Music Production Build-any thoughts appreciated

[Thee_Igneous_One]

I will be using an external USB Audient sound card and can do with an underpowered graphics card as I don't play games.
Cheers !


Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 150 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 15 to 17 working days
Price: £1,308.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Deleted member 17413]

With the build you have put, theres a couple of things that I would automatically change anyway (AIO choice and WiFi card.
If the machine is strictly music production, so only using lower spec GPU's, you can probably reduce the PSU

Motherboard would be better served as one of the 570's, rather than buying a strix 550. Im assuming you also need a very quiet case?
So would suggest a fractal define 7 but not in stock at PCS atm so maybe use the send in your own case option and purchase elsewhere/deliver to PCS.

From what I understand on music production builds, you basically need single core performance and lots of USB options.
I would need to ask about the RAM, I know video/photo edditing benefits from it but not sure about music production.

Can you tell us your budget, and also provide the config link on the specs above? (will have been at bottom of page that you pasted them from) Also, any specific software you use?

 

[AgentCooper]

I would need to ask about the RAM, I know video/photo editing benefits from it but not sure about music production.

It does depend on the software being used but from my experience making music, having 32GB of RAM is a boon. And you really do want the highest frequency available, especially if there’s plenty of plug-ins being utilised. So whilst we’d say 3200MHz is the sweet spot for gamers and fine for visual editing, someone who’s hardcore on audio work would benefit from 3600MHz+

 

[Deleted member 17413]

It does depend on the software being used but from my experience making music, having 32GB of RAM is a boon. And you really do want the highest frequency available, especially if there’s plenty of plug-ins being utilised. So whilst we’d say 3200MHz is the sweet spot for gamers and fine for visual editing, someone who’s hardcore on audio work would benefit from 3600MHz+

Ah ok, so with RAM choices, need to look at software in terms of volume and push for as close to "optimal" MHz as you can in terms of tuning performance, Im assuming it still suffers the same drawbacks should you go over the "sweetspot" for the CPU?
So 3733MHz (at least with the 3000 series AMD ones)?

If PCS offered 4000MHz RAM and you clocked it to 3733MHz... would that be beneficial? Or would you suggest just the 3600MHz in terms of performance balanced against price?

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

With the build you have put, theres a couple of things that I would automatically change anyway (AIO choice and WiFi card.
If the machine is strictly music production, so only using lower spec GPU's, you can probably reduce the PSU

Motherboard would be better served as one of the 570's, rather than buying a strix 550. Im assuming you also need a very quiet case?
So would suggest a fractal define 7 but not in stock at PCS atm so maybe use the send in your own case option and purchase elsewhere/deliver to PCS.

From what I understand on music production builds, you basically need single core performance and lots of USB options.
I would need to ask about the RAM, I know video/photo edditing benefits from it but not sure about music production.

Can you tell us your budget, and also provide the config link on the specs above? (will have been at bottom of page that you pasted them from) Also, any specific software you use?

With the build you have put, theres a couple of things that I would automatically change anyway (AIO choice and WiFi card.
If the mchine is strictly music production, so only using lower spec GPU's, you can probably reduce the PSU

Motherboard would be better served as one of the 570's, rather than buying a strix 550. Im assuming you also need a very quiet case?
So would suggest a fractal define 7 but not in stock at PCS atm so maybe use the send in your own case option and purchase elsewhere/deliver to PCS.

From what I understand on music production builds, you basically need single core performance and lots of USB options.
I would need to ask about the RAM, I know video/photo edditing benefits from it but not sure about music production.

Can you tell us your budget, and also provide the config link on the specs above? (will have been at bottom of page that you pasted them from) Also, any specific software you use?

Thanks for the reply.

Have had good experience with a similiar specced Noctua cooler. I've had a Corsair AIO cooler and the fans were noisy.
I chose a B550 board as I didn't want any active cooling - ditto the graphics card.
32 GB is considered the sweetspot for large Orchestral sample libraries.

Why change the WiFi card ?

My budget is £1300.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Thanks for the reply.

Have had good experience with a similiar specced Noctua cooler. I've had a Corsair AIO cooler and the fans were noisy.
I chose a B550 board as I didn't want any active cooling - ditto the graphics card.
32 GB is considered the sweetspot for large Orchestral sample libraries.

Why change the WiFi card ?

My budget is £1300.

Which Corsair cooler? and when?
The current H115 models PCS have are pretty much brand new, and have ML fans...so are -very- quiet.... if you had something like a H60 or H80 in the past, forget what you knew, its all moved on...

the 570 boards are better suited to the 5800X CPU...more capable of fully suppporting the chip and also give you better M.2 options and most likely a longer lifespan/better upgrade path. Why no active cooling? You are basically asking for it to overheat and die within a few years, and if you get a suitable case (such as the Fractal Define 7) you wont hear a thing, even if you had a set of mice having a party inside it...

I get you seem to have reservations, but they arent making any sense (seem to be based on old tech examples?)

The WiFi card you put is over a decade old in design, known to have driver issues through windows update and for the sake of £10 more, you can get a AX200 that also comes with bluetooth... its a MUCH better card. In fact the AX200 is preferable over the Asus option which is four times its price...

