i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by Zooce

And an SSD might be cool too, but I don't think AVID recommends it.

That is correct though there are users using them. At your own risk.

Originally Posted by Zooce

can the PT HD and HD Native cards only use the PCIe slots (not PCIe 2.0)? That's what size it looks like their PCIe pins are on the cards themselves.

HD Native card is x4 PCIe slot and supports seated in a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. Standard seating is graphics card in first x16 PCIe slot and HD Native card in second x16 PCIe slot.

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by EGS

I'd suggest Sata 3 for system, Sata 6 for PT and samples.

Yeah, I agree, currently, that Z68 board supports 2x SATA 6 connectors and 4x SATA 3 connectors. System - SATA 3 and Recording drive and Sample drive on SATA 6 connectors respectively.

[Zooce]

Originally Posted by EGS

I'd suggest Sata 3 for system, Sata 6 for PT and samples.

Originally Posted by filosofem

Yeah, I agree, currently, that Z68 board supports 2x SATA 6 connectors and 4x SATA 3 connectors. System - SATA 3 and Recording drive and Sample drive on SATA 6 connectors respectively.

Oh ok, yea that actually makes more sense.

Originally Posted by filosofem

HD Native card is x4 PCIe slot and supports seated in a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. Standard seating is graphics card in first x16 PCIe slot and HD Native card in second x16 PCIe slot.

Awesome, I've been wondering about that for a while now. Thanks!

[happs01]

Hello,

I am new on here, so this might be random. I tried the GIGABYTE GAX58AUD3R. HATED IT!. I am RMAing it now. I almost hope they DON'T GIVE IT BACK!


THE BUILD:

i7 950
Coolermaster N520 (don't trust liquid cooling..... yet)
ASUS EAH5450 Silent GPU
Kingston HyperX 1333 4GB
Adaptec TI 4300 Firewire
ThermalTake 750
Firewire Audiophile
ProTools MPowered 7.1
WD Caviar Black 500GB (data and a game or two)
WD Caviar Black 1TB (audio)

I want to upgrade to 6 cores eventually and upgrade PT in the future if necessary.

Since you need an outboard 1394 port anyway, What do y'all think about this as a platform:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SUS-_-13131665

Seems nice and lean and CHEAP to me....
I like this about it.:"5 year warranty, Militarized standard certified components (Chokes, MOSEFETs, and Capacitors)"

or

http://www.directron.com/p6x58de.html
...all the bells an whistles

Thanks much.

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by happs01

Kingston HyperX 1333 4GB
Adaptec TI 4300 Firewire

Windows 7 64? Surely you would require 6GB minimum, no? And I would pick the ASUS Sabertooth board. Ummm... FW Adapter, is that Avid compatible?

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by filosofem

That is correct though there are users using them. At your own risk.


HD Native card is x4 PCIe slot and supports seated in a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. Standard seating is graphics card in first x16 PCIe slot and HD Native card in second x16 PCIe slot.

actually i'd seat it in the slot that is sharin' the fewest number IRQs...or the one where you can isolate its' thru-put the best. the mobo manual should layout it out pretty plainly on what would be the best choice

[mano111]

Originally Posted by filosofem

Windows 7 64? Surely you would require 6GB minimum, no? And I would pick the ASUS Sabertooth board.

+1

[happs01]

Thanks to filosofem and mano111. Right now, I am running good ol' XP 32bit SP3. Not sure about the Avid approved firewire card. It is a Texas Instruments. It works great with the Audiophile. No probs whatsoever.

I plan to upgrade in the future. I am a noob at this and will not be running all kinds of tracks, busses, vocals, and plugins etc. This query was more to get an idea of which motherboard, and you both answered that question. Thanks!

[glenpinn]

hi everyone, well im in a quandry after my son has been using his 21.5" late 2009 3.0ghz dual core iMac for audio work, along with a Firestudio project firewire interface, and using the included Presonis software.

i recently built a new i7 2600 mATX pc for video editing and dont need it now as i bought a new 18.5" quad core qosmio laptop to use.

the i7 pc specs are listed below, and need to ask the following questions.

1. the firewire card is an addon Pci card as the mobo i bought didnt have on board firewire, so is there a specific firewire card wih a specific chipset i should buy to put in this pc.

2. i see on the Avid website that Avid only support nvidia quadro cards for Pro-Tools 9.0, in particular, FX 4800/3800/1800/580/290 so is this correct, or can i use another nvidia card as my son will want to use this pc for gaming and i can sell the Ati 5770 card or swap it for a decent nvidia gaming card if they are supported.

3. should my son get one of the new M-Box Pro firewire interfaces given that Avid said the Firestudio interface might not be supported on Pro-Tools 9.

4. is the intel H67 chip mobo any good for audio work ???

any other questions i will ask later on once i see how this thing stacks up.

cheers

Case = Antec NSK3480 mATX + Antec Earthwatts 380w Psu
Mobo = Aus P8H67-M-LE (B3)
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=anRBLQ8WEKcWZHSt
Cpu = i7 2600 quad core (intel HD2000 graphics)
Ram = 8gb (2x 4gb) Corsair XMS3 ddr3 1333mhz
Cpu Graphics = Intel HD2000 (onboard cpu)
Dedicated Graphics = XFX Ati 5770 1gb (dual slot)
Burner = Benq DW204S 24x
Hdd 1 = Western Digital 1tb Caviar Black Usb 3.0
Hdd 2 = Samsung 2tb new june 2011 Usb 2.0
Screen = samsung 24" lcd (1920x1080)

[tgallino]

Hello all;

I have been reading this thread for a month now. Wow! a ton of info to digest!
I just recently put together the following system:

GA X58A UD3R
I7 950
NOCTUA NHU 12P
12GB MUSHKIN BLACKLINE 1600
OCZ 750W P/S

WD CAVIAR BLACK 500 GB (SYSTEM)
WD CAVIAR BLACK 1.5TB (AUDIO)
WD CAVIAR BLACK 1 TB (SAMPLES)

ASUS ATI RADEON 5450 SILENT 1 GB VIDEO
PLEXTOR 890SA DVD SATA

WINDOWS 7 PRO 64

I have installed windows, everything boots up fine. I am concerned about the memory frequency shows 1066. I have built many systems before, and have done bios tweaks, but this one scares me, because I am just not sure what I am doing. I have read this thread over and over, and can't seem to find exactly how to adjust my ram to run correctly within the system. It probably is there, but where?

I will be running PT9 with Rme Raydat, (which i am running fine on XP SP3
on a core 2 duo).

Well so much for my long post.

I appreciate all the info you guys have posted so far. Really informative,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tony