Building a new PC - please comment...

Want to talk about music hardware or software that doesn't include Reason?
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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

10 Aug 2020

Hi everyone,

I'm currently planning my next machine, which will be used for hobbyist audio tasks (although, as always it should be able to compete with the top notch stuff they use in Cinderella's Castle... -:D), as well as the usual PC tasks and a bit of gaming (I know that you should keep that separate, but... hello, reality...)

My shopping list at the moment looks like this:

Ryzen 9 3900x
Be Quiet pure base 600 Case (because it still has external slots for CD/ DVD drives...)
Asus prime 570 pro s am4 v2 mainboard (mostly because of the amount of USB connectors it has)
rtx 2070 gfx card (cheapest I can get)
32 gb 3200 RAM (this is my biggest issue at the moment - which RAM speed should I choose?)
Be Quiet 600w pure power 80+ gold power supply

+ the ssds I'm going to take over from my old system

I'm using mainly Reason and Cubase.

I'd be very grateful for any comment on that build.

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pushedbutton
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10 Aug 2020

Yeah you're good.
Just buy the best PC you can justify spending money on at the time, the faster it is the longer it'll last you in the long run. Cheaping out is a false economy.
i think this rig will handle your requirements without an issue.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

10 Aug 2020

Thanks for the fast reply.

Indeed the only factor I intend on saving money is the GPU - it just should be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at decent fps rate... :D

What about the RAM speed? I've read pretty confusing things about 3200 being enough vs. 3600 won't make a difference vs. get 3600?

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aeox
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10 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
Thanks for the fast reply.

Indeed the only factor I intend on saving money is the GPU - it just should be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at decent fps rate... :D

What about the RAM speed? I've read pretty confusing things about 3200 being enough vs. 3600 won't make a difference vs. get 3600?
4000! :)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PzQztp

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Boombastix
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10 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
Thanks for the fast reply.

Indeed the only factor I intend on saving money is the GPU - it just should be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 at decent fps rate... :D

What about the RAM speed? I've read pretty confusing things about 3200 being enough vs. 3600 won't make a difference vs. get 3600?
Real world memory speed is a combination of latency and frequency. I got 3200's with a 3900x, because the additional benefit is so small and it can get worse if you choose a higher frequency as latency goes up. AMD has charts for this.
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pushedbutton
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10 Aug 2020

I've seen stuff that says there's as much as a 23% (bollocks) increase in FPS for demanding games, I've seen stuff that says it's a negligible difference. Hard to say how much difference it makes for your usage scenario. I'd say it was a 'nice to have' but don't throw out the whole build if you can't get the fastest RAM. Having 32Gb of even 2133Mhz is still overkill for most scenarios.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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ohmygoff
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Joined: 17 Jan 2015

10 Aug 2020

4000! :)


That's exactly my problem - I stumbled across info that with 4000 upwards, the speed is actually halfed due to technical shenanigans. So, even if it was only a joke, this suggestion might actually lead to some expensive error when buying...

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ohmygoff
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Joined: 17 Jan 2015

10 Aug 2020

Real world memory speed is a combination of latency and frequency. I got 3200's with a 3900x, because the additional benefit is so small and it can get worse if you choose a higher frequency as latency goes up. AMD has charts for this.
Thanks for that. Maybe you'd have a link for that AMD chart?

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aeox
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10 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
4000! :)


That's exactly my problem - I stumbled across info that with 4000 upwards, the speed is actually halfed due to technical shenanigans. So, even if it was only a joke, this suggestion might actually lead to some expensive error when buying...
Yea it was, I couldn't justify paying that much for ram. I've never thought about ram that much in my production or gaming. I had some really old 1333 ecc server memory 16gb, and I played Star Citizen(game) and made music without issues on that machine.

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ohmygoff
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10 Aug 2020

I had some really old 1333 ecc server memory 16gb, and I played Star Citizen(game) and made music without issues on that machine.
Well... I'm not actually trying to clone your old machine, nor am I trying to use hardware you have no actual experience with...

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aeox
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10 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
I had some really old 1333 ecc server memory 16gb, and I played Star Citizen(game) and made music without issues on that machine.
Well... I'm not actually trying to clone your old machine, nor am I trying to use hardware you have no actual experience with...
Just conversation I guess.

What I mean is that ram isn't going to be a critical factor in your machine. That CPU will get you places :thumbs_up:

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zoidkirb
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10 Aug 2020

How much research have you done on that ASUS mobo? I have a 570 prime and I'm really not too happy with the PCH fan noise. It's not horrible, but at the same time I wish i'd gone with something else as that chipset fan has easily ended up being the loudest part of my whole rig.

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ohmygoff
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10 Aug 2020

zoidkirb wrote:
10 Aug 2020
How much research have you done on that ASUS mobo? I have a 570 prime and I'm really not too happy with the PCH fan noise. It's not horrible, but at the same time I wish i'd gone with something else as that chipset fan has easily ended up being the loudest part of my whole rig.
Thanks for that info, until now I've mainly looked for CPU compatibility and USB count.

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zoidkirb
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10 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
zoidkirb wrote:
10 Aug 2020
How much research have you done on that ASUS mobo? I have a 570 prime and I'm really not too happy with the PCH fan noise. It's not horrible, but at the same time I wish i'd gone with something else as that chipset fan has easily ended up being the loudest part of my whole rig.
Thanks for that info, until now I've mainly looked for CPU compatibility and USB count.
That's what i did too hah. Anyway, I found different people with opinions, some people say the fan is inaudible and some say its like a vaccum cleaner. On my x570-p i'd say it is an annoyance when I want to mix quietly late at night only. The fan itself doesn't seem to ever spin slower than about 2000 rpm. I'm still hoping ASUS can update their BIOS to make that speed user configurable but I'm honestly not expecting that.

