PC build for Music editing

Associate
Joined
25 Nov 2016
Posts
27
Location
Bristol
Afternoon People

Im looking to build a new rig for editing music using Studio One as a DAW and various vsts etc.
I don't need a monitor, keyboard and mouse so im looking for a decent tower and all the components within
Budget of around £600

Many thanks
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2019
Posts
515
Which tascam device is you have and what sort of production are you doing, out of interest?

There was a tascam interface that was interesting when I was looking but went for the focusrite saffire 56 in the end.
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2019
Posts
515
This would be my starting point. You may get differing opinions on some of what I'm saying.

I've gone for the 2700X rather than the more recent 3xxx series of Ryzen chips. Although the 3xxx series will perform better, the 2xxx series can drive a display without a separate GPU which saves you a lot of money. Don't order the 2700X chip until Friday though, as price is likely to come down a bit more.

32GB RAM would be sensible if you're using a lot of virtual instruments and VSTs at the same time. If not, you could save a bit of money by dropping to 16GB (get 2 x 8GB RAM if you do as that will allow you to buy more in the future).

The 960GB M2 drive will be super fast so loading big plugins will take no time at all, plus you'll have plenty of bandwidth to record multiple tracks simultaneously if that's your thing. Again, check prices on the Sabrent Rocket on Friday. You could save money by getting a smaller capacity M2 drive and a traditional hard drive with a larger capacity but I wouldn't bother - it'll be noisier if nothing else.

And on noise, I've added in a separate CPU cooler and 3 x case fans. You don't need these - the case already comes with a fan and the CPU has a cooler in the box - but these will be a step up in performance with a drop in volume. If you wanted to push budget or found some further savings on Friday, the be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU cooler would be a further step up in performance.

Case is personal choice but that's a cheap one, so yeah.

PSU is a bit of a punt as it appears to be a very new unit. However, seasonic has a very good reputation so it shouldn't have any problems. The only question is whether it is loud. An alternative might be this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020187-uk-ca-252-cs.html More expensive but super quiet - just make sure you install it with the fan facing upwards.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £665.95 (includes shipping: £12.60)​
 
Caporegime
Joined
1 Dec 2010
Posts
52,327
Location
Welling, London
This would be my starting point. You may get differing opinions on some of what I'm saying.

I've gone for the 2700X rather than the more recent 3xxx series of Ryzen chips. Although the 3xxx series will perform better, the 2xxx series can drive a display without a separate GPU which saves you a lot of money. Don't order the 2700X chip until Friday though, as price is likely to come down a bit more.

32GB RAM would be sensible if you're using a lot of virtual instruments and VSTs at the same time. If not, you could save a bit of money by dropping to 16GB (get 2 x 8GB RAM if you do as that will allow you to buy more in the future).

The 960GB M2 drive will be super fast so loading big plugins will take no time at all, plus you'll have plenty of bandwidth to record multiple tracks simultaneously if that's your thing. Again, check prices on the Sabrent Rocket on Friday. You could save money by getting a smaller capacity M2 drive and a traditional hard drive with a larger capacity but I wouldn't bother - it'll be noisier if nothing else.

And on noise, I've added in a separate CPU cooler and 3 x case fans. You don't need these - the case already comes with a fan and the CPU has a cooler in the box - but these will be a step up in performance with a drop in volume. If you wanted to push budget or found some further savings on Friday, the be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU cooler would be a further step up in performance.

Case is personal choice but that's a cheap one, so yeah.

PSU is a bit of a punt as it appears to be a very new unit. However, seasonic has a very good reputation so it shouldn't have any problems. The only question is whether it is loud. An alternative might be this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...lar-power-supply-cp-9020187-uk-ca-252-cs.html More expensive but super quiet - just make sure you install it with the fan facing upwards.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £665.95 (includes shipping: £12.60)
2700X doesn’t have integrated graphics. Only the G series do.
 
Associate
Joined
31 Jul 2019
Posts
515
Right, well I'd still probably stick with the 2700X (or 2700 to save a few ££), as I would like to think 8 cores > 6 cores for this sort of productivity work. I appreciate the benchmarks will all favour a Ryzen 3600 but I'm not entirely convinced by them.

GPU could get away with the cheapest: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...ddr3-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-396-as.html

And lose the quiet fans and cooler or drop down to 2 x 8GB RAM if need to keep closer to budget.
 
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