Need Advice...Again

[Reesee]

I'm debating about building another desktop computer. The last one I built was an in 2011; ASUS Crosshair IV MB. I ran a AMD Phenom Top of the Food Chain 6core processor. I cooled it with an ULTRA Chilltech black cpu cooler and maxed out the RAM with 16 G. It's a Farrari! It's even Red and Black LOL!

I want to build a NEW system using the ASUS Gaming MB Platform / AMD chipset. Although I game (I usually do it on the X-Box / Play Station); and I know that this is a ROG approved MB for intense gamers. I need the processing speed to write complex music scores using Pro Tools, Reason, Studio One, etc. I run Microphones, Monitors, electronic keyboard(s) & drums, etc. and need some "Juice" to run these products smoothly. I'm open to suggestions and have a good budget to work with. I would rather build a Futuristic system that will last me for the next 5+ years, than go cheap and have to build out again in 2 years.

I will run Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit X# Gig RAM (The maximum) and two, perhaps four monitors for multi-tasking too. Perhaps a game or two like Battlefield 4...That is IF i decide to get my gaming on and I will get a 5.1, 7.1 or 8.1 surround sound system, probabally from parts express. They have Great Stereo & electronic Equippment for less.

thanks :)

Reesee

[hithirdwavedust]

<Drool>

Sounds like a ton of fun.

Start out with a standard-ATX MB, (I mean standard-sized ATX, not standard functionality) an ATX case with plenty of room, and a ridiculously overpowered PSU. Shop around for cases that you like on youtube. You will get a better idea from people's reviews on youtube than anywhere else. I say this because you really won't have much of an opportunity to actually try installing hardware in a case until you own it, but you can watch videos of people's impressions of cases all day long for free.

Don't be seduced by small cases. Buying a small case will only confine you in the future. You will probably want something with excellent cooling capabilities. A huge case displaces heat much better than a small one. With a high-powered workstation such as you seem to desire, heat displacement eventually becomes a bottle-neck. You will want to keep the option of water cooling open for your future. (yup, it does get expensive)

If you're into extremely intensive multitasking you may want a dual processor MB. Find a MB with as many PCIE lanes as possible, and as many PCIEx16 slots as possible and make sure it's PCIE 3.0!!! For lots of monitors you will want you MB to be crossfire compatible (if you go with AMD) or have SLI if you go with intel/nVidia.

If you're down with tricky installations/customizations/configurations, you may also want to invest in a SSD, perhaps even a PCIE SSD (for face-melting storage access rates, very useful in ultra-low latency recording/playback environments)
Yes, you still NEED to have a HDD (or eight) for lots of reasons, but that's probably not something that I need to go into right now.

Processors!

Smaller lithography means less distance travelled. (significant, and the smaller the lithography the less heat created and less power consumed)

CPU frequency is of course how often instrutions are processed. (a little less significant, and excessive heat will slow it down. Conversely, you can to some degree speed up the processor by cooling it down)

Cores. How will having multiple cores help you? How many cores do you need pre processor? That depends almost entirely on how you use and configure your computer, operating system and applications. Some OSs and applications make better use of multiple cores than others. Sometimes you will need to custom tailor your configurations, sometimes everything works great out of the box. More often than not everything works great and then over time you make it work even better.

Be certain that the processor(s) you select are PCIE 3.0 capable. That will help to make the rest of your purchases more pertinent.

Sound! You WILL need digital amps and preamps, otherwise you will need to tweak compression all the time to get decent sound from studio quality samples. Analogue equipment is great with analogue devices. It will often make a mess of your digital sounds.

Don't be too afraid of buying used, especially with cases, but also with anything else. Computer parts are just like cars: A third of the list price falls off as soon as the first owner drives it home.

You can put it together one piece at a time. I'm guessing you already know what parts you will need to get it off the ground and running. You can add to it over time. You want it to be awesome for 5+ years?

Full-sized MB with PCIE 3.0, at least PCIE 40 lanes and at least 2 PCIEx16 slots. (that's 32 PCIE lanes right there) Yes, PCIE 3.x is backward compatible with 2.x and 1.x, and you can put PCIEx1,x2,x4 and x8 into a PCIEx16 slot.

PCI is gone now. You do not need any PCI slots on a machine that you're building for the future. USB 3.0 is backward compatible as well.

Get a PSU of at least 650 watts. Maxing out the RAM alone is going to chug the juice. Each high-powered GPU/APU will require it's own dedicated line to the PSU. (if you're not gaming you might make due with less)

Anyway, choose your MB wisely. That's your foundation. Get that figured out and everything else will fall into place!

Have fun!