MICRO ATX SYSTEM am I on the right track ?

C

CAM1

New member
Hi everyone

Ive been researching custom builds for my first dedicsted system and am looking at the following specs from Scan.
I already have a Steinberg UR44 and Cubase elements8.

MOBO:- Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H (no default Wi-Fi)
CPU:- Intel Core i7 4790, Quad Core + HT, 3.6GHz, 4GHz Turbo
CPU COOLER:- Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power CPU Cooler with TY-140 PWM Quiet Fan
RAM:- 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Jet Black Low Profile, PC3-12800 (1600
PSU:- 650W Seasonic SS-650AM Modular
DRIVE 1:- 120GB Samsung 840 EVO - 540MB/s Read, 410MB/s Write, 94K IOPS
DRIVE 2:- 256GB Crucial MX100 2.5" SSD SATA III 550 MB/s, 330 MB/s
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

I was thinking use the 120gb drive for OS and Cubase software.
The 256gb drive for keeping sample libraries and three or four current project/session files that I am working on.
I would then use an external drive to store all other projects and only load them onto the SSD when needed. Would this external drive speed even matter ?

Ideally I want to use a Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 Black Low Noise micro-ATX PC Case.

my main reason for the form factor and case is that I need to transport the system by air from the UK to Oman and want to be able to take it as carry on.

I will be recording two or three live tracks max at one time, total of about 10 to 15 tracks with a few plug ins and VSTIs on quite a few of them plus EQ etc
Budget is £900

Is this a sensible set up for the hard drives?
Will the Micro system give me any major problems with noise, heat or anything else
Will the performance be more than enough for my needs.

All advice on the above or alternatives really appreciated.

Many thanks

Cameron
 
I bet a pc with those specs could track dozens of tracks at once, mix down a hundred with plugins everywhere, and toss in a shitload of vst's, practically without even waking up. My old xp/cubase 4LE laptop with a 2GHz dual core, 2GB ram, and a useless 5400rpm IDE drive could handle the workload youre talking about. Tracking 3 or 4 and mixing 15-20 is nothing for any modern pc.
 
Ooo! Two PCI slots still!
I am just an old bottle jockey but that seems a good board to me? However I could question whether you need two SSD drives? From all I have learned in10yrs, "everything" gets loaded/goes thru ram? Thus a 7,200 second drive would actually be loading samples into memory.

Maybe the bigger SSD as system drive, 2TB spinner and with the money saved, max out the ram (for Home) to 16G?

Since you have the PCI slots I would personally seek out an M-Audio 2496 (better an AP192) sound card? Most handy to have a complete, integrated audio/MIDI system.

AND! Most important of all! Fit a guitar amp strap handle to the top of the case. Also pack a long, 3mtr+ VGA and HDMI cable to take advantage of any lurking telly screen!

Dave.
 
If it is just for music, I was able to split my SSD (480) programs went on the partition that is 100GB, and programs, VSTs and projects on the other. Archived projects, mix downs go to the regular HD.

Backups are much easier this way. I select to back up the OS and data once or twice a month. The OS doesn't change much and only the data partition has much activity and that backs up pretty quick.

The system you have spec'd will work very well.
 
Thanks for the advice still getting the feel for how much power/speed etc etc I really need.

So a 250gb SSD system drive and 2tb spinner and 16gb RAM. That does sound like a good option for the same price. What drive would I load the projects im working on to.

I understand the reasoning for a fully integrated system but will my UR44 interface not perform as well ?

It also sounds like the i7 4780 is going to be overkill would the i5 4690 be more than adequate and save some cash for something else ? or is that false economy ?

Is the PSU about right I could just go for a 450w

AND! Most important of all! Fit a guitar amp strap handle to the top of the case. Also pack a long, 3mtr+ VGA and HDMI cable to take advantage of any lurking telly screen!

