Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: vikki on July 31, 2010, 04:08:22 pm
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I am thinking of building a new computer using the above motherboard and a Phenom 11 x 4 955 cpu.
Here is the spec I've come up with:
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3)
G.Skill RipJaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C8 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit
Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AMD 785G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard
Would this G Skill memory be OK in this motherboard, are there any voltage problems or can anyone envisage any other problems with this set up for doing multiirack audio recording and midi recording using Presonus Studio One Pro XP or windows 7 base?
If you can think of a better or alternative AMD spec please let me know!
Many thanks
Vikki
UK
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Hi Vikki and welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for advice on computer audio but our music god absic isn't online at the moment. He is the best one to answer all your sound related questions and I am sure will be back in the forum later.
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Hi Vikki and welcome to the forum.
The base components for your new PC are OK but.....
What budget do you have for this build?
What Audio Sound Card are you thinking of using?
Are you sticking with the On-board Graphics or are you considering a dedicated Graphics Card?
When you are using your DAW will you be using Virtual Instruments and effects and will you want to do multi-track audio recording?
I actually run Cubase 5.5 with a Delta 1010 as my audio card and am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit with 8 Gig of RAM. The only reason I am using the Ultimate version is because I need the Japanese Language Interface but, to be totally honest, it is way over priced for the "extras" that you get with it.
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I have been using a P4 until recently. I have just moved from Sonar Producer 5 to Presonus Studio One Pro. I have thought of going the AMD route as I thought I might get better value for money. I already have a case with a reasonable 500w power supply and two hard drives. I will be using my old M-Audio 2496 for the time being which I think is PCI, might upgrade this later. I currently run XP Home and XP Pro and thought it would be advantageous to go to Windows 7 x64. I will be using midi with some virtual instruments. I will be doing multi-track audio recording using midi and EZ drummer. There is quite a good midi player / sound module that I use with midi in Presonus Studio One (Presence) and I do have a good quality Ketron SD1 Keyboard. I record a lot of ballads country vocals and guitar and I must admit I love a good quality reverb like Perfect Space which came with Sonar with the Bricasi impulses - this is what brings my P4 computer to a halt.
I was going to use the onboard graphics for now......
I guess my budget is around US$1000, less if possible - trying to do it on the cheap, I s'pose. If my spec is poor I am prepared to push the boat out to get the components for a better computer. I am hoping the AMD machine would smoke the old P4 I am using? I know everyone seems to be going i7 at the moment but I always seem to be walking in the opposite direction for some reason. ;D
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Vikki
UK :)
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OK
AMD is the way to go are you buying in the UK and if yes how much is $1000 these days?
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About £640 absic. I use this for exchange rates: http://www.xe.com/ucc/
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Thanks for that DM. I will see what ideas I can come up with for that kind of budget...... This is the part I like most........ Spending someone else's money! ::)
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Yes, I am buying in the UK - Sorry about the US$ thing but I am so used to posting on US Guitar, etc., forums...
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OK here's a small list of components built around the Motherboard and CPU that you mentioned in your original post and also taking into account the hardware that you say you already have.
Motherboard: Gigabyte-GA-MA785GMT-UD2H ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-MA785GMT-UD2H-AMD-785G-AM3-DDR3-1066-1333-1800-SATA-3Gb-s-RAID-Micro-ATX-VGA ) £64.37
CPU: Phenom ii X4 955BE ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-955-BlackEdition-Sok-AM3-32GHz-8MB-Total-Cache-125W-Retail ) £125.64
RAM: Corsair XMS3 Classic 8 Gig Kit ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/8GB-%284x2GB%29-CorsairXMS3-DDR3-PC3-10666-%281333%29-240-Pin-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24) £182.24
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD5450 ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Sapphire-HD-5450-PCI-E-21%28x16%29-1600MHz-GDDR3-GPU-650MHz-80-Cores-D-Sub-DL-DVI-I-HDMI ) £40.94
PSU: Corsair Professional 650W Modular ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-Corsair-Professional-CMPSU-650HXUK-Modular-PSU-with-80PLUS-Bronze-Certification ) £97.11
Operating System: Microsft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail ( http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Retail-%28Green%29-32-and-64-Bit) £111.71
Total spend (excluding delivery) approx. £623. Sorry but, all links are for SCAN UK, which is where I buy the majority of my components and the only reason for this is, that I am too lazy to shop around and you might be able to get the same parts cheaper by doing just that!
Some of the choices in this list might raise one or two eyebrows but I have chosen the parts that I believe will work best for a home based recording studio and also as a general purpose home PC.
One of the main things you can never have enough of when recording and using a DAW is RAM, believe me I know and 8 Gig will give you plenty of room for manoeuvre and will also allow for some future growth.
The Graphics card is not chosen to play games but as a solid and silent component. Using a dedicated GPU means that you will not need to take RAM for the on-board graphics (the more you can keep for audio work the better) and this Card is also silent and the quieter you can make the PC the better it is for recording purposes.
I know you say that you have a good PSU but believe me, the money you invest in this one component now will prove invaluable and will make the choice of future upgrades that much easier.
