Audio recording PC

[Niklas_13]

A friend is looking to build a PC for recording music.

I guess a fast cpu and at least 16 gigs if ram

2 TB hdd

SSD 256 ?

What would be a good system for this ?

I guess it will have to be a quite system

Budget is around 1100 us

Also would they need a sound card ?

 

[N3rdR4ge]

you don't need a ton of power for an audio recording system. you want to focus money on your peripherals. thy can get much more expensive than the machine.

id recommend minimum:

-any i5 4th gen or higher
-8gb ram
-1tb or more hdd

solid state is a nice to have if he can afford it. a good budget one is crucial bx200 256gb.

if you are doing audio recording you shouldnt rely on an internal sound card. they can have interference and don't have all the inputs and outputs you will need. producers use external interfaces and monitor speakers for much more accurate sound reproduction. you will need an interface for proper monitor speakers.

for example i'm using:

Interface: Focusrite Scarlet 2i2
Speakers: KRK Rokit 5 (Two of them) most monitor speakers are sold individually.

 

[N3rdR4ge]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($76.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Other: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 ($149.99)
Other: KRK Rokit 5 Pair ($299.99)
Total: $1102.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-08 15:27 EST-0500

There is no graphics card. The cpu will handle graphics sufficiently since this is not a gaming machine. If your friend wants to eventually use this for gaming, he will need to upgrade the power supply.

 

[martinch]

I'd go with what N3rdR4ge said, although I'd have a bias towards quiet components (e.g. Fractal Design Define-series case, Corsair RM-series or Seasonic/SuperFlower fanless PSU, etc).

 

[Niklas_13]

Thanks for the feed back I will look into this setup what about a Mic ?

 

[N3rdR4ge]

ill recommend what i have again. its an all purpose mic for instruments and vocals. ive had it since 2012.

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM57-LC-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B0000AQRST/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454979703&sr=8-1&keywords=shure+sm57+mic

you would probably need a stand too. that depends on what you are doing with it i would suppose.

 

[Niklas_13]

thanks for the info , he will be recording his band