i9 9900K build for Professional Audio

[cdduarte]

Hello guys, hackintosh user since 2014, looking to upgrade my main rig. Here's my requirements:

- Fast CPU, RAM and Storage (don't work with video)
- Thunderbolt compatibility
- Rock solid reliability

I'm thinking of ordering this:

MBoard Gigabyte Z390 DESIGNARE
CPU Intel Core i9-9900K Octa-Core 3.6GHz 16MB Skt1151
RAM Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200MHz CL16
SSD (system) Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe 256GB
SSD (work) Samsung 860 Evo 2TB
GPU Sapphire Radeon RX 580 NITRO+ 4GB OC W/BP
PSU Corsair RM550x Series 80PLUS Gold Full Modular
HS Corsair Hydro Series H60
Tower ATX Fractal Design Define C

I can get this setup for around 1500€.

Any general tips? I find Saphire's somewhat of a weak link in my previous builds, but its the best price/quality. Should I just go with a 570 series or 580 is worth it? Maybe a different brand? I think 4GB is enough for what I do. One last question, can I still use my current BT USB dongle?

Thanks!

Edit: final order above; total cost 1720€.

 

[zipb]

I use my Z390 rig for music. It's works great.
My 2c:
8 GB RAM is not enough.
Use traditional hard drives only for backups.
Watercooling, mwa. I prefer Noctua air coolers.
I like my sound insulated Fractal Design case
The built-in WIFI & BT will not wok in MacOs. If you need this, get a Fenvi card.

 

[cdduarte]

Sorry, that was a mistake. I copy/paste from the store but it’s 2 x 8GB.

In my current setup I use SSD for the system and applications, but every project (Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Live) and every library, I save in the HDD. Is this bad? I was always told that the constant “read/write” was not so good for SSDs. HDD also a safer backup.

I will look into that case and the Noctua cooling! Thanks

 

[cdduarte]

About my BT question, what I meant is I already have a BT USB dongle. It’s this IOgear below. Can I still use it with recent OSX/HW?

 

[Bustycat]

About my BT question, what I meant is I already have a BT USB dongle. It’s this IOgear below. Can I still use it with recent OSX/HW?

Yes I am still using that one.

 

[cdduarte]

Thanks.
I decided to switch case to Fractal Design Define C, and also HDD to my usual Western Digital Black 7200RPM

 

[zipb]

Sorry, that was a mistake. I copy/paste from the store but it’s 2 x 8GB.

In my current setup I use SSD for the system and applications, but every project (Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Live) and every library, I save in the HDD. Is this bad? I was always told that the constant “read/write” was not so good for SSDs. HDD also a safer backup.

Especially using samples from a SSD is so much faster. No contest. NVME, preferably. This really makes a difference.

Look at the technology, fast spinning metal platters covered with rust read by a comb-like device attached to a spring. Noisy. Big.

I've had lots of dead HD's.

SSD's, non-moving IC's on a PCB. I own at least 20. Only one died in 7 years.

The only good thing about HD's is their price per megabyte.

 

[cdduarte]

Yeah, price is a big factor too. I’ve always felt safer with HDD because SSD has a limited lifespan. I know you can re-write cells for years but that “countdown” always bothered me. I never had an HDD fail me, tbh.

Anyway, I considered what you said and it was time to move on. So I ordered Samsung 970 Evo Plus 256gb NVMe (system) and a Samsung 860 Evo 2TB for projects/samples. Took me up around 200€ more but I guess it’s much more future proof this way. Just placed the order Hope it goes well. Thank you

 

[cdduarte]

Considering getting the 512gb NVMe version instead, for that extra 30% write speed. It never ends ‍

 

[agm1984]

I recommend against the Fractal Design Define C tower for the very specific reason that it has a non-mesh front, so air flow through it is not as good as its successor, the Fractal Design Meshify C.

Beyond that, The Fractal Design Meshify S2 tower is a larger version of the Meshify C. In my opinion, if you want a cost effective case that has great cooling properties and can fit the largest GPU plus a 360mm front-mounted radiator, you should get a Meshify S2.

For example, in a Meshify C, you cannot fit a 360mm front-mounted radiator with a video card that is greater than about 316mm, so you could fit a RX 580, but you couldn't fit a 2080Ti. Youc an make an informed decision once you understand sufficient amounts about a front-mounted radiator.

As with everything, there is several "it depends" bonuses attached in, because none of that matters if you run a top-mounted radiator for watercooling, or a front-mounted radiator that is 240mm or less. But it may depend on how exactly the video card is shaped, and maybe you will require an extra 3 millimeters or have 3 mm to spare.

Watch a few review videos about the Meshify C and S2 so you can understand enough about the mesh front. Older cases have inferior airflow characteristics. Lower average temps may buy you extra longevity on your hardware, so it's worth researching.

The rest seems pretty good to me. Both the motherboard and CPU can support up to 128 GB of RAM, so you could be pushing yourself in that direction of four 32GB chips, 4x32=128. That exact direction would add more cost though because you'd need to find a 32x2 kit. Sometimes it is problematic to run a single RAM chip because the hardware architecture itself is designed around pairing slot 2 and 4 with slot 1 and 3, or just slot 2 and 4. It would be cheaper to go with a 2x16 kit and see if 32GB RAM is enough, knowing you can massively upgrade it by up to 400%, later.

Last note about RAM, but your motherboard can support up to around 4266 MHz ram speed, so you might research and see if you can find some 3600 MHz RAM kit or maybe even 3800. In the future, the prices will hopefully come down, and you can load up to 4x32GB RAM at > 4000 MHz, but for now, you can see how close you can get to 4000 Mhz. Just make sure it's compatible, and I think at the end of the day, a few hundred MHz will be minimally noticeable, but maybe science can help us.

My final note overall is that while you are producing audio engineering-sauce, you may from time to time load some intense visualization plugins such as some 3D equalizers. I can imagine some of these could be taxing to the GPU, so it would be nice to future proof your ideas a little by assuming some plugins will beat up your RAM and GPU more than you expected.

As such, I recommend being aware of the newest ATI graphics cards: the RX 580 8GB, the Vega 56, and the Vega 64. If you can just squeeze out that extra $100 or so, you might be able to harness a little more power. For example, check on Facebook Marketplace to see if any local people are selling a used Vega 64. Or, on Newegg, an RX 580 8GB is currently around $220 CAD or whatever like $180-190 USD.


Anyway, sorry for the short post. Hopefully it is helpful.