Hi Everyone!

Intel's Dual and Quad-core processors are still extremely popular among most musicians, and offer a huge amount of processing power compared with machines of a couple of years ago. However, for those who want even more processing power, the firm favourite is now Intel's Core i7 range, and in particular the 920 model, which is the most cost effective.

I'd be interested in hearing from those who have taken the plunge and either bought such a system ready-built from a specialist music retailer, or built it themselves. Although there are already various threads running with queries from those who want to build such a PC, this thread could be the ideal place to compile lots of feedback from those in the know

If you're currently running a system based around an Intel Core i7 processor, please post its spec:

Motherboard/chipset
Processor
Graphics card
Audio interface
Any DSP cards

Please indicate how pleased (or not) you are with its performance, how this compares with your previous machine (and briefly what that was) in terms of the different CPU meter readings when opening up existing songs, and mention any problems you've encountered. Of course this isn't particularly scientific, but it will certainly help us assemble a more complete picture of what's already happening out there.

Please try not to hi-jack this thread too much with queries - let's try to keep it largely devoted to feedback from those who've already taken the plunge.

Many thanks!


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

I have just taken delivery of an i7 machine.
Asus P6tDeluxe Motherboard
X58 Chipset
i7 920
Nvidia 9400 GT
RME HDSP
UAD1
SSL Duende PCIe

I am running Nuendo 4, Wavelab 6, CD Architect 5.2, Waves plug ins. Networked to a Radar 24. Firewire to Tascam DM4800 and Liquid Mix.

Previous machine was a Q6600.

New one appears a bit quicker. I have had some issues with Nuendo but I think that there was a conflict between Acronis and Nuendo. Having removed Acronis it seems to be fine. One point of interest, This machine does not work with my Lindy DVI USB KVM Switcher, possibly a timing issue but windows sees no monitor mouse or keyboard from a cold boot.

My machine is rackmounted in an Antec rack case and was built for me by Millenium Music in Nottingham. I have a 7200 rpm system drive and a Velociraptor 10,000 rpm audio drive (a bit noisy)

Temperatures are good and in the main I am pleased with the upgrade.

Just out of interest how is it all working with the desk FW connection?

what Operating system you using and do you have separate firewire carss for liquid mix and DM.

Hi,

I always hesitate to post in threads like this, because:

1. I define "working" as having no problems over a three year period, by which time the info is a tad out of date.

2. Someone, somewhere, will always be able to find some compatability problem with almost any machine by adding sufficiently esoteric things.


However, so far I have built i7 machines using three GigaByte Boards (GA-EX-DS4/UD4/UD4P) and various combinations of RAM and Graphics, and tested them with soundcards from RME 9632, ESI Julia@ and Echo 3G, plus one PCIe UAD1.

The performance is excellnt - noticably faster than a Q9550 or Q9650 which cost about the same - so i7 machines are definately excellent value for money, and I'd receommend i7 unless you are looking for an entry level machine based on Phenom II or Q8300 (say).

I have not, personally, manged to unearth any problems whatsoever, even running 12GB RAM - 6GB of DDR3 1600Mhz plus 6GB of DDR 1333Mhz - at 1600Mhz, with the UAD1 and and any combination of two of those soundcards installed simultaneously.

The Graphics Cards include:

GigaByte 8600GT
Palit 9500 GT
Sapphire HD 3570
Sapphire HD 3450
HIS HD 4650


My broad conclusion is that i7 and EX58 works. The issue, rather, is to identify specific incompatabilities.

Based on threads on this and other forums, I'd say these are points to watch out for:

1. nVidia and UAD incompatability
2. MOTU 424 and TI F'wire chipset incmpatability
3. Wierd restrictions when running multiple UADs or PoCos in the 16 lane PCIe slots



Peter

--------------------
PaQ

I've just build myself an Intel i7 based system and I definitely have no regrets, the overall speed is much faster & efficient, but then again it has been a big step from my last build with an out-dated AMD dual core...not that I think AMD are crap though, this is my first ever Intel system...

The only fault I made was buying XP PRO 64Bit instead of Vista 64, this is due to compatibility issue's with XP PRO 64 otherwise XP would have my vote over Vista.

I cannot really make a huge contribution to this thread as I have only recently built this system and I'm currently in the process of buying my music production software.
I've always used cracked software in the past but I now refuse to on my beautiful new setup!

* My New System:

* Cooler Master Cosmos RC-1000 Case
* Asus P6T Deluxe X58 Motherboard
* Intel i7 920 2.66 GHz CPU
* 6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3, 1600MHz Memory
* Cooler Master 850W Real Power Modular PSU
* Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler
* 500GB Seagate Barracuda
* LG Lightscribe Blu-Ray Disk & HD DVD Rom Drive
* XP Professional 64Bit SP2

I will update when software is purchased & running.

Yes, working with FW to DM and Liquid Mix. DM from motherboard and Liquid mix on a PCIe card. Operating system is Windows XP Pro.

Edited by musicbox (01/04/09 08:56 PM)

Hi,
here's my new DAW:
-Intel i7 920
-ASUS P6T se
-3x2GB 1333 Kingston RAM
-Club 3d GF9400GT silent
-Nexus NX3500 350W PSU
-WD 160GB system drive
-RME HDSP PCI

I've partitioned the system drive in two and I'm using a very heavily modified XP as the audio OS and have VISTA 32 as the OS for internet tasks and such.
I also plan on getting two more SATA drives for audio to run in RAID1 for extra security.
So far I've just installed the system and updated vista(which ended up at about 50GB!!! so far) and run the daw bench with my M-audio fast track. The performance is unreal. Before I had an AMD 64x2 4200+ system and managed maximum 46 MBC's running but now I can have all 200 MBC's on at the lowest buffer settings(128) that the card supports.

And the machine is so quiet you wouldn't know it was on unless you saw the power led. That's with the stock cooler!!

I know the PSU is not too big but I calculated that it's well enough for my setup. And if I ever get any UAD's or such I can then upgrade the PSU, but for now it enough.

Very, very cool!!!

-Tomi-

I've just installed my new i7 DAW.

i7-920
Giga EX58UD5
3 gigs of DDR3-1600
EN8600GT
3 WD Caviar SATA3 drives 250/750/1TB
Antec Take4
2 Steinberg MR816 (1 CSX, 1 X)
Mackie Control
XPPro32
Cubase 5 with a substantial instrument and processor plugin library.

Its running so well I can't really believe it. (I'm afraid talking about it may jinx something.) Projects that my old system couldn't run without lots of pre-rendering and bypassing of effects are working wide open with less than 20%cpu usage. Rock solid this far...

hey guys i just built a new pc with an i7... im a tad dissapointed in the performance, heres the specs anyway:

intel i7 920
g.skill ddr3 1333 x 4gb
gigabyte ex58-ds4 motherboard
sapphire x1800xt video card
motu ultralite
3x 500gb seagate 7200rpm drives (audio)
1x 500gb seagate 7200rpm drive (program files)

on the program files drive i have installed my audio apps and vsts, plus adobe photoshop,nero,soulseek.... and some other insignificant programs. i keep my pc reverted and clean and dont install anything i dont need.

i have the latest version of norton antivirus and even though they say it isnt a system resource hog, i still think it is.

it runs applications well and is reliable, but still i want rendering and processing audio to go faster... i thought this machine was gonna be the one that blows me away. but it is not the case.

iam upgrading the ram to 2100 speed 4g, some corsair hopefully, and some larger 1tb drives to see if that speeds it up much more.

i want to be able to be burning a cd, using cubase, have photoshop open, and installing a new app all at the same time, and have the ability to switch between windows and apps whilst all this is happening without delay and slight pausing.... maybe iam dreaming...or maybe i need to spend $5000+

iam using reason4 and cubase5. i have

Quote jpetrou:

---

hey guys i just built a new pc with an i7... im a tad dissapointed in the performance, heres the specs anyway:

intel i7 920
g.skill ddr3 1333 x 4gb
gigabyte ex58-ds4 motherboard
sapphire x1800xt video card
motu ultralite
3x 500gb seagate 7200rpm drives (audio)
1x 500gb seagate 7200rpm drive (program files)

on the program files drive i have installed my audio apps and vsts, plus adobe photoshop,nero,soulseek.... and some other insignificant programs. i keep my pc reverted and clean and dont install anything i dont need.

i have the latest version of norton antivirus and even though they say it isnt a system resource hog, i still think it is.

it runs applications well and is reliable, but still i want rendering and processing audio to go faster... i thought this machine was gonna be the one that blows me away. but it is not the case.

iam upgrading the ram to 2100 speed 4g, some corsair hopefully, and some larger 1tb drives to see if that speeds it up much more.

i want to be able to be burning a cd, using cubase, have photoshop open, and installing a new app all at the same time, and have the ability to switch between windows and apps whilst all this is happening without delay and slight pausing.... maybe iam dreaming...or maybe i need to spend $5000+

iam using reason4 and cubase5. i have

---

Why would you need to have all those programs running at the same time? I really think you should prioritise your needs. You don't wan't to be doing all those things while burning cd's and specially audio cd's because of the possible burn errors.
And what about cubase and photoshop? Are you going to be editing photos while recording/mixing a song or playing a soft synth?

But seriously, it all depends what you are comparing the system against. For instance I had an AMD 64x2 4200 based system before and can honestly say that my new i7 is roughly 6 times more powerful than my previous one.
If you already had a powerful computer(core2 extreme for example) the performance gain isn't that great.

And performance wise, have you tested your machine with low latencies? That's where the power really shows.

Quote Tommyhell:

---

And performance wise, have you tested your machine with low latencies? That's where the power really shows.

---

Indeed it does - if you read my recent review of Scan's Core i7 Music PC in SOS February 2009, look at the performance graph I created:

www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb09/articles/scanpowerdawpc.htm

Notice how only the Core i7 performance holds up with the 32-sample buffer size, whereas with the other processors you can end up only being able to run half the number of plug-ins.


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Quote jpetrou:

---

hey guys i just built a new pc with an i7... im a tad dissapointed in the performance

---

Well even the fastest and shiniest new CPU can’t mitigate for other system bottlenecks unfortunately.

