KVR Audio

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Wed May 17, 2023 6:55 pm

Guitarist recording original 70/80's prog rock - Yes, Floyd, Beatles, Rush, ect. I'll be doing audio tracks - guitars, bass, vocals along with VST synths and drums. And possibly a few sample synths as well.

I have a 12+ y/o Dell XPS i7 that needs replacing and have been looking around on UTube and reading articles. So far what seems to be coming up recommended are the Corsair Vengeance i7200 Series, Lenovo Legion Tower 7i, and the XPS Desktop i7/i9 as far as power, low heat and low noise. Though the Dell has quite a few complaints concerning airflow/ heat. Most recommend replacing the CPU and case fans.

Which of these pre-builts and or what others would you recommend for this usage ? I'm currently on Studio One 5.

A few questions...
- I'm hearing Ryzen runs cooler, is this true and is that an advantage ? And does Ryzen play well with DAWs, as I've only used Intel in the past ?
- It seems most of these are 'gaming pc's' with large GPUs. Is it best to try to get a unit with a smaller GPU to reduce heat/ power consumption ?
- Would an i7, i9 or Ryzen equivalent work best in this setting ?

Thanks....

uOpt · Post by **uOpt** » Wed May 17, 2023 8:05 pm

Intel and AMD perform comparably. For the new Intel chips you should use Win11. Idle power consumption is better with Intel, but CPU busy the higher Intels go crazy.

The idle power consumption of video cards is around 10 watts, even high power ones, at least for NVidia. AMD cards have some problems, e.g. right now there is high idle power consumption when multiple monitors are connected.

I would have Microcenter assemble a PC from parts I picked.

FranklyFlawless · Post by **FranklyFlawless** » Wed May 17, 2023 9:01 pm

MeanMrMustard wrote: Wed May 17, 2023 6:55 pm Guitarist recording original 70/80's prog rock - Yes, Floyd, Beatles, Rush, ect. I'll be doing audio tracks - guitars, bass, vocals along with VST synths and drums. And possibly a few sample synths as well.

I have a 12+ y/o Dell XPS i7 that needs replacing and have been looking around on UTube and reading articles. So far what seems to be coming up recommended are the Corsair Vengeance i7200 Series, Lenovo Legion Tower 7i, and the XPS Desktop i7/i9 as far as power, low heat and low noise. Though the Dell has quite a few complaints concerning airflow/ heat. Most recommend replacing the CPU and case fans.

Which of these pre-builts and or what others would you recommend for this usage ? I'm currently on Studio One 5.

A few questions...
- I'm hearing Ryzen runs cooler, is this true and is that an advantage ? And does Ryzen play well with DAWs, as I've only used Intel in the past ?
- It seems most of these are 'gaming pc's' with large GPUs. Is it best to try to get a unit with a smaller GPU to reduce heat/ power consumption ?
- Would an i7, i9 or Ryzen equivalent work best in this setting ?

Thanks....

Depends on your budget. Give us a number and currency.

It depends on the CPU model and cooling used. Both Intel and AMD CPUs work fine with all DAWs.

If you are only looking for an audio workstation, you do not need a discrete GPU. Integrated GPUs are just fine for your needs.

Any CPU works, but you need a budget first. I can suggest recommendations after you provide that crucial information.

Pictus · Post by **Pictus** » Wed May 17, 2023 11:16 pm

DAWBench AMD vs Intel
http://www.scanproaudio.info/2023/03/03/4841/

For audio workloads you do not need a GPU card, the CPU built-in GPU is enough.

The new CPUs are hot, but you can tweak to make them much quieter.
Or build a desktop with something like Ryzen 9 7900 or Ryzen 7 7700

They build a passive cooling 7900
https://www.club386.com/building-the-ul ... tua-nh-p1/
Passive cooling of Ryzen 7900 does not work for hot climate, much better
get BIG cooler like Noctua NH-D15/D15S and limit the fan RPM, it will
be dead silent.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:03 pm

Thanks for the responses guys, a lot of good solid information. Yes I should have posted a budget... I could go to $2,500 U.S. I'm in the states btw, in Florida to be exact (hot and humid).
I suppose building a pc would be optimum however, work, family ect doesn't leave me enough time to devote to the research needed to pursue that avenue. I believe it would be best to use my 'free' time to work on my playing/ writing skills. Which is why I mentioned picking up a pre-built, however if that is not the best way to go I'll have to reconsider.

Are the models I listed not workable for an audio workstation ? And if there are pre-built models that are let me know.

I'll just add it seems the more powerful pc's tend to be 'gaming' pc's and come with large GPUs. Checking the company web pages I don't see where one can choose a less powerful GPU ?

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:09 pm

If you are going to mostly use it for audio and or video i would wholeheartedly recommend studiocat.com to build one for you.
I am a mac head but also use a pc and he built my last one and and will certainly build my next one too.
rsp

Pictus · Post by **Pictus** » Thu May 18, 2023 3:59 pm

In the USA there is also
https://www.fundamentalav.com

flugel45 · Post by **flugel45** » Sat May 20, 2023 2:27 pm

zvenx wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 3:09 pm If you are going to mostly use it for audio and or video i couldn't recommend to get studiocat.com to build one for you.
rsp

I believe what you meant to say was that you could recommend studiocat. (Or couldn't recommend studiocat enough).

I can also can recommend studiocat wholeheartedly. Jim (the owner) has been doing DAW / PC-building for decades and really knows his stuff.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Sat May 20, 2023 2:32 pm

My recommendation is to not buy a prebuilt PC, unless it’s a laptop. Find a local place that makes PCs to order. There’s a small chain in my area called Central Computers. They were great, and I think they charged me like $100 to put it together and the cost of the components was about the same as ordering online anyway. I should have done that years ago.

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Sat May 20, 2023 3:15 pm

flugel45 wrote: Sat May 20, 2023 2:27 pm
zvenx wrote: Thu May 18, 2023 3:09 pm edited: If you are going to mostly use it for audio and or video i would wholeheartedly recommend studiocat.com to build one for you.
I am a mac head but also use a pc and he built my last one and and will certainly build my next one too.
rsp
I believe what you meant to say was that you could recommend studiocat. (Or couldn't recommend studiocat enough).

I can also can recommend studiocat wholeheartedly. Jim (the owner) has been doing DAW / PC-building for decades and really knows his stuff.

Yikes.. oh yes.. he comes with my full recommendations.. how could I make such a mistake.
I edited my original.
Jim is also a kvrite.
rsp

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Mon May 22, 2023 12:22 pm

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. What CPU should I go with ? Do I need an i9 or would a 5/7 suffice ? I'd prefer to go lower if possible (less heat) though I don't want to fall short on power if needed.

FranklyFlawless · Post by **FranklyFlawless** » Tue May 23, 2023 4:01 am

MeanMrMustard wrote: Mon May 22, 2023 12:22 pm Thanks for all the recommendations guys. What CPU should I go with ? Do I need an i9 or would a 5/7 suffice ? I'd prefer to go lower if possible (less heat) though I don't want to fall short on power if needed.

The Intel Core i5 13400F is enough. You only need an i7 or i9 if you are doing more CPU-intensive tasks, like video rendering.

keyman_sam · Post by **keyman_sam** » Tue Jun 06, 2023 4:14 pm

I've had a VisionDAW PC. They were rock solid. Did what it was supposed to do.

If you're sticking with the Intel/x64 route, I'd highly recommend a used Mac mini i7. Those things are more powerful than the previous Mac pros and pack quite a punch. You can have them for cheaps and save the headache of playing the guessing game with PC configs.

Recomendations for Pre-Built PC