KVR Audio

Kaine · Post by **Kaine** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 8:53 am

Seasonic only build the Corsair AX series which are their higher end units these days, the rest of the range can be a bit more varied. Ironically Seasonic have cost cut their own units and the new fans are a bit whiny, but the Corsair models are uprated parts and don't suffer from the same problem.

Without going crazy on the spending its EVGA G2 for me currently. Although the EVGA S2 edition is another Seasonic build and pretty decent, the Superflower based G2's are extremely well built for the cost.

Harry_HH · Post by **Harry_HH** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 9:36 am

jdnz wrote:I'd probably go for a pair of SSDs too - something like the 850pro for programs/os and something cheaper (850evo) for sample data. Ideally something with serious bandwidth for the os/programs - so if the board has a m.2 socket a samsung m2, or maybe one of intels pcie ssds.

Apart from not paying for a lot of speed you don't really need on a sample drive, it also splits the wear, you sample drive is going to be largely just read, no need paying for extra endurance there.

I'd also chuck in a suitable HDD for backing up the ssd drives to (I use acronis personally for this) - ssds DO fail, you want decent backup strategy.

Just a comment/question after reading this thread:

When you are talking about the location of different content between the SSD/HDD, does the 'sample data' refer to the audio/midi data created by the user with the DAW, or sample data of the sample libraries?
I presume the later because the size of the present libs. But what kind of division of the content SSD/HDD utilizes the advantages of the fast SSD best? - I've seen different versions of this, e.g. no use to install the OS and DAW software to the SSD.
Opinions?

legendCNCD · Post by **legendCNCD** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:45 am

Kaine wrote:Seasonic only build the Corsair AX series which are their higher end units these days, the rest of the range can be a bit more varied. Ironically Seasonic have cost cut their own units and the new fans are a bit whiny, but the Corsair models are uprated parts and don't suffer from the same problem.

Without going crazy on the spending its EVGA G2 for me currently. Although the EVGA S2 edition is another Seasonic build and pretty decent, the Superflower based G2's are extremely well built for the cost.

Heh, I originally bought Seasonic made Corsair, which I then changed to Seasonic SS-660XP2 just because Corsair whined. SS-660XP2 does not whine. YMMV

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:56 am

Harry_HH wrote: When you are talking about the location of different content between the SSD/HDD, does the 'sample data' refer to the audio/midi data created by the user with the DAW, or sample data of the sample libraries?
I presume the later because the size of the present libs. But what kind of division of the content SSD/HDD utilizes the advantages of the fast SSD best? - I've seen different versions of this, e.g. no use to install the OS and DAW software to the SSD.
Opinions?

This is my experience:
Putting anything on an SSD will improve loading times, often dramatically.
Put the OS on an SSD and it will boot faster, programs will load faster, etc.
I would say SSDs were made for sample libraries. Not only do projects with them load faster, but there are far fewer glitches if your project needs to load them while it's playing.
Project files and the like don't need that kind of speed, so sit happily on an HDD.

Harry_HH · Post by **Harry_HH** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:15 am

Ayorinde wrote:
Harry_HH wrote: When you are talking about the location of different content between the SSD/HDD, does the 'sample data' refer to the audio/midi data created by the user with the DAW, or sample data of the sample libraries?
I presume the later because the size of the present libs. But what kind of division of the content SSD/HDD utilizes the advantages of the fast SSD best? - I've seen different versions of this, e.g. no use to install the OS and DAW software to the SSD.
Opinions?
This is my experience:
Putting anything on an SSD will improve loading times, often dramatically.
Put the OS on an SSD and it will boot faster, programs will load faster, etc.
I would say SSDs were made for sample libraries. Not only do projects with them load faster, but there are far fewer glitches if your project needs to load them while it's playing.
Project files and the like don't need that kind of speed, so sit happily on an HDD.

This is logical - but at the same time paradox:
to put all your sample libraries to the SSD fills your SSD very soon oe requires quite a big drives, on the other hand HDD is cheap to buy. I presume people choose "important" sample instruments to put in the SSD and instal less important to the HDD.

Kaine · Post by **Kaine** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 1:44 pm

legendCNCD wrote: Heh, I originally bought Seasonic made Corsair, which I then changed to Seasonic SS-660XP2 just because Corsair whined. SS-660XP2 does not whine. YMMV

Yep, no surprise there. I could go into a sizable rant why this is, but I'd rather just be civil and note that between that and noisier Seasonic fans it's the reason why I don't use either of them in my builds these days.

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 1:57 pm

Harry_HH wrote: This is logical - but at the same time paradox:
to put all your sample libraries to the SSD fills your SSD very soon oe requires quite a big drives, on the other hand HDD is cheap to buy. I presume people choose "important" sample instruments to put in the SSD and instal less important to the HDD.

As always, it depends on your requirements. All my libraries comfortably fit on a 128 gig SSD. When finances allow, I want to get hold of a full symphonic library, and I'll either get an SSD just for that, or a big enough SSD to put everything on. (I've got room for 5 drives, 1 slot still free). Since my libraries have been on an SSD I find I can play more notes - especially with EW Choirs Wordbuilder libraries.
If I didn't have these libraries, I wouldn't bother with SSDs at all - HDDs do the job just fine.

mark3000 · Post by **mark3000** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 7:45 am

The EVGA G2 don't seem to be available where I live.

Is Corsair RM750i a good solution?

Kaine · Post by **Kaine** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:54 am

Certainly above average. It's a CWT build which I find can be a bit hit and miss depending who's on the production line any given day (I say that about most things coming from CWT, not just Corsair). Those are the units that can be prone to coil whine, although I understand why it may happen, and it can be prevented by a good Q.C. stage.

So... if it's the only option, I wouldn't say avoid it. But I would be sure to check for coil whine when you first set it up, perhaps burn test on a test bench (high CPU / GPU load should do it, use Prime 95 / Futuremark GFX tests).
If it's nice and quiet, well you've got a winner. It if squeals like a pig, return it ASAP.

mark3000 · Post by **mark3000** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:58 pm

It's not the only option at all, there are numerous options (almost anything) available where I live, just not the EVGA for some reason... Could you name a few good alternatives?

jdnz · Post by **jdnz** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 9:13 pm

these two sites are my choice for psu reviews - have a look thru their recent reviews, looks for something from a good maker and go with that : http://www.jonnyguru.com/ https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/?ca ... order=date

Kaine · Post by **Kaine** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 9:31 am

mark3000 wrote:It's not the only option at all, there are numerous options (almost anything) available where I live, just not the EVGA for some reason... Could you name a few good alternatives?

Tell me where your buying from and I'll point at something.

mark3000 · Post by **mark3000** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:15 pm

The thing is, I live in Belarus (Eastern Europe), so I don't think you are familiar with any of the local shops

The choice is broad, though. Just not the EVGA for some reason.
So if you could name a couple models suitable for my rig, it would be fantastic and I could just pick one of them in a local shop. Most of them will be easy to find here, I think.

Thank you so much!

mark3000 · Post by **mark3000** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:19 am

Seems like the general opinions is that the Corsair RM750i which I had chosen is a little bit overkill (and it's priced at $140) and might not be that good after all.

What are the alternatives for my rig?

Throbert · Post by **Throbert** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:32 pm

250ish for OS, you'll need a 10% overprovision 1TB for samples in use/favorites. 2TB mechanicals for
storage and backups but keep them external.
high Hz RAM is critical for video but not audio 1800 MHz will be more than enough.
Use PCpartpicker to get pricing.

Please criticize my new long-awaited computer rig before I pull the trigger. Thanks a lot!