Best custom PC for Audio & Music in Ableton 10 today (2018)

[papawise]

I agree in part, but I dare to say in general that you don't need it because I think that many users are looking to improve their system adding more RAM and that's (many times) of cero help.

Yes. Like with anything, you need it if you need it, and you don't if you don't . Basically, your message is: before you go and buy it, make sure you actually need it...

My message is you don't need more RAM!!

I think, as per tradition, there will soon be a Live 10 Performance Test set (Stromkraft mentioned posting one in the near future)...

Well, I've already did it and I'm affraid that you was wrong. I repeat, there may be some cases, but 1%. With that logical thinking, of course you will find guys that needs 56 cores in their CPU, maybe for science or special studies but that's only 0.1%, well this is similar. Now after the test I'm more convinced than before, so thanks for motivate me to learn more and to help people to don't buy myths.

Unless that you are Junkie XL or Hans Zimmer and you use 100+ tracks making orchestral arrangements for movies and we didn't know :p even in that case, you are just an exception and no the rule.

LINKS AND DETAILS DOWN BELOW ?

Some great info in all of this, thanks!

You are welcome mate, check the test! ???

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67 channels of heavy VST plugins and libraries running with only 16GB of RAM at 2900mhz for all the people that dare to say most of the times incorrectly, that you need more than 16GB for audio tasks. AND STILL ALMOST 4GB AVAILABLE! and don't forget to count the other software that was executed in the background as the system monitor Speccy and the DSP Checker, Firewall, etc.

SETUP: Ableton 10 + Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)
Intel i7 8700 4.3ghz
Corsair cooling H110i
16gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 2.900mhz
RME Hdspe RayDat (PCIe)
EVGA Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB
SSD Samsung 960 Evo 250GB
3 SSD's more running projects, libraries and samples.

DETAILS OF CHANNELS: each instance using a different patch totally random.
* U-he Diva:* 10 instances (in "divine" quality)
* NI Kontakt 5:* 10 instances
* NI Reaktor 6 / Monark:* 10 instances
* NI Massive:* 10 instances
* Spectrasonics Trillian:* 5 instances
* Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2:* 5 instances
* Xfer Serum:* 5 instances
* Arturia Minimoog V3:* 5 instances

Plus: 7 channels more of Reverb effects applied to all the channels
* Valhalla VintageVerb
* Valhalla Room
* Valhalla Shimmer
* Audio Damage EOS x64
* Audio Ease Altiverb 7

VIDEO:
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https://youtu.be/pvKoYGqSZLs
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[Nokatus]

I think, as per tradition, there will soon be a Live 10 Performance Test set (Stromkraft mentioned posting one in the near future)...

Well, I've already did it and I'm affraid that you was wrong. I repeat, there may be some cases, but 1%. With that logical thinking, of course you will find guys that needs 56 cores in their CPU, maybe for science or special studies but that's only 0.1%, well this is similar. Now after the test I'm more convinced than before, so thanks for motivate me to learn more and to help people to don't buy myths.

Unless that you are Junkie XL or Hans Zimmer and you use 100+ tracks making orchestral arrangements for movies and we didn't know :p even in that case, you are just an exception and no the rule.

Okay just chill. My comment about the Live 10 Performance Test was me trying to get back on track. Not at all about the RAM needs of different use cases. It's interesting to know how different builds cope with raltime audio, and information like that is very valuable. The Live Performance Tests are traditionally Live sets that are made available on these forums for testing the CPU performance and efficiency of a Live setup under load, they have been made here at least from version 5-6 onwards. With heavy DSP stuff (like algorithmic reverbs) loaded on many channels. It's light on RAM and heavy on the CPU, and it tests realtime audio processing in a high load situation. Very relevant to the core idea of this thread, and gathering information on how computer setups hold up as a whole.

67 channels of heavy VST plugins and libraries running with only 16GB of RAM at 2900mhz for all the people that dare to say most of the times incorrectly, that you need more than 16GB for audio tasks. AND STILL ALMOST 4GB AVAILABLE!

