Best Pre-Built, High-End Desktop PC for Music Production

[KCreed6]

I am looking to buy a high-end, pre-built desktop for music production. I don't necessarily have a tight budget; I am willing to pay whatever I need to in order to get a great music-production system, but I will NOT be building this on my own. I will be running FL Studio 11 and using 2 x 27" HD monitors. (Specific monitor suggestions are welcomed).

Please recommend any websites for custom designed desktops that will build the computer for me and/or pre-built desktops. Also, any suggestions on specs would also be appreciated, but I have read a decent amount on the specs already, and I am more interested in the best brands and websites for buying a high-end music production desktop that is pre-built.

I need it to be fast and very silent. Those are probably the two most important things to me.

Current specs I am interested in (but you will likely know more than me):
CPU: Intel i5-i7
RAM: 8-16GB (potential for 32GB)
GPU: Whatever is needed for standard programs (not gaming) on 2 x 27" HD monitors
Soundcard: Good, but nothing too fancy - I will be recording all external sounds with an audio interface
Hard Drive: SSD for at least OS and FL Studio (what size recommended for best performance?)
Hard Drive 2: HDD for saving files (what speed is preferred for a secondary hard drive? Does it matter much?)

Again, the main thing I am looking for is a list of specs that would be ideal for music production and a site for custom designed, pre-built desktops.

Please let me know what additional information you need to help me out. Thanks in advance!

 

[KCreed6]

Here is a link to information about FL Studio requriements:

http://support.image-line.com/knowledgebase/base.php?id=55&ans=82

 

[KCreed6]

And another link about building a good PC for FL Studio:

http://support.image-line.com/knowledgebase/base.php?id=55&ans=214

 

[JohnACK]

If you want music production, then you're going to want a Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is the only computer that's really geared towards the music industry because that's where Apple got it's break. If you want a fully integrated professional quality music production studio, then you're going to want to add Pro Tools to your list too. You can bounce you're FL beats to Pro Tools and then have the potential to edit anything in your beats and make them completely professional quality. If you're looking to record people in addition to using FL, then you will want the HDX versions of Pro Tools. These versions will give you the ability to make a mark in the audio industry. API makes awesome pre-amps that sound good on almost everything and I can give you a list of other pre-amps and a plethora of microphones that would sound great for certain items. I know this is super expensive, but this will help you break out of the "garage-band studio" and into the "professional studios".

 

[TheAngryMob]

"The Mac Pro is the only computer that's really geared towards the music industry because that's where Apple got it's break."

First of all, this is just untrue. Mac's in no way are "specifically geared towards the music industry" any more than any other computer is. Nothing about the internal hardware of a Mac inherently predisposes it to being any better at producing music than any other type of computer.

This is especially true if you are recommending that he/she uses ProTools, as the software is available on both Mac and PC computers. If you were recommending Logic (a DAW only available for computers running OSX) as the primary DAW then your comment would make more sense. As OP is intending on using FL studio (which is a totally viable option, considering its unique capacities as a DAW, just like all other DAWs) then a Mac will do him no better than a comparably equipped PC and would cost significantly more. Apple got it's break in this industry by using counter cultural marketing techniques. Musicians and artists want to be different. Apple says it's different. Profit.

Now, OP, a fast CPU is a good idea if you intend on adding a lot of processing over top of your recorded sounds inside of FL Studio. I recommend a high end intel chip - i7 quad core etc... - this will cause significantly less lag in post and live processing. As for a good soundcard, you need a good soundcard. This will determine the highest level of quality sound and sampling rate you can achieve. ive yourself a lot of room on the upper end for a quality soundcard. A primary SSD will come in handy for quickly booting your DAW, but it is important to have A TON of raw memory space for storing your audio files.

As for finding a prebuilt one, I recommend going on NewEgg or your preferred electronics website/store and finding a computer that meets your requirements. Additionally, don't let anyone tell you that Macs are inherently better and more geared towards musicians and artists. It's not true. That's just their marketing strategy.

Happy recording.

 

[TheLastof Me]

Wow...both JohnAck and angrymob both have good points. While it is true that Macs are nothing but computers with high end parts (particularly their Intel CPUs are mostly i7s), it is also true that you can build a PC with the same hardware and actually load both Windows and Mac OS on it!

Did you need/want a desktop or laptop? If you needed a laptop for your music production to carry with you, I would suggest a MacBook just because people in the music/graphic design industry all use Apple. You do not want to be different in that regard. However, for a desktop PC, I would encourage that you build a high end desktop and just install both Windows and Mac OS. You will spend more money than necessary on a Mac desktop PC (way to much actually).

 

[nommunityo]

I know this is super expensive, but this will help you break out of the "garage-band studio" and into the "professional studios".