Building a PC

Want to talk about music hardware or software that doesn't include Reason?
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Creativemind
Posts: 4875
Joined: 17 Jan 2015
Location: Stoke-On-Trent, England, UK

23 Nov 2019

Hi All!

I am looking to get a new computer as a little Christmas present to myself.

Has anyone here ever built one?

Is it hard and does it save you a lot of money?

Thanks!
:reason:

Reason Studio's 11.3 / Cockos Reaper 6.82 / Cakewalk By Bandlab / Orion 8.6
http://soundcloud.com/creativemind75/iv ... soul-mix-3

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MrFigg
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Joined: 20 Apr 2018

23 Nov 2019

Creativemind wrote:
23 Nov 2019
Hi All!

I am looking to get a new computer as a little Christmas present to myself.

Has anyone here ever built one?

Is it hard and does it save you a lot of money?

Thanks!
Yeah. I’ve built a couple. It’s not hard really and the best bit about doing that is you can decide exactly what you want in it. Hard drives. USB ports. You can avoid all those stupid gamer chassis and graphics cards with flashing neon lights. The only thing I hate doing is putting In the processor with thermal paste. Setting up the bios can be a pain in the arse too.
Edit: you also avoid all the preloaded software crap which comes with prebuilt ones.
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QVprod
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23 Nov 2019

Agreed it’s not that hard. A little tedious though. Just built one for the first time. It’s cheaper since you’re not paying for labor. You probably save about $2-300 off a similar apex’s machine. Maybe more.

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Oquasec
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Joined: 05 Mar 2017

23 Nov 2019

Nah not hard, but not very portable.
Producer/Programmer.
Reason, FLS and Cubase NFR user.

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MrFigg
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23 Nov 2019

To be honest when my last pc melted down I was going to build a new one. Then I found a Lenovo half price. Hardly any features except a good cpu a load of RAM, 9 USB ports and a big hard drive. Graphics card has vga and hdmi so I can run dual monitors. Preinstalled windows 10 pro.
So I just went in, took all the crap software off it and optimized it for audio and it’s great. Slotted in an extra ssd from my previous pc too.
Saved me a while load of time.
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miscend
Posts: 1955
Joined: 09 Feb 2015

23 Nov 2019

It's not hard, everything just slots into place like placing LEGO. The best guides to building PCs are on Youtube. For more technical stuff such as tweaking the bios - you have reddit and toms hardware forums.

This is a great site for helping track your builds
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/

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EnochLight
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Location: Imladris

23 Nov 2019

Creativemind wrote:
23 Nov 2019
Hi All!

I am looking to get a new computer as a little Christmas present to myself.

Has anyone here ever built one?

Is it hard and does it save you a lot of money?

Thanks!
Been building my own computers since the 90's. It's not hard at all, though you are 100% your own tech support, so be prepared for that. ;) Whether it saves you "a lot of money", a little, or none at all depends on the components you choose. These days it's very easy to buy pre-made high-spec cheap PC's from large and small companies than can beat the cost of anything you can build simply for the fact that they can afford to buy components at bulk.

Building yourself is really just so you can personally have minute control over every component you choose, IMHO. So the honest answer to your last question is: maybe, or maybe not. :thumbs_up:
Win 10 | Ableton Live 11 Suite |  Reason 12 | i7 3770k @ 3.5 Ghz | 16 GB RAM | RME Babyface Pro | Akai MPC Live 2 & Akai Force | Roland System 8, MX1, TB3 | Dreadbox Typhon | Korg Minilogue XD

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splangie
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Location: Park County, Colorado
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23 Nov 2019

I would recommmend building your own high end workstation. It is pretty darn easy, only 6-10 small wires normally (power switch, led, hd, int. speaker, fans) and everything labeled fairly well. All the rest are normally pretty obvious with large connectors for mb and video PSU, ram slots, cpu mount, cooler on top of that, add storage, case fans, insert dvd, boot, setup. You will end up with the highest level of performance for the price and get to pick the prime components at the best prices available. There is lots of support here and elsewhere and your first build should only require a small amount of patience as long as you can follow the instructions. It really is simple.

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Oquasec
Posts: 2849
Joined: 05 Mar 2017

23 Nov 2019

There is a pretty large tech book, building a desktop is about 5% of the book.
Covers laptops, Phones, Desktops, Network, Operating systems, Usb types, Diagnostics etc.
Very good and it directly helps with things like this
Producer/Programmer.
Reason, FLS and Cubase NFR user.

reggie1979
Posts: 1181
Joined: 11 Apr 2019

23 Nov 2019

One thing that is cool is virtually ANYTHING that you buy will have a well produced youtube video showing how. It was very handy when installing my complex (well, it was for me) CPU fan. The instructions usually suck donkey's.

