Question Built a PC for music making but performance disappointing

[Jackobfrychinski]

Hi there

kept finding myself here reading your thoughts, so wanted to get your advice and support on an issue I have.

context = I am an electronic musician using demanding plug ins within Ableton type environment. Recently upgraded a five year old 800 quid machine to an 1500 quid ish i9 custom build (specs below).

I had made the investment in the hope that the machine would run like lightning, running music software effortlessly and enabling me to work frictionlessly, faster and with - in particular - without issue on super demanding plug ins like Slate and Ash Cycles.

the reality has been somewhat different. The machine feels sluggish, occasionally laggy, and a few instances of Slate and Ash cycles seem to send it into the red...

can you please cast your expert eye on the specs below and let me know what I am missing?



CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIESTM 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Intel® CoreTM i9 10 Core Processor i9-10900X (3.7GHz) 19.25MB Cache
ASUS® PRIME X299-A II: ATX, USB 3.2, SATA 6 GB/s, ARGB Ready
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 16GB)
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030
1TB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 470MB/W)
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE CORSAIR 550W CV SERIESTM CV-550 POWER SUPPLY
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
INTEL SOCKET 2011/2066 STANDARD CPU COOLER
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
BullGuardTM Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 20 working days
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

 

[assasin32]

Is the heatsink secure? Stress test the CPU and look at the temps. Go run your normal work stuff but with task manager open and look at resources being used.

 

[kanewolf]

You bought a CPU with quad channel memory controller but only populated 1/2 the memory channels. You have hobbled your CPU with 1/2 the designed memory performance. You should have purchased a 4x8GB set if you wanted 32GB or 4x16 if you wanted more.

 

[Jackobfrychinski]

Thanks Kanewolf. Sorry, clearly you have a lot more knowledge than I do. Can I resolve this issue? Shall I buy 4 x 16 sticks and install?

really appreciate

 

[kanewolf]

Thanks Kanewolf. Sorry, clearly you have a lot more knowledge than I do. Can I resolve this issue? Shall I buy 4 x 16 sticks and install?

really appreciate

This might not be your problem, but it was an observation. I think you need to do more investigation before throwing money at the problem.
You have a very low end graphics card. If you are trying to run 4K monitor that could be your issue.
Your parts list has a low end wireless adapter. Are you using WIFI for your primary network? That could be a problem.
You should check the CPU temps. That could be a problem.

Look at Windows task manager -- How busy is the CPU, memory, graphics card? Your symptoms are too generic to provide tailored recommendations.

 

[Jackobfrychinski]

Hi there

thanks Kanewolf.
Yes - the GPU is weirdly very busy (60% plus) when I am in ableton...

and yes I am trying to run a big 4K monitor...

what kind of graphics card should I look at?

 

[kanewolf]

Hi there

thanks Kanewolf.
Yes - the GPU is weirdly very busy (60% plus) when I am in ableton...

and yes I am trying to run a big 4K monitor...

what kind of graphics card should I look at?

Nothing crazy -- A 1650 or 1660 would be a big upgrade.

It seems like a common problem -- View: https://www.reddit.com/r/ableton/comments/amldi7/is_live_10_supposed_to_be_using_40_of_my_gpu/

 

[Jackobfrychinski]

You bought a CPU with quad channel memory controller but only populated 1/2 the memory channels. You have hobbled your CPU with 1/2 the designed memory performance. You should have purchased a 4x8GB set if you wanted 32GB or 4x16 if you wanted more.

thanks - so if I want to fully populate these slots I can just buy an extra 2 x slabs of 16gb ram? Presumably they should be exactly the same brand?

 

[kanewolf]

thanks - so if I want to fully populate these slots I can just buy an extra 2 x slabs of 16gb ram? Presumably they should be exactly the same brand?

Maybe. Mix and match RAM is a gamble. Vendors sell "matched sets" for a reason. They are guaranteed to work as a set. You have no guarantee of compatibility when you buy "the same" RAM. Vendors are not required to keep the same parts in the DIMMs. You can try buying another 2 DIMM kit. It might work, it might not. There is no definite prediction.