What components to Upgrade & Most Stable for Studio comp

[whiteboychronix]

Hey guys, Been MIA from this site for awhile been really happy with the comp you people helped me build for my music studio!!

But right now I'm getting held back in some instances of my hardware and would like to upgrade to newest version of YOSEMITE or El capitan

The info for my build is on the left (I think lol) My Ram and harddrive space is fine (Now running 2 SSDS) What I'm having problems with in my music studio when I'm running alot of VST's (Virtual Instruments) or Plug-Ins My cpu seems to cut out (It's only an I3) I'm pretty sure I could get away with an I5 with what I run but if there is any advantages of an I7 let me know.

And Let me know If I'm going to upgrade my CPU should I do a Mobo upgrade aswell??? Still needs to be MINI-ITX (ATX?) Because of the small case I bought to make it small and quiet. (Just checked and have a BitFenix Mini-Itx tower case)


NOW onto the second part

I want to also get the newest version of Yosemite or El Capitan (Whichever is going to be more stable for music production) I do not run an internal soundcard all my sound runs through My Apogee Duet

ALSO what would be the best way to do a fresh install while keeping all my files? My boot drive is getting clogged up and I want to use that drive Just for the initial install and system files and use my secondary HD I just purchased for Music Files.

I'm Also having troubles with my wireless adapter. I will post what type it is soon. But I just got 50MBPS internet with 5G and all my other comps are running at 50MB and this one only seems to get 8-10 and wont connect to 5G. Not sure if it is hardware issue or software issue?

EDIT: Running 8GB DDR3 Ram

P.S: Also Don't really care what I have to spend I want an extremely stable functional Music Studio computer I will not have to upgrade anytime soon. I run Logic X and Maschine and do all my mixing through my comp so if I have to upgrade to a bigger MOBO I do not mind buying another case if suggested.

 

[Going Bald]

The P8Z77I is a great board for a small system. I have one myself.

Suggest a Core i7 3770 if your apps use hyperthreading - if not, a Core i5 3570/3570K would work well. The i5 is about $350 and the i7 is about $450 on amazon.com for new.
and a PCIe card - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D14PEAW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Do not know what you are using for a CPU cooler but you might want to consider upgrading that too.

Backup your files to another drive or other storage media - if you have a portable USB drive like a WD passbook, same size as your working drive make a clone of your working drive so you can revert if needed. Personally, I would get another, larger SSD. With the way prices have come down a new, larger SSD for your working drive makes sense. Once you have your system lined out and working well you can wipe your old working drive and use it for scratch files.

 

[trs96]

The 3770 would be a good upgrade for your main music studio system. Another option you have is to buy an HP 8300 that has one and just swap the CPUs. Put the I3-3225 into the 8300 and the 3770 into your Asus system.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FJDPZXY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

This way you've got two computers that can run either El Capitan or Windows 7/8.1/10. You could also resell the 8300 for at least two hundred dollars to recover some of the investment in the 3770.

 

[whiteboychronix]

Ok so I can stick with my MOBO? ..... I am having alot of troubles with some of the USB ports cutting out on occasion (I'm using 95% of the usb ports) and My wifi cuts in and out. Now Could I pin this up to a problem with my Hackintosh or a problem with the software I'm running not being stable?

I have a decent CPU cooler I think I have the coolermaster.

 

[whiteboychronix]

The P8Z77I is a great board for a small system. I have one myself.

Suggest a Core i7 3770 if your apps use hyperthreading - if not, a Core i5 3570/3570K would work well. The i5 is about $350 and the i7 is about $450 on amazon.com for new.
and a PCIe card - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D14PEAW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Do not know what you are using for a CPU cooler but you might want to consider upgrading that too.

Backup your files to another drive or other storage media - if you have a portable USB drive like a WD passbook, same size as your working drive make a clone of your working drive so you can revert if needed. Personally, I would get another, larger SSD. With the way prices have come down a new, larger SSD for your working drive makes sense. Once you have your system lined out and working well you can wipe your old working drive and use it for scratch files.

So you have the same MOBO, What would be the best settings when I upgrade to El capitan?

 

[Going Bald]

So you have the same MOBO, What would be the best settings when I upgrade to El capitan?

When I tested the build with El Capitan I did not change the BIOS/UEFI at all and I used the same MultiBeast settings as for Mavericks and Yosemite

 

[whiteboychronix]

When I tested the build with El Capitan I did not change the BIOS/UEFI at all and I used the same MultiBeast settings as for Mavericks and Yosemite

Ok thank you, Some of my USB ports seem to be on the fritz. Should I just get a whole new MOBO and CPU all together? Would it be worth to go to Matx or stick with mini-ITX

 

[whiteboychronix]

??

 

[Going Bald]

??

Your decision, laddie.
Will the mITX satisfy your needs? Does the mATX have something you need/want that the mITX does not? Only you can make that call.