Quote jpetrou:

---

i have the latest version of norton antivirus and even though they say it isnt a system resource hog, i still think it is.

---

Well why not uninstall it and see if that helps!

Quote jpetrou:

---

it runs applications well and is reliable, but still i want rendering and processing audio to go faster... i thought this machine was gonna be the one that blows me away. but it is not the case.

---

For that you probably need the dual processor Xeon version which was released last week.

Quote jpetrou:

---

iam upgrading the ram to 2100 speed 4g, some corsair hopefully, and some larger 1tb drives to see if that speeds it up much more.

---

The faster RAM will have a much more noticeable impact on your wallet than your system’s performance. It’s generally not worth it as the tri-channel DDR3 with the x58 chipset has a very high bandwidth to start with so the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

Make sure you buy the latest HDDs with the higher densities per platter; they’re up to 500GB per platter now.

Just bought my new system as my old hard drive just bit the dust. Thank god I had everything backed up.

New system is:

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) 8000K
Intel Socket 1366 CPU fan
MSI X58 Platinum, DDR3, SLI & Cross Fire, 2x GB LAN, iEEE
6GB (3x2GB) PC3 10600 DDR3 1333 Triple Channel
GeForce 9400GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out
250.0GB Maxtor/ Seagate 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 16m Cache
320.0GB Maxtor/ Seagate 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 16m Cache
Samsung LightScribe 20x SATA DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW
APEVIA X-Cruiser Black, Side Window, front USB,iEEE,Temp control
Antec Basiq 500w Extra Quiet ATX Power Supply w/ 6pin PCI-E
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64bit


I use Sonar and a Tascam FW-1884, so I'm pretty excited to see how it uses all the cores. My old system was about 4 years old.

I'll update on how everything gels together.

Quote Tommyhell:

---

Why would you need to have all those programs running at the same time? I really think you should prioritise your needs. You don't wan't to be doing all those things while burning cd's and specially audio cd's because of the possible burn errors.
And what about cubase and photoshop? Are you going to be editing photos while recording/mixing a song or playing a soft synth?

---

I suppose he might want to have Photoshop rendering something in the background, but even if that were the case, rendering is a resource hog. There's a difference between expecting a new rig to perform better than an old one, and expecting it to do everything you want at once and make you a sandwich while doing it. There's definitely a disconnect between your expectations and what is actually feasible here.

And I'll agree with an earlier post about upgrading your RAM. It's likely you could even see a performance drop to be honest (as minor as it would be) as latency gets quite a bit higher in the higher bandwidth DDR3 memory you can actually lose some performance in some applications. Even if you actually did end up with improvement going with the same amount of higher bandwidth RAM, it's likely not going to be huge.

Just finished using an i7 upgrade. Major difference w/ Kontakt now too. I am somewhat new to Kontakt since switching from Gigastudio/GVI. It needs much more CPU than Giga. The i7 seems to have fixed my Kontakt issues.

GIGABYTE X58 UD4P
12GB'S GSKILL DDR3 2000 CL8
INTEL I7 945 DO STEPPING
EVGA GEFORCE 9600GT
1U SONICCORE XITE-1 DSP RACK
VISTA 32BIT O.S.

JUST GOT THE XITE-1 RECENTLY AND IT IS PERFECT FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE.THE MOST POWERFUL SOUNDCARD I EVER HAD.,,,
I ONLY NEED THE 64BIT DRIVERS.

--------------------
JAV

Another working i7 build here:

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Motherboard (using F4 bios as shipped)
Intel Core i7 920 @ stock 2.66GHz
Gigabyte Radeon HD 4850 1GB (GV-R485MC-1GH) Graphics Card
Line6 Toneport UX8 (USB2 audio)
UAudio UAD-2 Quad

12GB RAM, running under Vista64.

I'm very pleased with the performance, but then it was always going to be much better than an AMD x2 4200+.

The only real problem I've encountered was with hard-disk access errors hanging windows - this was because I didn't setup as AHCI at first, which means Vista accesses the disks in legacy mode - changing to AHCI fixed everything.

Ableton Live 8 seems to not like Vista64 sometimes, but all of my other software has worked fine.

Also found jBridge (http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/) to be very useful wrt 32/64 bit VSTs.

Just joined the forum though I have been a reader of the mag for many years. This forum was very useful in building the audio PC so thanks for all the suggestions.

My system:

Intel i7 920 2.66Mhz overclocked to 3.00Mhz
Artic Silver thermal paste & stock cooler
Nvidia 980 GTX+ gfx card (I know it has a fan...but I like the odd game and given you can dynamically alter the speed it is practically silent for music use)
Corsair VX550w PSU
3GB OCZ XMP DDR3 memory
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R mobo
Seagate Barracuda 500gb hard drive
Access Virus TI desktop as soundcard

XP SP3 - I had issues with my old Zyxel modem not installing due to SP3 blocking the RasXP file used in the installation. Otherwise made the usual tweeks to XP for audio optimisation.

The OCZ memory will only run at 1066/1.5v despite being 1600/1.65v. Changing the speed or enabling XMP stops the system booting. A minor issue really given how much overhead I have right now but a niggle none the less.

The Virus was initially pretty glitchy with the audio. A lot of this seemed down to the various Speedstep and CIA functions on the BIOS. Esp when using the Energy Saving software. I've disabled as much of that side as I can in the BIOS, turned off the Energy Saver and run Easy Tune in stealth mode and it now runs like a dream. It'll happily run at the minimum sample buffer (3ms latency), 24bit/44.1khz with no glitching at all. The TI element however only works up to 'Normal' latency...I'm guessing sending MIDI via USB to the TI, it sending the info down the USB to the VST plug, then that coming back out as audio is too much information for USB to handle below about 6ms latency. The soft synth & audio channels still run fine...you just lose the TI sounds

Of note also is the TI Firewire chip on the Gigabyte EX58 mobo series...though I haven't had opportunity to test it yet.

I've overclocked to 3.00mhz, no issues at all. I've not been able to get the CPU above 45'C yet and that's with a stock cooler. What would have killed my old Athlon 3200XP now barely hits 10-15% on this at much lower latencies. I tend to use a lot of soft synths with a lot of insert effects so this really suits my working methods. Typically around 30 audio channels, maybe 10 nice compressor VST's, 5-8 soft synths, a few insert effects, some ambient insert reverb on a few channels a couple of convolution reverbs/delays on the aux sends and maybe a warmer & bus limiter on the master. A project like that is hitting 11-15% CPU at 6ms latency, 44.1/24 bit for a real world example.

So far so good. I am very very impressed with the performance and I suspect it's going to make a very good studio workhorse for many years to come. It suits my soft synth and effect heavy work methods very very well (I write electro/hard techno dance music). It took a bit of tweeking to find settings that worked well, both with the BIOS and with the sound card but once they are established it provides a very fast system with terrific potential for overclocking should you wish to do that.

Here are the specs of a new i7 PC I just built to run Cubase 4.

Asus P6T Deluxe V2 w/ latest Bios Motherboard
Intel i7 920 Processor
Zalman CPNS9700 CPU Cooler
Corsair 3GB (1x3) TR3X3G1600C8D Dominator RAM
Gigabyte NVidia 8600GT Fanless Graphics Card
Seagate Hardrives
Windows XP Professional SP3 - 32bit

BIOS tweaks took a little time to figure out for proper RAM timings. I haven't overclocked the CPU yet.

Working really well at the moment.

Well,

After a few days of using the ASUS P6T Deluxe V.2 it has been giving me trouble. The BIOS is a little flakey. The computer will not shut off without restarting. If you completely power off the computer ( when it works ) then go to power it back on, the BIOS will lose its time/date CMOS settings. Sometimes it will lose all of your BIOS settings.

I have since replaced this with a Gigabyte EX58-UD4P and this is solid!

Much faster response time and rock solid BIOS!

Intel Core Nehalem i7 920 S1366 2.66GHz
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 (North Bridge: Intel X58 Express - South Bridge: Intel ICH10R)
OCZ DDR3 4GB - (XP sees 3.25GB (3Gig switch))
NVidia 7200GS GC 256MB
Noctua CPU Fan
Seagate 320GB 7200 rpm SATA2
2 x Seagate 1TB 7200 rpm SATA2
Seasonic SS-650ET-F3 Ultra Quiet PSU
LG CD/DVD
Rack Case
10 x USB 2 (Apparently 12 but only 10 hooked up)
3 x Firewire 400
3 x Firewire 800 (via Belkin PCI card)

2 x UAD-2 Quads
4 x UAD-1 (in Magma PCI 7 Slot)
TC Powercore Express
RME Fireface 800
Steinberg Midex 8

Win XP Pro
Steinberg Cubase SX 3.1.1.944
Reaper 3

Only one problem, when I use the Magma with the four UAD-1's the available memory is reduced to 2GB. There is an explanation regarding this problem here (look for a post by blueguitarbob). Aside from that, it's excellent! Solid as a rock and next to silent. Supplied by DV.

Mark

Edited by MarkE (06/06/09 02:48 AM)

Good afternoon, sorry to hijack this thread. I am going to bite the bullet and build myself an i7 DAW (primarily for running Nuendo 4). I'm on a really tight budget, yet I don't want to compromise (in the long-term sense).

I've managed to compile a complete list of components for £790 (that's around $1250 / 905 EUR) and would really appreciate your comments. Unfortunately that's as far as I can stretch... Anything likely to give problems? Should I simply not bother with i7 at this price point? Is that PSU OK?

Gigabyte EX58-UD4
Intel Core i7 920
3GB Corsair DDR3 RAM XMS3
Gigabyte Nvidia 9500 GT
2 x 500GB Western Digital Caviar Black
Scythe Orochi CPU cooler (scarily large, but claims 11dB(A) noise level... will this fit???)
Xilence 550W ultra-quiet PSU
Lian Li PC-C32B rackmountable case
Windows XP Home SP3 (I've already got that)
To be used with either PCI or firewire RME audio interface

Total: £790 including shipping!

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Many many thanks.

Vytis

Quote Peter C:

---

so i7 machines are definately excellent value for money, and I'd receommend i7 unless you are looking for an entry level machine based on Phenom II or Q8300 (say).



Peter

---

Aside budget and from the performance aspect, an AMD Phenom II as a generic term is not a entry level machine, news PII bring impressive high level benchmark for audio and multimedia, enough for recording and producing of professional grade projects. Check PII X4/X2 AM3 955 and the rest of family members. Even as an Intel user I am amazed with this AMD processors releases.

My new System:

Intel 920 i7 2.66ghz
GA-EX58-UD4P
Corsair 3gb Dominator 1600mhz
Sapphire ati 4550 Fanless
Corsair HX520w PSU
WD 500gb Caviar Black HD
RME digi96 PAD

I just finished testing it and putting it through its paces. I gotta say its rock solid and very peppy. Compared to my previous PC (AMD64 2800+ system), its about 60% faster if not a wee bit more.

For this build I was very very careful about picking the components because the technology is a bit newer then I'm used to when wishing to build a stable machine. One of the aspects which I focused on the most was the motherboard. With all the horror stories about the 1366 boards having some design flaws, I hesitantly picked the gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P as at least more people were expressing positive experiences with it. It did have the infamous electrical whine which was expressed by many, but it was easily remedied with a bios update and disabling of the power saving 'Advanced CPU Halt' feature in the v.8 of the bios. So far I'd say I'm liking this motherboard better then all the previous Asus boards I've owned. Lets just say everything is laid out very well.

As for if I would change anything. I think I'd get a better CPU fan. While the temps are adequate they could be better.

Hope this helps.

Quote Martin Walker:

---

Quote Tommyhell:

---

And performance wise, have you tested your machine with low latencies? That's where the power really shows.

---

Indeed it does - if you read my recent review of Scan's Core i7 Music PC in SOS February 2009, look at the performance graph I created:

<a href="/sos/feb09/articles/scanpowerdawpc.htm" target="_blank">www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb09/articles/scanpowerdawpc.htm</a>
Notice how only the Core i7 performance holds up with the 32-sample buffer size, whereas with the other processors you can end up only being able to run half the number of plug-ins.


Martin

---

I was very impressed with the bench marks you showed. I have the mag.

Unlucky for me at the time I'd just purchased a Q9450.

Steve

Edited by FRETPICK (08/07/09 11:14 PM)

Never mind Steve


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Here is my current i7 system:

Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX
Processor: i7 920 Core
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM - 8 GIG Total
Video Card: GeForce 8600 GT
Audio Interface: Lynx AES-16
DSP cards: 1 UAD-1, 1 UAD-2

Running this with Windows Vista 64-bit SP-2. It is tremendously faster than my previous Quad Core machine (QX6850 processor, 8 gigs of DDR2 RAM). The video, audio, and DSP cards are from my previous machine. I also moved my SSD (Intel X25) OS drive into the machine as well. Projects that would struggle on my Quad Core don't even hiccup on this new machine.

--------------------
The Meantime

Hi all,


I'm putting together a new system tonight.

Intel i7 920
Gigabyte EX58-UD5 (for 2x LAN)
6gb OCZ 1333mhz i7 ram
Gigabyte 8400GT silent GPU
be quiet! 550w PSU
3x 1TB WD Caviar Black (fixed 7200rpm)
3x scythe silent drive enclosures (these look expensive but are really hefty and cool the drive more than if they weren't there) So big, I'm going to have to remote mount the CD drive, as I've run out of 5.25" bays!
Rackmount black case from x-case.
Creamware Luna2496 i/o.

I'm pretty excited to get it all up and running. I've got XP32 but still went for 6gb ram so it's matched and I don't have to splash out again when I upgrade to 64-bit (whenever that's going to be).



Does anyone have any system building tips? I've got my static band. Is there a better order to install certain software in? Reset between installs? Graphics first, then sound?

Will post my results very soon.

Quote lost track:

---

Does anyone have any system building tips? I've got my static band. Is there a better order to install certain software in? Reset between installs? Graphics first, then sound?

---

I wrote 'Installing A New PC Motherboard: The SOS Guide' that might help with the basics, including the order of assembly, wiring up, and so on:

www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec03/articles/pcmusician.htm

Then you could read my 'Installing A Windows OS From Scratch':

www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar07/articles/pcmusician_0307.htm

...which suggests covers BIOS updates, Windows installation, installing Service Packs, updated drivers, activation & licensing issues, and hotfixes.

Personally I'd do all this and get Windows activated, then make an image file before installing any further software, so you have a vanilla set up to return to if you ever run into problems later on.

Hope this helps!


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Hi all

Well after reading here and a few other sites as well as pc builders I have built the following. Note no hard drive as I already had a few to hand from my dead pc.

Antec P183 Advanced Super Mid Tower
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P Motherboard
Intel Core i7-920 D0 Stepping CPU
Akasa Nero cooler ak-967
6GB Corsair XMS3 1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Kit
700W OCZ StealthXStream PSU
Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 Graphics Card 512MB

Cubase 5 and yamaha n12 desk

So here are my findings so far. At first after reading a few forums I thought I may get away with running win 7. I have win 7 ordered as well for £45. I installed cubase 5 64 as well as the n12 64 bit driver. Initially I thought this worked but then got the blue screen on closing cubase. With a bit of advise I tried cubase 5 32bit and again this did work for a while but then again started with blod when closing cubase. By the way cubase ran like a dream and saved just fine. The crash was only on shutdown. I have now installed xp pro 32 bit and everything works like before except I only have 3.5gig of memory. Still the speed is brilliant. I have a very stable overclock at 3.2ghz which only ever gets to 40 degrees.

I still have win 7 on another partition and will carry on trying stuff. I'm sure when it is released and yamaha get new drivers out it will be awsome.

Strangely reaper 64 works fine on win 7 64 with the n12 lol. you would think yamaha and steiny would work but seems not!!!!

Hi friends,

I´ve just posted at the newbies forum, as this is my second post.

I also built an i7 system:

Intel i7 920
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366 CPU Cooler
2 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Kingston 6GB DDR3 1333MHz
Asus EN9400GT Silent
Antec P182
Enermax Modu 82+ 625W
Windows 7 64 bits
Cubase 5

The system is working great, the performance is amazing, but I´m having trouble finding a quiet PSU.

I first put a Corsair HX620, but I heard a loud coil whine, I thought the PSU was damaged, so I changed it for the same one, and the result was the same. Finally I bought a more expensive one (the Enermax Modu 82+ 625W), but now I find it noisier than the Corsair... because I can hear the fan, and sometimes some "pops". The coil whine disappears in any PSU if you disable "Advanced CPU halt" in Gigabyte BIOS.

If you could recommend me a silent PSU, I would probably buy it. Which PSU are you installing with Gigabyte motherboards?.


Best regards,
Martin

--------------------
Intel i7 920 6GB DDR3, Gigabyte EX58-UD4P, Windows 7 Pro 64 bits, Cubase 5.1.1 64 bits, Echo Audiofire 4, DAV BG1 U, Rode NT1A, Rode NT5 MP, Yamaha HS50M.

If installing xp from an old disk make sure you can get the sata drivers available on floppy disk. I built my i7 pc and have dual boot to win7 and xp pro. My xp is about 4 year old and would not install. I had to make a floppy disk and copy the motherboard sata drivers on it to get xp to install. This invloved me searching through cuboards to find a 3.5" drive to hook up and copy the inf files to. Worked a treat though when done

Quote mkok:

---

I had to make a floppy disk and copy the motherboard sata drivers on it to get xp to install. This invloved me searching through cuboards to find a 3.5" drive to hook up and copy the inf files to. Worked a treat though when done

---

Thought you only had to do this when installing the OS onto a RAID array...

Just upgraded to an Intel Core i7 and X58 platform and the only problem I have is that I cannot get the audio to work properly. I'm awaiting an M-Audio Delta 1010 and hope it'll be fine with the latest drivers from the M-Audio but I was using a Sound Blaster with a break out box that worked fine with the old AMD platform and doesn't seem to like the new set up. Disabled the on-board audio but still get a problem. Sometimes it'll work fine, open up a different project and all I get is loud white/digital noise.

Good afternoon. Here’s my feedback on a new i7 build completed in the last couple of weeks:

Motherboard/chipset: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366)
Graphics card: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3450 Silence 512MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express)
Audio interface: E-MU 1616m (inc DSP on outboard box)
Other DSP cards: Yamaha SW1000XG (now used as occasional synth only)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) partitioned for Windows and ‘office’ data
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) for AV data

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready Modular Power Supply

Noctua case fans with Zalman fan-mates.
Zalman CNPS9300-AT PWM Aero Flower Cooler (plus 1366 bracket - see below)

2x2Gb of Crucial RAM: CT25664BA1067 2GB, 240-pin DIMM “Upgrade for a Giga-Byte GA-EX58-UD3R”

XP-Pro (32bit)

Sonar 8 Producer, Adobe Audition 3.0.

This is the fourth DAW I’ve built and was the most difficult. It felt like everything that could go wrong did.

First problem: I thought I’d measured the space for a Zalman CNPS9900-NT CPU Cooler but I’d got this wrong by ½ a centimetre. This is the third build in my quality Coolermaster ATCS case which has a removable tray for the motherboard. Result of the removable tray? About one less centimetre of room from the CPU to the edge of the case.

No thanks at all to Overclockers. As I had a major family bereavement in the middle of my build I paused and eased outside their returns criteria, so they wouldn’t accept a return, rigidly enforcing their policy. They refused to put me through to the manager who had dictated this, told me to email via their web-form, and then ignored me completely. This is having been a loyal customer for years ….. until now.

In total contrast, QuietPC supplied a Zalman CNPS9500A-LED Aero Flower Cooler which I then found didn’t work dynamically off the four pin motherboard connector. QuietPC were happy to exchange this for a Zalman CNPS9500-AT Intel LGA775 AeroFlower Cooler which works well. Note that this needs the converter bracket from Socket 775 to 1366 – a couple of £’s only – “Zalman ZM-CS4A Socket 1366 Clip Support Kit for CNPS9500/9700”.

Then huge problems installing Windows XP Pro. I had an original disk pre-Service Pack 1. I hit the problem that there were no PCIE drivers so the graphics wouldn’t load and it blue-screened. Then I learned about “slip-streaming” and thought I’d created a disk with SP2 and another with SP3. Both blue screened on loading XP. Then I worked out (as mentioned elsewhere on this forum) that I needed to load in the SATA drivers separately. Then, at my wits end with XP still blue-screening on load, I realised that my slip-streamed disks were failing. I think there may be an issue with the disks being in the 700-800Mb range. Finally I found another XP disk with SP2 included and got the install to work – after about three days frustration and effort.

Once installed the hard disks were too noisy. There was a pulsating whine of the two 7,200 spins being a tiny bit out of phase. If doing it again I’d go for the ‘Green’ 5,400 Seagate as the system disk to absolutely kill off this problem. The measured performance of this disk looks fine for a system disk. Moving the disks around, trying a Xilence hard disk case, then Scythe Hard Disk Stabiliser II kits I came to the conclusion that the Samsung disk is better off bolted to the case as hard mounting this seems to reduce vibration more than having it floating or anything else. I’m still not 100% happy with this solution – can still hear this low level annoying phasing now as I write…. may have to try something else at some point. Everything else is dead quiet though.

Having finally got the PC working, wrestled through all the software loads (Sonar 8 PE – the easiest part as usual), sorted out iLok for Antares, oZone 4, sorted out Native Instruments bloody Service Centre thing for Guitar Rig 3 etc etc etc all now seems fine.

…. except: a nastly audio click on Sonar when the ASIO latency is set below 8ms. This turns out to be the Gigabyte Easytune6 motherboard monitor console. I had this problem way back on an Asus A7V333 system and always thought it might have been an AMD issue. It stopped when turning off AsusProbe (the Asus equivalent monitoring software) so this was the first port of call. On my last Asus/P4 system this wasn’t an issue, AsusProbe never got in the way of audio. So sure enough on the new system, turning off the Easytune console and all is quiet and 2ms latency seems fine. So if I did it again I’d probably go back to an Asus board unless I find a nicer solution to the Easytune6 issue.

Overall? This upgrade was from a old P4 system. To be honest I’m not at “wowed” by the feel of the performance improvement but I’ve yet to get into using it in earnest. The P4 got super frustrating with plugins leading to us having to print tracks constantly rather than run in real time, so hopefully this will be much faster once we get into production again. Certainly rendering video was much much quicker (using Ulead 11).

I do hope all this is helpful experience to others. Better get back to work!

All the best,
TobyC

--------------------
Have a look and listen to our music:
TobesMusic.com

Quote Remeniz Productions:

---

Just upgraded to an Intel Core i7 and X58 platform and the only problem I have is that I cannot get the audio to work properly. I'm awaiting an M-Audio Delta 1010 and hope it'll be fine with the latest drivers from the M-Audio but I was using a Sound Blaster with a break out box that worked fine with the old AMD platform and doesn't seem to like the new set up. Disabled the on-board audio but still get a problem. Sometimes it'll work fine, open up a different project and all I get is loud white/digital noise.

---

The issues with the audio interface look like their resolved after a BIOS update. BIOS F9e.

Also make sure you disable snmp.exe. It might be just related to Gigabyte and their network based utilities but unless your networking you wont need this process. I disabled it last night after it caused a glitch when listening to any audio.

START > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Services. In the list disable snmp.exe.

'The issues with the audio interface look like their resolved after a BIOS update. BIOS F9e'

Which motherboard are you using? Sounds like a gigbyte with the naming convention?

Quote mkok:

---

Which motherboard are you using? Sounds like a gigbyte with the naming convention?

---

I'm using the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 motherboard. The 'board came with BIOS version F7 which was BETA at the time. Now they have BIOS version F9e on their site which is what i'm running.

Oh and it hasn't sorted out the random audio problem. As above i'll wait for my Delta 1010 to arrive.

I'm about to take the plunge into upgrading my Digital Village P4 system and have started by buying a GA-EX58-UD3R. The next thing on my list is the the i7 CPU, but which one? It looks like most people are using the 920 and is it worth looking into purchasing a higher spec one?

Thanks in advance

Welcome to the SOS Forums Ian!

Quote Ian Diction:

---

The next thing on my list is the the i7 CPU, but which one? It looks like most people are using the 920 and is it worth looking into purchasing a higher spec one?

---

When the Core i7 range first came out, the 920 (2.66GHz) was the sweet spot price-wise, and as far as I can see still is - you have to pay a lot more to get up to the 2.93GHz model (more than double where I looked!) but only get an extra 10% performance clock-wise.

Stick with the 920 unless you have lots of money


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

12gb ram? Wow, that's cool. Can I ask what OS you are using in these machines? Thanks

Quote Lukertweek:

---

12gb ram? Wow, that's cool. Can I ask what OS you are using in these machines? Thanks

---

It has to be 64 bit, otherwise there is no point in installing any more than 4GB. I use Vista 64 Home with my i7 pc which has 6GB DDR3 RAM. Windows 7 64 Bit would be another option.

To some extent software still has to catch up with the hardware. I am still running 32 Bit Sonar 8.3 on mine as I had trouble bridging some 32 bit plugins, as a result I an not getting the full advantage from my RAM. I am going to upgrade to Sonar 8.5 with its new Bitbridge next momth and give it another go.

Hey Glyn, thanks for the reply. I was aware of the 32 bit ram limitation, I should have mentioned that. I run XP pro 32 bit on my current laptop music pc. However I am about to build a new i7 PC and would like to use more than 4gb ram.

A friend who is a lot more up on these things says I should stick to 32 bit or lose the use of some of my plugins. I don't know which plugins do and do work on 64 bit systems. I understand that the Waves set is one that isn't compliant, would you (or anyone else out there) happen to know which others aren't?

I have considered installing Windows 7 64 bit on this new machine but don't know of anyone that has tried it out. Have you heard any commentary on this OS?

Cheers
Luker

Quote Lukertweek:

---

A friend who is a lot more up on these things says I should stick to 32 bit or lose the use of some of my plugins. I don't know which plugins do and do work on 64 bit systems.

---

I can't comment on Windows 7 but the only plug in I could not get to install on my 64 bit Vista was the old GMedia M-Tron. I upgraded to M-Tron Pro which works fine.

I am still running Sonar 8.3 32 Bit, which limits you to 4GB for the host and all the plugins, you are ahead of a 32 bit system however as other processes will use their own memory locations. I have not had any problems with this and all the plugins work.

The real issues, and advantages, start if you want to use a 64 bit host giving you access to all the RAM.

I have the following plugins working.

M-Tron Pro, MiniMonsta, B4II, EZDrummer, Kitcore Delux, Realstrat, Kontact Player 3.5, Kore Player, Independece Free, Protius VX, Realstrat,RCG Audio Triangle, Kong Audio Mini Dizi and Mini Erhu, Amplitude Duo, Guitar Rig 3 XE, all the stuff bundled with Sonar 8 PE, plus several freeware effects and magazine cover disk versions etc.

I will try 64 bit Sonar again when I upgrade to Sonar 8.5 as they have made a number of improvments to their Bitbridge and also have support for third party JBridge if require(it's needed for Toontrack products for sure). A bitbridge is an application that allows the use of 32 bit plugins in a 64 bit host. I beleive Cubase has a similar application called VST Bridge.

Interesting to know that 32 bit apps run in a 64 bit environment. And the "bridge" apps too, didn't know about them.

I think what I will do is have a dual boot at first. Set up a good reliable 32 bit OS using win XP so I have a system I can work with 100% and then also try a 64 bit system using windows 7 and just see how I get on.

Will be sure to report my findings here for the benefit of others. Thanks for discourse Glyn. Much appreciated.

Hello all,

On Martin Walker's advice, I've decided to go for a Core i7 920 (2.66GHz) processor. I can't face building it myself so I'm looking for a good sober price for a PC:

*Purely for audio (running 64-bit and 32-bit OS).
*Quiet
*No software, (I have 64-bit and 32-bit XP Home eds)
*No monitor, mouse, or keyboard
*No soundcard (have Audio interface)
*Graphics card spec necessary for music apps only (no gaming)

I found the following offer, with a 1TB hard-drive it's £831.99:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-030-OE

Any Good?

Would love to know any good suggestions to buy.

Thanks in advance

I picked my parts from cclonline and got them to build it for £50 I usually build myself but really couldn't be bothered this time as the build was so cheap and gaurenteed. I have installed xp32 and have win 7 which I oredered a few months ago from amazon for £44 ready to install. I am waiting for new n12 drivers first though as I used the win 7 RC and the drivers didn't work well and there are reports they still don't on the release version. A few weeks I have been advised for new drivers. We shall see!!

I'm sorry to bother anyone, but I've been saving up for a while and don't want to get ripped off. I'd be very grateful if you could quickly check over this spec before I buy it. I need the PC just for Audio, recording up to (rarely) 6 tracks at once in Nuendo (with plugins), OR (at other times) using Kontakt instruments (and plugins):

Case..... Coolmaster Elite 335

Graphics Card..... ATI Radeon HD4850 512MB

Hard Drive..... Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB

Processor..... Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz D0 Overclocked to 3.40GHz!

Memory..... Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel

Motherboard..... Gigabyte EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

Power Supply..... Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLI Compliant PSU

Processor Cooler..... Akasa AK-967 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler + Arctic Silver 5 heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians

Sound Card..... (I have prof Firewire Audio interface but this PC comes with 7.1 High Definition OnBoard Sound Card which might be useful to me for surround playback)

Optical Drive..... (not that important to me but includes LG GH22NS30 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter)

Warranty..... 1 Year Onsite Collect & Return Warranty

(No OS or software required)

£831.99 inc VAT
(£723.47 ex VAT)

Thank you

Jim

It seems I can build this myself for £570 but what is this:

"Arctic Silver 5 heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians"?

Also, when you build yourself, I suppose you have warranty on all the individual components?

I don't know whether to hand over £830 or build it myself for £570-600. I've put componants into a PC before and I'm not clumsy. I do have a friend who builds them but lives miles away.

Is copying and existing PC a good idea for a first time build?

AAaaahhh!

First off I never have and never will buy a computer ready built.

Quote JimAllan:

---

It seems I can build this myself for £570 but what is this:

"Arctic Silver 5 heatsink compound professionally hand installed by our technicians"?

---

Thats thermal paste. You pop it onto your CPU and CPU heatsink and reduces thermal the resistance which in turn increases thermal efficiency of the CPU heatsink.

Quote JimAllan:

---

Also, when you build yourself, I suppose you have warranty on all the individual components?

---

Yes. It's your own personal warranty that you put it together and no one else did. But should any components fail have the receipts, boxes and warranty cards. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install a Motherboard, CPU, Thermal compound/paste/whatever, CPU heatsink, RAM, PSU, Graphics Card, DVD drive, Hard Drives into a metal case. You just have to have a little common sense.

Quote JimAllan:

---

I don't know whether to hand over £830 or build it myself for £570-600. I've put componants into a PC before and I'm not clumsy. I do have a friend who builds them but lives miles away.

---

If you want to do it and your confident you can then go ahead. It's easy!

Quote JimAllan:

---

Is copying and existing PC a good idea for a first time build?

---

I upgraded my set up a month ago. I used the GA-EX58-UD5, the Core i7 920 CPU and 3GB Corsair Dominator, similar components in the Scan DAW computer. It's ok. I spent just over £650 for the parts and get the same performance. Go buy the Scan DAW computer and you'll need £1200!

Cheers!

Has anyone had any experience of this watercooling system:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz
+
Coolit Systems Domino A.L.C Watercooling System Bundle [BX80601920]

=£256.23 inc VAT from:

]http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-IN&tool=5 ]

Any point to it here in the cold north UK?

Does it mean there's no need for a CPU fan or heatsink compound?

Also, what is this "D0 stepping"? Is it only available on i7s from 'Overclockers.couk? Is the advantage of an offer for i7 overclocked to 3.40GHz, because the warranty is valid despite the overclocking?

Quote JimAllan:

---

Has anyone had any experience of this watercooling system:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz
+
Coolit Systems Domino A.L.C Watercooling System Bundle [BX80601920]

=£256.23 inc VAT from:

]http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-IN&tool=5 ]

---

Don't bother with 'that' water cooling kit. If you want to water cool then buy the individual parts separately to suit your set up and overclock goal. You'll find yourself spending more than £250 on the cooling kit itself but it will be much better than that one. An i7 920 @ 3.4Ghz is easily done with a decent after market air cooler. Consider water cooling if you want to take the i7 920 beyond 4Ghz.

Quote JimAllan:

---

Any point to it here in the cold north UK?

---

Even more so i'd say. The lower the ambient temperature the lower the water temperature and the cooler the CPU. A watercoolers dream is to have as cold temps as possible moving through the radiators to cool the water temperature.

Quote JimAllan:

---

Does it mean there's no need for a CPU fan or heatsink compound?

---

You wouldn't use a heatsink and fan. You'd need a CPU water block and you still need to use the heatsink compound. Lap the CPU water block and the CPU heat spreader for perfect flat bases and you increase the thermal transfer characteristics.

Quote JimAllan:

---

Also, what is this "D0 stepping"? Is it only available on i7s from 'Overclockers.couk? Is the advantage of an offer for i7 overclocked to 3.40GHz, because the warranty is valid despite the overclocking?

---

You get C0 and D0 stepping i7's and from what i've read the D0 stepping CPU's overclock with less volts and therefore less heat output at extreme overclocks. And you won't be able to buy a pre-overclocked CPU. You can buy a computer thats pre-overclocked. I'm not sure about overclocking voiding warranties.

The whole water cooling thing is a great hobby and is fun but it's not really a set up an go thing. There's maintenance involved too. And forget the CPU and cooler pack you mentioned. Consider the CPU on its own is £200 you will need to spend more than that again for a nice water-cooling rig. And as I said consider it only if your intention is to take the i7 920 CPU beyond 4Ghz otherwise get a nice after-market cooler.

Thanks! Sorry for all the posts (delete if necessary).

I've come to realise that building a system has many benefits, mainly cost and warranty. The built system for £830 only had a 1-year warranty for the whole machine, but buying seperates I at least get a processor with 3-year warranty and the memory with Limited Lifetime Warranty (valid up to 5 years after product manufacure is discontinued). Not sure about the motherboard warranty.

I based this spec proposal on the built PC for £830 with a cheaper graphics card and no soundcard or Optical drive:
-----------

Coolermaster Elite 335 (has washable filter) ...[£29.66 inc VAT @scan.co.uk]

Hard Drive..... Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB ...[£58.54 Inc VAT @ scan.co.uk]

Processor..... Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz .......£208.35 + 3 years warranty @scan.co.uk)

Processor Cooler..... Akasa AK-967 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler (31.4 dB at 500RPM to 39.3 dBA at 1500RPM (default) ...[£24.13 Inc VAT @scan.co.uk] + Arctic Silver 5 heatsink compound ...[about £4 from ebay]

Memory..... Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel ...[£105.04 inc VAT + Limited Lifetime Warranty* @www.shop.bt.com]

Motherboard..... Gigabyte EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard ...[£132.87 Inc VAT @www.excelitservices.co.uk) OR £133.98 @www.awd-it.co.uk]

Graphics Card..... 512 MB nVidia GeForce 9400 GT PCI-Express VGA Card ...[£36.79]

Power Supply..... Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLI Compliant PSU ...[£86.24 inc VAT @www.novatech.co.uk]

(Already have Audio Interface, software, Optical Drive, OS, monitor and extras)

Total = £685.62.

With postage, I'm hoping it will still come to less than £710. I may get it cheaper yet by finding parts on ...ebay

(I have to remember not to get to precious about all this computer lark. Today's supercomputer is tomorrow's ZX Spectrum. Hopefully I'll get 4 or 5 years of use before it's slowing me down unnecessarily. Hopefully next time, huge eye-friendly 3D monitors/projectors will end the time wasted on switching between screen windows.)
-----------

Yea all looks good.

I'd go for a bigger case. Midi or full tower. It's just so much better working inside a bigger case and future upgrades ain't so much a nightmare. The heatsink is fine. If you overclock then spend double that on a better heatsink.

Apart from that it's a great machine that will give you lots of resources to work with.

Finally able to add to this thread!
Thanks to everyone that posted... got a lot of info to base my new build on. Very happy with it so far.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5
i7-920
Nvidia 8800GTX (For non music related activities)
Focusrite Saffire Pro 26

Paul.

Yippeeeeee..I been waiting to add to this thread for the past year

Having studied this thread, forum and MW's articles in SOS I finally went ahead and built my own i7 DAW over Christmas and used it in anger for the first time today. After my previous P4 machine, this is a real joy - a dedicated DAW too!

It was built to a spec, not to a price.


Case..... Chieftec UNI case LBX-02B-B-SL fitted with AcoustiPack ULTIMATE sound damping kit

Case cooling 1x120mm Noctua NF P12 fan and 3x 90mm Noctua NF B9 fan

Power Supply..... E2CS X-Strike 600W Ultra-Quiet PSU Manual/Auto

Monitor Dell SP2309W

Keyboard & Mouse Wireless Logitech Duo

Motherboard..... Gigabyte EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

Processor..... Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz

Processor Cooler..... Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Dual Fan CPU Cooler

Memory..... 6GB kit (2GBx3), Ballistix Tracer 240-pin DIMM (with LEDs) Part #: BL3KIT25664TB1608 • DDR3 PC3-12800 • Tri-Channel

Hard Drive..... 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 500G E.S. (7200.11) fitted into Scythe Quiet Drive Caddies

Graphics Card..... Sapphire HD5770 1GB VAPOR-X Graphics Card

Sound Card..... M-Audio Delta 66+ omni

Optical Drive..... LiteOn IHAS324-32 24x DVD±R, 8x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA, Black,

BIOS....F7

O/S....Win XP sp3, 32 Bit – will upgrade to Win 7 later

DAW Software....Sonar PE 8.5.2

Currently running DPC on average of around 11µs with an occsional peak of 112µs. I get this result by disabling the Gigabyte GBB386x SCSI & RAID Controler as well as the Texas Inst. IE1394 host controler. Both of these cause peaks in my DPC of 4000µs.

Its just awesome to be able to instantly load multiple VSTi's and play them from my USB controler without damn dropouts, glitches and freezing.

My thanks to MW, Pete Kaine (I bought all the gear I could from Scan because I have been so impressed with the help he gives on this forum)and of course, to SOS.

As this was my first build ,i've spent a full month -october- doing my research and reading as much about the subject as possible.(Endless hours spent reading articles,tests here on soundonsound,than on overclockersonline.net, silentpcreview.com,PAQ's forums etc...)I've finished my build project in late november so i've got nearly two month of testing behind me.After this two month testing period i can comfortably say that this machine is in a different league compared to my old one so obviously i'm very happy about it.
Building a great music PC is simple if someone else has already done the research:just copy a great well tested music PC.The difficult part is to come up with a PC system that fits your budget.My budget was 900 pounds (Monitor included).
Early on i've decided that the basis of my pc will be intel's i7 920 on a gigabyte ex58 motherboard.
I've chosen Scan computers 3XS SA-i7 as my reference music PC for my build .I decided to copy the elements that are essential for me and save some money where it's possible without too much sacrifice.So here is a detailed list with exact prices:
1.Processor: used intel i7 920 - 132 pound / ebay
2.Motherboard: new GaEX58-UD5 - 192 pound / scan
3.Case/PSU: new Coolermaster Sileo 500with inbuilt 500W PSU -89 pound /ebuyer(it's funny that the new scan music pc's are built in sileo 500 houses.At the time of my build they were using silverstone cases.)
4.Processor cooler: new Prolima Megahelms - 40 pound / scan
5.RAM: new Corsair 3x2GB DDR31600MHz - 102 pound / scan
6.Video Card: new 512MB Gainward 9400GT -35 pound / scan
7.Hard Drive 1: new 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 32MB- 57pound /scan
8.Hard Drive 2: new 500GB 32MB Seagate- 80 pound / scan
9.Optical Drive: new Sony AD-7240S: 17pound / scan
10.new Akasa 3.5" multi memory card reader: 7pound / scan
11.Monitor: used LG W2452TX 24" - 100pound / gumtree
12.Mouse/Keyboard :Advent aluminium- 28pound /a PC shop in France
TOTAL: 879pound
I was prepared to buy a new PSU if this 500W wasn't juicy enough but no problems at all yet.(There is a great article on this soundonsound PC forum about how much power is really needed by a pc PSU.You can even find links to power usage calculator sites.)
I don't even use a dedicated ventillator on the CPU.The two inbuilt ventilators do a great job on their own.
I use Windows7.Sonar 8.5 in 64bit mode is my main sequencer.I use EDIROL UA-101 soundcard.
Finally i'm very thankful for Scan computers for giving a detailed list of parts included in their audio computers.
Thanks to everyone here on the SOS forums -especially Martin Walker- for giving great deal of help on the subject with insightful articels and posts.I have to repeat Paul881:
My thanks to MW, Pete Kaine (I bought as much gear as I could from Scan because I have been so impressed with the help he gives on this forum) and of course, to SOS.

