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Advice for a future DAW build

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Jun 6, 2012
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42
Motherboard
GA Z87X UD7 TH
CPU
i7 4790k
Graphics
Gigabyte Gtx 760
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. Portable
  2. Power Mac
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Hi Guys
I need your help For my future DAW .
At the moment i use this Machine build it in 2009 :

Mobo : GA-EX58-UD5 bios F13
CPU : INTEL i7 930
Graphics : NVIDIA GTS 250
Sound card : Antelope audio Orion32 connected via madi with PCIe Rme Hdspe Madi
Midi Card : Motu Midi express XT

Now i need a new machine but i have some doubt about the new hardware
Can you give me some advice about Components ?
Thank you in advance
 
¿Could you be more specific? As a general advice, my current setup works flawlessly with Logic Pro X, running more than a hundred benchmark tracks.

The i7 4790K is probably the best choice if you want power without leaving the Z97 architecture, but unless you run very demanding projects, you can buy an inferior i7 or even a powerful i5 if you are on a tight budget. You might want to check some benchmarks, but a 4790K might be overkill depending on your needs. Also, if you don't plan on overclocking you can save some money by buying non "K" versions. Stock coolers provided by Intel might be cool enough for you, but they can get quite noisy for a DAW build. I bought a Noctua NH-U12S to keep the CPU cool and silent.

I bought a Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H because it was fully compatible, reviews say it's well built and reliable, and I didn't care for the extras of the higher mobos. It has no bluetooth, wi-fi or firewire, so take that in mind. If you want those features you can buy a mobo with them (check for compatibility with OS X, because they tend not to be) or buy separate PCIe components. I bought this for FireWire: http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/59767-firewire-800-400-card-own-100-compatibility.html

RAM is cheap, so you can go with 16 GB to be sure, specially if you work with video or other heavy material. It should be DDR3 and it will perform better if you don't cut corners with speed. 1600 MHz is just a few dollars more expensive than the slower ones. Mine is 1866 MHz, but OS X seems to lock speed to 1600 MHz, so that's the speed I recommend. Dual channel performs better than single channel. This means it's better to have 2x8GB sticks than a single 16GB one. If you think 8GB is enough, don't be too afraid to go with it. You can always add more as long as your mobo supports it.

If you don't plan on gaming or working with video, you can probably go without a discrete video card, as long as your CPU has a decent integrated card. I use a Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 G1, but if you are interested in saving some money, I can run any task you want with my integrated CPU graphics and tell you how it went. Also, keep in mind powerful video cards can add a bit of fan noise even when not at 100%, but maybe using the integrated video would make the CPU get hotter and causing the HSF to make more noise. Not sure about what would be louder.

I would totally recommend an SSD for OS X and maybe sample libraries and the current project you're working on. You can store finished projects and the rest of your data on a conventional HDD. I have a 256GB Samsung 850 PRO SSD and it's performance is way better than a HDD. An SSD is probably the best bang for your buck nowadays, even more for audio computers. Also, you can finally use TRIM on OS X 10.10.4 or newer without third party apps. There's also the option to combine an HDD and an SSD on a Fusion Drive. In theory this means OS X automatically puts the most used files in your SSD and the rest on the HDD, appearing as a single volume. This should give you the storage capacity of an HDD with way faster speeds, but I haven't tested it.

Finally, I choose a Corsair Carbide 330R case. It's easy to build, nice looking and it has some noise dampening foam on the inside. I was afraid that would come at the expense of cooling, but I've been working with it this summer in Spain and it keeps things cool. It also has a fan speed controller, so you can keep noise low. As for the PSU, getting more power than you need means it doesn't have to work to the limit, so it doesn't get so hot. This means it will be more reliable, lasting and less noisy, as PSU fan won't have to be running so fast (you can even buy a PSU with zero RPM fan mode which deactivates the fan when it's not necessary). It will also mean you won't have to upgrade it if you buy new components (like a video card).

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask.
 
Hi Signify,
Thank you for your advices !!
I need a Horse power machine but at the moment i don't know if it's better to go to skylake processors or not ... for sure an i7 processor like the 4790k is the start.

after that i'm made some research on the forum and the mobo Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH is the best for the rig i need but at the moment isn't available on amazon italy and i don't know why ( i contacted gigabyte via mail but they don't answer at the moment)
maybe is out of production ....

another doubt is what kind of socket choose for the build , the 2011 with more ram slots or the 1150 with less slots ?

about the GPU i prefer a dedicated card, nvidia for sure but i don't know which model choose

Ram i'm looking for a 32 giga of DDR4 at 2400 mhz not less

For the Hd SSD for the system and two traditional 7200 rpm one for the audio library and another for the audio recording

For the case i used in the actual machine the fractal design delfine r2 and is quite and silent case so i think to buy it another one.

for the psu i actually use the fractal design newton 1000W and is also a good choice.

