i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Fezzler

The plethora of information on the board is overwhelming.

I am frozen trying to build or buy a new computer for PT11. I did notice that LE 8 seemed to run more stable on my iMac G5 as opposed to my Core Duo 2.6 Win7 PC. That's why I originally thought of a Mac Mini. But they no longer make an i7 version. And for that amount of money, I hesitate to buy a eBay or Craigslist used one. The new iMacs with i7 and 16 GB ram are very expensive.

The I was thinking Sweetwater Creation Station. But I could build a comparable i7 for hundreds less (but I do agree SW support and guarantees may be worth letting them build it.)

Now I'm looking at off the shelf Performance boxes from Lenovo and Dell.

Finally, here is a build I have outlined at New Egg. Seems too expensive at $1,700+. For this much I can get a Creation Station with support and warranty.

Absolutely confused on what to do. Also, I am a weekend hobbyist guitar player/recorder. Not a studio.

My Build: Any areas to cut cost?

WD BLACK SERIES WD3003FZEX 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Model #:WD3003FZEX
$162.99

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 (PC4-21300) Desktop Memory Model CMK16GX4M4A2666C16
$289.99

Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium Grey w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case
$99.99

ASUS X99-A LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Model #:X99-A
$254.99

EVGA 110-B2-0850-V1 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply ...
$94.99

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor BX80648I75820K
$389.99

SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 1x nm Samsung Toggle DDR 2.0 3-Bit MLC NAND Flash Memory (400Mbps) Internal ...
$129.99

ASUS DVD-Writer Black SATA Model DRW-24F1ST - OEM
$19.99

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit - OEM
$139.99
1 New Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 1GB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI PCI Express Video Card

New Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 1GB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI PCI Express Video Card
Memory Size: 1GB
$172.39

Subtotal: $1,755.30

www.pro-tools-pc.com

[Fezzler]

Thoughts on this build I modified?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4OzlPuH98

Can a 6-core run cool in a micro ATX case?
On New Egg, some reports of trouble with this mobo, but I can't tell if there are just as many people who it worked fine for.

Is it true it is more efficient to fill all memory slots (4x4) than use 2 (2x8)?

Rosewill Legacy U3-S-Window Silver Aluminum Alloy MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case $99.99

ASUS Rampage IV Gene LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $254.49

CORSAIR RM Series RM650 650W ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Corsair RM650 Power Supply $109.99

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor BX80648I75820K $389.99

CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. $89.99

2 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $151.98

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-RX GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card Manufactured Recertified Refurbished $159.99

SAMSUNG 850 EVO-Series MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $139.99

WD BLACK SERIES WD3003FZEX 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $162.99

Memorex USB 2.0 External Multi Format Slim DVD Recorder Model 98251 $49.99

Windows 8.1 Pro $140


Subtotal: $1,750


Interesting. Going smaller will bang your knuckles and risk (?) sufficient cooling but not cost any less.

[albee1952]

To Fezzler: I don't have all the answers, but do have a few suggestions. A 6 core will generate some heat and you really need a GOOD and QUIET cooler. I doubt you can tick both those boxes in a small form case(not sure at all that the Corsair you list will fit a small case). The Antec P280 is fairly quiet and can be found on eBay for well under $100

Re filling the RAM slots, it depends on how the motherboard handles RAM. If it offers quad-channel(as does the X79 series), then you need 4 sticks(or 8) for the best performance. If it only offers dual-channel, then I'm not sure it will matter.

Your graphics card is serious overkill unless you plan on doing a lot of video and such.

An internal DVD drive will be under $20 I would swap the single 3TB drive for a pair of 2TB(stay with the WD Black) and dedicate the other to sample libraries and backups. If you install a 3-slot SATA drive cage, you would be able to pull and swap hard drives easily, and still have room for an internal DVD burner in the P280

[YYR123]

Good recommendations Dave -

Now a 650w PSU? No way, get a 1000-1200w Gold certified PSU. Especially if your going with an upgraded video card.

250 SSD for the OS
250 SSD for the session drive
2tb spinner for the samples
2/3 TB for backups.

For real you will use them.....and I like seagate drives quieter in my experience, and WD is all I 'used' to buy.

[Fezzler]

Originally Posted by albee1952

To Fezzler: I don't have all the answers, but do have a few suggestions. A 6 core will generate some heat and you really need a GOOD and QUIET cooler. I doubt you can tick both those boxes in a small form case(not sure at all that the Corsair you list will fit a small case). The Antec P280 is fairly quiet and can be found on eBay for well under $100

Re filling the RAM slots, it depends on how the motherboard handles RAM. If it offers quad-channel(as does the X79 series), then you need 4 sticks(or 8) for the best performance. If it only offers dual-channel, then I'm not sure it will matter.

Your graphics card is serious overkill unless you plan on doing a lot of video and such.

An internal DVD drive will be under $20 I would swap the single 3TB drive for a pair of 2TB(stay with the WD Black) and dedicate the other to sample libraries and backups. If you install a 3-slot SATA drive cage, you would be able to pull and swap hard drives easily, and still have room for an internal DVD burner in the P280

Appreciated. Listening and learning. Micro ATX may not be the way to go.

[Fezzler]

Originally Posted by YYR123

Good recommendations Dave -

Now a 650w PSU? No way, get a 1000-1200w Gold certified PSU. Especially if your going with an upgraded video card.

