DAW Build 2011

WaveLab
1

So I’m starting my DAW build for 2011 and need some help along the way, this will be my first build that I do by myself without a tech.

  1. To start what do you guys think about the i7-2600 or the i7-2600K? I want to go with one of those processors I think.

  2. I am looking at gigabyte motherboards are they still making good ones? which ones would you recommend that have the TI firewire chipset, and match well with the i7-2600 or i72600k running cubase 6 / motu firewire interfaces, (8pre for now RME or Lynx system later)

My largest overall concern is to make sure I get a very compatible chipset with firewire audio interfaces as well as one that will work well with an RME or Lynx Card PCI card in the future.

I have 2 UAD-1 regular PCI cards so I am hoping to have 2 PCI slots on the motherboard if possible.

I would prefer to just copy a build that someone already has a stable system with using the sandy bridge i7-2600 and a Motu firewire interface, cubase 6 win 7 pro 64bit.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, I would love to get this thing in at or under 1,000.00.

Thanks

2

Okay 40 views no replies tells me I am over complicating the question.

Let’s just start with motherboard chipsets. What current motherboards have the lowest DPC latency chipsets and can handle the new i5’s 17’s. P67 Z??? you know what I mean northbridge southbridge…

Can’t go wrong if you start with the right MOBO.

This way I can just get the MOBO I need in terms of specs within a high performing chipset for audio production.

So let’s begin, any help is greatly appreciated…


Thanks,

Adam

3

2600k is a waste of YOUR money… “K” simply means you can tweak and overclock it - IF you were a hardware hacker and it was NOT a DAW that has enough issues as it is… (any DAW)…

I will go read the rest of your post now

4

For motherboards you need “P67” series and be sure it indicates “B-3 STEPPING”

All the first batch of “Sandybridge” motherboards were recalled because they POTENTIALLY could have SATA problems and data corruption. The “B3” update fixed that.

i7-2600 is a good CPU.

2600k is good for those who will overclock. You can easily make a 2600k run at close to 5GHz and MANY P67 series motherboards support “overclocking” by simply pressing 1 button and ramping up your speed.

“K” = haxxorism

If your machine is overclocked to 5GHz then you must live in snow country :laughing: or… just have a very cool system.

5

Got it, I don’t care at all about overclocking, I want stability using cubase 6 with a low DPC latency.

What about the newer z68 boards? Should I even be looking at those?

My build will be something like this

i7 2600

dedicated pci-e firewire card with TI chipset recommended by motu

P67 or Z68 motherboard chipset

3 WD caviar drives

Noctua cooling

some kind of modular power supply


I need advice on 3 more things

  1. Graphics Card:

2)Power Supply:

3)Specific Noctua products to keep things cool and quiet:

I am telling you I did a build for my uncle with all your help on this forum and now my own build, and without you guys I would be lost. It is so helpful and I appreciate it greatly.

Thanks Again…

This is going to be fun…

6

Got it, I don’t care at all about overclocking, I want stability using cubase 6 with a low DPC latency.

What about the newer z68 boards? Should I even be looking at those?

My build will be something like this

i7 2600

dedicated pci-e firewire card with TI chipset recommended by motu

P67 or Z68 motherboard chipset

3 WD caviar drives

Noctua cooling

some kind of modular power supply


I need advice on 3 more things

  1. Graphics Card:

2)Power Supply:

3)Specific Noctua products to keep things cool and quiet:

I am telling you I did a build for my uncle with all your help on this forum and now my own build, and without you guys I would be lost. It is so helpful and I appreciate it greatly.

Thanks Again…

This is going to be fun…

7

Got it, I don’t care at all about overclocking, I want stability using cubase 6 with a low DPC latency.

What about the newer z68 boards? Should I even be looking at those?

