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Budget Audio Production PC

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  • 02-07-2010 2:42pm
    #1
    TheBandit
    Closed Accounts Posts: 304 ✭✭


    Hi All,

    I'm looking to build a budget audio production pc which(as far as i know) is basically a gaming pc but with a poorer graphics card. This is what i'm thinking about getting. Any advice would be much aprreciated. Its for running Sonar, Native Instruments Komplete etc. I'm going to be hooking up a digital piano to play sound modules so low latency is key, i'm guessing fast processor and lots of ram will take care of this

    AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core - 3 GHz - €126
    MSI 770-C45 - AM3 Socket - 770 Chipset - ATX - €61.50
    OCZ Platinum Low Voltage 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1333 - €109
    COOLER MASTER Elite Power 400W PC Power Supply - €30
    HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C - 1 TB - 7,200 rpm
    - 32 MB - SATA-300 Hard Drive - €64
    ASUS Radeon HD 5450 - €60
    Case - Have one already
    ~€450


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    #2
    Solitaire
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 18,377 Mod ✭✭✭✭Solitaire


    Moved. If its not for gaming why are you posting it in a forum for gaming builds?? :confused:

    Anyway... how much money do you wish to spend? And what kind of case do you already have? Does it have good airflow, as I have a feeling we'll need to OC a bit to get good processing power for cheap! :o

    CPU: Overpriced. You can get a Phenom with tons of L3 cache for less, and slightly slower Athlon X4s for under €100 nowadays! One of those OCd would be a far better bet!

    Mobo: No problems here so long as you stick with AMD. If you have a buttload of fast DDR2 lying around you might want to switch to a recent-chipset AM2 mobo instead though...

    RAM: Not bad, if you have to buy new memory right now this is the way to go. HWVS has slightly better deals right now in this area but its only an issue if you're willing to shop from them.

    PSU: Meh. For low-power rigs the Antec Basiq 350W is slightly better quality, but realistically both are mediocre units and you're better off spending a bit more to secure a Corsair CX400, especially if you're OCing the CPU.

    HDD: Cheap and cheerful. The Samsung F3 1GB is better, but a bit pricier too. Its reliability and power efficiency added to the better performance swings most people though.

    GPU: Overpriced. Get a cheap G210 or HD4350, unless you need HDMI encoding support (as opposed to the usual decoding) in which case go for a cheap HD4650 or even a very cheap HD5570 if you fancy playing the odd game of Half Life 2 ;). If you don't and you go the DDR2 route just get a 785G mobo and run off the onboard video instead...

    Case: If it has good airflow, great. Otherwise consider a €40 Antec 200, or a slightly cheaper NZXT Gamma plus some extra fans.


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    #3
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    Soundcard? Thats where you're gonna want to put your money in. Get something low latency.

    BTW, MIDI is very easy on processing, if you use lots of VSTs thats where you'll need the power. If you're using samples they eat into ram, but still minor amounts. 4GB is plenty for sure, 2 would suffice(presuming XP) and you only get 3.24 unless you use 64bit which I wouldnt for reliability.


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