KVR Audio

annode · Post by **annode** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 8:52 pm

I'm a lot behind on what is best for me as with purpose vs economy.
I want a PC that will handle mostly large numbers of VST/VSTi. I also want the PC to run VR to a headset I will buy later next year when the engineering settles in. ( I know about stand-alone headsets, but I want the best resolution available).
- I was wondering if I will have a prob with the case being too small to scale up to a larger PSU if when I need one. I'm also wondering if the processor is a good choice. All the rest are decisions beyond what I feel comfortable making myself.
I need help. Thanks very much in advance.

Here is the ad. https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/de ... aBjpadvTDb

Ah_Dziz · Post by **Ah_Dziz** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 2:10 am

Doing your own build is not very difficult and can save you money/ get you more for your money. I'm finalizing one to order tomorrow so I can write it off my taxes. Basically the more the merrier. I would go with a fractal design tower since there are crazy quiet and spacious along with being well designed. You'll have room for whatever you want in there. For CPU and ram buy the best/ most you can afford. I dunno much about VR and how it interacts with GPU and such but a very fast processor is not going to hurt you for that sort of thing and will help with production. I would budget 2500 for a strong computer. You can make a beast if you build it yourself and you can buy something off the shelf that is pretty solid.

resynthesis · Post by **resynthesis** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:01 am

I'm a bit out of touch with state of the art but, for VR, you'd need to budget for a decent GPU and beefier PSU. It can also be useful to know which components are used in the machine. Sometimes smaller companies are worth checking out as you get a bigger say in what goes into the machine. Here in the UK a well-specced i7 machine with a 3060 GPU will cost somewhere around £1500 from a decent PC builder.

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:49 am

Thanks for your help guys! I contacted a Dell sales tech and we sorted it out.
I got a mid sized tower instead of the small form factor 'cause I need the internal room for liquid cooled CPU/and maybe GPU. I stepped up to a 500watt PSU, the largest that would fit that case. The CPU has strong video display features. so I'll use that until I decide on a VR headset later next year, and buy a powerful GPU.

He was able to give me what I think is a very fair deal. I built my own double raid0 box with everything 20 yrs ago and I don't really want to get into that again. So for what I got assembled at $1,367 what do you think?
(this CPU has an auto turbo-boost freq of 4.9ghz x 8 cores x 16 threads. Depending on the load per core, it throttles up and down by itself! Great for lots of VST(i) ) There are other devices and features only shown at the web page link below.

OptiPlex 7090 Tower
Estimated Value $2,106.71
$1,467.72 w/$100 discount = $1,367.72
Price Match Guarantee
processor
11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-11700 (8 Cores, 16MB Cache, 2.5GHz to 4.9GHz, 65W)

Windows 10 Pro English, French, Spanish

videocard
Intel® Integrated Graphics

memory
16GB ,2x8GB, DDR4 non ECC memory

harddrive
M.2 256GB PCIe NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive

Case
OptiPlex 7090 Tower with 500W (Platinum), Supports up to 10 Core Processors

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/de ... 4f41e60006

THE INTRANCER · Post by **THE INTRANCER** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:10 am

You forget that the motherboard is the most important thing in your PC. You don't want any budget Dell crap, and you want a decent GPU as well. Do yourself a favour and do some proper research on each of the components first. The guy from Dell is only interested in your money.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:31 am

It’s been a few years since I’ve built, owned, or used a Windows machine for music production and the last time I purchased a Dell (like 15 years ago) it was so loaded with crapware that it was unusable until I wiped it out and started over, then upgraded some of the components. If that’s still the case, do yourself a favor and do what others have suggested: build your own.

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:42 am

THE INTRANCER wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:10 am You forget that the motherboard is the most important thing in your PC. You don't want any budget Dell crap, and you want a decent GPU as well. Do yourself a favour and do some proper research on each of the components first. The guy from Dell is only interested in your money.

Thanks for your help.
So Dell MOBOs are crap then. I see. The PC I built yrs ago was all iNTEL.
As I wrote, the GPU will be what is necessary for high-ass VR rez. But I don't need it for about a year.