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EdwardKiy
Posts: 760
Joined: 02 Oct 2019

10 Aug 2020

I have to agree with the gentleman above about the loudness. I've had a very similar PC built for me by a friend just a month ago, but with a Ryzen 3700x, same motherboard and x2 DDR4 sticks of 16gb instead of 4x8 and the exact same 2 gig video card. First thing I asked my friend was how fast should the RAM be, and he told me to get the 3000 "because this chip and this motherboard will make it cap out at 2777 anyway". Sorry, I didn't understand the technicalities of it, but that's what he told me and you should definitely look into this.

This thing is a real beast HOWEVER! It is loud and that turns out to be a very real problem when recording vocals. I'm now using the old laptop for that.

Perhaps there are quieter options.

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aeox
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10 Aug 2020

EdwardKiy wrote:
10 Aug 2020
I have to agree with the gentleman above about the loudness. I've had a very similar PC built for me by a friend just a month ago, but with a Ryzen 3700x, same motherboard and x2 DDR4 sticks of 16gb instead of 4x8 and the exact same 2 gig video card. First thing I asked my friend was how fast should the RAM be, and he told me to get the 3000 "because this chip and this motherboard will make it cap out at 2777 anyway". Sorry, I didn't understand the technicalities of it, but that's what he told me and you should definitely look into this.

This thing is a real beast HOWEVER! It is loud and that turns out to be a very real problem when recording vocals. I'm now using the old laptop for that.

Perhaps there are quieter options.
I can't agree more.. I think at some point I was writing songs in the key of my PC fans (or close to)

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Boombastix
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10 Aug 2020

I'm building my Ryzen 3900x on an ASUS TUF B450-Plus MoBo.
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Disclaimer - I get 10% as well.

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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

11 Aug 2020

Boombastix wrote:
10 Aug 2020
I'm building my Ryzen 3900x on an ASUS TUF B450-Plus MoBo.
That would have been my first choice if it had more USB connectors.

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fullforce
Posts: 849
Joined: 18 Aug 2018

11 Aug 2020

I've recently built a new system on an Asus ROG Strix B550-F. Very happy with it. Currently running a Ryzen 5 3600, gonna drop in a Zen 3 when it'll be available at the end of the year. I've also read that RAM speed above 3200 won't do that much, 3200 is pretty much the sweet spot so that's what I'm running as well.
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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

11 Aug 2020

fullforce wrote:
11 Aug 2020
Asus ROG Strix B550-F
Looks promising, maybe I'll have to change my list...

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kuhliloach
Posts: 880
Joined: 09 Dec 2015

11 Aug 2020

I love building systems but based on the overall value of Windows 10 the idea of building a system now just isn't that appealing. If I could go back and whisper some wisdom into my system-building self it might sound something like "buy a Mac and Logic". Consider after all these years Windows still doesn't ship with a low-latency audio driver that can compete with Apple's basic Core Audio.

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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

11 Aug 2020

kuhliloach wrote:
11 Aug 2020
Consider after all these years Windows still doesn't ship with a low-latency audio driver that can compete with Apple's basic Core Audio.
I suppose if I time-machined a Win10 system to Abbey Road 1962, four guys there wouldn't mind the timing... :puf_smile:

I don't see that many Apple machines in either audio or video editing anymore, mostly because Win machines are much more cost effective. Plus, with the exception of a couple of programs like Logic, which Apple holds hostage nowadays, most software runs decent on boith platforms.

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michal22
Posts: 212
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Poland

11 Aug 2020

ohmygoff wrote:
10 Aug 2020
Hi everyone,

I'm currently planning my next machine, which will be used for hobbyist audio tasks (although, as always it should be able to compete with the top notch stuff they use in Cinderella's Castle... -:D), as well as the usual PC tasks and a bit of gaming (I know that you should keep that separate, but... hello, reality...)

My shopping list at the moment looks like this:

Ryzen 9 3900x
Be Quiet pure base 600 Case (because it still has external slots for CD/ DVD drives...)
Asus prime 570 pro s am4 v2 mainboard (mostly because of the amount of USB connectors it has)
rtx 2070 gfx card (cheapest I can get)
32 gb 3200 RAM (this is my biggest issue at the moment - which RAM speed should I choose?)
Be Quiet 600w pure power 80+ gold power supply

+ the ssds I'm going to take over from my old system

I'm using mainly Reason and Cubase.

I'd be very grateful for any comment on that build.
Hi. I just recently put together a very similar kit. Here's what's included:
- AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
- MSI MEG X570 ACE
- G.Skill Ripjaws V, DDR4, 64GB, 3200MHz, CL16 (F4-3200C16D-64GVK)
- MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER Gaming X 6GB GDDR6
- be quiet! Pure Base 600 Window Black
- be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W
- 2x Western Digital Black SN750 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-E x4 (WDS100T3X0C)
- 1x WD GOLD 8TB 7200 256MB
- ASUS BW-16D1HT
For now, set works very well. The computer is very quiet for me.
The memories work without problems at 3200MHz. Just activate a XMP profile in BIOS. I don't overclock - I don't need it.
Ableton Live Suite 10 / Reason 10 / Windows 10 / Fingers - also 10 ;)

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ohmygoff
Posts: 68
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

11 Aug 2020

[/quote]

Hi. I just recently put together a very similar kit. Here's what's included: (...)
[/quote]

Brilliant, thanks a lot. I'll compare that again my list, looks pretty similar indeed.

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zoidkirb
Posts: 752
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Location: Brisbane Australia
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11 Aug 2020

I'd consider an ati/amd video card rather than Nvidia for daw use. There's lots of anecdotal evidence around the forums that Nvidias bloated drivers can impact audio stability.

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