For the Operating System I have gone for Windows 7 Home Premium. I use this OS on my laptop and it will do the job that you want. I also checked out there is driver support from M-Audio for the Delta Audiophile 2496 Sound Card you are using, here's the link: ( http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support&tab=driver&serie_ID=1&PID=adf95efc30b88aba043fa8b83343bfb8&OS=x91#tabs )
I haven't added any extra hard-drives but the addition of HDD's is an area you should be looking into as Multitrack Audio recording takes up a lot of disk space.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask any further questions
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I would just like to add that I have read through absic's recommendations and support them 100%. What he has said makes perfect sense and a good, balanced system for the OPs reqirements. The only thing that I noticed was that nobody seems to have thought of adding a decent CD/DVD recorder to the setup. I would have thought that this would have nbeen a necessity but to be honest this isn't my field.
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To be totally honest DM I assumed that cd/dvd Drive was already in the equation especially as Vikki is using components from another PC.
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And I am sure that you are right absic. I was just playing "devil's advocate" in case.
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Great thanks so much.........
I'm thinking of buying most of the parts from Overclockers uk as they are about 10 miles away and i can go down and collect......http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
This is what i was thinking of doing.....the case i have should fit the micro ATX m/board i think, i'm hoping there's some more mounting holes as the board in there is ATX. I was hoping to use this psu i have in the case its a 550w Q.Tec(shudder not the best i know) i think i will need a 20 pin to 24 pin atx converter plug, can you get a converter olug to convert the 4 pin cpu power? to 8 pin or will the 4 pin fit in the 8 pin socket?
Get the unit powered up in this case and working and in a few weeks buy a better case(perhaps a rack type) and psu and swap the whole lot over, a lot of work i know but i think i can manage it, i built the p4 machine up a few years ago and got it all working. Once i know the machine will work o.k. i'll go to town on it, its just getting over that first press of the power button ::)
Can one of you guys have a look on the Overclockers site and see which memory part numbers i need, there's that many memory kots on there, just don't want to buy the wrong one.....i might go with 4g of memory to start and add some more later.
Thanks again
Vikki ;D
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Hi
if your current chassis (Case) has an ATX board in it then fitting a smaller board should not prove too difficult. You will probably have to relocate a few of the motherboard stand-offs but there should be the correct holes for them.
I would strongly advise against using your current PSU. I know that it seems an easy and cheaper option but believe me, you will be saving yourself a lot of grief and it will prove to be a good long term investment. A lot of the problems raised on this and other PC forum's are directly due to a bad choice of PSU. Another thing to consider will be if you do decide to go for a rack-mounted case. The flexibility, with regard to cabling, of the Corsair PSU will be a distinct advantage in the confines of such a case. Because of its modular design you only need to plug in the power leads you are using. There isn't much space inside a rack mount chassis even a 4U one. ( I know, I've been there, done that and worn the T-Shirt.)
If i were looking at getting a 4 gig kit I would probably go for this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-257-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516 But you do have the advantage of being able to go to Overclockers, as they are so close to you and asking for their advice on the best Memory. Then, if it doesn't work, you can take it back without a problem.
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To reiterate on what has allready been said it is definitely worth spending out on a decent PSU like the Corsair. You don't want to spend all that time and mone and then have the PSU go down and take all your nice new components with it :o
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Thanks Absic......
Change of plan, i'll use my P4 machine for the internet and start from scratch with the new machine apart from the HD drives and the dvd drive. Can you suggest a decent tower case to build this into, i'll go with the Corsair psu you suggested.
The computer dealers i have easy access to are....
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
http://www.internetct.co.uk/cases-c-43.html
I could also use mail order......
Thanks
Vikki ;D
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Hi Vikki,
no problem but a couple of questions. ::)
Are you going to build this new PC as the hub of your home recording set-up?
Are you looking for a cheap PC Chassis that is going to be upgraded in the future?
Are you limited by space, to the size of chassis you want?
Will you be wanting to take this PC on the road for recording purposes?
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Hi
Machine will be used just for recording as my main machine no internet or games,
Space is not really a problem.
Might as well buy a decent chassis now i think
Machine will only be used in my little home studio.
I record a lot of acoustic guitar through mics so i guess its best to try and get the machine as quiet as possible.
Sorry for so many questions, i slipped up with the last P4 machine and went for Rimm/Ramm/bus memiory the latest and greatest at the time
So i was trying to get this one right.
Thanks for your help
Vikki ;D
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Sorry for so many questions, i slipped up with the last P4 machine and went for Rimm/Ramm/bus memiory the latest and greatest at the time
So i was trying to get this one right.
Thanks for your help
Vikki ;D
Ah! A good dose of hindsight ;)
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Sorry Vikki but I don't really like any of the case options at the 2 sites you have indicated.
Once again the link is for Scan UK but if it was my money I would be buying this chassis: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silverstone-TJ08S-uATX-aluminium-Tower-Case-silver-w-o-PSU
I have built two dedicated Audio PC's into this case and it offers a lot of really useful features for this type of machine, such as the front Firewire Port & 4 USB ports. It is practically silent with 2 large 120 MM fans that give good chassis cooling without making lots of noise and in combination with the other components I have already mentioned, won't impact too greatly on live Mic. recordings. It also has a small footprint which makes it easy to re-locate if you want to do so.
