# Questions about a new Pc.



## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

Hi all,

I'm moving for a new pc. after a macbook pro early 2011 that tell me <stop please>. 

Below my choices:

- CPU: i7 7700k. (not 7740x because their MB are much expensive. 130€ vs 290€. for the same cpu power.). I have make this choice for have 4 core at high speed. 


- RAM: 2x16=32 Gb 2400 ballistix sport LT. (at the moment. later 64GB and later again a secondary machine)

- MB: Asus Prime Z270-A or Z270-K. (I don't like the RGB leds)

- PSU: Seasonic Prime Titanium 650w. (for the quality and the "Hybrid mode")

- CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15

- SSD: 3x 250Gb Samsung 850 evo. (at the moment)

- Case: Fractal Define C or R5. any suggestions? is it really comfortable have a bigger Case? 

- Firewire PCIe adapter for soundcards. with texasinstruments chipset. 
Have anyone experience with this adapters and the latency issue?
(I'll test first this adapters and then I'll purchase an RME Aio soundcard)

- I have not insert a graphic card because I would like first use the integrated Intel HD 630 inside of CPU for 3 monitors setup. Secondary, for balancing the PSU wattage and not have the fan always active. 
Is there some difference between use an itegrated or dedicated graphic card for media composers? 
When you create music on videos, in Cubase, is really important use an dedicated graphic card? And how many RAM can be "stolen" from an integrated graphic card for this use. 

Will do suitable wait the i7 8700k? but surely the new motherboard will cost to much (for have almost the same chipset: Z270 vs Z370). 
And then, for save some money, is there really a big difference in performance between an six core i7 8700k (3,7 Ghz to 4,7) and an four core i7 7700k (4,2 GHz to 4,5)? Estabilished thet for have a big orchestra or big number of voices, you will must build more machines!

Thank you to all, and apologies for a lagre number of questions!

Cheers


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## khollister (Oct 1, 2017)

2 comments:

1) Make sure the Define C case will fit the D15 cooler. I know the R5/R4 do because I have 2 R4's with D15's in both.
2) Why 3 250GB SSD's? I would suggest a 250GB one for the OS/apps and then a single larger one to hold your sample libraries. Go as large as you can afford.

I am not familiar with that specific power supply. I used an EVGA SuperNova P2 modular, semi-passive PS on my last build and it is dead quiet (no coil whine).

The new i7-8700k looks promising from a clock speed and cost standpoint, but I would wait until some reports come in on whether it can be mildly overclocked without becoming a space heater like the Skylake-X parts.

I have no idea on the current state of FW cards. Do you have an existing FW interface you need to use?


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## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

khollister said:


> 2 comments:
> 
> 1) Make sure the Define C case will fit the D15 cooler. I know the R5/R4 do because I have 2 R4's with D15's in both.
> 2) Why 3 250GB SSD's? I would suggest a 250GB one for the OS/apps and then a single larger one to hold your sample libraries. Go as large as you can afford.
> ...



Thanks khollister.

1) Make sure the Define C case will fit the D15 cooler. I know the R5/R4 do because I have 2 R4's with D15's in both.

_I have already verified. only one problem are the height of RAMs. but can be done.
the specific of Case and Cooler:
- Fractal Define C: "CPU coolers up to 170mm in height";
- http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15/specification_

2) Why 3 250GB SSD's? I would suggest a 250GB one for the OS/apps and then a single larger one to hold your sample libraries. Go as large as you can afford.

_Because I would like spread in several SSDs the amount of samples to load quickly at the opening of Cubase projects, taking advantage from several Sata channels._

I have no idea on the current state of FW cards. Do you have an existing FW interface you need to use?

_I have an old EDIROL-FA 66. it work great. But probably I will move on an RME Aio._


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## khollister (Oct 1, 2017)

On the SSD thing - I was fixated on the "multiple SATA channel thing" originally as well, but came to the conclusion it is more trouble than it is worth. YMMV

FYI, while the RME PCIe cards do have the absolute lowest latency, their USB stuff isn't that much worse and provides a lot more convenient I/O functionality.