Thanks guys - when you've been slogging away for years writing stuff, it sometimes makes all the difference to know that it's been of practical benefit to SOS readers


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Cool, well I just did a basic 3-track live run through of my new build and so far everything seems to be working just nicely. It was just my roommate singing and playing his guitar through an amp and Leslie. Sounded very nice.

Motherboard/chipset: Gigabyte X58-UD5
Processor: i7 920 2.66Ghz
Graphics card: nVidia 9400 GT 512MB
Audio interface: Motu 828 mk3

I was running Reaper 3.2 on Windows 7 Pro with 6G of RAM. CPU meter registered under 1%.

So far so good. Will post a pic in the DPC Latency checker thread tonight. Thanks a lot to Pete Kaine and MW all the contributors on this thread for giving me a resource for some of the smaller, yet finer details, including case, PSU, and CPU fan recommendations.

--------------------
Fostex 812 Mixer -> MOTU 828 mk3 -> MacBook: C2D, 2.4Ghz, 4G RAM, OSX 10.6 || i7 920, 2.66Ghz, 6G RAM, Win 7 Pro -> Reaper v3.6

January '09 I built my new i7 system and haven't looked back.
Asus P6T Deluxe MB.
Intel Core i7 940 running at stock speed.
6 GB OCZ RAM running at 1600MHz.
Using onboard sound for now since SoundBlaster doesn't seem to realize that a lot of people have moved to 64 bit systems and haven't released any drivers for my Audigy soundcard. Plan on updating the sound sometime soon.
Originally had a 1GB ATI HD4870 video card but have since upgraded to an ATI 1 GB HD5850 video card as I needed the other card to run HDMI on my bedroom computer. Must say I'm very impressed with this video card.
Coolermaster 850W PS, quiet and absolutely capable of running this machine.
3 1TB WD Caviar drives in IDE mode. I now have 8 of these drives in computers scattered around the house and have had zero problems with them. I had one Seagate 1TB drive in this machine when I originally built it. Lasted 3 months before it "bricked" on me. Seagate RMA'd me a REBUILT HDD, not a new one as I expected. They also wouldn't provide any data recovery for me even though they knew there were problems with these drives (of course I'd already bought it before finding this out). No more Seagates for me, WD drives have proven 100% reliable in every computer I've used them in. Avoid Seagate like the plague. Luckily I had most of my data backed up and didn't lose anything of real importance but still annoying as hell.
Lite-On 22x DVD burner (40$ at WallyWorld, couldn't pass it up!).
26" Asus 1920 X 1200 monitor that I just love.
Vista 64 bit OS dual boot with XP 32 bit (for some legacy hardware and software that just won't work under Vista). Didn't like Vista at first but has kinda grown on me. I have three computers running Windows 7 64 bit all running on older hardware and they just seem snappier than Vista. Might be in my head.
So far the machine (other than the Seagate drive) has proven completely stable and reliable. Big upgrade from my old 2.8GHz P4. I'm not really an Intel fan boy but right now the i7 is the big dog on the block. I guess I'm saying, go ahead and build the i7 machine of your dreams, you won't be sorry.

think I have settles on my specs although it is pushing the budget:

Case: NZXT HUSH Mid Tower Black (Mid Tower)
Power Supply Upgrade: Cyberpower 700 Watts Power Supplies (SLI / CrossFire Ready Quad Rail Power Supply *** Not Recommended for Overclocking***)
CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel i7 920 @ 2.66GHz 8 MB cache LGA1366 ***Overclockable XXX***
Cooling Fan: INTEL LGA1366 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R X58 2 Way Crossfire/SLI DDR3
Memory: 6GB (3x2GB) PC10666 DDR3/1333mhz Triple Channel Memory (G.SKILL NQ Series w/Heat Spreader ***Overclockable XXX***)
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4350 PCI-E x16 256 MB Video Card
Monitor & LCD: NONE
Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive 320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
Data Hard Drive: Single Hard Drive (500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive)
Hard Drive Cooler: None
Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 22X DVDR/RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (Black Color)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Network: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USB Portable Drive: NONE
Floppy: NONE
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
WARRANTY SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT


Coming in at about 850, any criticism would be really helpful, first time spec'ing a pc purely for music production. Could i dual boot the 1st hd for a net and general office stuff? and would that keep the production partition fast and clean for cubase? will be running a Saffire through firewire and legit software.

Edited by ossuss (07/02/10 07:59 PM)

I just got the following bundle from Overclockers:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-043-OE&groupid =43&catid=339&subcat=

Consisting of:

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz overclocked @ 4.00GHz!
Asus P6TD Deluxe Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (TR3X6G1600C9)
Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366)

To this I added

1TB Hitachi Ultrastar HD
Sapphire Radeon HD5770 Graphics Card
Tagan 480W PSU from my last build
Antec case form my last build
Native Instruments Kore 1 controller/audio interface
Novation SL37 Controller Keyboard
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

The HD I chose because of its apparently improved reliability and 5 year warranty. The GFX card wasn't strictly necessary, but with a PC this powerful I'd like to be able to play the occasional game. I already had a very good case (P190 I think?) with excellent cooling and sound insulation, as well as a 480W PSU, so the total for the componants was a shade under £900. Not bad for a 4GHz i7!!

When I first installed windows and before adding any hardware drivers, DPC latency registered at a steady 55us. I then installed all the motherboard's hardware drivers, GFX drivers, Asus V Tweak (which allows motherboard overclocking tweaks from windows) and a USB D Link wifi adapter. I figured the last two items would be asking for trouble, but now the DPC latency seems stable at 80-90uS with no optimisations made or drivers disabled. Not super low perhaps, but perfectly usable.

The huge titan cooler was very noisey on first assembly, but this turned out to be because overclockers had disabled Q-quiet fan control in the BIOS, fixing the large 120mm fan at full speed. Enabling the feature and setting it to standard operation results in the fan being almost inaudible. With the rear 120mm case fan set to medium the machine emits a gentle whir. Enough to let you know it's on but certainly not obtrusive and much quieter than my previous PC in the same case, which was an athlon x64x2 dual core 4400, not overclocked and with AMD stock cooler! CPU temp when idle is 40 degrees c> I've not had the chance to give the system a really punishing stress test yet, but if it runs too hot under load I figure I'll jsut dial back the CPU BCLK frequency a bit.

First impressions are very positive. Loading a session which caused my old Core2Duo 2.5GHz Macbook Pro to break down in tears registered about 25-30% CPU with no glitches at 8ms output latency. Only issue I have so far is that the double width Saffire graphics card blocks the PCI slots, but forutnately I'm using a USB audio interface anyway.

I'll report back again when I've had the chance to give the system a more thorough test

Edited by Domsmart (08/02/10 08:06 PM)

I might buy this pre-Assembled i7 bundle:

'Gladiator Extreme Gaming Bundle' -pre-Assembled and Overclocked by our the Gladiator PC Team, this Overclocked Bundle takes the i7 920 from its standard speed of 2.66GHZ to an unbelievable 4.0GHZ!!! Ideal for Gamers and Enthusiasts alike:

*Cpu model: i7 920 D0 Stepping SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem)Processor,

*Cpu speed: 4.0Ghz

*Motherboard model: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 PCI-Express DDR3

*Memory: Patriot 6GB "Viper" 1600Mhz DDR3

*Cooler: Thermalright VenomousX

*Warranty: 1 Year

*Price: £646.24 inc.VAT + Free Delivery

I've lost touch a bit with prices, is this is any good (taking into account free delivery)??? Does overclocking compromise reliability?

...Oh and it has an 'Akasa Amber 120mm fan'.

This does look interesting. I've put a message on the Aria forum asking further about the hardware that these bundles come with. It's probably not worth it without an OS, HDD, graphics card and so on.

I got myself the following and am very pleased so far - a vast improvement on my Core2 Duo E6420 machine, especially when it comes to doing mixes with large track-counts and numerous plug-ins.

CPU Intel Core i7-930
Motherboard Asus P6T SE
Graphics HIS HD 5670
CASE Lancool PC-K62
POWER CoolerMaster Silent Pro M700
MEMORY Kingston DDR3 1333 3x2GB (6GB)
HD 1 Intel X25-M 80GB (SSD)
HD 2 WD Caviar Green 640GB

I'm running Windows 7 (32bit for now), Sonar 8.5, Live 8, Reason 4.

