i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by debaser

Thanks so much for your reply, very helpful tips. I was looking at getting a Asus Z170-AR motherboard. Would you recommend this?

I haven't seen much on that chipset, so I would hold off until you get some "expert" advice on that(which isn't me). I think X99 is a safer bet and if I were building today, I would lean toward motherboards that have the thunderbolt option

[TOM@METRO]

I agree with Dave about staying with the X99 chipset for now.

[Teko]

I'm looking to build a Pro Tools 12.x, Win 10, Thunderbolt 3 computer for my UA Apollo-QUAD. UA support recommended Thunderbolt 3 certified motherboards with on board Thunderbolt 3. UA has not tested with Thunderbolt 3 PCIe add on cards. Since the current forum consensus appears to be to use the X99 chip set, this reduces my search to just two motherboards:

1) Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI (rev. 1.0) ***
2) Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX (rev. 1.0)

I'm leaning toward the GA-X99P-SLI. (The Designare EX contains a lot of extras (dual LAN, WiFi) that I don't need.)

I'll probably pair it with either an Intel i7-6850K or i7-6900K.

Any comments, concerns, or other suggestions?

Also, is it better performance-wise to use 2 or 4 sticks of memory with socket 2011-v3 chips or does it not matter?

Thanks,
Teko

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Teko

Also, is it better performance-wise to use 2 or 4 sticks of memory with socket 2011-v3 chips or does it not matter?

Thanks,
Teko

Look at the motherboard specs. If it can handle quad-channel RAM, then you want 4(or 8) sticks that are all exactly matched.

[airon]

I'm putting together my next build, after coasting on an extremely stable i7 920/X58 Gigabyte board and just 6 GB RAM for over six years.

Naturally I want my system latency to stay low. I'm asking around to confirm what I hope to be a good build, because I've seen some folks use this board.

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD3 (the UD5 has the Thunderbolt option) with 4 sticks of 8 GB each from the memory compatibility list.

If I end up with this board and it turns out ok, I'll certainly post an update here. I would use this with both Reaper and Protools 11, but a latency check with all the tools I can find should be a good indicator. As always I hope I'm not the first to touch this board, and it seems I am not the first. As soon as I get confirmation from those folks that their system is a-ok, I'll pull the trigger.

Btw, I'm putting together a Windows 7 installation stick, loaded with USB3 drivers, since I cannot be sure everything I own works fine with Windows 10 just yet.

[ejinbc]

Just wanted to add a note....

I recently went through an upgrade quest that identified overclocking as the best / least expensive alternative - which has indeed worked out very well for me. I had been running a 3770K processor with Turbo Mode 'off' as stated in the Avid PC optimisation guide. This left me with a CPU running at 3.5 Ghz. I estimated that my current ProTools sessions needed about 25% more CPU to run at the latency/load I wanted.

After reviewing MANY online CPU benchmark pages and DAW forums I realised that CPU clock speed was a major determinant in low latency performance. I therefore followed the standard online guides to overclock my system. Note, the FIRST step is purchase of a well-rated CPU cooler (Noctua D14), and then simply following the online guides to find a stable clock/voltage. With my 3770K chip it was very easy to achieve rock-solid stability at 4.5 GHz / 1.25 V. This gave me approximately 25% increase in low latency performance - the CPU never goes above 50C with a heavy DAW load .

If you look at the current i7 quad cores (i.e. 6700K) the performance is not that much greater than I have achieved with overclocking the 3770K. The cost of the cooler was $65 - much less than the cost of a new system.

If you have an unlocked i7 chip as far back as the 2600K and have Turbo Mode 'off' as recommended by many DAW optimisation guides, the easiest and least expensive upgrade for your system is a high performance CPU cooler and overclocking. There are many excellent / easy guides on Youtube for every different motherboard and CPU combination - the age of information !

Overclocking the K processors is simply a matter of increasing the multiplier and voltages and finding a stable combination under appropriate DAW-simmulating load. If you keep the voltages below 1.35V there should be no problems. Most chips will easily get to 4.5 GHz with good cooling.

Cheers

$0.02

Configuration: 3770K PC with O/C 4.5GHz, Asus P8Z77 MB, 512 G SSD, 16 G Ram, Motu 1248, Win10, Pro Tools 12.5.2, Waves Gold, Kontakt Komplete.

[maliko22]

i would also recommand those lga 1366 motherboard here
http://www.7jo.com/shop/electronics/...6-motherboard/

[zavid]

it is possible 2 or more different system setups in 1 Daw ,
like:
partition 1 - osx + pro tools HD 2-3 pcix V 8,03 etc...
partition 2 - osx + pro tools HD 2-3 pcix V 9.....
partition 3 - windows xp sp3 + pro tools HD 2-3 pcix V 8...
partition 4 - osx+ final cut for video editing-rendering

or better set different hard drives each for any configuration ?

Z.
ps :
Wanted-wtb-wtt mainboard +cpu for pro tools HD3 pcix V8 Daw

[AudibleE]

Fellow audio nerds. Here's a build I'm planning fairly soon. Constructive suggestions, concerns or recommendations appreciated.

Background:
Protools 12.7
Replacing 10+ year old system.
Mainly for audio recording, light video editing and gaming.
Rackmount case is a must and I don't need it to look pretty inside with lights and junk. But tidy.

I currently have:
Corsair H60 CPU watercooler
750w powersupply
1 Internal Blueray, CDW-R
1 80gb 7200rpm 3.5 drive
1 500gb 7200rpm 3.5 drive
1 1000gb 7200rpm 3.5 drive
A few 120mm and 140mm Noctua fans
Windows 10
Gaming mouse, keyboard
Display yet be be determined

Planning to buy:
1 CHENBRO RM42200-1 1.2mm SGCC 4U Rackmount Feature-Advanced Industrial Server Chassis

1 SAMSUNG 750 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Recording Audio
1 SAMSUNG 750 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Storing drum samples and sound effects
1 Crucial MX300 M.2 2280 275GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Running system and apps

1 CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600)

1 ASUS X99-A II LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

1 ASUS Radeon RX 480 DUAL-RX480-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready Video Cards

1 Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor

1 Rosewill RDCR-11004 - Data Hub for 5.25" Drive Bay

************

Questions, concerns, advice? Let me know and thank you.

[AndyMVP]

Originally Posted by AudibleE

Questions, concerns, advice?

Yessir.

Originally Posted by AudibleE

1 ASUS X99-A II LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

1 Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530

Mate I'm just getting reacquainted with new tech myself (as my lovely old X58 system is behaving strangely and may one morning soon decide to not wake up). But unless I'm mistaken the i7-6700K CPU is socket 1151 and won't play ball with a 2011-v3 motherboard.

Nerd on.

Andy