Music Recording Rig - What do you think?

[Luther Bird]

I've built two gaming rigs in the past year that I'm very happy with. You guys were of tremendous help!

Anyway, I'm at it again only this time I'm looking for a inexpensive rig that will be exclusively for recording music. I'll be using a USB recording interface (Focusrite Scarlett 2i4) so I don't need think I'll need high-end sound card.

These recordings will be mostly for personal enjoyment, but I still want a quality sound.

From what I understand, this shouldn't require a lot of PC horsepower and, like I said, I already have a PC I use for gaming.

With that background, what do you guys think of the following build?

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sLQJQ7) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sLQJQ7/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646g3258) | $64.89 @ OutletPC

**Motherboard** | [ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-h97mpro4) | $79.89 @ OutletPC

**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbrl) | $54.89 @ OutletPC

**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $46.89 @ OutletPC

**Video Card** | [PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr7260x2gbd5dhv4) | $79.90 @ Newegg

**Case** | [Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r) | $56.98 @ Newegg

**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii430b) | $57.99 @ SuperBiiz

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $471.43
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| **Total** | **$441.43**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-07-13 14:47 EDT-0400 |

 

[gskill support]

Pretty good budget build.

 

[jmsellars1]

If this PC is exclusively for recording, you don't need a graphics card at all. In fact it would be better not to have one so the system will be quieter.

Do you plan on recording with Mics or more electronic stuff using a lot of synth/effects software?

 

[Luther Bird]

I will be using mics. Simple stuff. I'm a trumpet player so I'll be using a keyboard and bass for rhythm tracks, then adding horns over the top.

These will just be personal recordings. I'm not looking to produce anything commercial.

I'll probably use something like Reaper for mixing and editing.

 

[jmsellars1]

OK that's good, that type of stuff really doesn't use much CPU or RAM. Reaper is very lightweight as well, I've done this kind of stuff on a Core 2 Duo and 3GB of RAM with no issues.

Again you don't need a graphics card at all for this stuff, the only benefit would be dual monitors and Intel graphics is capable of this nowadays anyway.

A SSD would be useful though, it would make the system quieter so less noise is picked up on mics and it would be faster for saving, converting, bouncing and just general use. I'd just go for something ultra quiet with a SSD. Here's a good example:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zGZpkL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zGZpkL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe SCKTN-4000 55.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.40 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Silverstone 300W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $415.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-14 08:58 EDT-0400


In terms of cooling, that cooler should be more than fine for the CPU and the PSU can take care of it's own cooling so I wouldn't even plug in the case fan. If you do that, this PC should be inaudible most of the time. The PSU fan only starts if the PSU gets over 55c and the CPU fan only goes above 300RPM if the system gets hot and it needs to. I find that anything under 600RPM or so for a <120mm is inaudible. Other than that, the only noise can come from the hard drive. Considering it is a 5400RPM laptop drive, it should make very little noise so long as it is mounted correctly. These drives are slower but you shouldn't notice it because your OS will be installed on the SSD.

EDIT:

A few things you should be aware of with this build.

- The PSU is smaller than the usual ATX but comes with a bracket so it will fit in the case
- The aftermarket CPU cooler is just there for quietness, I wouldn't recommend any overclocking.
- The hard drive is smaller than the usual 3.5'' but is the same size as an SSD so it should fit in the case with no issues.
- The motherboard needs to have an up to date BIOS in order to use that CPU. Normally they will anyway but you may want to make sure with the store. If you don't want to bother with this, you could get a (more expensive) H97 board instead.

 

[jmsellars1]

I just thought as well, considering you don't need a graphics card you could make a truly tiny mini ITX (or smaller) build to do this. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in and I'd be happy to suggest something.

 

[Luther Bird]

Thanks for all the great advice! I think I would like to stick with the MicroATX form to allow for more future upgrade options. Plus I suck at cable management and working in confined spaces in general.

Also, I would like to take your advice and opt for a little better MB. Does this one look OK?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128731

Thanks again for taking to time to help.

 

[jmsellars1]

That board looks fine. Here's another good one as well though, $15 cheaper and has 4 RAM slots with a max of 32GB instead of 2 slots with max 16GB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157547&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Or here's a Gigabyte with that spec for $5 more

http://www.outletpc.com/qn1525-gigabyte-ga-h97m-d3h-motherboard.html?utm_source=qn1525-gigabyte-ga-h97m-d3h-motherboard&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker&utm_content=Gigabyte%2B-%2BMotherboards%20%3E%20Intel%20LGA1150


Gigabyte is a bigger name but I've personally had only good experiences with ASRock so I tend to stick with them personally, especially as they are usually cheaper.

 

[Luther Bird]

Perfect. I'll go with the ASRock.

Thank you!

 

[jmsellars1]

No problem, so which parts did you buy in the end just out of interest?

 

[Luther Bird]

I haven't pulled the trigger quite yet (still waiting for a little more room in the budget) but I plan on going with pretty much what you recommended, with the ASRock MB. I do have a question though: What is the reason for going with a 2.5" HDD vs the 3.5"?

 

[jmsellars1]

Quietness. You lose speed in return for lower power consumption, temperature and noise. As I said before though you shouldn't really notice the speed difference since you will be using the SSD for Windows etc.