--------------------
Sound Jeweler http://moshang.net

Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D (Intel X58)
CPU: Intel Core i7 930
Memory: 12GB
Graphics: Radeon HD 5850 1GB (using eyefinity)
Audio Interface: HDSPe AIO
DSP Cards: UAD 1, Powercore FW
OS: Win 7 64-bit
Drives: SSD: Corsair P256 and P128, Mechanical: Seagate 2TB 7200rpm
Monitors: 30" HP LP 3065 and 2x 21" Samsung 213T

A modern i7 system is staggeringly powerful and fast. Running a full project's worth of VSTi and VST plugins barely places a load on it. The speed of loading giant rompler patches (i.e. spectrasonics) from SSD is delightful too. My previous machine was overclocked AMD X2 4600 (Nforce3) running XP SP3, which I've had for 5 years (upgraded cpu and disk along the way). The sheer computational power of the i7 is staggering, while my machine was built with overclocking in mind, I've yet to need to. I'm running the 32 bit version of cubase since my plugins are 32 bit and it's easier that way. This is still an improvement because under WOW64 the cubase process is allowed to grow to 4GB instead of being limited to 2GB under Win XP.

The only fly in the ointment is that I have both a Steinberg Midex 8 and Houston controller - in some bizzare contractual dealing Steinberg had with the hardware OEMs (detailed on the cubase forum), there will never be 64 bit drivers for these devices, so I have a significant amount of hardware that just became obsolete. Furthermore, there's no replacement for the LTB accurate timing feature to drive my external midi gear. I previously used the midex to test the speed of the RME HDSP card in my old PC (older PCI version) and found the timing to be as good as the Midex (there was an apparent bug when it received controller data though, doubling each controller data event). I also tested an Edirol USB interface I have and the midi timing there was ghastly.

So for now I'm making do with using the RME midi i/o's on the HDSPe AIO and mostly using VSTi's. I would say I'm swearing off Steinberg hardware for life but with one exception: if they or anyone else released a new Midi interface tomorrow with LTB I'd buy it.

Off topic suggestion for the mag: I'd really like to see SOS establish a standard test where midi i/o latency is reported for all midi equipped computer interfaces. It would not only be informative, but serve to encourage those manufacturers not currently doing a good job to do better. Midi is such a slow protocol in comparison to everything else in a modern PC, there's really no excuse for latency or mis-timing, yet few seems to get it right.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower,
CPU: Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz,
MoBo: ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0,
GFX: ASUS ENGT240 Silent/DI/1GD3 GeForce GT 240 1GB DDR3,
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB DDR3 DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800),
CPU HS: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler,
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3
Data-HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5",
OS-HDD: WD Caviar Blue 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
ODD: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner AD-7261S-0B LightScribe,
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Running Cubase 4.5.2 X64 and X32 with URS, Nomad Factory, NI,
EWQL Goliath, Arturia, Antares and few other bundles with TC
Impakt Twin. No problems at all so far, running same projects
in both, X64 and X32 with JBridge (which is the greates thing).
Cubase 4.5.2 X32 runs way more faster and stable then X64 and
also X64 plugins JBridged over to X32 are working perfekt.
I am working on Big Audio projects and Disk Monitor is still
down to zero, never went up, Asio goes to 45-60 deppending on
what i am using at the moment. The way it is now it is wayy faster
then my Mac PPC G5 Dual 2.7 GHZ and it is also a very stable.
Even Steinberg advises using Cubase X32 on a X64 OS. It can still
detect 4GB of RAM and it would run more stable and faster.

...just my two cents...

--------------------
Reality is a Condition due to lack of Weed!

Hi all, new to the forums here but definately not new to making music. I'm running the following system which I built myself:

Intel Core i7 930
4GB RAM (FAST)
1TB HDD (MECHANICAL)
M AUDIO Delta 10/10 LT SOUNDCARD

Just want to say that I upgraded recently from a core2duo system with a clock speed speed of like 2.1GHZ or something running cubase sx3 32bit and now have the i7 930 running on Cubase 5 64bit. To be honest there isn't that much of a difference, it's a little faster but nothing to get too excited about. All those people claiming to be running 20 high power vst instruments simultaneously because of their i7 processor aren't really speaking the truth. If you have a core2duo system with a powerfull soundcard you will get better performance than an i7 running a more average soundcard. It's a shame that graphics cards have been advanced so much in the past decade or so whereas sound cards seem to have stagnated, if you want a powerfull sound card think £1000+ whereas more advanced technology in the form of GPU's running several pipelines of parrallel processing at ridiculously fast speeds packed full of RAM can be picked up for £100-£200. The sound card is more important than the processor with all other things being equal.

--------------------
-If it's not broke, don't fix it!

Quote OldSchoolProducer:

---

Just want to say that I upgraded recently from a core2duo system with a clock speed speed of like 2.1GHZ or something running cubase sx3 32bit and now have the i7 930 running on Cubase 5 64bit. To be honest there isn't that much of a difference, it's a little faster but nothing to get too excited about. All those people claiming to be running 20 high power vst instruments simultaneously because of their i7 processor aren't really speaking the truth. If you have a core2duo system with a powerfull soundcard you will get better performance than an i7 running a more average soundcard.

---

Hi OldSchoolProducer, and welcome to the SOS Forums!

I'm glad you're pleased with your new i7 930 system, but it's rather misleading to say that it's only a little faster than a Core 2 Duo system

Four cores running at 2.8GHz will stomp on any Core 2 Duo with two cores running at a lower rate, as my various SOS PC reviews prove. Have a look at my recent performance chart in this review:

www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar10/articles/darcultimatele.htm

As you can see from the other systems tested thus far I managed to run over three times as many compressor plug-ins on the Core i7 920 2.66GHz machine as I could on the Dual-Core E6600 2.4GHz processor.

As for soundcards offering radically different performance, this is sadly a fallacy - those with better written drivers may run significantly more plug-ins with low buffer sizes than others, but one you get to a latency of 6mS or so you are unlikely to notice any difference in performance (assuming no incompatibilities due to chipset and so on).


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Hey Martin thanks for the welcome,

Seems you know your stuff... I am talking from experience though, I was using a core 2 duo system up until like 2 months ago and could run about 10 instances of cakewalk' Z3TA+ at a low latency with an M Audio Delta 10/10 LT (2ms I think)when I first upgraded I kept the system the same except for the faster memory (DDR 3 running at 1800mhz upgraded from DDR2 running at 1066Mhz and both good Corsair memory not generic) and processor (I7 930 from Core2Duo 2.1Ghz or something 2MB cache version) and new motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev 2. So according to what I've heared you would expect me to get maybe 16 Z3TA instances running at once with an average midi track but its more like 11 or 12 (just two or so more than my old system). At first I suspected that the version of cubase (SX3 god knows what build can't remember) couldn't handle multiple cores properly although many people said it could so I upgraded to cubase 5 x64 and still didn't get any better results. Would genuinely like some advice if you know why my system isn't performing that much better than before upgrade like you say it should. P.S i'm not saying things don't run faster it's just not even close to the increase I expected.

The reason I said the soundcard makes the big difference incidently is because my M audio delta 10/10 LT broke down recently (my own fault) and so i'm now using an EMU 0404 soundcard. Latency is good (2ms) but I start reaching load at like 4 instances of Z3TA (ridiculous). Thats why I know the soundcard makes a difference. The HD2 PCIe Pro Tools 8 HD Core System at over £5000 would definately not perform the same as any other music making soundcard so i'm guessing the processors on the soundcard obviously make a difference and looking at the difference between my M audio delta 10/10 LT and EMU 0404 I'm yet to be convinced this is a fallacy, please elaborate if you have the time.

--------------------
-If it's not broke, don't fix it!

Edited by OldSchoolProducer (10/08/10 09:30 PM)

Quote OldSchoolProducer:

---

The reason I said the soundcard makes the big difference incidently is because my M audio delta 10/10 LT broke down recently (my own fault) and so i'm now using an EMU 0404 soundcard. Latency is good (2ms) but I start reaching load at like 4 instances of Z3TA (ridiculous). Thats why I know the soundcard makes a difference. The HD2 PCIe Pro Tools 8 HD Core System at over £5000 would definately not perform the same as any other music making soundcard so i'm guessing the processors on the soundcard obviously make a difference and looking at the difference between my M audio delta 10/10 LT and EMU 0404 I'm yet to be convinced this is a fallacy, please elaborate if you have the time.

---

THis could be down to driver efficiency and choice of buffer size.

As I mentioned above, most audio interfaces offer similar performance once you increase buffer size of 256 samples or above, but what sorts out the good from the bad is performance with smaller buffer sizes, such as your 2mS example (around 64 samples at 44.1kHz)

The performance of the better ones doesn't drop off as fast, but other things are involved in this equation, in particular the CPU type.

Intel's Core i3/5/7 range has provided one of the best low latency performances seen so far.


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

Thanks for the reply Martin, going to see if EMU has any updated drivers and try to play around with the settings a bit more. I tend to notice latencies alot, and I don't like to necessarily quantize things all the time so still would like a relatively low latency, might have to buy a new card if it doesn't deliver.

--------------------
-If it's not broke, don't fix it!

My pleasure - good luck!


Martin

--------------------
YewTreeMagic

I have been using my new system for about two weeks. I bought it pre-built from ADK in Kentucky. It arrived tweaked for audio, with my apps pre-loaded, and with Paragon backup software. This vendor seems very competent.

Core i7: 4 PCIex16, 2PCIe, 1PCI, up to 24Gig DDR3 1600, TI Firewire, USB3, Sata 6 motherboard (Gigabyte mobo).
Core i7 930 2.8GHz Quad Core.
Muskin - 2Gig DDR3 1600 CL8 memory.
Seagate 500G 32Meg Sata II Perpendicular (three drives) and a hot swap bay (Icy Dock Internal Screwless SATA II DRive bay).
ATI - HD 4550 Dual head fanless 512MB DVI/HDMI/VGA output video card.
Midisport 1x1 USB Midi Interface
Windows 7 64, Cubase 64, Komplete 6 VSTs, Melodyne Editor (this app is a game changer, assuming it works as advertised).
Yamaha MR816X Audio Interface w/o Effects (The most logical interface for a home Cubase user).
I run it at 64 sample latency. Th DI sounds great. Haven't yet tried a mic through it. I am ultra phobic about latency; that is the main reason I bought the MR816x, which is symbiotic with Cubase. Seems to sound better than my RME DIGI 96/8 PAD. I am impressed with the quality of sound at low monitoring volumes; and all the instruments seem well separated and discernable.

