plz fill in some blanks on this ~$1000 DAW

[ShouldntHave]

edit: updated -- basically ready to start assembling, and incorporating several of Marcopolo's suggestions. See latest post for details.

=-------------------------------------=

any advice appreciated and any recommendations welcome. looking to build a budget-yet-powerful DAW involving some relatively minor unique considerations. such as:

don't necessarily need anyone to dictate the whole build -- but feel free, if you want to -- or just fill in whatever blanks you can. mainly looking for general feedback and ideas, as well as any applicable warnings.

One prime consideration -- this is going to be a 2nd, "work" rig, and I anticipate moving files between it and my "home" rig every day. large files and probably lots of them. Right now I'm planning on doing so by putting one my many unused 3.5" internal drives into a SATA->USB enclosure and carting that back and forth, but if you have any better suggestion, I'd like to hear it. (mainly i am wondering should i be looking for a case & enclosure with eSata ports, or do u think USB 3.0 will be sufficient? any alternative suggestions?)

And some minor considerations:

• ■it's going to be used in an environment where ppl smoke cigarettes, which I mention for 2 main reasons:
  1. not really looking to spend big bucks on a primo rig and put it in there to get all tarred-up.
  2. whatever additional considerations this might bring to mind, w/r to OC/cooling. i don't smoke but perhaps those of u who do can tell me: did your (air) cooling plan work as well 1-3 years later, as it did when u built the rig?
  ■quiet as possible without getting too obsessed about it.
  ■other than when it comes to the CPU and the overclock, I'm looking for any possible money-saving compromise. as long as the stuff is of good construction quality and robust/reliable, the actual features are not super critical. e.g. case, PSU, mainboard (definitely don't want a cheesy brand, but one of the lower-end models that doesn't have all the "extra" gaming/OC features would be fine, as long as I can get my basic OC done.) even RAM. could all be of "budget" variety as long as they are going to get the job done.
  ■as this will be used in a commercial space where I don't pay for utilities, "green"-ness is relatively unimportant. if I can get equal-or-better performance (including keeping heat output down) for roughly equal-or-less money, i'm interested in green. otherwise not.
  ■FWIW the day might come when this machine could be pressed into service as a "backup"/"guest" gaming rig. basically i would like to be able to drop a GPU -- and, I suppose, a PSU -- into it and have it ready to go. really not a priority but I figured I'd just mention it.

Purchase Date -- ASAP

Budget -- ~$1,000 but reasonably flexible.

Usage -- primary: win 7 x64, pro tools, and basically any other DAW software that comes along + the usual tons of plugins and software instruments; secondary: software dev, image editing, "office"-type apps, light-duty video editing

Buying monitor? -- probably, but that's outside of the above budget. 1 or 2 24-27" LCDs that provide the maximum possible desktop real-estate at minimum cost, yet aren't going to go up in smoke the minute the warranty is up. if you have any recommendations, please share! (maybe AOC e2752Vh -- any comments?)

Preferred source -- i live near micro center and that's where I intend to buy the CPU at least, as well as anything else I can get for a "fair price"; as for online sources, i don't really care as long as they are legit and satisfaction-oriented. newegg, amazon, whatever. honestly the last time i built a rig i nickel-and-dimed everything out at the online shops but then I went to micro center to buy my CPU and a few other things, and wound up just buying everything there. when it was all said and done it was worth it to me to pay a small premium to them just so I could get everything locally and immediately. will probably do the same thing again.

Don't need ... or at least don't need advice on at this time -- OS/software, keyboard/mouse, additional audio hardware/speakers

CPU -- i7-3770K. definitely want to OC. hoping to hit 5GHz -- my initial research seemed to suggest this would be "easy" to do on ivy bridge CPUs, using air cooling but, after looking into it a bit more, I'm not so sure. still, based on the rig I have right now, I would think anything 4GHz or above will probably be fine. but of course I want it as high as reasonbly, stably possible!

Mobo -- probably ASUS P8Z77-V PRO but i'm not quite positive yet. I have a P6X58D premium on my current rig and I've been happy with it. looking for something in the sub-$200 range this time around. Needs solid USB support as I think most of my audio interfaces will probably be USB. trustworthy onboard raid would be nice as well. and of course needs sufficient options to carry out the OC. I was considering aiming for something a bit lower, but if it's going to cost me only an extra $70-80 to futureproof this thing in the event I want to game with it one day, that's worth it to me, rather than having to tear the whole thing apart and put new mobo in.

Cooling -- Most likely active air but possibly closed-circuit liquid if i hear any stunning recommendation.

