Buying a new PC - advise please

Hi All - my old pc is finally wanting to retire so its time to invest. I have a simple question - my pc chap wants to build me this pc spec for my studio.
I can use many midi channels (20 plus) and around the same in audio at any one time. I only use VST’s and use all the cubase on board reverbs and effects at the same time - so the CPU is working a lot. His spec is this -

Intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHz Quad core Processor 3.4GHZ x 4 (FASTEST CPU)

Crucial MX100 512GB SATA 6Gbps SSD (SUPER FAST HARD-DRIVE, 10X FASTER THAN NORMAL HARD-DRIVES, VERY FAST INSTALLING AND LOADING PROGRAMMES, ENCODING/DECODING ETC, )

Corsair CX 430W Fully Wired 80+ Power Supply (RELIABLE QUIET POWER SUPPLY)

16GB 1600MHz DDR3 MEMORY

Coolermaster Elite 342 Black Micro ATX Case (about 35 – 40 % smaller than your current case)

LiteOn iHDS118 18X Internal DVD-ROM

HDMI/VGA/DVI out

4 x rear usb 2.0

2x rear usb 3.0

2x front panel usb 2.0

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FIREWIRE 400 CARD

Will this meet my needs and are there any changes that should be made to run Cubase better?
I run cubase 6.5 at the moment but am planning on upgrading at the same time.
I use a Motu 828Mk3 firewire audio interface.

I considered a Mac but dont want to change platforms at this time.
I have looked at commercial audio Pc’s but similar spec ones from companies like Carrilon etc are over twice the price of the one that my chap wants to build for me. (£810 btw).

Im not expecting this to last forever but would like to get a good 5 years at least out of it.

Thanks for your help guys

Steve

When it comes to optical drives, the only make that I have found over many years that can read and write ALL qualities and makes of discs is Pioneer.

I suggest going for a BluRay burner. I managed to get some 25GB BD discs on special for $1 each, which makes keeping a long-term archive of each completed project on a separate disc quite economical.

I would go on the forums for your VSTis and find out what they typically need. With modern large libraries, streaming from disk is the only feasible option, but that 16GB might still be a bit low.

The preference is always to have separate drives for:
a) OS and programs
b) projects
c) one or more for libraries.

Also, format b) and c) with 64kB sectors for best speeds and minimal OS overhead.

I went for the fanless Seasonic 460 Watt X-Series. One less noise source in the box.

Hi - Thank you for your comments - very kind of you. Steve :smiley:

Warning. Troll bot.

Thanks to Strophoid for reporting the spam in a reply to this thread, it’s really helpful, and was the only way I would have found out, because on some days I just don’t have time to read each individual reply in every thread! :wink:

All it takes is to hit the exclamation point in the upper right of the post.

hi, which motherboard you will take? It is very important. At the moment asus are not bad. Nice bios. I would buy also intel i7 4770 series processor. 3770 is ok but more than 2 years old model. Ssd disk I would take samsung 840 pro which is proved model and is fast on read and write. by cases I prefer a bit biger models, you can build more silent Pc with more space and air and cooler .

Crucial MX 100 over the Samsung all day long. ( price point its very fast killer wear hours )
bigger power supply needed.
as mentioned 4770 however the 4790 is out now
do not do the 3770.

Re SSD life times.

Some assumptions
Values rounded towards worst case.

Re SSDs:
a) 10,000 write cycles per block for an MLC device.
b) SSD block = 256kB
c) Drive formatted with 64kB sectors.
d) Write amplification = 4 writes per block = worst case = every sector belongs to a different file.
e) 1GB spare capacity = 1,000,000kB / 256kB = 3,900 blocks in pool.

Re sessions:
a) 32bit samples = 4 bytes
b) 44.1ksps = 44.1k x 4B x 4 writes / 256kB = 2.8 block writes per second.
c) 96ksps = 96k x 4B x 4 writes / 256kB = 6 block writes per second
d) 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3,600 seconds
e) Actual recording time = writing to disk, playing tracks excluded.


Some rough calcs

a) Hobby = 5 hours a week of stereo (2 tracks) 44.1ksps per week, with 15GB minimum spare =
15GB x 3,900 blocks x 10,000 writes / 2 tracks / 5 hours / 3,600 seconds / 2.8 block writes / 52 weeks ~= 110 years

b) Studio = 100 hours a week of average 10 mono 96k tracks, with 100GB minimum spare =
100GB x 3,900 blocks x 10,000 writes / 10 tracks / 100 hours / 3,600 seconds / 6 block writes / 52 weeks ~= 3.5 years


Comments

a) For hobbyists, SSDs will outlive their owners (probably obsolete or failed electronically before then).
b) Studios will get a few years, but adding more spare capacity will easily make an SSD last longer.

Thank you all for your help - my PC is still not made yet so time to change the components still.
:smiley:

By the way - what is the opinion about using a Mac mini with a 16gb RAM upgrade over the PC i am planning?? :bulb: