DAW computer set-up

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TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:15 pm

I am building a new DAW computer designed around ableton. This is to replace my existing DAW, I've done alot of research so here it is...

Case:Zalman Z7 Case - Black
Noise Reduction: Harmony SRS Sound Reduction System - Reduce System Noise
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 960 Processor (4x 3.20GHz/8MB L3 Cache
Memory: 12 GB DDR3-1600 ** Corsair Dominator
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5450 - 1GB Passive cooled
Motherboard: [SLI] MSI X58 PRO-E
Motherboard USB 3.0 PCI-E 2.0 x1 Expansion Card
Power Supply: Nexus NX-6000 630 Watt
Primary Hard Drive: 40 GB Intel X25-V MLC SSD
Sample Hard Drive: 160 and 80 GB Intel X25-V MLC SSD
Recording Hard Drive: 1TB Caviar Black
Optical Drive: 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black
Meter Display: NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display
Sound Card: Maya 44e
Operating System: Windows 7 Pro
Ableton Suite 8
Adobe Audition 3.0


What am I missing?

jtdj
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Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by jtdj » Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:18 pm

a 64-bit version of Ableton to make use of all that RAM!

fl0w
Posts: 56
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:28 am

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by fl0w » Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:26 pm

jtdj wrote:a 64-bit version of Ableton to make use of all that RAM!
True. True. :evil:

Khazul
Posts: 3185
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:19 pm
Location: Reading, UK

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by Khazul » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:02 pm

Blue cold cathode lighting kit and some go faster stripes perhaps?

So you are building a DAW around a cheap rattly gaming case designed by a cooler company an employing a hack to dampen the resulting noise which adds lots of foam padding to pretty muuch kill off any cooling advantages the case might have? You could iinstead just choose a properly designed quiet case and decent cooling.

With a line of thought like that - sorry - just buy an off the shelf box, or read up some more on cooling design, case design, and noise supression design etc, thermodynamics and pretty much anything else you can think of :)

BTW - you only need 4Gb to run live - it cannot use any more - at all as its a 32 bit app. 6Gb is a good compromise for a fast Win7/64 machine if you want to run another application as well. Even running 64bit cubase, 6Gb is a good amount.
Nothing to see here - move along!

Rationalizer
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Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by Rationalizer » Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:46 pm

Well the specs look quite good. I would invest in a better soundcard (rme). Oh, and Windows 7 home premium is good enough. There's no reason to waste your money on pro: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/do-you-n ... emium/1128
WIN8.1 x64 | Suite 9.5 x64 | RME FF400 | UAD-2 | Maschine 2 | SparkLE | Mopho | Blodeld | Komplete 9 | Ebony A2 | Adam A7 | Launchpad | Waves Diamond V9 | Many VSTs

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hacktheplanet
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Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by hacktheplanet » Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:00 pm

-The case sucks. Consider an Antec Sonata instead.
-You don't need that much RAM, but whatever. RAM's cheap these days.
-Soundcard sucks as others have said. Might as well go RME if you're building such a monster computer!
Image

McQ714
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Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:12 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by McQ714 » Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:01 pm

looks like he's buying from iBuyPower or CyberPowerPC...

Not a bad build for the most part. It's not going to generate very much heat since he's using mostly SSDs.

Video card will run a little hot and so will the RAM.

He should use a more solid case, though.
May get some vibration noise from non-SSD and fans.

TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:59 am

Yes, Yes, Yes, The padding inside may not even matter. And yes, it was designed through ibuypower, but that really dosen't matter, it's half the price as any Rain or other DAW and is quieter and more powerful than what they offer. RME, yes, but don't underestimate the Maya 44e, most of my music comes from inside the box through Midi, and the 44e has done well so far. Plus, at some point money is going to run out. The thing that i didn't know was Ableton's RAM usage, 12 is a little overkill, but it will be used eventually, right? Thank you for all your comments, I will look into a different case. The Z7 did get good reviews...

TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:22 am

McQ714 wrote:looks like he's buying from iBuyPower or CyberPowerPC...

Not a bad build for the most part. It's not going to generate very much heat since he's using mostly SSDs.

Video card will run a little hot and so will the RAM.

He should use a more solid case, though.
May get some vibration noise from non-SSD and fans.
Guilty...iBuyPower :| Maybe a new case, the card is actually pretty good, it's the Soundblasters that suck. Thank you all for the advice...

TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:24 am

Khazul wrote:Blue cold cathode lighting kit and some go faster stripes perhaps?

So you are building a DAW around a cheap rattly gaming case designed by a cooler company an employing a hack to dampen the resulting noise which adds lots of foam padding to pretty muuch kill off any cooling advantages the case might have? You could iinstead just choose a properly designed quiet case and decent cooling.

With a line of thought like that - sorry - just buy an off the shelf box, or read up some more on cooling design, case design, and noise supression design etc, thermodynamics and pretty much anything else you can think of :)

BTW - you only need 4Gb to run live - it cannot use any more - at all as its a 32 bit app. 6Gb is a good compromise for a fast Win7/64 machine if you want to run another application as well. Even running 64bit cubase, 6Gb is a good amount.

The Z7 actually has good reviews, and the Antec Sonata II may come with Acousta-Pak as well, but very true, it adds heat, of course vents will not be covered, I Upgraded because they take out all the stock fans and replace them with silent ones.

TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:27 am

the_planet wrote:-The case sucks. Consider an Antec Sonata instead.
-You don't need that much RAM, but whatever. RAM's cheap these days.
-Soundcard sucks as others have said. Might as well go RME if you're building such a monster computer!
The soundcard is pretty good, not high end by any stretch, but no pops, low latency ASIO drivers, but the case, while it has good reviews, it's something to consider. The soundcard can be replaced further down the road, thanks for the advice....

TrustyGunz
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:01 pm

Re: DAW computer set-up

Post by TrustyGunz » Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:23 pm

the_planet wrote:-The case sucks. Consider an Antec Sonata instead.
-You don't need that much RAM, but whatever. RAM's cheap these days.
-Soundcard sucks as others have said. Might as well go RME if you're building such a monster computer!
RME? Would love to, but I'll have to wait, any suggestions for something around $200? Whice RME to you recommend, they're pretty pricey, but I suppose you get what you pay for... and every review on the Zalman Z7 is good to great? Antec Sonata is nice too and better than the z7, but something has to give...

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