Yes, that's heavy on realtime processing, and still very reasonably light on RAM. Most of the times audio/music tasks are like that. It's not unusual to need more if you go into the tv/game/film realm, however, and thats okay. You don't have to be Junkie XL or Hans Zimmer; their RAM needs are much, much more demanding. For 32 GB, you can be just anyone using Kontakt the way it's often being used in the games industry, for example. "56 cores in their CPU, maybe for science or special studies but that's only 0.1%, well this is similar" -- needing to go over 16 GB RAM really, really isn't "similar." It's peculiar not accepting the notion of: it depends on what you do, and hey, it's routinely needed in some contexts. There are plenty of people in this sector of audio/music, or wanting to do music in this vein as a hobby. The way you're describing this sounds like there's something wrong if someone's audio/music work takes more than 16 GB RAM.

Saying that you need to be Junkie XL, is just misinformed and not very constructive, sorry. It's very much off the mark with the realities in this field. Some 2-3 years ago Junkie's sampled instrument setup had six slave computers, loaded with 128 gigabytes of RAM each. Main workstation plus slaves totalling closer to a terabyte of RAM. That is so vastly different from needing to go over 16 gigabytes on one single workstation, bringing it up in this manner only demonstrates not being familiar with how RAM use scales up when working with sampled instruments.

In comparison, my meager RAM use right at this very moment, working on a commission for to-picture music elements (battle rounds in a publisher internal test build of a mobile game) :



As you might imagine, Kontakt instances are the primary RAM load in there.

Just for the heck of it, taking a peek at the workstation of a graphics artist close to me:



Hah. Anyway, about the music: this is in no way a "Junkie XL" type of a production, it's absurd to even bring that up as a reaction to this and needing more than 16 GB RAM. As stated, Junkie's sample instrument setup is closer to a terabyte of RAM. Instead, this is a small studio production, resource-wise approaching this in a way that is very common in these kinds of small-to-medium professional contexts.

In any case (and NOT talking about the RAM thing here ), I hope the Live 10 Performance Test hits the forum soon, and we have some nice data across the board with a unified stress test. The actual point of what you're doing here is valuable, and having data like this available will very likely save many people's asses when doing workstation builds.

[papawise]

Ok, mate we are talking about DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS and you post an screenshot of memory usage with PHOTOSHOP(¿) to defend your position.
I won't continue with the unuseful debate, I thank you for the participation anyway. I made the little -no scientific- test, with real world usage, showing 67 channels full of plugins and heavy libraries that covers probably the 95% of the users here with 16GB.

Cheers.

[Nokatus]

Ok, mate we are talking about DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS and you post an screenshot of memory usage with PHOTOSHOP(¿) to defend your position.
I won't continue with the unuseful debate, I thank you for the participation anyway. I made the little -no scientific- test, with real world usage, showing 67 channels full of plugins and heavy libraries that covers probably the 95% of the users here with 16GB.

Nah, like I made sure to say, that was just for the heck of it . Everything else, including the first screenshot of me working on the music of the same game studio project, was about RAM use in a musical context. The thing is, your "little -no scientific- test, with real world usage, showing 67 channels full of plugins and heavy libraries" is literally the opposite of real world usage of heavy libraries. The instance count of large sample based instruments/patches is way too low to show this is all someone doing games/tv/film material in a real world context would have to consider needing, you are choosing random patches instead of having a real world template of instrument sections, and so on. For most use cases that amount of RAM is enough, and if it isn't (and you don't have to be Junkie XL if it isn't, projects like that can use 40-60 times the RAM; instead, you might just be doing everyday stuff in this particular vein), no big deal, just get more. Thank you too, this was well sufficient to get our points across.

[Everybody's Least Favorite Character]

@papawise

This thread is a godsend as someone who is about to start building an Ableton desktop that I'm hoping will last me for at least next 5-6 years.

Which build did you end up sticking with? The description in that YouTube video is a different build than your windows 7 ableton 10 build in the first post right?