where to start.

[feedingear]

Same here mitchie. I need to make the move to Win7 as I've started using Vienna Ensemble, and 3.14 gb of RAM simply does not cut it. I had Cubase 5 running on my win7 laptop but it was completely unstable, so going to test 6 first before deciding to build a whole new rig...

[boborulz]

Just got my new one:

Intel i7 970 (6 Core) 3.2GHZ
12gb RAM PC16000 2000MHZ
10,000RPM HD
x58a-ud3r Motherboard

Geekarific!

Definitely recommend building it yourself, so much cheaper.

[Fordy]

Just got my new one:

Intel i7 970 (6 Core) 3.2GHZ
12gb RAM PC16000 2000MHZ
10,000RPM HD
x58a-ud3r Motherboard

Geekarific!

Definitely recommend building it yourself, so much cheaper.

Nice board, I have the Rev 1 version of that board (so not entirely sure it applies to you) but myself and a LOT of others had/have problems with it making a loud high pitched wine noise from either the board or the PSU.

Drove me nuts for a month before I cured it. It hadn't set the memory frequency correctly so I set it manually and it solved the problem. Anyway I hope yours don't squeak!

My PC is right by my left knee and almost totally silent except for a very slight hum. :D

[MBTC]

I'm still running the Core i7 965 (3.2ghz running in turbo mode so more like 3.5) I bought 2 years ago, and it does better for me now actually than it did when I bought it as a software synth engine, because the VSTs have gotten much better, more efficient, and I can now do with my PC what a room full of hardware would not have done 10 years ago.

A recent new addition to my box is a GTX590 video card, which I think is utilized great for graphics but not for music. These things have amazing parallelism , and there are a couple of vendors that have released plugins that run straight off CUDA (the development kit for nvidia processors). Look up Liquidsonics "reverberate le" and Nebula3, for example. I love the idea that when I don't need hardcore 3D graphics, plugins can be using my GPU as if it were a powercore. God knows it is probably close in total processing power to my CPU, so I should be able to offload some of my music processing to it? Especially since this video card has a fucking 3GB of RAM, and processing power that will make your jaw drop, and make pretty much all of Apple's product line look like piss.

Well the point to the message is that I would like to see Access partner with nVidia, and write a plugin that utilizes the CUDA SDK. I don't see why I would need to add yet another card (powercore) to do this (i.e. have a Virus on a PC card) today. I think the parallel processing capability of the 590 basically takes a dump on the TC Powercore if just looking at hardware. How easy is it to develop for powercore versus nVidia GPU? That I can't speculate about, haven't done either.