My build will be something like this

i7 2600

dedicated pci-e firewire card with TI chipset recommended by motu

P67 or Z68 motherboard chipset

3 WD caviar drives

Noctua cooling

some kind of modular power supply


I need advice on 3 more things

  1. Graphics Card:

2)Power Supply:

3)Specific Noctua products to keep things cool and quiet:

I am telling you I did a build for my uncle with all your help on this forum and now my own build, and without you guys I would be lost. It is so helpful and I appreciate it greatly.

Thanks Again…

This is going to be fun…

8

clearly clueless…

  1. ALL SANDY BRIDGE over clock right out of the box from the factory and intel designed them to do so.
    what do you think turbo mode is?
    so a 3.4 2600 will jump to 3.8 (all cores) unlike previous gen. umm thats overclocking dude.

2)K as you say is for overclocking. if intel didnt want you OCing them why would they sell this processor

  1. IF and thats IF you know what you are doing an OCed system is 100% stable
    will not wear out the processor and will not cause issues for audio or video.
    i have been selling OCed system since 1998 and yes to a professional market.
    i have to warranty these systems if there was an issue i would be out a lot of money for warranty issues.

of course for those who dont know yeah OCing can be a real issue.

9

im on my ipad… this reply diserves a real computer… gimme 30 minutes mr. professional overclocker… hahahah muhahahah oooh u din done’d it now!



10

:laughing: I am at my PC… but… I will give Mr. Professional a break. It is far too easy to melt butter with a hot utensil.


Anyhow… to answer the ORIGINAL POSTERS question:

What about the newer z68 boards? Should I even be looking at those?

Shlomee, I am trying to decide between z68 and H67 myself for my new Cubase DAW. Those chipsets have built in graphics cards and will reduce the amount of things I have to add to the system.

P67 requires a seperate video card - which is usually for those needing beefy graphics and expensive cards. If you do not want to purchase a seperate video card and will not be using heavy duty GFX applications these are good choices.

NOTE: z68 GFX can be ‘upgraded’ later so its a perhaps longer lasting choice on the scalability end. (Both can handle themselves quite well for many GFX tasks thou and some say z68 is their choice over a P67 because z68 can sometimes make your descreet GFX card more powerful)


Speed of onboard Sandy Bridge GFX (H67) card is comparable to the average ‘general use’ GFX card. That will be fine for my DAW needs. H67 Speed is about equal to Radeon 4550 card which costs $60 seperately! source1 source2

NOW FOR THE REPLY TO ‘THE OTHER’

Intel has for many years used a “special” designation for what they market as “UNLOCKED” processors.

Currently we have on the market “K - Processors featuring unlocked turbo multipliers”. source

It is true that you can break your neck overclocking NON-UNLOCKED processors that have been basically ‘capped’ without this “K” designation. Simply paying about $30 USD more you can rest assured that Intel has made it easier for enthusiasts by removing certain hinderances to experimentation so that you can now actually get 5GHz instead of a turbo speed which is still in the 3.xGHz range.

Some people, like myself, may feel that an overclock from 3.4 GHz to 3.8 GHz is … pooptastic - and not even worth pressing the power button to test it out :laughing:

For many that is like buying gas for your car. My current gas station may sell for $3.50 a gallon yet a few miles away you can get it for only $3.49 - not enough to fuel our desires… ( I said FUEL get it… hahah FUEL!)


“K” Series Sandy Bridge processors quite often hit the 5GHz mark. And for an enthusiast paying an extra $30 for the ability to run at 5GHz is well worth it.

Being that I live on a hot tropical island (where we often see 80degrees and 80% humidity before the morning is over) - I am required to use liquid cooling to maintain such speeds, but those of us lucky enough to live in cooler regions or snow country can enjoy their overclocking with much less hair pulling.



To the original poster I stated:

2600k is a waste of YOUR money… “K” simply means you can tweak and overclock it - IF you were a hardware hacker and it was NOT a DAW

I firmly support my own words.


SO, some may ask if Intel sells these “UNLOCKED” Processors just to make extra money? I am quite sure someone from Intel has the answer. Luckily for me Intel has a very large presence in my hometown near Phoenix, Arizona and as a great deal of my past associates were Intel employees I can only guess.