Looking at Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus as it seems to be capable, well-reviewed, relatively compact, and affordable. Think I can pull off the 5GHz with this? If not, please recommend.

Passive air would be great but something tells me that isn't going to be feasible w/ overclock.

Case -- whatever I can get away with. I have a haf-932 for my gaming rig and i really like the low noise from the giant fan. but I don't really want to spend >$100 on a case. in fact, would like to keep it mid-tower if at all possible. I have a brand new antec 300 going unused right now. will this do the trick?

also considering Nanoxia NXDS2B for its sound-suppression features.

Cougar Evolution seems doable also (as recommended here -- is the 'BO' version the mid tower? I couldn't find the BO specifically on newegg.)

PSU -- the cheapest I can get away with, honestly. of course I have a good PSU in my gaming rig, but when it comes to workstations, my experience with "junk" PSUs is such that I wouldn't even mind putting a new $30-40 PSU in once a year, as long as it works fine the rest of the time ... and, of course, doesn't burn the place down.

GPU -- Passive cooling would be nice -- and it's a nice change of pace to be looking at graphics cards that are $30-40 instead of $300-400 -- but... a couple things it needs to do which might bump me up out of that ultra-low-end bracket:

• ■overall, adequate 2d performance to run the complicated UIs of a DAW + extra windows for plugins, soft synths, etc. open, meanwhile having other productivity-type apps (browser, "office", etc.) open in the background.■the ability to do the above on at least 2 if not 3 displays @ 1920x1080■and this is kind of a "nice to have" -- or, more accurately, a "I'll be bummed if I build this new rig and it can't do this, even though it's rather secondary" feature -- run winamp milkdrop visualizations at a semi-respectable resolution (i.e. >=1280x720) at pretty darn close to 60 fps.

Please suggest.

RAM
16GB (in largest per-module capacity possible) of DDR3, at least 1333MHz, possibly 1600MHz. Price will be the determining factor. Please suggest.

Drives
System: SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW (120GB)
Storage: probably 1-2 Seagate Barracude 3TB 7200 (ST3000DM001) or something comparable. I don't really include these in the budget cap, as I have enough extra drives sitting around to make do, in the event I do need to spend more than I planned on GPU, case, PSU, etc.
Optical: probably just a typical CD/DVD recorder; maybe blu-ray/recorder if i can find one affordable. Suggest if you can.

extras -- firewire card - this is probably going to be an "add later if necessary" kind of thing, but any recommendations appreciated. compatability/stability are key.



gold star if you made it this far! thanks for reading, and any replies!

 

[Marcopolo123]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.90 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($142.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1120.79
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-03 17:27 EDT-0400)

 

[ShouldntHave]

edit: FWIW after doing my own crash course in PSUs, I am not going to use the Cooler Master, but it does sound like the Corsair will be capable. Thanks for reading!

=-------------------------------------=

Thanks for the response. I am working off that build with a couple substitutions based on what they had in stock or saving a little $$: the Samsung I originally spec'ed, vs. the OCZ SSD; a 3TB Toshiba drive (for the moment) vs. the Seagate; and the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H vs. the plain "Z77".

Sourced almost everything at Micro Center and did pretty well after they took off their additional discounts for "system build". Got the memory for $99 and the SSD for $79, and still have $25 in rebates coming! Had to buy the Noctua online tho, as they don't carry it. I also had to substitute this Corsair CX600M PSU as they don't carry SeaSonic.

But I also realized I had a Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W (mine is older, the "A3" vs. the "D3") sitting in a closet, brand new in the box. Think I can get by with this? What are the "risks"? Would save me some $$ if I could use this instead of a brand new PSU.

And in general, is there a concern about noise creeping into my audio work from using a "lower-grade" PSU? Keeping in mind that for the most part I am not going to be using onboard sound for anything serious, and am going to be using USB- or Firewire-connected interfaces with their own power supplies for the serious audio work.


Any advice appreciated. Most concerned about whether I can use the CM power supply, or if not, if u think the Corsair is good enough. Looking to start assembling ASAP .. don't really want to wait on mail-ordering anything else unless i absolutely have to.

TY!

 

[ShouldntHave]

It's been a while...
The DAW was built, the recording studio opened ... the rock happened, and was recorded ... then, rather quickly and unexpectedly, bad stuff happened ... nothing exceedingly serious (file under: disagreement with landlord), but, the studio is no more.

I always meant to come back here and say a few words about the build, but I haven't had the chance until now. [/sryfornecro]

Everything came together relatively well. The system does what it's supposed to do, and is pretty peppy. TY again for your input!

But, some things I wish I had known in advance...

