A couple of questions about a DAW dedicated PC

[Spiritos]

Thanks for being so considerate regarding the hijacking of my thread

It'll probably be more beneficial to others for future references if you'd take the discussion elsewhere I suppose, as it is a different yet relevant topic.
Once I've assembled my components I'll start a new thread for specific feedback.

For now I would just like some final thoughts to my initial question regarding the differences between generic/DAW builds.

Every build is about performance and stability. I've only build gaming PC's but let's say I'd have my handpicked A class components assembled by a good generic retailer (in consulation plus the confirmation from the new thread all should be compatible). Would there really be a noticebale difference performance wise?

Even a generic retailer will do stability tests and some will overclock for you as well with guarantee waranty.

So I agree a DAW specialist will probably tweak your system a 100% dedicated to working with audio but as a simple home musician would there really be that much benefit in relation to the extra costs?

[Gonga]

I've never seen better advice in a PC thread.

I say no.

I've built 5 systems over the past 2 years (family) and two DAW systems. Neither DAW is a dedicated machine, and imo it's not necessary. Not that it's a bad idea, it's just not necessary, at least for us, because we're running SONAR, which implements MMCSS. This prevents running tsr apps from stealing focus. If you have Win7 or 8 64-bit and an i7 system with an ssd and adequate memory, you will have all the performance you need without much tweaking.

That said, I run Firewire. My audio interface is a Mackie Onyx 1640i mixer. The latency is really low and there are never any issues with it at all, even before turning on MMCSS. Unfortunately, if you go USB you have the problems brought about by the USB bus and all the constant interruptions of system events it creates. Furthermore, it appears not all DAWs have implemented Windows' MMCSS.

But I recommend you build that DAW yourself, and make it a dedicated PC. To overclock is a bit overkill as it more than anything will introduce instability and is unnecessary (though my hexacore is clocked to 4.3GHz and is stable). If you choose a "K" processor, just set it to turbo mode and you'll be a happy camper imo.

Just my 2c. Good luck on the PC.

[Kaine]

Thanks for being so considerate regarding the hijacking of my thread

It'll probably be more beneficial to others for future references if you'd take the discussion elsewhere I suppose, as it is a different yet relevant topic.

Will do

Every build is about performance and stability. I've only build gaming PC's but let's say I'd have my handpicked A class components assembled by a good generic retailer (in consulation plus the confirmation from the new thread all should be compatible). Would there really be a noticebale difference performance wise?

Even a generic retailer will do stability tests and some will overclock for you as well with guarantee waranty.

So I agree a DAW specialist will probably tweak your system a 100% dedicated to working with audio but as a simple home musician would there really be that much benefit in relation to the extra costs?

The answer I suspect has already been stated but only you can answer if it's worth the value.

Yes, most builders will run generic tests for stability and memory. They however won't run DPC tests or know if the are any compability problems with your configurations in regards to your hardware. I'm not saying all the DAW builders will know every single issue in advance either, but A DAW builder might have a better chance in fixing it if they already deal with the music hardware makers of the kit that isn't in the system.

As I mentioned before the generic "Power saving" tips in both windows & bios which are scattered all over the net and in various manufactures FAQ's will get your system working. The extra tweaks tend to be hardware or software specfic depending whats in the system and some may get you some extra performance gains or make your life easier some may have no affect what so ever depending upon the hardware in the box.

You seem like you can find your way around a system and whilst you say your rusty, go read a few guides and I'm sure you'll get back into the swing of it... that said I'm not going to give you a yes / no answer because I don't know your skill level or ablities in regards to dealing with computers.

If however I knew all the answers were out there and had some previous experience and the extra costs of flying it around Europe (even more so if something does go wrong) to keep in mind then I suspect that would have already answered the question for me!

[Spiritos]

I did some research and assembled a list in this thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 86#5389986

If you would be so kind to give it some thoughts..