KVR Audio

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 1:39 pm

DevonB wrote:Going 2 DIMM sticks with the idea of adding 2 dimm sticks in the future might not pan out very well. Best to buy them all at once so you know they're from the same lot and WILL work together.

I cant see how it would be a problem if the memory is the same brand/type, and still matched as a pair (assuming a dual-channel board here).

I know that the RAM in a set (ie 2 sticks for dual channel, 3 sticks for dual channel) 'should' be matched, but since its not actually a requisite that all sets on a motherboard are the same size, it can hardly be a requisite that they're from the same batch.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:39 pm

I've had 'matched' and 'unmatched' RAM in various systems and haven't seen any difference between them. I've come to think it's more of a sales tool for the company than a real necessity for us.

And the only ones I've had go 'bad' that I replaced for customers were 'matched' for two pre-built systems by Dell, who obviously use the cheapest components they can get away with.

So as long as you're getting them from a known and reliable manufacturer, they should be good.
I find the maximum amount per slot and go for that and add on when I can or as the market does its regular dance concerning them. (Brand new technology and end of market technology tends to be expensive and the best strategy is to watch for that 'middle' ground where it's saturated, but not moving on to the next thing).

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:23 am

whyterabbyt wrote:
DevonB wrote:Going 2 DIMM sticks with the idea of adding 2 dimm sticks in the future might not pan out very well. Best to buy them all at once so you know they're from the same lot and WILL work together.
I cant see how it would be a problem if the memory is the same brand/type, and still matched as a pair (assuming a dual-channel board here).

I know that the RAM in a set (ie 2 sticks for dual channel, 3 sticks for dual channel) 'should' be matched, but since its not actually a requisite that all sets on a motherboard are the same size, it can hardly be a requisite that they're from the same batch.

This "assumes" that the brand/type is still available when you go to buy for round two. I know I've waited well over a year before I tried an upgrade. As fast as components are discontinued, it's always hard to say.

Keep in mind that just because it's the same brand, it doesn't mean that they source the same chips from the same manufacturer each week, or even each batch. One batch from one week might be one supplier in China, but a different one the next.

You work with computers enough to know; supported and "works" are two distinct and disparate things. I've had memory that works perfectly fine on one board can't even make it to OS prompt without hanging the system on another. Put it in yet another system, works great. That was my joy of when my Asus AMD motherboard died, and had to go through a few motherboards to find one that worked with the hardware I had.

I've had issues, I've not had issues. Talking with Kaine, he's had issues between same make/model from different weeks. He's in the UK, I'm in the US. Not going to gain a sale from me because shipping would be significantly cost prohibitive. Just pointing it out that it might be an issue.

Devon

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 8:55 pm

unsurprising upgrade for the unsurprising thread...

Bought a Rme Ucx, so I'm ready to finalize pc components selection.
I figured the new Firewire core can help in the never-so-actual struggle against latency.
Plus new converters and the mmh, "thingies", (DSP effects, 2 midi I/Os, porting to other pcs and others) make it a sort of must have for my hybrid setup.

Managed to sell my Midisports just in time, too.
I noticed a few scary threads about no win8 drivers and I'll switch to Motu.

I've been adviced to stay far away from motherboard integrated firewire and praise Texas Instruments fw boards.

so...
- Power-Supply: 750w
- Haswell CPU: 4790k @ 4.4GHz 8 threads
- RAM: 16GB DDR3/1600
- OS drive: ssd 128gb
- 2nd drive: 500gb HD
- 3rd drive: 250gb HD
- Video: ati radeon HD5450 (1GB)
- Firewire: texas instruments 400 board
- Net: vacant
- Operating System: Windows 8 x64

any name for motherboard and rams?
oh, and the interwebS? integrated wi-fi or not?

For the records, mobo of my Xp system just died. It adds that certain spice to the upgrade.
woo-hoo.

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:37 am

I'm not sure how much help I can be, but a couple of things I do know. You absolutely want a TI chipset FW card.

Don't get the Corsair HX-750

See the thread on "power supplies" as to why (especially toward the end)

I've had relatively good luck with virtually every mobo. This one is a gigabyte. Many people recommend them.

BTW, the specs you've listed are going to be SICK with reaper! It's already a very efficient host.

dsan@mail.com · Post by **dsan@mail.com** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 3:22 pm

I'll second the Gigabyte boards, mainly because they utilize TI chipsets. I have had good luck with them although I would like to use another brand at some point in the future. I tend to go with Gigabyte due to the chipsets on the board though and they have proven reliable for me.

