Hey guys,

I'm building a new pc list for a friend and his studio and I'm trying to get some help from you.

For the audio interface he already bought a UAD Apollo Twin X, so the motherboard has to have a thunderbolt port.

My list currently consists of the following products:
CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K LGA1700 8C+8c/24T, 3.20-5.30GHz, TRAY
GPU: Do I have to get a dedicated GPU card or is the onboard GPU enough?
Motherboard: Do you have any recommendations? (has to have a Thunderbolt port for the UAD interface)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
RAM: Any recommendations? is 16GB enough or should I get 32GB?
SSD: 1000GB Samsung 980 Pro M.2
Power supply: be quiet! Straight Power 11 Modular 80+ Gold 850 Watt
Case: be quiet! Pure Base 500 black

Info: The PC is only used for audio stuff. Mainly live recording, mixing & mastering and a little bit of producing.
If my list is way too oversized for these tasks we could always change the CPU and so on, but I thought it would be the best to invest in a good pc for the future.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance guys

 

Graphics card

Visual representation on a monitor requires a graphics card. Here the normal standard is fully adequate, because 3D graphics are not required for music software. We recommend a PCIe 16x graphics card with 2 monitor connections that can be operated simultaneously in parallel. When choosing, also make sure that the graphics card is passively cooled and does not have an active fan.

MSI GeForce GT 730 2GB DDR3 PCI-E x16 DVI HDMI passiv
https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/N730K-2GD3HLP

Working memory

For a music PC, 8 - 16 GB RAM is the minimum. If you want to use many VST instruments and large sample libraries, you should have more memory available. With the current 64-bit operating systems, large amounts of RAM can be used effectively.

GIGABYTE Z390 Designare
www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/Z390-DESIGNARE-rev-10#kf

• Supports 9th and 8th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors

- LGA 1151 CPU socket
- 12+1 VRM solution
- Bluetooth 5.0 technology
- Thunderbolt 3.0 ports
- Dual-channel DDR4

Pros:
- Listed at a cost-effective price tag
- Has full-spec Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Extremely versatile rear I/O panel
- DisplayPort 1.4 for 8K passthrough
- Efficient VRM thermal performance


Support List

Memory Support List
M.2 Support List
SSD Support List

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/Z390-DESIGNARE-rev-10/support#support-doc

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2022

Was würdest du denn zu der bisherigen Liste sagen? Habe ich etwas zu überdimensioniert geplant?
Ich bräuchte dann eigentlich nur noch Tipps zu der Grafikkarte, dem Mainboard und RAM.
Schwierig wirds leider bei dem Mainboard wegen des UAD Interface.

 

So jOhnman - hab das vorige Posting ergänzt. Wenn Du für ein Mainboard entschieden hast, musst du die Support Listen lesen, damit Du den passenden Arbeitsspeicher (RAM) kaufen kannst. Wenn man in die Zukunft sieht und vielleicht einige Geräte dazukommen ist deine Auswahl Zukunftssicher, lieber etwas größer - dann hat man immer eine Reserve. Ja deine Auswahl ist sehr gut. Eigentlich ,müssten wir hier Englisch reden. Ich würde mehr RAM nehmen 32 GB - falls Geld keine Rolle spielt.

So jOhnman - added to the previous post. Once you have decided on a mainboard, you need to read the support lists so that you can buy the appropriate RAM. If you look into the future and maybe some devices will be added, your selection is future proof, better a bit bigger - then you always have a reserve. Yes, your selection is very good. Actually, we should be talking English here. I would take more RAM 32 GB - if money is no object.

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2022

The internal graphics is more than enough for normal video display & playback.

Would recommend 32GB of memory. This will ensure that buffered data gets to it's destination quickly & intact. Will also allow larger shared memory for internal graphics if needed.

Some motherboards to consider:
ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 ( uses DDR4 Memory)
ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator (uses DDR5 Memory)
Gigabyte Z690 AERO D (rev. 1.x) (uses DDR5 Memory)
MSI MEG Z690 ACE (uses DDR5 Memory)

Noctua has a CPU/Cooler matching service on their website.
BeQuiet also has a matching service on their website. Recommends the Dark Rock Pro 4.

Add more storage options if needed. Recorded data should be on it's own storage medium.