Another issue is what kind of installation method is better choose clover or unibeast-multibeast ? and for pro audio is better mavericks or yosemite ?

Let me know what you think
thank you in advance
 
Update about Motherboard :
I received this answer from Gigabyte about the Mobo GA-Z97X-UD7-TH :

Dear Fabio ,

For your information, GA-Z97X-UD7-TH is not End of Life for now. Motherboard which supports Skylake CPU are released in the market, if you want to purchase GIGABYTE motherboard, we suggest you contact local dealer since they are dealing with selling plan. For more information about our local distributor, please click HERE.

Regards,
GIGABYTE

Now i have contact my local dealer for clarify this situation (before this email my local dealer said : The Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7-TH is out of production .....)
I let you know
 
¿Why do you want that mobo? It does not support DDR4 RAM (and I don't think any z97 mobo does). ¿Do you really need DDR4? That looks like a rough way at the moment: http://www.tonymacx86.com/desktop-c...-z97-chipsets-ddr3-vs-ddr4-compatibility.html

Unless you don't mind waiting until Apple officially adopts the latest Intel processors, I'd stick to buyer's guide configurations. Those are the ones that work without lots of pain.

As for the socket, it depends on what you really need. 2011 configs are pretty expensive and you can get very powerful machines with 1150 nowadays, but maybe you do need that extra power. I know I don't.

GPU again depends on what you need and your budget. I bought a GTX 970 because it's one of the most powerful cards below 400€. The GTX 980 costs 200€ more and is only a bit more powerful. If you don't mind gaming, buy a cheap one or none at all.

I never tried clover, only multibeast. It does what I need and it's easy to use. As for OS X, Mavericks brought some nice under the hood features in power management and CPU use, but Yosemite is just cosmetic. I installed it on a 2011 17" MacBook Pro on launch and performance went down, but on 10.10.5 finally is OK. I have it on my hackintosh and works fine because it's a powerful machine. As always, crappy OS performance shows on less powerful machines, so I'd recommend Mavericks on old rigs, but for you is a personal choice as both will work great. El Capitan looks good, so you might want to consider it once is released and tested.
 
I want this Mobo because is in the buyer's guide list of tonymac and many people in the forum buy that mobo (and have thunderbolt on board).

About the DDR4 you are right, this Mobo doesn't support DDR4 standard

But if you have a better and easy solution i'll change no problem .

Regarding the chipset you are right, the 2011 is quite expensive but you cannot reach that amount of power with the 1150 chipset

About the GPU i agree with you and i think to buy this one :

http://www.amazon.it/dp/B00NQ862GY/?tag=tonymacx86com-21

About clover i think to use that solution because is it possible to update the system flawlessly and it makes the recovery partition like a real mac

For the system i think is better to go to mavericks and after go to yosemite

if you have any suggestion about possible configuration i'm glad to receive advices

Thank you in advance

Fabio
 
Updates about the Mobo GA-Z97X-UD7-TH
My local dealer answer me that this mobo in europe is not available anymore and the new model with thunderbolt is this one Z170X-UD5 TH but not available at the moment
now the doubt is : what can i do ? waiting for the new chipset or go with the old one ?
 
If you want socket 2011, maybe it's better to go for this configuration: http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-august-2015.html#CustoMac_Pro_Socket_2011

That would discard both mobos you posted, since z97 uses a 1150 socket and z170 a 1151 one (not yet supported since Apple has no 1151 processors). You could also wait until Apple does, since it seems likely they will upgrade to 1151.

Also, maybe it's not a good idea to have thunderbolt availability in mind as a criteria for choosing a mobo, since you can always add a PCIe card. I don't know how things work with thunderbolt, but firewire ports in mobos, even if OS X sees them, can give you a lot of latency, so it's better to go with PCIe expansions.

As for the GPU, that is exactly the same one I have. Those three fans keep the card cool and the backplate keeps it from bending. It may sound silly, but large, heavy cards tend to bend over the years if they don't have a backplate.

Clover sounds good. I choose multibeast because this was my first hackintosh and I wanted to keep things easy, but maybe I will change to Clover.
 
Also for me the x58 is the first hackintosh in 2009, but, after that experience I discover MultiBeast and this fantastic forum!! At the moment, I use Clover, and, with my actual hardware configuration, it was hard to set up but so far i reached a stable configuration.

If i decide for a 1150 configuration what Mobo you advice me with a 4790k i7 processor ?
 
I have a GA-Z97X-UD3H. I bought it because I didn't need anything more, it allows me to overclock and it's reliable. Maybe other mobos are way better, but I didn't knew what to look for, so I bought the one that fulfilled what I needed. It has good components except for the built-in analog audio, but that sucks in almost every mobo and we use external audio interfaces, so it's ok.
 
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