I Need a Trustworthy Opinion Before Buying..

**DangerNimh** · 06-24-2012

Hi Guys,

First time posting to this forum. I'm not sure how I missed this site.

I will buy a new desktop. I'm leaning toward PC because of cost and I like the upgradeability. Although I do some video editing here and there, I'd rather edit on my old Power Mac for now and use my PC for my songwriting, producing and mixing tasks.

I've looked into the various Intel processors and heard some news of the Ivy Bridge overheating and in some cases the Sandy Bridge being more than adequate.

I will use mainly Cubase, Reason and Pro Tools.

My budget is less than $1,100 for now. I'm not sure what is a good buy but I hope to buy an i7 with a 7,200 RPM. Other than that I'm clueless. I know that I should look into a better cooling fan and sound card so that is why I want to keep the budget low for now.

My main question:
1. I'm posting kits, but is it easier to either a) buy a barebones kit or b) build from scratch?

I assume that building from scratch and waiting for deals will usually be cheaper but I'm not a computer expert at all :

Here is the first choice:
1. HP i7-3820 3.6 Ghz, 10GB RAM, with a dedicated Radeon HD 7570.

It's an eBay listing.

2nd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820 processor [3.6GHz, 10MB L3 Cache, 4 x 256KB L2 Cache]
10 GB DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs] - 16GB Max
2TB 7200 rpm SATA (6.0 Gb/sec)
1 GB dedicated ATI Radeon HD7570 [DVI, HDMI, DP, VGA adapter]
16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
802.11 b/g/n PCI Express Wireless mini card
2 SS USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed)
SuperSpeed — New higher signaling rate of 5Gbps (625MB/sec), 10 times faster than regular USB 2.0
Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit)

It's for $734.47. I can also upgrade individual components.

2. ASUS CM6870-US-3AB Desktop PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz, 16GB DDR3, 2TB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The RPM on the hard drive is only 5,400 RPM.
Just integrated graphics.

(Deal is from TigerDirect at $899 and is new)

3. OR should I go for an i5 Ivy Bridge?
Here is a barebones kit. I assume I would need to buy a better cooling fan.

Ivy Bridge Unlocked Barebones Kit - GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H Board, Intel Core i5-3570K CPU, ADATA 8GB DDR3 RAM Kit, Seagate 1TB HDD, 24x DVDRW, Thermaltake Commander MS-I Case, Ultra 650W PSU

Only $563.99 after rebate.

As you can see, I'm lost as to

1. If a Sandy i7 is good enough rather than an i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge.
2. Whether I should just build it from barebones or scratch.

Thanks much for your advice!

**macbeat** · 06-25-2012

It's gonna be hard to get an honest opinion because when you're building your own PC with different parts like that you can never predict it's reliability. I've built many PC's in my time and they've all encountered problems. Some more serious than others, but it still takes time away from being productive.

With that said, I'd stay clear from HP. Asus is a very reliable company and although I'm running a Mac right now, if I had to choose a PC they would be one of my top choices.

You're rolling the dice with building your own PC. That's the price you pay for trying to save some cash. Either you pay up front for something known to be reliable, or you pay later when shit starts to break.

**DangerNimh** · 06-25-2012

Yeah, I suppose that is the risk I take. I've never built one before so I'll make sure to have warranty for each component.

I just looked at craigslist for MacBook Pro's. It seems that I can get a quad core for $1,300 with Apple Care or a loaded dual-core with software for sub $1,200.

Hmm, I might just go with a MacBook Pro after all and use Logic lol.

**macbeat** · 06-25-2012

Originally Posted by DangerNimh

Hmm, I might just go with a MacBook Pro after all and use Logic lol.

If you have the cash for a Macbook Pro then go for it. It's a sweet machine and Logic Pro is even sweeter. I run a newer Mac Mini and it's been really good to me :-)

**Doc Shay** · 06-25-2012

Build it from scratch, I built mine and I never had a issue with it that couldn't be solved with a driver update(Minor issues). The thing about building a pc is getting reliable parts, research the parts you want and check out the reviews from users and get the parts that have mostly positive reviews. My custom pc is the most stable pc in the house because I chose my parts wisely and decided not to go cheap on the parts. Plus the warranty for your parts are much better than just getting a pre built.

**DangerNimh** · 06-26-2012

Originally Posted by Doc Shay

Build it from scratch, I built mine and I never had a issue with it that couldn't be solved with a driver update(Minor issues). The thing about building a pc is getting reliable parts, research the parts you want and check out the reviews from users and get the parts that have mostly positive reviews. My custom pc is the most stable pc in the house because I chose my parts wisely and decided not to go cheap on the parts. Plus the warranty for your parts are much better than just getting a pre built.

Thanks, Doc Shay.

So overall, did you save money by building it from scratch? How long did it take to research the various parts, wait for price drops?

Or was it more about having the right components in place rather than saving money (vs. buying a barebones or fully prebuilt desktop).

Are you using Cubase, Reason and Digital Performer?

---------- Post added at 12:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------

The only thing with a MacBook Pro is that I'd be buying it used. But I'll only pull the trigger for one with Apple Care remaining.

I'm glad that your Mac Mini has been holding it down! Even my video editing friends tell me that the 27" iMac has been great to them, so I imagine a Mac Mini is sufficient for some music production.

**Doc Shay** · 06-26-2012

Originally Posted by DangerNimh

Thanks, Doc Shay.

So overall, did you save money by building it from scratch? How long did it take to research the various parts, wait for price drops?

Or was it more about having the right components in place rather than saving money (vs. buying a barebones or fully prebuilt desktop).

Are you using Cubase, Reason and Digital Performer?

---------- Post added at 12:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------

The only thing with a MacBook Pro is that I'd be buying it used. But I'll only pull the trigger for one with Apple Care remaining.

I'm glad that your Mac Mini has been holding it down! Even my video editing friends tell me that the 27" iMac has been great to them, so I imagine a Mac Mini is sufficient for some music production.

I saved a little building mine but the reliability was more important for me since I wanted a computer that would last a while. For the research I started researching 1-2 months before I had the money, I made sure I caught some deals to fit things into my budget but having the right components was my main thing. Also having complete control over what was inside my computer was a plus (I can open and remove things without possibly voiding my warranty). Another thing that made me build my own was "Overclocking"(I don't recommend it if your not knowledgeable about your cpu and how to actually do it) but I was able to drastically increase my performance by overclocking my cpu, a good bit of pre-built computers have this option locked. So yeah I recommend building your own since you get better control, reliability(depending on your choice parts) and the warranty is always better too, but yeah I use Reaper 4 and Reason.

**SvenD** · 06-28-2012

Yeah I say +1 for building your own rig. If you HAVE TO be mobile then the MacBook Pro is a nice machine, but you are paying a premium for a Mac. I built my own rig and I enjoyed having total control over things, everything from the parts selected to cable management to installing the OS was under my control. You will save yourself a fair amount of money too.

I just went on NewEgg and priced out a bleeding edge machine with an i7 Ivy Bridge and a SATA 3 SSD (90GB) for $1154.00. This includes a dedicated graphics card (since plugins are going to start using GPU power to aid in processing). The only thing the build was missing was a CPU cooler and your choice of storage (maybe +$150.00ish) for cutting edge, you could easily cut some corners to get the final build price to below $1100.00 (I budgeted a fancy motherboard and RAM because I believe those are wise things to invest in rig wise).