New PC build for Music Production

[Hemmel]

39 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

In this instance, it's more the only optimizations would be for Intel, especially since Ubuntu Studio is an entire slate of programs.

True, but during the installation process you can select what you want to install. I'll probably skip all the 3D graphics software and install only the Audio software. Even then, there will probably be some software that I wont use, and will not install them. Maybe I will, if they don't use up too much space.

34 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

Ubuntu Studio is an entire linux distro for sound production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Studio I'd never heard of it until this thread, but you're looking at a couple of dozen programs that are Open Source. Which normally means "go with the lowest common denominator". So, some sort of Intel build. Depending on the program case, 8700 (non-k) appears to be a popular choice.

 

That it's probably the Price-Performance king of the Intel Coffee Lake range probably has something to do with that.

I'm not partial to either Intel or AMD, so anyone will do. If Intel is better suited, so be it.

34 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

https://support.image-line.com/action/knowledgebase?id=55&ans=214

 

Good discussion on it. Actually a good argument for under-volt/under-clock build, though they don't mention that. It's going to take a lot of fiddling, though.

Thanks Taf. After reading this quickly, I noticed they talk about sample-based instruments. I will use some, but not that much. So 16Gb RAM should suffice.

 

[Taf the Ghost]

4 minutes ago, Hemmel said:

True, but during the installation process you can select what you want to install. I'll probably skip all the 3D graphics software and install only the Audio software. Even then, there will probably be some software that I wont use, and will not install them. Maybe I will, if they don't use up too much space.

I'm not partial to either Intel or AMD, so anyone will do. If Intel is better suited, so be it.

Thanks Taf. After reading this quickly, I noticed they talk about sample-based instruments. I will use some, but not that much. So 16Gb RAM should suffice.

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/BLyHGG

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($94.86 @ Newegg Canada) 
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($202.95 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($222.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($114.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Silent Low Profile Video Card  ($113.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Case: be quiet! - Silent Base 600 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($107.99 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($25.50 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1447.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 14:18 EDT-0400

[Taf the Ghost]

Hrmm... needs work. That's just the first pass.

[Hemmel]

1 minute ago, Taf the Ghost said:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/BLyHGG

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($94.86 @ Newegg Canada) 
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($202.95 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($222.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($114.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Silent Low Profile Video Card  ($113.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Case: be quiet! - Silent Base 600 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($107.99 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($25.50 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1447.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 14:18 EDT-0400

This looks very good.

Just now, Taf the Ghost said:

Hrmm... needs work. That's just the first pass.

What needs work exactly? I'd like to know you thought process

[Taf the Ghost]

1 minute ago, Hemmel said:

This looks very good.

What needs work exactly? I'd like to know you thought process

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/b7wmD2

 

4 TB of storage is probably too much to just grab off the top, plus that is a 5400 rpm drive, which I didn't notice.

 

I'm not sure if an NVMe boot drive would help in this scenario. Can save some money, also, by dropping off the OC-able parts. I'd be more valuable to under-clock & under-volt this type of setup, for noise reasons. (That's why there's a big air cooler; can run really low RPM on the fans. Noctua also includes a step-down cable to drop the RPM even further.) I don't know if that case actually is good for sound, either.

[Hemmel]

10 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/b7wmD2

 

4 TB of storage is probably too much to just grab off the top, plus that is a 5400 rpm drive, which I didn't notice.

 

I'm not sure if an NVMe boot drive would help in this scenario. Can save some money, also, by dropping off the OC-able parts. I'd be more valuable to under-clock & under-volt this type of setup, for noise reasons. (That's why there's a big air cooler; can run really low RPM on the fans. Noctua also includes a step-down cable to drop the RPM even further.) I don't know if that case actually is good for sound, either.

With a name like "be quiet", I'd hope it's quiet enough. I'm thinking of having a padded wardrobe-sized booth for when recording voice through mics. So the PC noise wouldn't be recorded there... but when recording amp'd guitars... I'll have to see.

I'm not sure what you mean by "OC-able parts"

[Taf the Ghost]

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/zVDQP3

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($249.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($94.86 @ Newegg Canada) 
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($160.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($222.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($74.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Silent Low Profile Video Card  ($113.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Case: be quiet! - Silent Base 600 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($107.99 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada) 
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($25.50 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1230.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 14:38 EDT-0400

 

A Ryzen 2600 build, but without the B450 boards out (a couple of weeks?), don't quite get the cost savings. (Which is part of why the 8700 non-k is in such a good space.)

 

Given your price range and collection of likely programs, I'd highly favor a 8700 non-k build. I just don't know how valuable going up to the Z-series and getting those memory timings lower would help.

[Hemmel]

Further thoughts came up and I realized that I need to double-check if the hardware will have drivers for Ubuntu (or at least Debian-based OS). For example if there's software for case fans management or CPU overclocking, will it be available for Ubuntu as well...

 

[Taf the Ghost]

Just now, Hemmel said:

With a name like "be quiet", I'd hope it's quiet enough. I'm thinking of having a padded wardrobe-sized booth for when recording voice through mics. So the PC noise wouldn't be recorded there... but when recording amp'd guitars... I'll have to see.

I'm not sure what you mean by "OC-able parts"

OC-able = Overclocking is allowed. It's how Intel segments their products.

 

be quiet! does make good stuff, but not all of it is silence focused. 

[Taf the Ghost]

2 minutes ago, Hemmel said:

Further thoughts came up and I realized that I need to double-check if the hardware will have drivers for Ubuntu (or at least Debian-based OS). For example if there's software for case fans management or CPU overclocking, will it be available for Ubuntu as well...

 

CPU would be handled at the BIOS, so that's not an issue. You'd want some fan control via PWM program, though.

[Taf the Ghost]

20 minutes ago, Hemmel said:

Further thoughts came up and I realized that I need to double-check if the hardware will have drivers for Ubuntu (or at least Debian-based OS). For example if there's software for case fans management or CPU overclocking, will it be available for Ubuntu as well...

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/2WmN6s

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Mike's Computer Shop) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($94.86 @ Newegg Canada) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360 HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.75 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($204.99 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Memory Express) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($74.50 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Silent Low Profile Video Card  ($113.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Case: Fractal Design - Define R5 Blackout Edition ATX Mid Tower Case  ($148.99 @ PC-Canada) 
Power Supply: be quiet! - Dark Power Pro 11 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace) 
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($25.50 @ Vuugo) 
Total: $1417.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 15:06 EDT-0400

 

http://www.silentpcreview.com

 

They don't really keep SilentPC that up to date now, but I was able to find some good information & recommendations. 

 

Ended up with a rather quiet-focused build.

[Hemmel]

Taf, again, thank you for your suggestions. I will look into the last build in detail.

 

Thanks to all who replied, the discussion was interesting and all input was much appreciated.