i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Doven

Another question that comes up in this situation is, what firewire chip set and in what boards can you get it?

Avid recommends Texas Instruments based FireWire chipset for maximum compatibility !

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by Doven

What would be a great MB to go with Sandy?

ASUS Sabertooth X79? Would the fire wire on this unit be compatible with audio needs?

FWIW, the onboard FW on the Sabertooth worked without issues with the 003R on the system i just built.

[Shobiz]

I haven't been on the DUC in years. Can someone update the computer build on the main page of this thread. What chip, mother board, and ram do I need?

[Doven]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

FWIW, the onboard FW on the Sabertooth worked without issues with the 003R on the system i just built.

Good to know.

If I run into problems with that, what is a good card to install?

[Doven]

Originally Posted by Shobiz

I haven't been on the DUC in years. Can someone update the computer build on the main page of this thread. What chip, mother board, and ram do I need?

Would depend on your budget to some degree. 4 core...6 core etc. Then work it out from there. There is not one specific build only.

I am going through this myself at this time and making choices. I am attempting a bit of a higher end build but not the ultimate build either.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by Shobiz

I haven't been on the DUC in years. Can someone update the computer build on the main page of this thread. What chip, mother board, and ram do I need?

Tell us about your intentions regarding PT... HD, HDX, NDN, PT W/ CPTK etc?

And about your interface if not HD(X).

How large are your sessions? Do you use a ton of VIs?

This thread is kinda' serving everyone now.

[Jon E.]

FWIW, I just completed an i7 build based on a lot of info here and elsewhere, it appears to be stable and working well with my old copies of PTMP 8.0.5 and MPTK2 running on Win8 x64. I did an off-the-cuff D-Verb test that let me load 336 stereo D-Verbs before hitting an 85% CPU limit, about 384 stereo D-Verbs at 90%, my buffer size was 128 samples. I'm sure results will be better with newer versions of the software, and yes I am due for a software upgrade, easier to do now that I have the machine to run it. Build and load went relatively smoothly, glad to help anyone going down this path. My system is below. Thanks. Jon E.

1 x Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
BX80619i73820 $299.99
1 x GIGABYTE GA-X79-UD3 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $239.99
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-
17000CL9Q-16GBZH $129.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM $99.99
1 x CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High
Performance Power Supply $84.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive -
OEM $84.99
1 x Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $54.99
1 x ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X
CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM $19.99
1 x Logitech K120 Black USB Wired Standard Keyboard $15.99
1 x Logitech M100 910-001601 Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1000 dpi Mouse $11.99
1 x COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible
with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/FM2/AM3+ $30.99
Re-used from my old AMD Opteron Quad:
1 x Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Model #: WD1600YS
2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Model #: WD2500KS
1 x BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail Model #: BFGR76256GTOCE

[threeholeface]

So just finished my i7 build for PT 9.0.3 Win 7, i used the following:
GIGABYTE GA-X79-UD3 LGA 2011 Intel X79
Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz
Syba Low Profile PCI-Express 1394b/1394a (TI Chip)
ASUS 8400GS-1GD3-SL GeForce 8400 GS 1GB 64-bit
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower
WD raptor 120
(2)WD black for recording and storage
Everything has been installed and runs pretty smooth but I have yet to do any bios or Win7 tweaking, or heavy testing for that matter. My D-verb test was around 375 @1024
From the first page I want to follow the avid optimization guide
I believe my ram supports "XMP" but see conflicting post as to enabling this or manually entering freq time. I plan on using mykhal c's tweaks from post #1&2 below but wanted to check if anything has changed or is not nessesary to stablize pro tools. Also see conflicting post's about hyper threading and turbo boost being enabled or disabled...any clarification on this?? Im not planning on overclocking
XMP / BIOS settings:
First if your OCZ memory supports X.M.P. (check manual or their website) then on the "AI Tweaker" window switch to X.M.P. that will just set all your RAM timing to match with the CPU and all the other things. It will adjust voltages and everything.... Second: Disable Speedstepping (C1E, C3/C6/C7) on Gigayte boards. This feautre should be above the Turbo Mode or somewhere in the CPU Settings. Note that that will also disalble TURBO MODE. Anyway u got to do that because Speedsteppin is causing some errors with Pro Tools... Third make sure that Hyper Threading (HT) is ON! That will improve performance in Pro Tools . Also in the "Boot" tab under "Boot device priority" only check ur hard drive! Disable all the other drive whatever (Tip USE ENTER for that :P). Well thats all I think... Ohh no it isn't! :O Ooops! You gotta disable all the onboard stuff that u don't use. If u use PCI firewirecard (which I suggest BTW, something that has TI Chipset on) then u should disable the onboard Firewire (1394) so the two but interfere with each other. Same applies for Audio and LAN. If u use Wireless Internet disable LAN.

