Need the advice of PC builders and audio experts

G

GrooveWindow

Active member
Hey guys!

I am looking to build a PC that can smoothly run some DAWs and other recording/editing software for music. I know how to work the software (ProTools, Ableton, and Cubase are what I can work), but as far as hardware goes, I'm kinda in the dark. If anyone is knowledgeable in this area and could offer me some suggestions as to what I'd need, that'd be awesome.

My needs wouldn't be to run massive, multi-track live ProTools sessions like a studio would. I'd record a handful of tracks (layered, since I'm just one man), and do all the editing from there. Ideally I'll be getting a PreSonus USB interface for my electric instruments, and have a small digital mixer for the mics that would be used for drums and other acoustic things. Or, on the other hand, I could get one larger interface and run all my mics and instruments from that. Either way, I want a PC that can losslessly record all that and handle the editing. Any info is appreciated!

 
Virtually any desktop PC that you build yourself will handle all that. Audio recording and processing isn't that difficult for modern hardware, especially if you're using a USB interface. If you'd like, I can design a budget build for you... (I'd recommend at least 2 monitors though, as they do help a lot with audio work)

 
Give us a budget and we will shoot sone ideas at you (: I advise emphasizing in storage and ram as its a production machine, you,ll likely be multitasking and storinf lots pf sessions. If your budget allows it you should put some effort into backups as well. For the build you can go with an affordable 6 or 8 core amd as productivity apps tend to take advantage of 4 cores (idk if more). You dont need a big graphics card either, sonething capable like a GTX 750 should drive the monitors and apps just fine, and let you play TF2 in 1080p or something
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Give us a budget and we will shoot sone ideas at you
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice! Budget-wise, I'm not looking to spend more than a grand, Ideally it'd be about the 700-800 range, cheaper if possible. However, I don't want to be limited to basic Audacity sessions, so I'll scrounge up more if need be.

Like I said, I'm not wanting to do big projects with perfect quality, but definitely not just amateur stuff either. I'm in between! Haha.

 
***DISCLAIMER***

These builds do not include the OS. These builds should be able to run any modern OS perfectly.

These builds do not include keyboard or mouse, as you can use any you may have lying around, or you can purchase whatever you want/need.

These are not gaming builds. Gaming performance is not taken into account for these. If you try to use them for gaming, you may find they don't work too well for it. If you want an 'also for gaming' system, get the Intel but include an add-on GPU. ($190 or more on top of the build price)

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Now, before you start complaining about it being beyond the $700-800 range, bear in mind what the system is being designed to do. Modern $700-800 computers don't work properly for what is wanted without a massive amount of workarounds. (usually taking weeks of setup time to work out most of the serious bugs) Around $1400 is where you start to see nearly obsolete prebuilt systems that can do what is requested. (but only if you add in a GPU and sound card)

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An AMD build... ($1084.87)



An Intel build... ($1066.90)



I personally recommend the Intel build as it will be able to be upgraded further than the AMD for a much lower cost, and it actually is much better overall in performance already. (apart from the GPU) It is also slightly less expensive initially.

  • Recommended upgrades for the AMD:
  • New Motherboard, CPU, RAM, and PSU (all at the same time, as quality budget AMD hardware is almost obsolete now - looking to be around $800-1200 for this)
  • SSD and/or additional HDD



  • Recommended upgrades for the Intel:
  • Add-on GPU (I personally recommend this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125772 for $189.99)
  • More and/or faster RAM (can go up to 32GB and 3000MHz on this motherboard)
  • SSD and/or additional HDD
  • More powerful PSU (I recommend any 80+ Gold or Platinum that do at least 750W)

 
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