Silent, budget build for SL/Logic 9

[tom_android]

[quote="tom_android":2cggs4hz]OK so here's a question that really does show off my noobishness; do I have to buy the 512mb of ddr3 ram separately and fit it myself, then?

No. Graphics cards come with the ram installed. The description is just telling you what they have.[/quote:2cggs4hz]

Thanks. I feel like I'm getting somewhere for a SL build now.

Is the Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 still a worthwhile mobo choice seeing as I won't be using hd3000 graphics?

 

[tom_android]

So here's my current SL setup thinking..:

Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
Intel Core i3-2105
CORSAIR 8GB DDR3
Nvidia GT210

Which comes in at £247.91 using Amazon.co.uk, roughly half my budget. So I have about another £250 to spend on HD, Case and cooling. Am I on the right track?

 

[Mate94]

So here's my current SL setup thinking..:

Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
Intel Core i3-2105
CORSAIR 8GB DDR3
Nvidia GT210

Which comes in at £247.91 using Amazon.co.uk, roughly half my budget. So I have about another £250 to spend on HD, Case and cooling. Am I on the right track?

Sorry for the misleading answer. I had to mean the memory on the card.

The 2105 is for just in case? If the GT210 go out, you can easily switch on HD3000.

 

[Gordo74]

So here's my current SL setup thinking..:

Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3
Intel Core i3-2105
CORSAIR 8GB DDR3
Nvidia GT210

Which comes in at £247.91 using Amazon.co.uk, roughly half my budget. So I have about another £250 to spend on HD, Case and cooling. Am I on the right track?

While this is a good start, I would switch the processor to a i7-2600k and the RAM to 16GB (2x8GB sticks).

My uncle is an audio producer and uses a hackintosh. The i7 and extra RAM allow him to load up on plugins and threads (streams, whatever they're called) and it doesnt bat an eye. A 2105 WILL bog down working with Logic.

I made up a quick cart of what would work in Snow Leopard the best. If you want Lion, you could drop the graphics card. I know my uncle uses Lion just fine with no issues.

This is the ABSOLUTE minimum I would build for audio production, as anything less, you'll start to have issues with maxing out the CPU or RAM.

 

[tom_android]

Thanks Gordo, that's absolutely amazing.

I don't need a high spec machine for the kind of audio work that I do, trust me on that. My core2duo actually manages ok. The i7 is more than twice the price of the i3. I may go up to an i5 if my budget allows.

 

[tom_android]

Gordo, thanks again for the system you suggested for me. I love the case, I hadn't come across that one before - I think it's now my first choice of case.

I guess the SYBA card is for use with the SSD? That model doesn't appear to be available in the UK. Any alternatives? edit* Oh, it's a Firewire card? I can miss that out, no need for Firewire.

How much noise are the power supply and heatsink fan likely to introduce - are there any more silent options if I was to spend a little more? As I said before, I'll take silence over speed/performance.

Looks like my budget may be able to stretch to an i5-2500K. Would I see much of a performance increase over the i3 I had originally chosen? Worth the extra? edit2* I may even be able to afford the i7-2600K. Turns out I can get a much more powerful computer than I had expected, this is amazing.

Thanks again, I think I'm nearly there!

Tom

 

[Gordo74]

I guess the SYBA card is for use with the SSD? That model doesn't appear to be available in the UK. Any alternatives? edit* Oh, it's a Firewire card? I can miss that out, no need for Firewire.

The Firewire would be for Logic and the interfaces that plug into firewire. I thought all Logic people used that. Silly me. The SSD should stay though. It makes your computer boot stupid fast.

How much noise are the power supply and heatsink fan likely to introduce - are there any more silent options if I was to spend a little more? As I said before, I'll take silence over speed/performance.

Without doubling the price of each, that is as silent as you can go. The power supply won't be audible in that case, and neither will the larger heatsink/fan I specced out. If you went with the stock heatsink though, you'd be able to hear it.

Looks like my budget may be able to stretch to an i5-2500K. Would I see much of a performance increase over the i3 I had originally chosen? Worth the extra? edit2* I may even be able to afford the i7-2600K. Turns out I can get a much more powerful computer than I had expected, this is amazing.

Logic will take as many cores/RAM as you'll throw at it. Each will be better than the last. The both jumps from the i3-->i5 and i5-->i7 are quite large in terms of performance in this type of work. I highly recommend the i7 for audio work.

 

[tom_android]

OK, so here's where I'm at right now:

Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3
i5-2500K or i7-2600K (budget depending)
8GB or 16GB Corsair DDR3 RAM (budget depending)
Nvidia GT210
Fractal Design Define Mini Case
Corsair CX430v2 PSU
OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD
Scythe Mugen 3
Sony Optiarc

£555 i5/8GB or £655 i7/16GB

Changes from Gordo's suggestions were because of availability from amazon.co.uk and the Scythe Mugen 3 just because I like the looks of it more than the Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus and it's only a couple of quid extra.

The Nvidia GT210 is to allow me to run Snow Leopard. If I choose to go Lion I can just ditch that and go with the HD3000 graphics, right?

My monitor is VGA for the time being, is that going to cause me any headaches?

Anyone want to point out glaring mistakes/omissions? Throw me a complete curveball?

Am I likely to need to purchase any extra cables/connectors for the build or will the hardware likely come with all I need?

If I want to install Windows 7 as well for dual-booting, it's best to install Windows first, on a separate drive, right?

 

[Mate94]

The Nvidia GT210 is to allow me to run Snow Leopard. If I choose to go Lion I can just ditch that and go with the HD3000 graphics, right?

Right.

My monitor is VGA for the time being, is that going to cause me any headaches?

There will be a DVI-VGA adapter in the graphics card box, so no problem.

 

[tom_android]

The Nvidia GT210 is to allow me to run Snow Leopard. If I choose to go Lion I can just ditch that and go with the HD3000 graphics, right?

Right.

[quote:1ek61i3c]My monitor is VGA for the time being, is that going to cause me any headaches?

There will be a DVI-VGA adapter in the graphics card box, so no problem. [/quote:1ek61i3c]

Great, thanks. So everything else is looking good?

Am I likely to be able to get sleep working ok on Snow Leopard?