My guess is that Intel PURPOSELY LOCKS their Processors to protect end users from themselves.
“Hey honey, BIOS allows me to set my processor at 10 million gagu-jigga-hoopty-hertz… should I try it??” :blush:

For those who enjoy a little hardware experimentation we have an “UNLOCKED” CPU available. It is clearly marked so your average joe does not get in over his head. For that average Joe - simply stick to a non-“K” Processor that has been factory locked to accomodate a safe operations.

Grrr… I got a nice energy drink here… so hard to resist opening it… so hot here in the tropics… it is so smooth, so tasty… so frothy… yet… I … MUST … RESIST !

Sure we can talk about special motherboard hacks, tweaks and bioses (or is that BIOii??) that were created to actually unlock these off-limits features of processors (most notably the AMD dual cores that could be unlocked to quad core in recent years, but this is not the proper thread or audience to do so.

Besides… Mr. Professional overclocker… even if someone inadvertently posted incorrect info (which I did not… THIS time - haha) while trying to help a fellow CU-basehead. Maybe your starting out by saying

clearly clueless…

was a little too much… especially when your own technology is broken…


ie. Your ‘contact us’ section of YOUR own revenue-generating website where you build those amazing overclocked machines is currently broken as of june 9, 2011 7am +8GMT

http://www.adkgaming.com/systems/contactus.cfm

Looks… unprofessional to see that on a professional website

The following information is meant for the website developer for debugging purposes.  

Error Occurred While Processing Request  
File not found: /systems/contactus.cfm  
 
  
Resources: 
Check the ColdFusion documentation to verify that you are using the correct syntax. 
Search the Knowledge Base to find a solution to your problem. 

 
Browser   Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/5.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0; InfoPath.2; .NET4.0C; .NET4.0E; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 
Remote Address   114.108.x.x 
Referrer    
Date/Time   08-Jun-11 06:05 PM 
 
Stack Trace (click to expand)

PS: My ‘gaming’ machine using i5- “K” series processor in a CM690 case is overclocked to 5GHz using a radiator and liquid cooling. I would never dream of doing that to my DAW though :wink:

Very hard not to open this can o soda… it tastes sooo good… yet it remains closed… :laughing:
pw3nd

11

was there a reply in all that mumbo jumbo? did you make a point at all i sure didnt see it.
and are you like 15?

there is no button? to push!
the sandy will overclock weither you like it or not (unless you turn off turbo) and that my point
other than you can have stable OCs in a daw or NLE without issue.

as far as ADK gaming site who gives a crap… its the red headed step child, thinking of deleting it. we have not had our focus on gaming since 2001

try adk audio or video… ya know professional workstations not gamer crap. 5GHz who hoo i can do that on AIR… just wont sell it that high…

12

I have a Intel 970 overclocked to 3.9mhz running perfectly stable for months. If you can get a huge performance increase, safely, by overclocking, why on earth WOULDN’T you overclock?

13

So the choice between a P67, H67 or Z68 chipset is more about functionality and less about compatibility, with software and hardware, right? So basically I couldn’t go wrong with any of those chipsets as a starting point.

let me know if that is logical. I would like to get a board with the lowest DPC latency and highest performance for DAW use. I’m not so concerned with onboard graphics unless I am given a good reason otherwise.

Not overly concerned with overclocking but I am not against it either sort of neutral about it. If I can get my music done then I don’t care if it’s overclocked or not, but if I run into performance issues it may be worth having the option to overclock to get that extra bit I need out of the processors.

Any specific things to avoid like certain SATA controllers, USB chipsets. I am aware of the TI firewire chipset issues.

Motherboard is the toughest choice I think,If you get this part right your set. Yes I know there will be some bios tweaks and win 7 tweaks but with the right motherboard at least you stand a great chance of getting a stable powerful system going.

