Need Help Gathering Parts For A New Computer.

Off-Topic
1

Hi, I haven’t made any music in ages but I’ve decided that I want to give it ago again and hopefully become good enough to make a living of it. First of all I want to assemble a new computer and I’m hoping someone here can help me find the parts for it :).

This is going to be a brand new computer so I basically need everything that is required to build it, but I don’t need any monitor, mouse or anything like that. English isn’t my first language so I apologize in advance in case you can’t figure out what I mean ;).

The main priorities for me are processor, sound card, motherboard and fast RAM. The parts I’m considering, the text inside () is more my general thoughts about the components.

Processor: Intel Core I7-2600K
(I know it needs a new cpu cooler but I’m not really sure which one I should get.)

DVD: ?
(1 reader + 1 writer, being able to read or write Blue-ray is not necessary.)

GFX card: ASUS Radeon HD 6970
(Or a better card in the same price range.)

SSD: Crucial m4 SSD 2,5" 128GB 415MB/175MB/s read/write OR Crucial m4 SSD 2,5" 128GB 410MB/210MB/s read/write
(1 SSD drive in the same price range.)

HDD: ?
(1 or 2 7200 rpm drives with atleast 1TB of total storage space.)

Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX

RAM: ?
(As fast as possible but I can settle with 4-8GB because I intend to put in more sometime in the future.)

Mainboard: ?
(This is the only component I’d consider to be a bottleneck in the system as long as I can uppgrade the other parts later without changing it. The most important thing is that I can put in atleas 24GB of ram though I wouldn’t mind being able to put in more then that.)

I know there alot more parts needed but I need help gathering them, the budget is about 2.750 USD. I’m open for suggestions on everything listed and any help I can get is highly appricated since the guy who was supposed to help me didn’t get back to me.

P.S: I’ve heard MAC is a better alternative in regards to music making but I don’t want one at this time since I’m going to use it for other things aswell.

2

Have you checked out Nvidia GTX570 graphics card, I believe they are more quiet with similar performance!?

I’m going to be building one too, but I will wait for Intels Ivy Bridge and next-gen graphics cards early next year, both should be a big step forward because of lower die shrinks.

3

I just did a google search on the card and it seems to be just as good as Radeon HD 6970 and it might just suit me better since I don’t think I’ll be running anything at super high resolutions. Thanks for the suggestion :).

Well I haven’t bought a new computer in ages and I don’t really want to wait untill next year. I’m not really much of a gamer but I’m getting Skyrim 11/11 and I’m hoping I’ll have this comp finished by then :).

4

Will you be using modern games on your computer, or mainly making music? If it’s the latter then go for a passive gfx card. Also make sure to get a low noise PSU. And I’d probably get an intel ssd instead, due to its quality.

5

I really think building a computer for gaming and building a computer to make music are quite different. While there are a lot of things that can make doing music on a computer easier, they aren’t necessary. Currently I’m using a three year old iMac with only 4GB of RAM and while I do feel that from time to time, it doesn’t end up hampering my music making in any way. Before this, I was just using whatever stock PC I could find a good deal on, upgrading small things here and there. I think the most important things I’ve invested in were a good interface and decent monitors, both of which I have been using for a few years now and have gotten quite familiar with how they sound.

Are you just planning on using software, or recording real instruments? Have you considered things like microphones, headphones, a midi keyboard or other control device? Are you going to be doing live performances, where it would be more beneficial to invest in a good laptop? There are a lot of different ways you can do music, especially if you are hoping to earn an income from it. Things like that would be helpful to know to be able to recommend gear.

All that aside, I think the best thing you can invest in is the time spent working on making music. You don’t need the latest and greatest, especially if you haven’t done it in awhile.

6

I intend to spend more time making music than gaming on it but I do want the games I do run to look as good as possible within that price range. I’ll keep that in mind though for future systems if I build one specificlly for music making.

Are there any specifc brands you’d recomend that you know are good?

So something like Intel® SSD 510 Series 120GB would be better?

7

I’m hoping I’ll be able to do both on this system but the main goal is to be able to make music without being hindered by the hardware.

Only software for now but as soon as I can afford it I intend to invest money in a really good speaker system and professional headphones. I do not use any midi keyboard but I do intend to get one when I can afford it. No live performances at all because the music I tend to make isn’t really suitable for it.

I totally agree with you that it’s the music that counts but in order for music making to be fun again for me I need to have a sound card which can produce a really high quality sound because the low quality of my current Soundblaster Audigy is terrible. I also don’t want to feel that processing power is holding me back which it currently is on my dualcore system. I’ve gotten more work done in the past couple of weeks then I’ve done in the past 5-6 years or so because I decided to get a new PC so I’m definitely going to invest money in it :).

8

I stumbled upon a Swedish forum so I’ll see if I can get some help gathering the parts from there instead since the prices on the componentes will probablly be more accurate then.

I appriciate that you took the time to try and help me and feel free to let me know if there is something in particular you think I should get :).

9

I quite highly rate the Corsair HX series myself. http://www.corsair.com/power-supply-units/professional-series-power-supply-units.html