Building a Custom PC for Ableton

[CHARLIE!]

Hi all,

I have had experience building pcs and after the performance test thread I have decided to make one for ableton after using a macbook for the last year and a half.

All I need this pc for is music. I have an external soundcard so that wont be needed.

Anyone have any recomendations of what to use?

Budget between and around 500 - 1000.

[CHARLIE!]

Also from experience does anyone find it is not worth building it and just ordering a pc do the trick?

[djsynchro]

I built a PC with an Asus MoBo and an Intel Q6600 and some 7200 RPM drives can't remember what brand, they always fail on me after a couple of years anyway, get at least 2 drives so you can have a copy of everything on the other drive in case of a crash. It was cheap as chips to build and it runs like a dream!

[CHARLIE!]

I built a PC with an Asus MoBo and an Intel Q6600 and some 7200 RPM drives can't remember what brand, they always fail on me after a couple of years anyway, get at least 2 drives so you can have a copy of everything on the other drive in case of a crash. It was cheap as chips to build and it runs like a dream!

how much did you spend if you dont mind me asking?

[Gab]

I built a PC with an Asus MoBo and an Intel Q6600 and some 7200 RPM drives can't remember what brand, they always fail on me after a couple of years anyway, get at least 2 drives so you can have a copy of everything on the other drive in case of a crash. It was cheap as chips to build and it runs like a dream!

Last October I built my PC with an Asus P5Q-E mobo, Q6600 proc (2.4ghz stock, it currently runs at 3.2Ghz with a dead quiet air cooling solution), Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB (I added a Samsung Ecogreen 1.5TB lately), ATI HD4850 graphic card (you can go with a basic 4500 series if you don't play any games), 4GB RAM. Cost about 700 euros. Now it may be cheaper - check the prices at Newegg.

You could get a more powerful machine with a core i7, but if you want to stay with a 775 platform the Q6600 is still an incredibly good choice (is it still sold, though?): overclock well, cheap for a quad core, future-proof.

Otherwise, NEVER neglect the importance of a good PSU. I highly recommand Corsair - I have a HX620, the tensions are perfectly stable and it's dead quiet.

[Imaulle]

IMO the 775 is dead. you should go with an i7 920. ddr3 is super cheap, can get 6 gigs of triple chan for under $100...


here is a good build...


i7 920 .................. : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115202 - $279
ASUS P6T Deluxe .. : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131365 - $289
6GB DDR3 1600 .... : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227381 - $94
BFG GForce 9600 .. : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143161 - $76
WD 1TB hdd ....... : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136284 - $99


total so far $837

**still building**

[djsynchro]

I already had the case and the PSU and one of the HDs and the DVD drive... a bit over 400 Euros I think.
I got a UAD-2 card and it was more expensive than the whole DAW thing!

[trilo]

After having used PC's for ages and designed *many* systems for myself and companies I worked with, I made the switch back in 2003 and haven't once looked back. For mobile, I'd go MacBook. If it only has to be moderately portable, the Mini or an iMac would do the job extremely well and you'd have zero in the way of headaches, hassle, and frustration.

[CHARLIE!]

I was a PC guy my whole life and then i got this macbook and Ive been loving the hell out of it. But lately the amount of VSTs I use have just gotten it so bogged down that it cant keep up with what I want to do.


by the way Imaulle BIG thanks for looking some stuff up. Im gonna check those parts out.

Do you guys think building has an edge over buying a premade PC for cost/performance ratio.

[djsynchro]

Building has the edge cost wise absolutely. I would go with parts that have been around for a bit, first of all that lowers the price considerably second, you can google it (MoBo!) and see if there are any issues you should be aware of in case you need Firwire or UAD cards or whatever.