Thanks for all the advice. I’s be lost without the help.

14

onboard video is ok but really a dedicated card is ideal. ther are a good number of programs that need good open GL. Waves is one. onboard does not handle that well. plus having a 1 GB video ram is a good thing to have if you zoom/scrub.

but yes either of those boards will be fine.

yes the mobo plays a part in DPC but so does everything else.
you could have all the right components and a crap driver installed and will give you huge red spikes.

most boards can be calmed down DPC wise. its just knowing how and what to do

15

The more people talk about “Z” series the better it looks. Graphics wise it looks to have some MAJOR futurism built in. You can actually run Dual descreet video cards in that Z series and at the same time use the onboard video features to bump those 2 cards up beyond anything that was possible in the past.

I just got yet another P67 chipset motherboard today and I am considering taking it back to get the Z68 instead. Google that board + the word “SLI” and some AMAZING things will pop up.

I am very happy to show you the elusive button “…and that my point” (can remains closed until this day) :laughing:

Ahoy ! What is this? Looks like a bunch o BUTTONS to me ! Maybe I can push one and toggle my system into 5GHz mode !

As mentioned above - its midnite here in the tropics and in the 80’s year round (during the EVENINGS). Some people with cooler environments can have a field day with overclocking.

This thread is NOT about overclocking jcsCHILD :mrgreen:

I have a number of Sandy Bridge systems for personal use here. And thanks, for answering questions for the original poster and trying your best to stay on topic instead of attacking contributors. That goes a long way!

Class act guy. :smiley:

I will still keep my can closed… butter … MmmMmMm Butter… melts very easily.
Thanks again for contributing to the OP question and not waiving e-peencils all up and down the screen…


Time to put on my Jamie Kennedy hat and write the most awesome Malibu’s Most wanted style gangster rap all over your hiney !

NOTE: You asked if I was 15… to that I reply… ummm… dude… give 15 year olds some credit will ya :ugeek:

NOTE2: I think my first overclocking was getting a 286-6 (or something) to run at 286-8 or 10 (unless you want to count pushing the turbo BUTTON on my 8088-4 to make it run as an 8088-8). It did not run for long and Processor cooling did NOT exist back then for home use. It was not until well after 486’s were mainstream before vendors started shipping heatsink/fan combos with their systems.

I do enjoy my share of tweaking BIOS to get every ounce of power out of a system, but with current CPU speeds many of us may be fortunate enough to not notice any need to overclock.

Now - if you have 32bit plugins not functioning properly under 64bit - or ANY other issue - it is best to remove that whole overclocking issue from the table. Keep things simple and once EVERY wrinkle is ironed out - then you can experiment with your DAW.

16

Great!! So I’m seeing my friend/tech today and I’ll have him help me pick out a board. I’ll post the whole process, of what I chose, and why, as well as everything in regards to this build as close to real time as I can. All great advice.

Thanks

17

saviditiotus…

the fact you have that crap installed on your daw tells me all i need to know about you…
stay on the porch puppy!

This thread is NOT about overclocking jcsCHILD

I have a number of Sandy Bridge systems for personal use here. And thanks, for answering questions for the original poster and trying your best to stay on topic instead of attacking contributors. That goes a long way!

Class act guy.

let not forget who brought it up and acted like the class act
to quote you again

2600k is a waste of YOUR money… “K” simply means you can tweak and overclock it - IF you were a hardware hacker and it was NOT a DAW that has enough issues as it is… (any DAW)…

had you kept your mouth shut and not been insulting to those who do OC i wouldnt have even posted in this thread.
it was your casutic post that required a rebuttal.
butter that…

18

Ummm, Thank you for informing us that Sandy Bridge motherboard manufacturers are shipping their hardware with “crap” that allows users to overclock by simply pressing one button. I will have to inform Intel that you have single-handedly identified their software as ‘crap’. I hope you can offer them your hand made superior alternatives.