Thanks for any help,
Terry

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by threeholeface

So just finished my i7 build for PT 9.0.3 Win 7, i used the following:
GIGABYTE GA-X79-UD3 LGA 2011 Intel X79
Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz
Syba Low Profile PCI-Express 1394b/1394a (TI Chip)
ASUS 8400GS-1GD3-SL GeForce 8400 GS 1GB 64-bit
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower
WD raptor 120
(2)WD black for recording and storage
Everything has been installed and runs pretty smooth but I have yet to do any bios or Win7 tweaking, or heavy testing for that matter. My D-verb test was around 375 @1024
From the first page I want to follow the avid optimization guide
I believe my ram supports "XMP" but see conflicting post as to enabling this or manually entering freq time. I plan on using mykhal c's tweaks from post #1&2 below but wanted to check if anything has changed or is not nessesary to stablize pro tools. Also see conflicting post's about hyper threading and turbo boost being enabled or disabled...any clarification on this?? Im not planning on overclocking
XMP / BIOS settings:
First if your OCZ memory supports X.M.P. (check manual or their website) then on the "AI Tweaker" window switch to X.M.P. that will just set all your RAM timing to match with the CPU and all the other things. It will adjust voltages and everything.... Second: Disable Speedstepping (C1E, C3/C6/C7) on Gigayte boards. This feautre should be above the Turbo Mode or somewhere in the CPU Settings. Note that that will also disalble TURBO MODE. Anyway u got to do that because Speedsteppin is causing some errors with Pro Tools... Third make sure that Hyper Threading (HT) is ON! That will improve performance in Pro Tools . Also in the "Boot" tab under "Boot device priority" only check ur hard drive! Disable all the other drive whatever (Tip USE ENTER for that :P). Well thats all I think... Ohh no it isn't! :O Ooops! You gotta disable all the onboard stuff that u don't use. If u use PCI firewirecard (which I suggest BTW, something that has TI Chipset on) then u should disable the onboard Firewire (1394) so the two but interfere with each other. Same applies for Audio and LAN. If u use Wireless Internet disable LAN.

Thanks for any help,
Terry

your dverb numbers seem right on.
personally i dont mess with the xmp settings. i keep it off and do what i need manually.
the tweaks mykhal posted are all completely relevant with this build.
honestly there is no resolve on if its better with or without hyperthreading. works great either way
i would look at the speed, latency, and voltage of the ram and set those manually. i also like to set my bclock, vcore, voltages, etc and set them manually as they are on auto and the speed will throttle up and down in auto. i built a similar machine recently and am still running it on auto due and is running fine, but i will change all these settings as soon as time permits.

[threeholeface]

Thanks for the input guitardom.
My Bios is F10, So far I have done:
•All the Avid tweaks
•Set ram to XMP “Profile 1” (this was the only setting I could choose other than disable).
•Turned off Turbo and left Hyper threading “on”.
•Disabled C1E, C3/C6 (there was no C7 option in my bios).
•CPU EIST Function set to “disabled”.
•Virtualization Technology set to “Disable”.

I think that’s all the tweaks I’ve done but will have to check my notes when I get back home. I haven’t done the 1394 hotfix yet but noticed that I do randomly lose connection with my BLA_002R on startup.Haven’t changed anything under "Boot device priority" (is this in bios or win 7, and what is gained from this tweak??). In pro tools 9.0.3 I am running all 8 cores@90% and all my old sessions seem to be running smooth with only 30% CPU usage!! I’ll have to do more testing to make sure everything is stable and I’ll also be doing another D-verb test after those tweaks listed above. I really dont know how to set my bclock, vcore, voltages or the speed, latency, and voltage of the ram manually may need some help on those so I don’t damage anything.