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Build-Off 55: Music Creation (Mid-Range Build)

CornOnJacob
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Go to solution Solved by Enderman,

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($338.95 @ OutletPC) 


Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 




Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 

Speakers: Audioengine A5+ Black 100W 2ch Speakers  ($399.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1294.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-27 22:31 EDT-0400

 

For music production, the powerful integrated graphics of the 4790k will be more than enough. What matters is that you have 4 cores and 8 threads for seamless playback of hundreds of tracks simultaneously. This stuff uses a lot of CPU power!

Z97 motherboard in case overclocking is your thing ;)

8GB of RAM is enough for music production, and can easily be upgraded to 16 if necessary.

3TB of storage in a fairly fast hard drive is more than enough, no need for SSDs.

Silent case with a quieter (than stock) cooler will keep the PC noise down.

Good quality PSU, rated for much more than this system will ever use.

 

Top-of-the-line sound card, and high quality studio monitors for the price. A dedicated sub can also be added to the setup if necessary in the future.

^^^^^

PS- a lot of people will go for expensive headphones instead of speakers. Personally I think it is much nicer to be able to hear the sound surround you instead of it being played right into your ears, and also it is more comfortable+convenient to not wear headphones for the 8 hours a day that you will spend listening to your music production.


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CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($332.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($46.99 @ Mwave) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 


Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($72.99 @ Amazon) 




Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 

Headphones: Shure SRH1440 Headphones  ($299.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1298.94

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 00:18 EDT-0400

 

CPU - The i7-4770K was chosen instead of the i7-4790K in order to fit 4 overclockable hyper-threaded cores into the budget.

CPU Cooler - Good value, and a SilentPCReview Editor's choice. Should keep the work environment nice and quiet.

Motherboard - The cheapest Z97 available.  And ASRock makes decent value motherboards.

Memory - The cheapest 1866+ MHz 2 x 4GB kit from a reputable manufacturer.

SSD - A value option that performs well for software and OS.

HDD - A solid 7200 RPM 2TB drive for working/music files.

Case - A noise dampening case with solid construction for a noise optimized work area.  If only I'd gotten this done while the R4 was $79.99...then the 4790K would've fit xD

PSU - The cheapest reputable PSU.  Bought and used by many budget builders.

Sound Card - A tried and true flagship card of yester-year.  There are many equally capable DACs that are cheaper, but the STX is also a pretty good ADC, so the user can work both ways.

Headphones - This was the hardest part, but I ended up choosing the open style circumaural headphone that I knew to have the flattest response curve.  These headphones will give you the truest reproduction of your music/work that you can get with $300.  And I would not try to spend more with this budget, as diminishing returns would force you to cut back way too much in other areas.  But at the end of the day, there are lots of options for $300 or less (e.g. AKG K702, PSB M4U 1), so swapping out the Shure SRH1440 for any one of those choices is possible as well.  And with a well timed sale, you could even get something that normally costs a lot more.  

 

Those are my thoughts.  Hope you like them.  And sorry it's a few minutes late, as this is my first time and I'm travelling.

Titan: Intel Core i7-5820K | ASUS X99-A | Crucial Ballistix Sport 4x4GB DDR4-2400 | ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 970 | OCZ Arc 100 2x256GB in RAID 0 | Seagate Barracuda 2x2TB in RAID 1


EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 | Fractal Design Define R5 Titanium Window | Phanteks PH-TC14PE | ASUS BW-12B1ST

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Sorry for not putting up a poll, everyone. Yom Kippur started Friday night, and I didn't go on my computer until Sunday, and then I had to work all day. By that point I decided to just wait and give everyone a full week to vote and get back on schedule. Updated dates are in the OP.

 

I know this sounds like a lot of excuses, which it is, but I'm incredibly busy this year (I really shouldn't be on the forum right now :P). Please bear with me for any delays or adjustments to contests. Thank you!

[spoiler=My Current PC]AMD FX-8320 @ 4.2 Ghz | Xigmatek Dark Knight Night Hawk II | Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 | 8GB Adata XPG V2 Silver 1600 Mhz RAM | Gigabyte 3X Windforce GTX 770 4GB @ 1.27 Ghz/7.25 Ghz | Rosewill Hive 550W Bronze PSU | Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 | Samsung Evo 250 GB SSD | Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD | ASUS VS239H-P | Razer Deathadder 2013 | Partlist

 

LTT Build-Off Thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/35226-the-ltt-build-off-thread-no-building-required/

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Good luck to other entrants. :)
 
 
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($297.27 @ TigerDirect) 
Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($5.47 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($77.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg) 
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Headphones  ($199.95 @ Newegg) 
Other: JDS Labs O2 ODAC Combo ($279.00)
Total: $1299.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-28 11:41 EDT-0400
 
Rationale:
I chose the Intel Core i7 4790 (non-K) because it has 4 cores and 8 threads, which give you lots of computing power to code and render audio. I did not get the 4790K because there was no major performance gain in overclocking, and the time spent on overclocking could be time spent on producing music.
The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is quieter than the EVO while under load (13-32 dbA vs. 9-36 dbA) while only giving negligible temperature differences.
Gigabyte makes high quality motherboards and it has integrated video which is supported by the CPU, so no graphics card is required.
8 GB of overclocked RAM in dual channel is more than enough for music production. It leaves you with 2 slots for future upgrades.
A single 3 TB hard drive can hold up lots of audio files.
The NZXT Source 210 is a decent good value case. It has the power supply at the bottom and it's quiet.
The CX430 PSU gives plenty of power and you can install more components when needed.
I picked a simple optical drive so that you can write your music onto discs.
The Asus Xonar Essence has 7.1 channels and a high sample rate (192 KHz) and signal-to-noise ratio (124 dB)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones have great reviews by music creators and audiophiles. It has a frequency response of 15 Hz - 28 KHz, and pair it up with a JDS Labs O2 ODAC Combo for the best audio experience.
 
This is my music creation build!  :D

 

Why do you have to DACs in your build?

1 Timothy 1:15

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Why do you have to DACs in your build?

? Did you mean two? I have one. Did you mean I have to? Because DAC's are really good for music creation because they output better audio quality.

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? Did you mean two? I have one. Did you mean I have to? Because DAC's are really good for music creation because they output better audio quality.

Yea I meant "two"

 

You have the Asus Xonar Essence and the JDS Labs O2 ODAC Combo both of which are DAC (Digital Audio Converters).

1 Timothy 1:15

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Yea I meant "two"

 

You have the Asus Xonar Essence and the JDS Labs O2 ODAC Combo both of which are DAC (Digital Audio Converters).

For extreme audio quality.

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For extreme audio quality.

lol, what ever floats your boat.

 

I wouldn't want to unplug and plug my speakers in to a different DAC just because but hey maybe there are people out there who would.

1 Timothy 1:15

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For extreme audio quality.

 

dude that sound card already has powerful dac,another one won't magically add more detail to sound output

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dude that sound card already has powerful dac,another one won't magically add more detail to sound output

I am not gonna win this buildoff anyway :P I know nothing about music creation.

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