By the way Mr. Avid reader… Savadious himself mentioned never adulterating his DAW here:

Nevertheless - I proved my point. That the new “K” series processors do in fact have a BUTTON to push in order to easily overclock them. :blush:

Maybe it just required having more 1st hand experience with the technology being discussed rather than blowing hot air out of your piehole just to chastise someone for cautioning against overclocking a DAW in response to someone who in the very openining of this thread asked for help adding “…this will be my first build that I do by myself …” - Overclocking is not for the average 1st timer and can render your system non-bootable (or worse) if done wrong. Again I said 1st timer who may not know what a CMOS jumper is.




I see now… however “those who do OC” would include myself as from reading my information in this thread we find that I, personally, have been overclocking since the 1980’s (see ‘NOTE2’ earlier in this thread). It seems that even as I was the first person to reply to the original poster and did so after looking at the idle thread for over 24hrs because the OP replied to his own post asking why no one had replied… OOPS… it seems I forgot to read my list of FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS ! L33t - Im such a noob…

My first post stated:

…“K” simply means you can tweak and overclock it - IF you were a hardware hacker and it was NOT a DAW that has enough issues as it is… (any DAW)…

Yea buddy. I do see now… I crossed MANY lines there and insulted MANY people with that line… yea buddy… I diserve it all… punish me… punish me, big internet police man, you :laughing:

EVERYONE BEWARE. Be sure to never discuss anything on HIS invisible yet forbidden subject list… Maybe it is best we all telephone him in ADVANCE of posting to get HIS personal approval.

I have the exact technology being asked about in this thread. I am using it at this exact moment. I have also overclocked them and I have experience using 2nd Generation “sandy bridge” technology in a DAW. I am not debasing you if you do NOT have the latest processor in your system - however after looking at that poor guy for over 24 hrs when I had the information at my fingertips…

It is just rather unfortunate that you were so negatively affected by my cautioning against overclocking to a person building his FIRST system - something that you apparently did not agree with.

Can remains closed until this very day ! Clearly not needed when ants walk with giants :mrgreen:

TEH INTERNET POLICE WILL GETZ YOU !

I must be forgiven for mentioning something in a thread BEFORE you posted in it… that apparently offended YOU… How could I have been so… noobish :laughing:




19

I have built a PC using Gigabyte Z68x-UD4-B3 and 2600k clocked to 4.3 GHz. This being my first time in PC land (coming from Mac), I was a bit nervous about it, but it is working great so far.

I have a Noctua NH-C14. It is freaking huge. If you use 2 fans, RAMs with heat fins would not fit in the slot closest to CPU. With ULNAs, my CPU would stay around 67 degrees Celsius, even after hours of Prime 95 blend. My case is SilverStone FT02. Fans at normal speed is very noticeable.

I thought onboard graphics would use system RAM and add some heat to CPU, so I didn’t bother with those motherboard that comes with DVI, HDMI. Radeon HD5450 (DDR3 1GB) is passively cooled, cheap, and works fine.

I have a Seasonic X-660 for PSU. Up to a certain point, this thing operates fanless. Really quiet.

FW on my MB is VIA. I use RME HDSP9632, so no comment on FW audio interface performance.

If you use Gigabyte board, don’t install EasyTune6. ET6 would increase the DPC latency to around 1500-1800 micro seconds. I’ve turned off a bunch of stuff that I didn’t need, but that one was the only one causing real problems. I get about 15-30 micro seconds now.

I went with Z68 instead of P67 UD-4 because I got more features for about the same money (FW, 4 more VRM phases, etc.). BIOS on Z68x-UD4 is still old school. I don’t have an SSD, so no comment on SSD caching.

I hope some of this would help. Good luck with your build.

20

Nice ! I have been drooling over those Z68 's in trying to reduce the physical footprint of my daw. ! Thanks for sharing.

I found that huge processor cooler you mentioned… boy… it IS massive, but heat is the arch rival of CPU speed so we have to make a few sacrifices along the way.







Drinks on me !