Please critique my dream music DAW

[chk071]

According to Wikipedia, the Raptor Lake CPU's are socket compatible with Alder Lake, so, should work.

[chk071]

I'm looking to install Win 10, does anyone know if sites like keysfanDOTcom are legit?

https://wccftech.com/how-to-get-windows ... -for-free/

And how does one go about installing Windows nowadays on a blank drive? Do I need an external DVD drive? Can I install from a thumb drive?

You can install it from a USB stick: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10

Note that support for Windows 10 will run out in 2025 though... If you don't have any reservations against Windows 11, it's the much safer bet for a new system.

[JerGoertz]

If you don't have any reservations against Windows 11, it's the much safer bet for a new system.

I was thinking of going with Win 10 for just-that-little-bit-more chance my older software will work with it.

[chk071]

I can't tell for your specific software, but, everything which ran under Windows 10 also runs under Windows 11 here. I had issues with a single game due to its ancient copy protection which isn't supported under Windows 11, but, that's it really.

They're very similar anyway.

[_leras]

I would echo having nvme as at least your OS drive, probably a second working drive as well, and a larger SSD for backup.

I've had no issues with Asus mobos the last couple of audio pcs Ive had. These have come from Scans 3XS systems and they still use Asus for their Intel audio boxes.

Depending on who you ask, liquid cooling can be more trouble than it's worth. Can get some pretty decent non liquid cooling, would need more fans I guess.

Re screens, each to their own, but I have 2 x 27" 1440p monitors and find it fantastic working in either cubase or Bitwig. For me it's the perfect sweet spot of screen space, size, resolution and value. For a 32" I'd definitely want more than 1080p if it were to be my only monitor.

Otherwise seems good. May not need that much RAM, but why not. Could maybe add a dedicated GPU, but probably not essential and could cause more heat.

[legendCNCD]

You'll want Win11 with the Intel P and E cores to work better because of the new scheduler in Win11.

[JerGoertz]

@_leras, thanks for your advice.

@legendCNCD, I will probably go with Win 11 then.

[Tektra]

I'm not sure it applies here, but I'm of the opinion that it is worthwhile to check out failure rates of motherboards/manufacturers and to go with the absolutely highest quality (not necessarily fastest) board possible. Same goes for PSU (quality-wise). Longer warranty generally correlates with higher reliability.

RAM likes to fail as well, but it's generally not catastrophic (though can be tricky to isolate if the failure is intermittent). Same with GPUs (high failure rate but not a big deal).

Subjectively, my best experience so far has been with ASUS boards, Seasonic PSUs, and Samsung EVO SSDs.

Anyway, I'm not sure about the reliability of the specific parts/vendors in your build, but just something I feel is worth considering.

[Pictus]

Subjectively, my best experience so far has been with ASUS boards, Seasonic PSUs, and Samsung EVO SSDs.

It's more the model than the brand...
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/thre ... re.291504/

[JerGoertz]

Any recommendations on an external flash drive to back up my internal 4TB and 1TB drives?

And are the "cheap-o OEM" websites a legit and reliable way to get Win 11?

[chk071]

And are the "cheap-o OEM" websites a legit and reliable way to get Win 11?

Nope. As these websites sell keys from unknown sources, you can end up with a unlicensed Windows.

I don't know if you planned to assemble the PC yourself, but, at such a price, I would consider to let the store assemble it, and install Windows on it. The issue I always had with that, though, is that the web stores which offer to assemble often didn't have the one or the other component I wanted...

[Pictus]

And are the "cheap-o OEM" websites a legit and reliable way to get Win 11?

Everybody get from https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ad-ba ... ffice.html

[thmyrk]

https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-prime-u ... 6817151200

You should look into Seasonic for power supply. They are the ones manufacturing all of Corsairs higher end PSUs. I would also consider going with a higher wattage to future proof. Not that you need a next gen gpu but the new ones coming out are slated to require ~700w alone. You could get 10 years out of a solid psu, would be a huge bummer to have to replace it as you upgrade your system. I just built a new pc for production and I went with 1200w. Overkill but my last build held out for so long that I would rather spend the money now than the ~same money twice to save $75.

Someone earlier in the thread switched your ssds out for nvme with part picker. I also think this is a necessary upgrade! Gotta have that data processing as fast as possible. At least put your OS on one. The rest of your storage could be whatever but if you decide you want faster migrating the OS is such a drag.

[JerGoertz]

https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-prime-u ... 6817151200

You should look into Seasonic for power supply. They are the ones manufacturing all of Corsairs higher end PSUs. I would also consider going with a higher wattage to future proof. Not that you need a next gen gpu but the new ones coming out are slated to require ~700w alone. You could get 10 years out of a solid psu, would be a huge bummer to have to replace it as you upgrade your system. I just built a new pc for production and I went with 1200w. Overkill but my last build held out for so long that I would rather spend the money now than the ~same money twice to save $75.

Someone earlier in the thread switched your ssds out for nvme with part picker. I also think this is a necessary upgrade! Gotta have that data processing as fast as possible. At least put your OS on one. The rest of your storage could be whatever but if you decide you want faster migrating the OS is such a drag.

Yeah, I agree with the NVME upgrade too. I'm not sure I need a bigger power supply, since I don't plan to get a GPU at all, and just stick with the Intel i-9 on-board graphics.

[JerGoertz]

And are the "cheap-o OEM" websites a legit and reliable way to get Win 11?

Nope. As these websites sell keys from unknown sources, you can end up with a unlicensed Windows.

I don't know if you planned to assemble the PC yourself, but, at such a price, I would consider to let the store assemble it, and install Windows on it. The issue I always had with that, though, is that the web stores which offer to assemble often didn't have the one or the other component I wanted...

How much of a surcharge can I expect if I let a store assemble it for me?