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## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

khollister said:


> FYI, while the RME PCIe cards do have the absolute lowest latency, their USB stuff isn't that much worse and provides a lot more convenient I/O functionality.



Can be more specific? I would use a RME Aio for the lowest latency and because it is cheapest of their stuff. And because I would like audio routing via ADAT to other machines. Not mainly for A/D conversions.


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## khollister (Oct 1, 2017)

salcar said:


> Can be more specific? I would use a RME Aio for the lowest latency and because it is cheapest of their stuff. And because I would like audio routing via ADAT to other machines. Not mainly for A/D conversions.



Not sure what country you are in, but in the US, the HDSPe AIO is $899. The Babyface Pro is $749. The Babyface Pro supports ADAT over toslink.

If the AIO is cheaper in your area, then go for it.


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## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

khollister said:


> Not sure what country you are in, but in the US, the HDSPe AIO is $899. The Babyface Pro is $749. The Babyface Pro supports ADAT over toslink.
> 
> If the AIO is cheaper in your area, then go for it.



In Italy (like in Germany) the HDSPe AIO is €545, and the Babyface Pro is €750.


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## chimuelo (Oct 1, 2017)

AIO and 7700k is what I built for my son.
I did use an M.2 for STEAM (Omnisphere) as it eliminates the yellow progress bar and is excellent for Dual Live Mode.
But that's just because I use that live for fast loads.
It's always been stable but because I use direct cooling.

You don't need an M.2.
Samsung 850 EVOs are 850 PROs with a shorter warranty period.
Hope that helps. I prefer SSD manufacturers with in house Controller chips and tuning software like their Magician app. It's smart caching that speeds up with more frequent usage patterns.

Here's some specialized cooling for M.2's if you choose to use them (below)
It's a small angled roller style cross blowing Fan.
Don't fall for the motherboard providing some "sleeve" with copper heatsink.
It's airflow directly hitting an M.2 that keeps it from throttling down while streaming.
Which is why STEAM Folders work great. They load rather than stream.
So they aren't a problem for that specific purpose.


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## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

chimuelo said:


> AIO and 7700k is what I built for my son.
> I did use an M.2 for STEAM (Omnisphere) as it eliminates the yellow progress bar and is excellent for Dual Live Mode.
> But that's just because I use that live for fast loads.
> It's always been stable but because I use direct cooling.
> ...



thank you so much chimuelo.

Yes, I have already read about M2 heatsink, and I agree for a direct cooling.
But I'm going to buy three EVO SSD.


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## chimuelo (Oct 1, 2017)

Some people like a hassle free life, welcome aboard...


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## salcar (Oct 1, 2017)

chimuelo said:


> Some people like a hassle free life, welcome aboard...


Are you agree with my choice in first post? above.
expecially regarding the graphic card.


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## Tyll (Oct 2, 2017)

You could change the CPU to a 7820X. Sure, it's more expensive and you need a more expensive mainboard too, but in the long run you are very save to keep this computer for quite a bit longer. The 7820X compared to the 7700k is 84% faster, costs 56% more, which is a quite big, but efficient upgrade. The mainboard also would cost about $200 instead of the $100 you would pay for a 2011 socket motherboard. However, you can fit twice the RAM into it, which makes it much more upgrade-able. Now the big question is whether or not you would upgrade (to a second computer) in the near future or not. Personally, I'd much rather have one good computer than two at half the speed for the ease of use. It's fair to say that $375 more, is quite a bit, but it could be worth it in the end. It could also be just wasted if one computer with a 7700k and 64GB RAM is enough for your needs, which very well can be (people work on laptops with a worse CPU and half that RAM).

Another thought worth sharing is that the PSU is very overpowered with 650W. You could save some money here.


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## chimuelo (Oct 3, 2017)

HD630 is a good GPU for our needs.
Just depends if you want Triple 4K Monitors at gaming rates.
No games, no need fir a discrete Graphics card.


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