• ■Wound up with a stable 4.5GHz OC. Seems like expecting more than that on air cooling is not realistic.
  
  ■Wound up going with Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 for my audio interface. Very impressed with the sound quality and feature-set for the price. If I had known in advance I was going to use a firewire audio interface I might have insisted on a firewire-equipped mobo, but, as I have now learned, not all firewire interfaces are created equally, and the Saffire 40 does not play well with all of them -- it requires a certain (apparently rather common, but not ubiquitous) chipset. I wound up having my best, lasting results, with a PCI-classic-based firewire card; the Saffire wouldn't work properly with any of the PCIe cards I tried. So, as it relates to the build: this mobo only has one PCI-classic slot, so if anything else comes up that requires one....
  
  ■Fractal Design Define R4 case -- overall impressive, but when it comes down to suitability-for-purpose -- i.e. a quieter-than-normal case for a DAW -- I was left wanting. It's just not that quiet. Subjectively speaking -- that is, without doing any actual measurements -- it seems almost just as loud as my gaming PC which has WAY more noise-making stuff in it, and WAY more holes in it from which sound can emanate! I was hoping for that sort of barely detectable noise level you get out of a typical low-powered business workstation. This ain't that. You know it's there. You can definitely hear the accumulation of the fans noise. In the end, the extra foam, baffling, and other engineering marvels don't seem to do much. Again, just comparing it subjectively to my other rig which is in a HAF X -- has giant holes all over it, at least 5 fans running in it, and 4 HDs in it -- you expect that rig to be kind of noisy, but this new one is just surprisingly not much quieter. Case fans are set to lowest speed BTW.
  
  IDK if it's the fault of the mobo, the case, or the Via software, but I could not get the case front panel audio jacks to work properly with the onboard audio. I messed w/ it a bunch of different ways in terms of drivers/configuration and could never get the proper results. It's been a while, but as I recall, it was doing a bunch of "backwards" stuff like saying I had a mic plugged in when I had 'phones plugged in, and vice versa. Or saying I had front panel plugged in when I had back panel plugged in, and vice versa. I don't really remember all the details, but I do know 2 things: 1. I tried every reasonable effort, software-wise, to get it to work, and 2. that sound never came out of those front panel jacks, period. Is the wiring bad/incorrect on the case/mobo itself, or is this just a faulty case? IDK. Ultimately -- although this is an important and convenient feature for me -- I decided it wasn't worth any more effort; I wasn't going to scrap or postpone the whole build at this point, over this issue, mainly cuz this isn't a "general purpose" PC and most of my audio work concerns the Saffire interface, anyway. So, I just use the rear panel jacks when I need basic PC sound.
  
  It has a "cool" feature where u can mount SSDs on the back of the mobo tray. However, then you can't remove them without unmounting the mobo. Even with this knowledge, I said to myself "what the heck, I'm not going to take this SSD out any time soon, right?" and went ahead and used the mobo tray mounts. As you can probably guess: the day of me wanting to get at that drive came around much sooner than I had hoped! Would not use the tray-mounts again! (Except, maybe on a customer's PC, where I could just bill extra for the complicated maintenance. I wonder if the auto industry has thought of this? )
  
  It's rather physically heavy. Just saying. Some casters instead of rubber feet would go far. (no pun.)
  
  And now, so you can really appreciate the depths of my peevishness: I'm getting sick of blue LEDs -- light pollution, IMO -- and this thing has 2 gigantic ones right on the front/top. I can deal, of course, but any list of "what I really liked/did not like about this case" would be honestly incomplete without mentioning this.
  
  Bottom line: I was hoping this machine was going to be a little more lightweight in terms of "ergonomic footprint". (That is: "ways a computer can annoy you, not counting the software it's running" ) Even without considering the "extra quiet" features at all, though, I still feel like I got a solid case for the price.
  
  ■Radeon HD 7790 -- pro: better 3d performance than I was expecting. con: noisier than I was hoping for, if not expecting. I thought I was buying a pretty low-end GPU here but was surprised to find that it is at least competitive with my "old" gaming card. Basically, my old card (GTX 470) runs slightly better on the stuff from its "era" -- DX9, DX10, broadly speaking -- but the HD 7790 runs newer, "demanding" graphics better.
  
  That's about it.
  
  Bottom line, the machine is more than satisfactory. The noise level and the front panel audio were really the only two negative issues I had. Mainly wanted to post here for ppls' reference regarding the case, as it might be prohibitively expensive to return a mail-order case if you are not satisfied with it, so learning as much as you can before you buy is probably going to help.
  
  TY again.

 

[Marcopolo123]

Nice to hear