A guide to building/buying a PC for music production. (2017)

minervx

Member
I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned a lot and I figure I'd teach people who are interested in building a PC but are unsure where to start. If you're spending over $500 (and especially over $700), it's best to build your own rig. It has gotten much easier in recent years with modular parts, communities such as PC Part Picker and detailed Youtube tutorial videos.

CPU: For music production, CPU is the most important part. DAW's give a lot of instructions to the computer. Don't judge a CPU by the number of cores or clock rate alone (i.e. the AMD FX line of CPU's are far less powerful than they appear). If it's an Intel, judge it by the generation. The first number in the 4-digit name is the generation (i.e. 7600 and 7500 are from the 7th generation). i7's are the strongest CPU's, however, i5's may be a superior value. The most budget friendly bang-for-buck CPU is the Intel Pentium G4560, which is nearly identical to an i3. However, at least a 6th or 7th gen i5 is recommended. The i5-7600k is a great choice. In Intel's CPU's, the "K" stands for overclocking. In this case, you should add a cooling fan to the build. AMD Ryzen's line is stellar, a bit less expensive, and superior in performing more instructions due to a more cores. You can't go wrong with the Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 line of CPU's.

Motherboard: If you're building a PC, make sure the motherboard supports the CPU first and foremost. AMD and Intel CPU's each use different motherboards. Second, make sure it fits the case. Smaller cases will use an ITX (an ATX motherboard may be too big for your case). Make sure it is capable of. Asus and Gigabyte make some of the most acclaimed motherboards. If you're not buying a graphics card, make sure the motherboard is capable of supporting a 4K resolution if you plan on having a large workspace for your DAW. Having USB 3.1/C capability is a bonus, although not completely necessary. Motherboard also needs to support the amount of RAM you plan on using, but all good motherboards will support ample RAM so it's not a big issue.

RAM: RAM's goal to allow for multi-tasking and larger loads. RAM controls how many processes you can have within a given moment. RAM is needed insofar as much as it enables your CPU to perform to the best of its ability; having higher RAM can make a computer faster overall but it does not compensate for a weak CPU. RAM is expensive now, so proceed how you want to. It's likely to go down in price in 6-12 months, but probably not significantly. 8GB is bare minimum, but still capable for a studio. 16GB is most recommended. Beyond that point, and the CPU won't be performing much faster. 32GB is, frankly, overkill, and a waste of money for 99% of people. RAM speed is really not important after a certain point; 2133 MHz is perfectly fine. For most people, I recommend getting 16GB from a reliable brand at a good price and that's that. One caution is that RAM operates less efficiently when asymmetrical; Using 3 sticks or using sticks of varying capacity can result in a reduction of efficiently (i.e. 12 GB may not be any better than 8).

Storage: Hard drives (HDD) can be had cheap. 1TB can be had for $50, but you can probably find 2-3TB for $70. A SSD (solid state drive) is strongly recommended because it doubles or triples the speed at which files transfer and load (as well as the booting time for the OS). SSD's however, are much more expensive. Therefore, it is most recommended to get an SSD for the operating system (and your most frequently used apps). And then just store your sound files, videos, movies, pictures, video games and music in the hard drive. If you can't afford both an SSD and HDD, you'll have to prioritize whether you want more speed or more capacity. If you have an HDD, you can get by with a 120 GB SSD, but 250 GB is probably the most optimal. Crucial's 525 GB SSD is a good value if you can spare the extra cash.

Power Supply: Do your research, find a PSU from a reliable brand with good reviews. You don't want your expensive equipment fried. For a music production build, 400-450 watts should be plenty. Without a graphics card, all of the choices I've mentioned will result in a PC that draws under 200 watts. And even with an entry level graphics card, 400 is plenty. Since you're most likely not making a build for high-end gaming or high-end video editing, a 500w+ CPU is unnecessary. Your power supply should support 20-30% more wattage than it takes in just for good measure.

Video Card: The integrated graphics on the CPU should be fine enough. It's not like cutting-edge video games are necessary for music production. If you're looking to do some medium intensity video editing in addition to music editing, the GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti could be added on.

Monitor: For production, you want maximum screen real estate, so you can utilize your DAW, plugins, digital synths and maybe a web browser too if you want to Google something quickly. As a result, 2 1080p displays are recommended. Or pick a screen with a high resolution: 1440p, or 4K if you can afford a few hundred for a nice monitor. For DAW's refresh rate doesn't matter much. Screen brightness need not go over 500 nits, but 300 nits can suffice if you're not in a room with a lot of lighting.

Cooling: Liquid cooling is more expensive, and bubbling water makes noise. Tom's Hardware claims that Thermalright True Spirit 140 Direct has very low noise. Putting the computer in the hidden location away from where you record is also an option (or encasing it in something to muffle the noise).

Case: A lot of this is aesthetic preference. Just make sure it can fit your materials. You probably won't find a case as small as the Mac Pro's without spending an arm or leg unfortunately. And smaller cases can be a little trickier to build in. However, a large tower is not needed for a studio computer, especially if you're not using a graphics card or an optical drive.
 
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