[SOLVED] Custom PC Build for music production and recording!

Feb 4, 2021
1
0
10
Approximate Purchase Date: now

Budget Range: no budget, but don’t want to spend unnecessarily!

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Music production/live instrument & vocal recording!

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: build from scratch

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no preference

Location: San Francisco, CA

Parts Preferences: I don’t have preference, I just want quality parts period!

Overclocking: If it means better, yes! If not, then no!

SLI or Crossfire: If you guys feel it’s needed for better performance, yes! Otherwise no!

Your Monitor Resolution: I’m not quite sure about this one, but I’d like decent monitor so whatever recommendations you have, state them!

Additional Comments: Hello everyone, I’m new to this site and I’m seeking the best advice about building a pc for music production and recording! I’m looking to minimize latency as much as possible, be able to quickly and efficiently load and use numerous large sample libraries at once(Kontakt, eastwestsamples, omnisphere, trillian, many symphonic orchestral libraries period which I know will require over Well over 150+ gb of ram), multiple thunderbolt slots, many usb slots as I use a lot midi boards and such, I’m also going torecord live instruments and voice, I also want the best performance for out of a sound card! I don’t have a budget but don’t want spend unnecessarily! Also need lots of storage for these libraries! I want to know if

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
My last pc was left in the trunk of a rental car by my grandfather so I’m building from scratch!
 
Solution
Here's my list. A few notes:

For storage I've added 3x 6TB drives which, if you don't plan to have a backup server, should run in RAID 5 so you can have backup parity. Meaning all drives will be merged into 1 accessible drive but 1 out of the 3 drives will purely be for parity. So if any 1 drive fails you can replace it and restore all lost data. If more than 1 die at the same time, then you're screwed. This also means that only 12TB instead of 18 will be accessible. Thus I highly recommend you get a single 12TB drive and have a server backup on your home/business network instead.

For the graphics card, it doesn't really matter in terms of music production. Given that graphic cards are really hard to come by these days due to scalpers...
Here's my list. A few notes:

For storage I've added 3x 6TB drives which, if you don't plan to have a backup server, should run in RAID 5 so you can have backup parity. Meaning all drives will be merged into 1 accessible drive but 1 out of the 3 drives will purely be for parity. So if any 1 drive fails you can replace it and restore all lost data. If more than 1 die at the same time, then you're screwed. This also means that only 12TB instead of 18 will be accessible. Thus I highly recommend you get a single 12TB drive and have a server backup on your home/business network instead.

For the graphics card, it doesn't really matter in terms of music production. Given that graphic cards are really hard to come by these days due to scalpers and coronavirus, get whatever you can find at the best price you can find. People are overselling them all over the internet. Good luck...

Lastly, the sound card seems like the best choice but this is opinion based, since music production is the focal point of your build here it'd be best to research exactly what you need so you get the best for yourself.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Threadripper 3960X 3.8 GHz 24-Core Processor ($1681.68 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4 59.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Creator TRX40 EATX sTRX4 Motherboard ($699.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($589.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($589.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Black 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Black 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card
Case: Lian Li O11D XL-W ATX Full Tower Case ($219.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($179.99 @ Best Buy)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($139.88 @ Other World Computing)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AE-9 32-bit 384 kHz Sound Card ($332.49 @ B&H)
Total: $5163.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-05 16:17 EST-0500
 
Solution

TRENDING THREADS