The define 7 range is in short supply everywhere it seems, PCS normally had it but not atm, but the white case is in stock on OC's, you can choose to send a case in when ordering and just have it delivered to PCS... would strongly advise it if silent operation is important.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-7-mid-tower-case-white-clear-tint-tempered-glass-ca-08l-fd.html

 

[Stephen M]

What music software do you use, if it is compatible with Linux I would suggest dual-booting with Ubuntu Studio as that has a low latency kernel which is a big plus for audio work.

There is also a lot of very good free and open source software available for Linux.

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

Thanks again for the reply.

Yes, the Corsair model I had was probably pretty old, Saying that, I just don't see the need for a AIO cooler, I have no intention of overclocking.

I meant to say I wasn't keen the fan on the 570 chipset (if I'm looking at things right ?) What are the better M.2 options ?

Thanks for the WiFi card recommendation, I shall look at that.

Having had lot's of experience running a quiet PC for years, I've found a good airflow case with lots of Noctua fans is a good option. I currently have 6 in my Corsair 450D case and it's very quiet / cools a i7-4790K very well.

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

What music software do you use, if it is compatible with Linux I would suggest dual-booting with Ubuntu Studio as that has a low latency kernel which is a big plus for audio work.

There is also a lot of very good free and open source software available for Linux.

What music software do you use, if it is compatible with Linux I would suggest dual-booting with Ubuntu Studio as that has a low latency kernel which is a big plus for audio work.

There is also a lot of very good free and open source software available for Linux.

Hello,

All sorts of PC stuff - Fl Studio, loads of Native Instruments stuff etc.
I've built things up over the years, I don't think I would consider another OS option.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Thanks again for the reply.

Yes, the Corsair model I had was probably pretty old, Saying that, I just don't see the need for a AIO cooler, I have no intention of overclocking.

I meant to say I wasn't keen the fan on the 570 chipset (if I'm looking at things right ?) What are the better M.2 options ?

Thanks for the WiFi card recommendation, I shall look at that.

Having had lot's of experience running a quiet PC for years, I've found a good airflow case with lots of Noctua fans is a good option. I currently have 6 in my Corsair 450D case and it's very quiet / cools a i7-4790K very well.

Depending on which 570... you get two M.2 slots, normally one gen 4 and one gen 3 (unless higher end board)

And AIO's arent about overclocking, its about keeping temps at a level the components get their full lifespan, also with an AIO it'll put fans in the case that will also keep case temps down too.... the 5800X is also recommended to have a custom cooling solution, only the 5600X can get away with the stock cooler really.

You keep coming back to fans and the potential for noise, which I totally get in an audio build, but thats also why I keep plugging the define 7 which is actually designed for stuff like that, and has soundproofing.
Rather than a case like the 4000D, which is excellent for airflow, because its mesh front and open so youll hear everything inside it.

The fractal define 7 is excellent for cooling/thermals, excellent for quiet operation andd not a bad price either....
I really would recommend you buy something fit for purpose, rather than a cheaper option that isnt suited to your usage (so you end up sacrificing all the stuff that helps stabilise and improve build longevity). Yes, noctua are quiet fans....but thats no different to corsair ML fans.

Anyway.

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

Thanks for the suggestions, anyone else before I make the decision(s) ?

 

[jamiephillips909]

The 5800x idle temp can be pritty intense in some cases would highley recommend a decent aio and not cheap out of that part

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

Greetings,
Out of the PCS available X570 motherboards, does anyone one have experience / advice regarding the tiny fan on the chipset and how often it's in operation is / how noisy it can be (or not) ?
cheers

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

No thoughts on this one ?

I've read contrary things about the fan's noise levels.

I remember the terrible whine the tiny fan on my ancient AMD Athlon made !

 

[sck451]

I have the Tuf X570 and can't hear the chipset fan with the case closed, and only if I really try with it open.

 

[SpyderTracks]

No thoughts on this one ?

I've read contrary things about the fan's noise levels.

I remember the terrible whine the tiny fan on my ancient AMD Athlon made !

If it were me, for any audio build, I would personally opt for a B550 board for a couple of reasons:

1. Better USB controlller

2. has a thunderbolt header that you can attach a modular thunderbolt card to. X570 as yet doesn’t have this at all.

3. for the loads you’ll be putting on it, a strix 550 VRM setup would be ample for the 5800x. But I’d combine it with a good AIO cooler like the H115i capellix.

4. No chipset cooling fan. This is a contentious subject, but I think vastly more important when related to audio. For me I wouldn’t want a chipset fan.

 

[Thee_Igneous_One]

If it were me, for any audio build, I would personally opt for a B550 board for a couple of reasons:

1. Better USB controlller

2. has a thunderbolt header that you can attach a modular thunderbolt card to. X570 as yet doesn’t have this at all.

3. for the loads you’ll be putting on it, a strix 550 VRM setup would be ample for the 5800x. But I’d combine it with a good AIO cooler like the H115i capellix.

4. No chipset cooling fan. This is a contentious subject, but I think vastly more important when related to audio. For me I wouldn’t want a chipset fan.

Cheers, I was thinking along similiar lines, would you say that mobo would be okay for a 5900x as well ?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers, I was thinking along similiar lines, would you say that mobo would be okay for a 5900x as well ?

Just about, yes, so long as you've got an H115i Capellix on it to cool, should keep the unit temps at bay, it does really have almost the same power requirements of the 5800x.

In case you're interested in Thunderbolt, there is a modular card that snaps into the Strix B550 which is here:

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And it's on Amazon here:

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