No matter which board you decide on you always run that risk of a bad board.

If I may suggest, jump up the RAM. If you use, or later decide to use, RAM intensive libraries, you will be glad you did. The latest boards will hold as much as 64Gb.

With that CPU you have onboard graphics so you may not need that video card.

I also recommend higher capacity drives; both the SSD and the HDD's. I'm a firm believer in future proofing. Again, at this time you may think you don't need it but somewhere down the road it is very possible you will. YMMV of course.

The main thing when building is make sure you investigate all aspects of your build. Make sure the components fit your case and work well together. Do not rush into anything but be aware the market is volatile in pricing.

HTH

Happy Musiking!
dsan

bill45 · Post by **bill45** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 7:43 pm

? about SSD's for system drives.Supoosedly they degrade over time when writing to them.
You will be writing a system drive and audio drives a lot. that makes me nervous.
I have a 640 gb system drive that is 70% full.

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 8:26 pm

yep, yesterday I had a look at the PSU thread and hated the idea...brrr.
That was interesting indeed.

Anyway a rocking daw, it seems.
Gimme approx. 8 good years of rocknroll.

With that CPU you have onboard graphics so you may not need that video card.

I may not in the sense that it may not help the cpu and just be redundant?

I'm almost sure I'm gonna buy more ram than that.
Not so sure about more hard disk space.

metamorphosis · Post by **metamorphosis** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 2:47 am

16GB is overkill unless sample-libraries. Full stop.
Anyway,
Partition your HDD for speed (see guide below) and onboard TI-chipset firewire is absolutely fine (more MB's have that than you might guess). It's the other brands that (sometimes) cause problems.
Having said that I would never opt for a firewire solution nowadays, given MS's lousy support of the standard and the lousy support of the standard by chipset developers.
If my current DAC wasn't firewire, USB3 all the F'ing way.

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:55 am

metamorphosis wrote: Having said that I would never opt for a firewire solution nowadays, given MS's lousy support of the standard and the lousy support of the standard by chipset developers.
If my current DAC wasn't firewire, USB3 all the F'ing way.

isn't this a good reason for a dedicated board?

my experiences with firewire:
a) echo mia (ehrm) works absolutely fine on my old xp sp2 laptop
b) a friend got one of those first fw m-audio (portable omni i/o), absolutely rock-solid.

maybe a new trend?
Diffusion of firewire cards makes me think.

Kaboom75 · Post by **Kaboom75** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:33 am

If you're a gamer the graphics card needs over 2G of VRAM if you're not a gamer the graphics card is over kill.

Lots of RAM only matters if you use a few tracks of sampled instruments in a DAW.

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:54 pm

a rough estimate of pieces and brands:

cpu: CORE i7 4790K 4Ghz Haswell Refresh Socket 1150 BOXED
mobo: gigabyte Z97M-D3H (Z97) - SOCKET 1150
ram: corsair 16GB Kit Vengeance DDR3-1600 1.5v CL10 (2x8GB)
os hd: samsung 128GB 850 Pro SSD Sata 6Gb/s
projects hd: 500GB WD BLACK - SATA 6Gb/s 64MB
xtra hd: 250GB to be defined
power supply: Cooler Master V750S 750W Semi Modulare 80Plus Gold (or Seasonic?)
os: WINDOWS 8.1 32/64BIT BOX

it's getting a bit pricier than I thought, just wrong expectations on ram/cpu and ps. I'll have to wait some more, maybe a month, to order.
Just the time for sanity or insanity to cut loose and twist the list...

anyway

(and wait to see it dressed...)

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 2:52 pm

pc is almost ready, arriving in a matter of days.

core i7 4790 4ghz
16gb ram
gigabyte z97m dh3
850 pro 256gb ssd
tx3 evo am3 fm2

only thing unobtainable for my retailer is the firewire TI board with at least one 400.
any advice on the piece? anything with the TSB81BA3 TI chip is ok?

Rme ucx and Microlite are already home.
I'll add a Behringer ADA8200 to rip away a mixer from the setup, so I'll be able to jam and track within the same box.

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:00 pm

If you play any modern games or have an interest in 3D design you'll not regret a video card with at least 1 gig onboard memory.

waiting man · Post by **waiting man** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:05 pm

ok for me, as I don't game and I'm hardly able to draw. thanx.

unsurprising new pc questions