250 SSD for the OS
250 SSD for the session drive
2tb spinner for the samples
2/3 TB for backups.

For real you will use them.....and I like seagate drives quieter in my experience, and WD is all I 'used' to buy.

I appreciated the advice. All still true for a home studio weekend hobbyist who does a few hours during the week? Smart to build for future or more power and capacity than I need?

[hybridarts]

Can I just start by saying what a fantastic thread!! Been reading this thread and others for the last two weeks with great interest as I dip back into recording again.

I'm a little home studio enthusiast(with some training) who has been out of the game for some time and have jumped back in with the recent cross-grade pricing(pt10/11) offered by Avid. The last version of tools i was running was m-powered 7.4.x and as expected my current pc is a little under-powered. Which leads to my question(s).

If I don't delay too much I can still build an x79 system which will run my delta 1010. However, if I take the plunge and go x99(or mission control as my friend calls it!); it will surely mean retirement as I don't trust the whole pci to pice adapter path. Would just appreciate some thoughts from users as I've been looking at RME products if I go x99 and I'm concerned about the lack of driver support with a legacy product if I stick with M-Audio(x79). So, would you go with pcie or firewire on a pc build? The two products that most interest me are the fireface 802 or multi-face II with card. I am also looking at an apollo using thunderbolt. I guess at the heart of it I'm tossing up between technologies; pcie or firewire/thunderbolt on the build. Has anyone had success adapting pci to pice? Feels unreliable(cheap parts) but could it be successful?

All thoughts appreciated.

j.

[Fezzler]

Originally Posted by albee1952

To Fezzler: I don't have all the answers, but do have a few suggestions. A 6 core will generate some heat and you really need a GOOD and QUIET cooler. I doubt you can tick both those boxes in a small form case(not sure at all that the Corsair you list will fit a small case). The Antec P280 is fairly quiet and can be found on eBay for well under $100

Re filling the RAM slots, it depends on how the motherboard handles RAM. If it offers quad-channel(as does the X79 series), then you need 4 sticks(or 8) for the best performance. If it only offers dual-channel, then I'm not sure it will matter.

Your graphics card is serious overkill unless you plan on doing a lot of video and such.

An internal DVD drive will be under $20 I would swap the single 3TB drive for a pair of 2TB(stay with the WD Black) and dedicate the other to sample libraries and backups. If you install a 3-slot SATA drive cage, you would be able to pull and swap hard drives easily, and still have room for an internal DVD burner in the P280

Graphics Card recommendation? Yea, I don't want more than I need. I don't do any heavy graphics but would like to run two monitors.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by Fezzler

Thoughts on this build I modified?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4OzlPuH98

Can a 6-core run cool in a micro ATX case?
On New Egg, some reports of trouble with this mobo, but I can't tell if there are just as many people who it worked fine for.

Is it true it is more efficient to fill all memory slots (4x4) than use 2 (2x8)?

Rosewill Legacy U3-S-Window Silver Aluminum Alloy MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case $99.99

ASUS Rampage IV Gene LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $254.49

CORSAIR RM Series RM650 650W ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Corsair RM650 Power Supply $109.99

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor BX80648I75820K $389.99

CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. $89.99

2 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL $151.98

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-RX GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card Manufactured Recertified Refurbished $159.99

SAMSUNG 850 EVO-Series MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $139.99

WD BLACK SERIES WD3003FZEX 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $162.99

Memorex USB 2.0 External Multi Format Slim DVD Recorder Model 98251 $49.99

Windows 8.1 Pro $140


Subtotal: $1,750


Interesting. Going smaller will bang your knuckles and risk (?) sufficient cooling but not cost any less.

You have multiple issues.
The processor and motherboard are not compatible together. All you have to do is look at the socket type to see that (2011/2011-3)
The cooler will not fit in that case period.
You have ddr3 ram listed and the processor requires ddr4.
The video card very likely won't fit in that case. 660's are huge.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by hybridarts

Can I just start by saying what a fantastic thread!! Been reading this thread and others for the last two weeks with great interest as I dip back into recording again.

I'm a little home studio enthusiast(with some training) who has been out of the game for some time and have jumped back in with the recent cross-grade pricing(pt10/11) offered by Avid. The last version of tools i was running was m-powered 7.4.x and as expected my current pc is a little under-powered. Which leads to my question(s).

If I don't delay too much I can still build an x79 system which will run my delta 1010. However, if I take the plunge and go x99(or mission control as my friend calls it!); it will surely mean retirement as I don't trust the whole pci to pice adapter path. Would just appreciate some thoughts from users as I've been looking at RME products if I go x99 and I'm concerned about the lack of driver support with a legacy product if I stick with M-Audio(x79). So, would you go with pcie or firewire on a pc build? The two products that most interest me are the fireface 802 or multi-face II with card. I am also looking at an apollo using thunderbolt. I guess at the heart of it I'm tossing up between technologies; pcie or firewire/thunderbolt on the build. Has anyone had success adapting pci to pice? Feels unreliable(cheap parts) but could it be successful?

All thoughts appreciated.

j.

I have a customer that just got an adapter (pcie to PCI,about 80$) for his delta and it's working fine. I would take either of those RME over it though. Apollo Would have to be FireWire as they don't have drivers for Windows and TB.