So far the performance of this rig has been quick and transparent.
I have waited 20 years for such a box and atendant software.
My needs are modest in the tracking department, and it should handle any track count, VSTi count, and VST effects count that I am likely to throw at it.

--------------------
If it sounds good, then it is good.

Please ALSO speak in laymen's terms:

What is the difference between the Intel Core i5 and Core i7?

Sure, some engineering design differences so i5 is somewhat "slower" than i7 but performs well so i5 is a better value!

I guess this is what you really meant for those of us who do NOT care about the engineering specifics but the ACTUAL testing/performance of the chip!

Really, many of the PC World reviews could be written for those of us NOT in the engineering field!

I5 has two pipes to memory rather than 3.
You can compare various processors with Intel's "compare processors" site.

Here is an example

I compared the i7/920 to a couple of I5's chosen at more or less random. The I5 is a newer processor and runs cooler (and therefore quieter) and at higher clocks than the 920 so you get almost as much bandwidth. (the higher bus speed is what controls that rather than the higher internal clock)

To do random compares, go to the Intel site and search for "compare processors".

Disclaimer: I work for Intel but I am a software guy so I don't have any special insight into processor selection and, in any case, there is no one choice that is best for everyone. I could quote you benchmark numbers (from Tom's hardware perhaps) but unless they match your workloads they are not particularly useful.

These forums dont get used much?

My contribution purchased in 2009 and upgraded to this week and the following specs which runs everything really well even at 128.

EVGA x58SLi(inc firewire)
i7 920 co/c1 (2.66ghz)
12GB DDR3 OCZ 1600mhz Ram
Firewire TI
ATI HD4800 Series
OCZ Vertex2 SSD
WD Raptor 150
RME FF800(Main)/AccessVirus/Mackie1620FW
PAQ Case Xigmatic Heatsink (Peters magic and support)
Win7Ultimatex64


Previous
Pentium 4 3.4ghz, 4gb Corsair 400mhz, ATI9800series, RME Fireface, WD Raptor 74gb, WD Cav250x2

Overall performance for comparison

P4 : Cubase 6 running Kontakt with orchestral and multisamples, 3 Nebula instances = approx 90% Asio

i7 : Cubase 6 Kontakt orchestral, 5 Nebula*, Elephant, and numerous other plugins approx 40-50% Asio
*Nebula does increase latency on play back but then it's a plugin ideally for the mixdown/master stage. Or run it on efficiency like you would any plugin with x1 oversampling rather than 2,4,8 etc.

These are really approximate not science lab stuff

All I can say is, as mentioned, i7s are incredible, deliver what you've been waiting for over the last decade allowing software companies to actually deliver on the boxes promise

Personally recommend 6GB DDR3 with a decent asio audio interface.
12gb If you are really into using large multisamples, orchestral romplers but 6gb is really enough.

SSD drives I would recommend as OS only and have a decent 7200 drive for audio recording/samples. I use the Raptor for audio and in the Paq case the noise is non existant. Often have to check to see that the PCs on...yes it's that quiet without watercooling.

If you really want to be efficient (not that you need to with i7s but can also shave a few ms here and there) have two hard drives with your OS installed or 2 partitions. Personally have the SSD caddied for the DAW and a 2nd drive (7200 WD) for all the internet, MS and applications. Just my approach that tbh keeps the daw very clean.

Peace

Am I right in thinking that the most significant difference between the i7 & i5 is that for the additional CPU/MOBO outlay of say £150 you get 2 extra memory slots thereby upping the capacity from 16 to 24 Gb RAM.

Martin

Bottom line:
You need the following:
1) Intel i-7 960 or go extreme
2) 6-8 gigs ram-min
3) A mobo with xtra PCI-e Slots and Xtra Ram space-nice add
4) The all important GPU-the faster this is, the more "Co-processing" can be done. Good deals on Nvidia GTX 470-480s to be had with 500s out

Good luck. You get exactly what you pay for when it comes to music

--------------------
3 Martin Acoustics-HD-28-GPCPA-3 and OOV28

The i7 is ludicrously powerful which is why I also use it on not just my recording computers, but pretty much all of them lol.

I'm a bit of a tech geek though so im always looking for the newest stuff.

--------------------
Sonos Wordpress II Sonos Blogger II Sonos Ezine

Hi,

Just thought I'd add my new system into this thread.

Computer Make/Model = Chillblast/ Fusion Pulsar [modified]
OS = Win 7 home premium 64 bit
ASUS Sabertooth P67 mobo
Intel Core i7 2600K overclock - 4.6Ghz
Ram: - 16Gb DDR3
System Drive = 120Gb Corsair SSD
1st Audio Drive = 2Tb WD 7200rpm 6Gps
2nd Audio Drive = 500Gb Seagate 5400rpm
Nvidia GTS 450 Graphics [1024MB]
BeQuiet 680w Power cable mgt PSU
Noctua Ultimate Quiet CPU cooler
Fractal Design low noise case.
M-Audio Delta 66 - Omni I/O drivers = 50.10.5076
DAW = Sonar X1 Producer

Initial usage is that this case is really quiet and has plenty of space for more hard drives
the mobo has 3 PCIe slots and 1 PCI slot , I did have a 3 port firewire card installed , but had to remove this to insert the Delta 66 PCI card.

it all seems to work fine and fast however, I'm just considering whether I should upgrade the Audio Card, As I've had this for some time now.

Al.

--------------------
DAW = Sonar X1 Producer, M-Audio Delta 66 - Omni I/O OS = Win 7 home premium 64 bit

Hey Guys I use 64 bit and 32 bit all the time - but not on the same computer. I use vienna ensemble pro to connect to the comp with 32 bit vst's.
I have a hard time throwing old comps away where everything worked good, Hence the reason I use vienna ensemble pro, and or fx teleport. Also look into chainer if this stuff interests you.

http://www.viennaensemblepro.com/

--------------------
www.symphonicmetalband.com

Hi all
After a month of searching, asking and soul searching (over dramatic?) I've finally done my First self build.

Many thanks to all who replied to my posts and PM's assisting in my quest.

Intel i7 2600k
Asus P8Z68-V LX Z68 Mobo
16Mb Crucial
Seagate 1TB Hdd
Silent case /Power/ DVD etc.

I was going to run it off the internal Graphics but couldn't get it to set up Dual monitors with a spread workspace. (Just duplicated 1st monitor despite tinkering)So i popped in a 512Mb Asus ATI Card from my old DAW (don't know exact model) It has a fan so might swap it out shortly as it's the only thing i can (just about) hear coming from the Cmaster Sileo case.

Win 7 64Bit
Cubase 6 @ 64 Bit

Audio: Presonus Firestudio Mobile. Locks on straight away with it's own 3rd Party TI Firewire Card.
Liquid Mix: Locks on with it's own (Focusrite recommended LaCie FireWire 400 card TI chipset) Firewire Card

I've loaded Superior Drummer @64 bit and a few (Free) plugins (Melda productions) all at 64 Bit.

All Rock Solid. Running one of more my demanding mixes that had almost maxed out my AMD Dual core it hits 15% on the i7.


Latency....? Not measured but I'm astounded that i can plug a guitar into the Firestudio, go into Cubase load Eq and VST AMP and effects and then monitor through Cubase hearing everything whilst playing on the money with the mix. This is at 256 on the soundcard and L/Mix engaged on other tracks and Bus.

Will try 128 and lower but scared I might upset a good thing!
I'm trying to decide if to load any 32bit plugs and bridge them or just stay 64 bit.


Ronnie

Edited by RonnieG (01/01/12 11:40 AM)

ASUS Sabertooth X58
I7 920
24 gigs Corsair Vengeance 1600
Nvidea GTx 560 TI
Dual 24" display
5 - Western Digital 750 HDs
2 - ASUS DVD/CD x24
M-Audio Audiophile 192
M-Audio Keyrig 49
Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Reaper 4.14, Adobe Audition 3.01 (XP Mode), Melodyne Essential, Kontact5, Reaktor5, KeyRig VSTi, lots of other VSTi.
Straight up no overclocking.

This system only gets on the "net" once a month or so via wireless network to check for updates to installed software. I have it set up with networking turned off. I also have Kapersky's internet suite installed for the times it does go on the net. The nice part about Kapersky's is you can stop it from running automatically. I have to manually start Kapersky before I enable networking. This keeps all that excess stuff from running in the background while working on music.

Duff

--------------------
They just wouldn't listen!

mother board p8z68-vlx - needed this because it looked like z chip set would work the best with my lynx audio card.
i7 processor 3770-k
Lynx l22 and aes 16
Windows 7 64 bit pro so that I can run things in XP mode.

I was a bit concerned since pci is not supported natively but so far I have not notice any major issues. I will certainly update if I do notice something.

I was able to install FX Teleport (not windows 7 supported also 32 bit) and it works good in xp mode. I installed it just so that I could load all of my old projects and migrate them over to Vienna Ensemble Pro.

I had to upgrade to sonar x 1 from 7. Sonar x1 is a piece of garbage if you write music in the staff view.

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www.symphonicmetalband.com

Bam! I'm using i7/Intel Z77 Express Chipset/Integrated Graphics Processor Intel DSL3510 Chip/ Realtec ALC898 High Definition Codec/USB 3.0./Firewire/Thunderbolt/ w/(2)1TB HD's /(1) 500GB HD/1 120GB Mini SSD on the motherboard/1 120GB SSD on an Expansion slot. I collaborated with a Techie friend to design a PC for musical projects I can create with a Fantom X8 keyboard/controller and additonal analogue inputs . Currently we have a MRCSX816 DSP via Firewire with the CUBASE 7 DAW program. We have just finished the build and have put it through initial tasks.So far so good. Right now we're trying to incorporate a TRAK2 8 CH. AES/EBU I/O to connect to a 16 CH AES/EBU Expansion Card. Does anyone know where I can get a Apogee AES 8+ Card for a TRAK2??? I've tried Apogee(out of stock) Ebay and Amazon (no seller's). You might ask: "Why use a TRAK2"....look at the spec's. What other DSP can match it? Am I missing somethin'?

Spoonspirit