i7 Builds - Specs and Results

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by Skwaidu

Looking pretty good. I went with 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (so PCIE 4.0 speed) for the OS and 2TB 970 EVO (PCIe 3.0) for audio/sessions, and a bunch of mechanicals for backups etc.

If I was streaming samples, I might consider the extra price of a PCIe 4.0 drive but for recording and mixing the slower M.2 NVME is more than enough right now (but vastly prefereable over SATA SSD's like the 970 QVO - the cheapest M.2 NVME's aren't even that much more expensive than SATA drives).

What about the Hynix Gold SSD. I hadn't heard of that one before. Could that be used for samples and such okay with PT? Just wondering.


Also wondering what SSD might be best for my E-W library samples. When you use either Play or the new Opus the first thing is loading in all the samples, which on my current system takes a while. I'm wondering if one of these SSDs might be better than another at delivering the samples fast.



And final question for the bonus round - those DDR5's look okay for the ram? I can't decide if I want 32 or 64 gig.

[DonaldM]

One thing I may have to get elsewhere from the shop I've been talking to is the graphics card. Right now they only have the G-Force 3,000 something for like $2k. Way more than I need. Its for gamers. I need what will be good for PT and all the plugins we use, with at least 3 outputs. (Okay, I *might* do a game or two, something like Myst) I have 2 22" monitors now (VGA) and one digital screen with HDMI input which I will use when I do video scoring. There's so many different ones out there. I get lost in the specs and numbers. What's a good one?

[Skwaidu]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

What about the Hynix Gold SSD. I hadn't heard of that one before. Could that be used for samples and such okay with PT? Just wondering.


Also wondering what SSD might be best for my E-W library samples. When you use either Play or the new Opus the first thing is loading in all the samples, which on my current system takes a while. I'm wondering if one of these SSDs might be better than another at delivering the samples fast.



And final question for the bonus round - those DDR5's look okay for the ram? I can't decide if I want 32 or 64 gig.

This thread doesn't seem to allow posting...

Ah, edit - now it does:

So, For your sample loading question, I would say you would then benefit from the fastest PCIe 4.0 (Gen 4) NVME M.2 drives, but if cost is an issue, even Gen 3 would be a massive upgrade if you have used only SATA SSD's (or mechanicals) before.

As far as memory, 64GB would probably be a minimum for heavier VSTi use. I have 64GB for just mixing, though haven't needed it all yet. Motherboard makers have lists for compatible / suggested RAM kits.

For GPU's, second hand is an option. Check out Passmark's GPU lists for relative performance, but I'm currently making do with a sub 100 eur GTX960 for 3 screens, do plan to upgrade if/when prices stabilize. But even that ancient card is usually only under 10% load in PT use.

[EGS]

NVME PCIe 4.0 drives
64GB DDR5
Windows 11 Pro clean-install
PSU fanless Titanium https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-prim...-235-_-Product
GPU's are tough right now. For Pro Tools, you do not need a top-of-the-line GPU in my opinion. Even this one: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce...pecifications/ drives triple 1080P monitors.

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by EGS

NVME PCIe 4.0 drives
64GB DDR5
Windows 11 Pro clean-install
PSU fanless Titanium https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-prim...-235-_-Product
GPU's are tough right now. For Pro Tools, you do not need a top-of-the-line GPU in my opinion. Even this one: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce...pecifications/ drives triple 1080P monitors.

Any particular brand on the drives? How about these WD's?

[Skwaidu]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

Any particular brand on the drives? How about these WD's?

I've always gone Samsung for SSDs after some early experiences with Intel etc, but that was ages ago and it's now mostly habit. So 980 Pro for my Gen4, but I've seen excellent reviews of that WD Black Gen4 as well. Just stay away from the really cheap ones and read some specs and reviews.

(I have some 6GB WD Black mechanicals in the system - it's amazing how fast large mechanical drives have also become, though they raised the price to match after I got them..)

[EGS]

Samsung 980PRO or WD Black SN850. Both are great and should help to future-proof your build a bit.

Don't forget a titanium PSU: https://www.velocitymicro.com/blog/w...-it-important/ A quote from this article: "... the more efficient the power supply, the better its longevity and reliability and oftentimes the better the longevity of the PC as a whole...".

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by Skwaidu

I've always gone Samsung for SSDs after some early experiences with Intel etc, but that was ages ago and it's now mostly habit. So 980 Pro for my Gen4, but I've seen excellent reviews of that WD Black Gen4 as well. Just stay away from the really cheap ones and read some specs and reviews.

(I have some 6GB WD Black mechanicals in the system - it's amazing how fast large mechanical drives have also become, though they raised the price to match after I got them..)

Well, the place where I'm having it built does have the Samsungs but not the WDs. I guess either will do. EGS suggested using the M.2. And I'll go with 64gig as suggested.



I get so lost in the alpha-numeric soup of the model names and numbers! I have no idea what all those letters and numbers actually mean. I'm a musician, not a computer engineer! Which is why you guys are so helpful. Thanks so much!

[Skwaidu]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

Well, the place where I'm having it built does have the Samsungs but not the WDs. I guess either will do. EGS suggested using the M.2. And I'll go with 64gig as suggested.



I get so lost in the alpha-numeric soup of the model names and numbers! I have no idea what all those letters and numbers actually mean. I'm a musician, not a computer engineer! Which is why you guys are so helpful. Thanks so much!

Right, keep in mind that Samsung's 980 Pro and 980 are different things - Pro is the fastest right now (but expensive), 980 less so (and instead of 980 I'd get the 970 Evo which is faster etc)

https://ssdsphere.com/samsung-980-vs-980-pro/

[EGS]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

...I'm a musician, not a computer engineer...

Go to Newegg. Look up Samsung 980Pro specs. Max Sequential Read/Write is 7000/5100. Now look up any other SSD you are considering & compare the speeds. Plus Samsung & WD have solid reputations for quality ssd's. Note that the drive speed really won't make a HUGE difference for Pro Tools (if you use disk cache, you can even put your sessions on a USB flashdrive!) but since you are spec'ing out a top-tier build, I'd go with PCIe 4.0 drives. The extra speed "might" help with some VIs that stream samples, too.

Are you going with Windows 11 Pro clean install?

Titanium PSU?

DDR5?