I agree that it's not hard but it's tedious. Putting all the correct pins in place, having to go through the vids, not sure if you'll have to troubleshoot things.

reggie1979
Posts: 1181
Joined: 11 Apr 2019

23 Nov 2019

Also, don't get caught up in all the gamer stuff if you are just using this for DAW and some internet. A good fanless VGA is a good idea, get really good cooling in the case and CPU fan, it makes a huge difference. I have a Corsair case for example and it's really quiet (it's not really metally (? ) and doesn't rattle.

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fullforce
Posts: 849
Joined: 18 Aug 2018

24 Nov 2019

Read the manual.
reggie1979 wrote:
23 Nov 2019
Also, don't get caught up in all the gamer stuff if you are just using this for DAW and some internet. A good fanless VGA is a good idea, get really good cooling in the case and CPU fan, it makes a huge difference. I have a Corsair case for example and it's really quiet (it's not really metally (? ) and doesn't rattle.
Bah that's a shame! You should have said metal instead of metally. That would have been a bad ass rhyming sentence.
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dezma
Posts: 268
Joined: 02 Jun 2015

25 Nov 2019

Tip: get a more expensive "silent" case. I got this corsair obsidian casing (2013 pc) and it is extremely silent. Only when I play demanding games you can hear the GPU fans.

reggie1979
Posts: 1181
Joined: 11 Apr 2019

26 Nov 2019

Yeah, I mentioned this. BTW, why is it that an active member started this and has not responded since we've given explanations................

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Wobbleburger
Posts: 260
Joined: 14 Sep 2018
Location: Austin
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27 Nov 2019

I built a computer with an Intel 9700K (great single thread rating and I don't overclock). 32gb ram. Didn't worry about the video card. Reason screams on it. Even with Ozone and 15 other VSTs... Kontakt, Pro Q, Atlas, Addictive Drums.

You don't have to go too nuts. People on the forums told me all of these things to get. I built a modest computer... I mean, it's still fast as Sonic the Hedgehog on steroids while lit on fire.

Anyways, post whatever you get. Pictures too. Cheers!
In the 90s, my midi music was on the Baulder's Gate site. That was my life peak.
Reasonite since 2000. My music (and my old midi) can be found here:
https://futurewizard.org

student9v
Posts: 56
Joined: 29 Sep 2018

27 Nov 2019

    Last edited by student9v on 09 Dec 2020, edited 1 time in total.

    grueser3
    Posts: 64
    Joined: 03 Jul 2016

    27 Nov 2019

    I was seriously going to build one to get what I wanted, and there’s plenty of help on here if you go that route, but I realized my weakness was settling up things, making sure everything works when you hook up your hardware etc, and invariably I realized I didn’t need that stress so I searched a lot of builders out and came across Jim Roseberry at Studiocat.com I ended up with an I9 9900k 8 core, 32 gb ram, 3 drives, one hd the other 2 ssd drives, plus graphics card for not much more than I could have built it for. But the reason I chose him was the reviews I read were all good, and after I called Jim he reassured me that he could and would gladly help with any issues. I’ll just say this, of course I had as expected some glitches and all it took was a phone call and he was on it. If I remember right he spent over 10 Hours total in several sessions whenever I had an issue helping me set up drivers, hardware, and software, and updating firmware, and fixing a few things I screwed up in the process, and didn’t charge me a penny! Also this machine is quiet! Cant even here it running. Im sure my next one will come from him too.

    reggie1979
    Posts: 1181
    Joined: 11 Apr 2019

    28 Nov 2019

    Man, that is one powerful beast.

    Goriila Texas
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    Joined: 31 Aug 2015
    Location: Houston TX
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    28 Nov 2019

    It's time for me to upgrade from my laptop to a desktop because I'm running out of space I will be getting an i9 10 or 18 core. I thought about building my own a few years ago and it's just not worth it imo. There's a lot calculations you need to know for your power supply,motherboard configuration for compatible cpu and case all have to match up,BIOS configuration,Driver installation and cooling system while trying to keep it quiet. You also have to do research on each component to make sure they work well with each other or you're in for a nightmare from what I've seen newegg and computer forums.

    I'm going to a respected builder that has already tested the components on their builds.

    I searched a found a few but if anyone knows of any builders maybe they can post them here.

    reggie1979
    Posts: 1181
    Joined: 11 Apr 2019

    28 Nov 2019

    Still think I'm spot-on about the OP. Still can't understand why he/she is waiting to respond. I think many a good idea has been forwarded........