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2022

You're right, let's continue in English! :D

I appreciate your help and the time you've invested for me!

If I find the appropriate Motherboard, I then can look for RAM and maybe a dedicated GPU.

That looks good, thanks for the recommendations.
The B660 only has an onboard header that would require an add-on card unlike the Z690 that has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, right?

 

Yes. The ASUS B660 board has a thunderbolt header so, scratch that one. The add-in-card does not make sense when the Z690 has built-in thunderbolt.

 

It's enough, but if you use libraries of any kind, consider getting more drives than one, even if they're smaller. The drive's speed and your RAM are both very important for this, but having extra storage split in more than one SSD unit will be way more useful (and probably cheaper) than jumping from 16GB to 32GB RAM.

 

Thanks for your input guys
I will update my list whenever I will find the appropriate hardware.
Mainboards with an internal Thunderbolt Port are awfully expensive

 

I'd buy the memory before storage, if you have to pick one. you will put up with not enough memory for a long time, and it is easy to procrastinate on adding it. it takes 1 minute to order an external hdd. and you should see if you can get away with hdd over ssd for your external libraries because SSD externals can be cost prohibitive for very little improvement in performance. (depending on what you are doing in kontakt of course). small system ssd, large hdd storage is more cost effective.

What do you plan to run connected via Thunderbolt? just the UAD?

if you want to do your friend a big gigantic favor, where you are top of next years xmas list? (and every one after it). He can send you a car with a big red bow on it with the money

Tell him to take the UAD back to the store.

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2022

haha, it isnt that easy though.
He/they want to use the UAD. I really don't want to discuss with them, I'm just helping them finding the right hardware :D

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2022

Huh, i've actually had way more problems with disk read speed than RAM. But true, it really depends on what you're doing in kontakt.

*gasp* The one who shall not be named!!!

 

This is my experience.
I built a friends computer with this GIGABYTE Z390 Designare nice and solid. No issues.

I have a Asus Z90-f and after my struggles with trying to get a thunderbolt card at a reasonable price for about 8 months now. from Asus or there resellers I would avoid Asus. I have no problem with people making a living but the Thunderbolt 4 card on ASUS web site is selling for $115 USD, Asus is letting there resellers jack up the Price on a Thunderbolt 3 card to 180 and 220 USD. The whole time I have been looking I saw ASRock and Gigbyte Thunerbolt 3 cards on Newegg and Amazon for $89. Both Gigabyte and ASRock Thunderbolt cards can work on each others Motherboards not Asus. They have a 14-1 header. So you are stuck with getting the True Asus brand.

I can understand a company not restricting there resellers price to a point but Subaru just slammed their dealers for there markup nationally
on the news saying this is not Subaru love and what we stand for But ASUS via emails to their CEO department could card less.

This is just info. If I had to buy again I would get Gigabyte or ASRock all Motherboards are good as long as you don't get the lowest price one.

 

I meant more, how many times have you put up with a system with less RAM than you would prefer? Look at all the silly "utility programs" they sell to people who screw around with optimizing vs upgrading. Unless you don't mind deleting those multi-GB libraries, when you run out of hd space you are screwed. it's less optional, imo. people will put up with the occasional pop and click....

 

regarding prices: supply chain issues and chip shortages.

 

would it be dumb to use an Intel NUC?

https://geizhals.de/intel-nuc-10-pe...kpa-frost-canyon-bxnuc10i7fnkpa-a2195644.html

this one right here has a built in thunderbolt 3 port and I'm thinking about upgrading the SSD to a Samsung 970 Evo Pro 1TB and upgrading the RAM to 32GB.

what do you guys think about that?

 

They are. Tons of plugins use OpenGL for all the animations, graphs, waveforms, and other kinds of eye candy. Offloading it to a discrete GPU frees up more of the CPU to deal with audio processing.

Why do you recommend a board from 2018 that is a dead platform and will never be possible to upgrade from? IIRC these boards weren't too popular to begin with (compared with mainstream, more budget boards), and fetch for a premium on the used market - to the point where it makes much more sense to buy a newer board instead and take several generations of incremental upgrades for either free or very little cost.

 

Your input configuration was already quite good - stick with it !

 

Thanks for the tip.
Please write your recommendation with a link to the manufacturer. Thanks

 

Last edited: Mar 5, 2022