Canadian alternative to buying a quiet workstation PC from Puget?

[dentaku]

Budget (including currency):  no more than $2000 CAN

Country: Canada

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Ableton Live/lots of VSTs, Circuit simulation software like LTSpice etc., code compiling

Other details : It must be quiet and I really want to stick with an Intel CPU

 

I used to build my own desktop machines but that was many years ago. My computer is very old now and I don't feel like researching all the new motherboards, CPUs and ram so I want to simply buy one from a company that builds powerful and quiet workstations for non-gamers.
It's got to be quiet and give me very low latencies in audio applications when using my Focusrite 2i2 audio interface.
Of course having a fast CPU and lots of ram will also help in things like circuit simulation software, Fusion 360 and compiling microcontroller code / FPGA simulation.

Puget Systems builds such workstations but they only sell in the US. (and they're quite expensive)

Where would someone in Canada find a service like this?
I could just look at the parts list for a computer Puget sells as a guide and order them then assemble it myself but I would prefer to just buy the whole thing already built.
I'm sure I could build something like this for less money but I'm willing to pay for the convenience. I would probably start with just the onboard video if I built my own as long as motherboard has the correct outputs for my two monitors and add a card if I feel I need one.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/nav/core/Z590-A/customize/

[Forleb]

Looks like GPU availability is worse in Canada than the United States, so you may have to go with one of those systems. Do keep in mind that in USD the one you selected is over 2x your budget; The best I can see coming from them for 2,000 CAD is a 10600K + 3060 rig.

[brob]

A number of online merchants will assemble a system of parts bought from them. Usually for a small fee. The down side is that one is restricted to parts sold by the merchant and in-stock. Canada Computers, Memory Express, Mike's Computers are three such merchants.

 

System assembly is a lot easier these days. With advice from LTT you should end up with a really good system. You won't save any money but you should end up with an optimal combination of components.

 

Something like the following might suit.

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($519.99 @ Memory Express) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S redux 70.75 CFM CPU Cooler  ($62.95 @ Amazon Canada) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z690-P WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($299.99 @ Memory Express) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($129.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($209.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Crucial P2 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($199.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card  ($326.98 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 Compact ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.50 @ Vuugo) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($77.98 @ Newegg Canada) 
Total: $1977.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-22 20:29 EST-0500

[dentaku]

On 11/22/2021 at 9:37 PM, brob said:

A number of online merchants will assemble a system of parts bought from them. Usually for a small fee. The down side is that one is restricted to parts sold by the merchant and in-stock. Canada Computers, Memory Express, Mike's Computers are three such merchants.

 

System assembly is a lot easier these days. With advice from LTT you should end up with a really good system. You won't save any money but you should end up with an optimal combination of components.

 

Something like the following might suit.

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($519.99 @ Memory Express) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S redux 70.75 CFM CPU Cooler  ($62.95 @ Amazon Canada) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z690-P WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($299.99 @ Memory Express) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($129.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($209.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Storage: Crucial P2 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($199.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card  ($326.98 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 Compact ATX Mid Tower Case  ($149.50 @ Vuugo) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($77.98 @ Newegg Canada) 
Total: $1977.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-22 20:29 EST-0500

Wow, I didn't expect anyone to build a list of parts like that. Thanks for the suggestions.
There's a Canada Computers in Halifax so I would probably buy most of my parts from there (maybe not worth driving that far so I might get it shipped anyway) but I have no problem getting RAM or an NVME SSD from Amazon.

The motherboard is always the toughest part to pick for me and I was leaning towards the Asus Prime boards. I like that it has HDMI and Displayport so I could skip the video card for now and just use DP on monitor#2 and an HDMI to DVI-D adapter for monitor#1.
I also like that it has Thunderbolt 4.
I have no use for the WiFi so the ASUS Prime Z690-P D4 is fine and $30 cheaper.
https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_1842_3869&item_id=208681

I've also never filled a 1TB harddrive so I don't need to second 2TB SSD. I'm not a gamer and I don't record audio which takes up lots of space, I just use virtual instruments.

I was thinking of getting a BeQuiet case but that Fractal case looks really nice. I see it's what Puget uses too.

[dentaku]

I've been doing some more research and while I'd love to have a 16 core i9 12900k because Ableton  Live 11 can make use of as many cores as you can give it I'm wondering if it's worth the extra money and possible extra heat when it boosts to it's max frequency.

I'm also looking for a cooler with a 14mm fan just so I can make sure to get less fan noise. Of course it has to fit into whatever case I choose and not hit into the ram or parts of the motherboard.

See, it's stuff like this that make me want to buy a prebuilt machine.

[brob]

Use actual noise specs, not fan size. Bequiet and Noctua tend to be pricier than most, but usually offer quieter operation. If you want a more efficient cpu cooler you could look as the Dark Rock Pro 4 and Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15S. Memory module height may impact the first two.

 

While Ableton Live can use the iGPU, keep in mind that this may affect display responsiveness. Especially running multiple monitors. There is also a tiny hit on the cpu.

 

While Ableton Live can use all cores, it will not necessarily do so. The nature of your work will determine how many cores are used. 

[dentaku]

Just now, brob said:

Use actual noise specs, not fan size. Bequiet and Noctua tend to be pricier than most, but usually offer quieter operation. If you want a more efficient cpu cooler you could look as the Dark Rock Pro 4 and Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D15S. Memory module height may impact the first two.

 

While Ableton Live can use the iGPU, keep in mind that this may affect display responsiveness. Especially running multiple monitors. There is also a tiny hit on the cpu.

 

While Ableton Live can use all cores, it will not necessarily do so. The nature of your work will determine how many cores are used. 

Yes, the NH-D15S is what I've been looking at today. I'll just have to figure out if it's too tall for whatever case I get and it does seem to have good clearance over the RAM and and motherboard parts on the rear IO side.

Since I use lots of virtual instruments I could use all the CPU I can get. Projects that are mostly recorded audio take so little CPU power that it's barely measurable on a modern PC but once you start piling on the VSTs the CPU gauge goes up quickly. I'm sure an i7 12700K is still more than enough though.

[brob]

Changing to Corsair lpx memory modules resolves any issues with the cpu cooler.

 

I've assembled a build with parts from Canada computers. It's more expensive than multi sourcing, but within budget.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($749.99 @ Canada Computers) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($160.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z690-P D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($259.00 @ Canada Computers) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($149.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($239.00 @ Canada Computers) 
Case: be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Straight Power 11 550 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.99 @ Canada Computers) 
Total: $1818.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-24 18:36 EST-0500

 

BTW, the motherboard only has a Thunderbolt 4 header. An add-on card is required to connect to devices.

[Slayerking92]

Put your own together on Memory Express and have them build it.  They will match any online price for parts as well.

 

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Tool/Configurator