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    Re8et
    Competition Winner
    Posts: 1512
    Joined: 14 Nov 2016

    29 Nov 2019

    I think this could be built for around 500$$ - just need some good thermal paste, then unless you really want to risk overclocking, there's nothing difficult... noise perhaps is the most difficult part. New Ryzen destroys top of the line dual Xeon pc's of few years ago, which ARE a pain to build for a number of reasons... If you do not need a Ufo, a tiny Ryzen actually crashes almost-top of the line Intel's.
    One of the biggest issues is checking compatibility for all the components, so a good planning is foremost essential.
    Last edited by Re8et on 29 Nov 2019, edited 2 times in total.

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    Creativemind
    Posts: 4875
    Joined: 17 Jan 2015
    Location: Stoke-On-Trent, England, UK

    29 Nov 2019

    grueser3 wrote:
    27 Nov 2019
    I was seriously going to build one to get what I wanted, and there’s plenty of help on here if you go that route, but I realized my weakness was settling up things, making sure everything works when you hook up your hardware etc, and invariably I realized I didn’t need that stress so I searched a lot of builders out and came across Jim Roseberry at Studiocat.com I ended up with an I9 9900k 8 core, 32 gb ram, 3 drives, one hd the other 2 ssd drives, plus graphics card for not much more than I could have built it for. But the reason I chose him was the reviews I read were all good, and after I called Jim he reassured me that he could and would gladly help with any issues. I’ll just say this, of course I had as expected some glitches and all it took was a phone call and he was on it. If I remember right he spent over 10 Hours total in several sessions whenever I had an issue helping me set up drivers, hardware, and software, and updating firmware, and fixing a few things I screwed up in the process, and didn’t charge me a penny! Also this machine is quiet! Cant even here it running. Im sure my next one will come from him too.
    How much?
    :reason:

    Reason Studio's 11.3 / Cockos Reaper 6.82 / Cakewalk By Bandlab / Orion 8.6
    http://soundcloud.com/creativemind75/iv ... soul-mix-3

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    Re8et
    Competition Winner
    Posts: 1512
    Joined: 14 Nov 2016

    29 Nov 2019

    Creativemind wrote:
    29 Nov 2019
    grueser3 wrote:
    27 Nov 2019
    I was seriously going to build one to get what I wanted, and there’s plenty of help on here if you go that route, but I realized my weakness was settling up things, making sure everything works when you hook up your hardware etc, and invariably I realized I didn’t need that stress so I searched a lot of builders out and came across Jim Roseberry at Studiocat.com I ended up with an I9 9900k 8 core, 32 gb ram, 3 drives, one hd the other 2 ssd drives, plus graphics card for not much more than I could have built it for. But the reason I chose him was the reviews I read were all good, and after I called Jim he reassured me that he could and would gladly help with any issues. I’ll just say this, of course I had as expected some glitches and all it took was a phone call and he was on it. If I remember right he spent over 10 Hours total in several sessions whenever I had an issue helping me set up drivers, hardware, and software, and updating firmware, and fixing a few things I screwed up in the process, and didn’t charge me a penny! Also this machine is quiet! Cant even here it running. Im sure my next one will come from him too.
    How much?
    Take a look, this Ryzen 3900X build is 2000$, but if you take out the graphics, more like 1500$. This is on par with the Intel i9 9900k or better.

    https://premiumbuilds.com/pc-builds/bes ... -pc-build/

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    Re8et
    Competition Winner
    Posts: 1512
    Joined: 14 Nov 2016

    29 Nov 2019

    Pretty decent offer in Uk right now

    https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/custom/daw-d ... ations#anc

    grueser3
    Posts: 64
    Joined: 03 Jul 2016

    30 Nov 2019

    Creativemind wrote:
    29 Nov 2019
    grueser3 wrote:
    27 Nov 2019
    I was seriously going to build one to get what I wanted, and there’s plenty of help on here if you go that route, but I realized my weakness was settling up things, making sure everything works when you hook up your hardware etc, and invariably I realized I didn’t need that stress so I searched a lot of builders out and came across Jim Roseberry at Studiocat.com I ended up with an I9 9900k 8 core, 32 gb ram, 3 drives, one hd the other 2 ssd drives, plus graphics card for not much more than I could have built it for. But the reason I chose him was the reviews I read were all good, and after I called Jim he reassured me that he could and would gladly help with any issues. I’ll just say this, of course I had as expected some glitches and all it took was a phone call and he was on it. If I remember right he spent over 10 Hours total in several sessions whenever I had an issue helping me set up drivers, hardware, and software, and updating firmware, and fixing a few things I screwed up in the process, and didn’t charge me a penny! Also this machine is quiet! Cant even here it running. Im sure my next one will come from him too.
    How much?

    Under $2500

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