The other thing to consider would be a 3rd party CPU cooler as the stock AMD ones are pretty loud. As you are not going to be overclocking this PC something like this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-000-TQ&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 will do the trick.
Asking questions is the way we all learn and in my early days of PC Audio recording I made some pretty BIG mistakes and spent a lot of money because I didn't ask the right questions although I thought I was. The real problem with building a PC as a DAW is that unless you are a muso you don't understand what it is we are trying to achieve. The normal criteria for a gaming rig or high-end video playing PC do not really apply in this scenario where high computing power combined with as near silent operation as possible is the ultimate goal. That is why I believe my original choice of components are the right ones to go for. I have spent several small fortunes on Chassis, Graphics Cards, Sound Cards etc., before getting it right and I wouldn't wish that experience on anybody.
Of course, cost is always a factor when undertaking the task of building a new PC and choices have to be made when it comes to getting the most PC for the least outlay. With my original components the only area that I think you can save is, as you have mentioned, going for a 4 Gig RAM kit instead of the 8 Gig Kit I went for. But, and there is always a but, if you can run to the 8 Gig kit now, that will save any problems with memory compatibility in the future as getting hold of the same memory, even a couple of months down the line, can prove very difficult.
Hope this helps
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Agreed on the case it is a very nicely built case for the price. I am not sure that I would agree on the cooler though I would have been inclined to go for the http://www.candccentral.co.uk/Xigmatek-Thor-s-Hammer-Black-Nickel-CPU-Cooler.html Thor's Hammer which you can use without any fan therefore totally silent but you are the expert when it comes to music.
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Yes, nice cooler but a little too big for the chassis.
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I did wonder if size might be an issue. (you can borrow my chainsaw when you get through with your shovel ;D)
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Yes, size matters, ask any girl! :o
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I am not even going there :-X
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Makes a change, you normally want the last word on such matters!
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No I don't!
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See, yes you do! :D
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Now now.. ;D
Well thats it then......it's pay my money, time......
Just have to remember to hook myself up to the copper radiator pipes before i start building ::)
Thanks very very much for your help..i'll post back when its all here, might even add a couple of pictures.....of the build that is!
Just going to take my boat out for a run now, its looking sad at the bottom of the garden :) on holiday for a fortnight now!!
Vikki ;D
White or silver heat sink paste ???
Actually after all that I have being having a think - might go i7 afterall ::) :P
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There's only one real option for paste and that's Arctic Silver 5
i7 and you have got to go for water cooling(especially as you have a boat) absolutely silent! ;) Only trouble you will need to increase you budget somewhat :-\
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Actually after all that I have being having a think - might go i7 afterall
I don't believe you will really gain that much by going down that route but you will spend a lot more money.
A lot of DAW Software struggles with multicore CPU's whilst actually recording multitrack audio and only really show the benefits of having a multicore CPU when it comes to post production. The real advantage is with the amount of RAM you are using and it really is a case of the more the better. Stick with the specs I have already posted and you will be OK Still it's your money and as they say, "You pays your money, you takes your choice".
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All joking apart I would be inclined to follow absic's recommendations as he is the expert in this field and what he says is true about it costing you more for very little extra to go down the Intel route.
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Hey i was only joking, that spec will suit me fine for what i want to do!
Vikki ;D
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:-* Got me going.
+1 to you ;)
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Guys its only me again ::)
Overclockers down the Road here have a special offer on this psu.......
http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS
Would that do the job o.k?
Vikki ;D
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I would say it would be perfect for your needs. They are good PSUs and come with a long warranty too. But I would wait for absic 's approval as this is his build specs.
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No problem with this PSU.
The only reason I suggested a modular version was to make it a neater build, (you only use the cables you need) and thinking about your original comments regarding the possibility of moving to a Rack Mount Chassis where space would be at a premium.
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O.k. thanks.....
Just going through things getting ready to order the parts and noticed that psu......waiting for Overclockers to come back with their suggested memory for the G/Byte motherboard. Funny the lady in the cottage up the road gave me her old computer yesterday and a new boxed motherboard of her sons(MSI KT6V)bit old hat i think, i stripped the case guts out last night and now have another case, not sure i'll use it for this build though.
I'm finding all this quite interesting.....
They suggested this memory........
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-203-CS
Thanks
Vikki ;D
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Hi Guys, guess what I've been up to....
Started this thread over at overclockers because of a dare - someone said I'd never get it going....
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18171787 (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18171787)
As you can see I did get it going with loads of help from hundreds of people (slight exaggeration) er....posts
Thanks for all your input this would never have got started without your help...
Vikki
(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/dancing/egyptian.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/dancing-emoticon-142.html)
(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/dancing/egyptian.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/dancing-emoticon-142.html)
(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/dancing/egyptian.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/dancing-emoticon-142.html)
Now to start on that i7...................................................................................... :P