Good idea I just need to work out how to get my Ur44, my guitar and a couple of monitor speakers into my carry on and im set to go:guitar:

Seriously though great advice guys I feel like im almost there, with this part of the puzzle anway. But ive still got plenty of dumb newbie questions up my sleeve.

Cameron
 
I like the UR44 way better than the M-Audio 2496, 4 pres and plenty of io. You didnt mention an interface but it sounds like you got that covered. And if you have the option I also like the idea of trading a ssd for a BIG sata drive, and I'd probably take the i5/16gb ram over the i7/8gb, that'd depend on your intentions tho.. If you have small-ish projects that dont max out 8gb anyway, you might be better off with the faster cpu.
 
Aw gawd decisions decisions

How about the i7 with 8gb and if Ram maxes out I can always fairly easily and cheaply up it to 16gb
Whearas if the i5 is causing a bottleneck slowing the system down it is a lot more costly and awkward to upgrade

Or am I just being a bit power hungry and overestimating my needs

?????

So many options my head hurts

I have a feeling Im erring on the side of overkill but sure dont want to go the opposite way
 
Last edited:
Power hungry, overkill, and overestimating, what is this nonsense you speak of? I have 16x16 io and about 100x more DAW than i need, and I haven't recorded more than 2 tracks at a time in years :D Welcome to the club brother... Youre right about easier upgrade options later tho
 
OK, let's not confuse tracking with mixing. I have posted this often. I use a low end duo core laptop with an 5200 HD as a part of my portastudio setup. I have recorded 16 tracks on a TASCAM 1800 and had no issues. Just for clarification, the laptop stays very very clean. Only thing on there is Reaper and Virus software (I don't even turn it off). But I mix on another computer.

For tracking, it doesn't take much. Good USB throughput and most HDs will handle it with no drop outs. For mixing (to include VSTs) that is where your processing power will come into play. i7 chip is great and it will keep you running for years. i5 chip is nice as well. You may have to do a little resource management, but 99% of the time, it will do the job without having to get creative.

Lots of guys on here have older XP/Apple machines and do very well. Most modern higher end CPUs will handle the job. Get a good SSD and nice fat 7200 HD and you're set. Keep the OS clean, keep crapware off of it, manage your sessions and you will be recording without any issues. You're not building an airplane here. If you are going to do a dual purpose computer and do some video work, then for processing speed, you may want to go with the upper end. But even then, today's computers handle video pretty well.

Your real issue is going to be, getting good mics (now that will cost you money), monitors, pre-amps, getting good mixes, etc. Computer hardware today is just not that much of an issue as it was 15 years ago.
 
I don't have any experience with Micro ATX form factor, but I think that system looks good overall. The 4790 is a good choice, although mine runs pretty hot. But it's overclocked to around 4.5 GHZ, most likely that's why mine is hot and requires liquid cooling.

Read up on your CPU cooler and make sure that it's as quiet as the name suggests. I'm not familiar with that one in particular, but my CPU fan is hands-down the noisiest part of my recording computer (stock fan/heatsink that came with the 4770k). It's still pretty quiet though.

I like that case, looks like they really put some good considerations in there for noise control. And it comes with 2 120mm chassis fans, that's great.

As has been mentioned above, I'd also suggest a bigger data drive. Go for 1TB at least. Once you install a few sample libraries and get a few projects completed, you'll chew through quite a bit of storage in a hurry.

Your motherboard supports a max of 32 GB of RAM, but Win7 Home only allows 16GB of that. Still, I'd deal exclusively in 8GB DIMMs so you can max out at 32 GB if you ever move to Win7 Pro or other versions of Windows that don't have that limitation.
 
"I understand the reasoning for a fully integrated system but will my UR44 interface not perform as well ?" It will perform perfectly I am sure Cameron!
The idea of a decent (but no longer startling!) built in sound card is just a convenience I have grown used to, my NI KA6 outperforms it for latency (and the 2496 is bloody fast!) and noise.

Jeeeeust that! IF you can find a card cheap? 'Ave it!

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top