Do yourself a favour and do some proper research on each of the components first.

I though I had. Besides the MOBO, do you have any other objections?

The guy from Dell is only interested in your money.

In this case that's not true.

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:47 am

cryophonik wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:31 am It’s been a few years since I’ve built, owned, or used a Windows machine for music production and the last time I purchased a Dell (like 15 years ago) it was so loaded with crapware that it was unusable until I wiped it out and started over, then upgraded some of the components. If that’s still the case, do yourself a favor and do what others have suggested: build your own.

Like I said, not going to build it.
If there's some crap in it I' can rub out what is running un necessarily like the Waves Maxx audio components I expect to see. I'm not junking this order cause your warning me about Dell junk software.
Thanks for the insight.

Pictus · Post by **Pictus** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:57 am

annode wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:49 am OptiPlex 7090 Tower
Estimated Value $2,106.71
$1,467.72 w/$100 discount = $1,367.72
Price Match Guarantee
processor
11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-11700 (8 Cores, 16MB Cache, 2.5GHz to 4.9GHz, 65W)

Look at viewtopic.php?f=16&t=574244&p=8284100#p8284100
My PC suggestion is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better...
Without using low quality parts or too expensive ones, today I would build
something +- like this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TJpPy4 (add any mouse/keyboard you like)

CPU = Intel Core i5-12700K

Cooler = Thermalright Frost Commander 140, it is a BIG cooler to keep the CPU
cool/quite. The suggested motherboard has dual mount holes to accept LGA1200
cooler, but because of socket height difference the LGA1700 adapter(LGA17XX-SS2)
is the safe option.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003485280260.html
https://www.newegg.com/p/1W8-00JM-000F7

Motherboard = Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700
Has Thunderbolt header, very good VRM, but crap onboard sound.
https://www.techspot.com/review/2381-in ... board-vrm/

SSD = Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME
It is fast enough, good price and big endurance of 1665 TBW
https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/s ... iew,8.html

PSU = Corsair RMx (2018) 850W
Good quality PSU with enough juice for you to add a decent GPU later, it is
semi-passive and up to +- 250W the fan is off and up to +- 600W is low noise.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/co ... 568-5.html

RAM = Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB(2x16GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Good quality, speed, price, it is compatible and fits below the cooler fan.

Case = Fractal Design Meshify 2
It has front USB-C, fits the cooler and very good air flow.

Get a cheap Window 10 Pro OEM key and update to Window 11
https://bit.ly/3FFvyEc

BTW, some stuff/tweaks you may like at
viewtopic.php?p=7624448#p7624448

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:04 am

You sold me.
I tried and just can't make a case for Dell after what you just presented me with. Now what? Do I call him to tell him I don't want it now after it's been paid for and confirmed? I don't know what to do. I have a 3 yr warranty with Dell, maybe it will work OK and I'll be happy with it? SHIT!

Thanks a lot really, for making up that list and investigating all that. When I saw that Fractal case, I could have cried. I don't know what to do.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:17 am

> Depending on the load per core, it throttles up and down by itself! Great for lots of VST(i)

As I understood it (and correct me if I'm wrong) this is one of the few features you need to disable in the BIOS, since throttling & speed-stepping causes audio glitches.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:21 am

annode wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:42 am Thanks for your help.
So Dell MOBOs are crap then. I see.

I have no idea why so many people claim that some mainboards are crap these days. For all my life, I almost exclusively had "crap" mainboards (ASRock two times, for example), and, I never had an issue with them.

Interestingly, I had major issues with a PC I set up myself. The one I use now is a complete system I bought, and, apart from a fan in the PSU which goes nuts sometimes (probably bearing failure), it's the most stable system I ever had.

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:31 am

BertKoor wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:17 am > Depending on the load per core, it throttles up and down by itself! Great for lots of VST(i)

As I understood it (and correct me if I'm wrong) this is one of the few features you need to disable in the BIOS, since throttling & speed-stepping causes audio glitches.

Oh No, are you joking? I didn't know that. Seems maybe most of the Intel CPUs feature Turbo-Boost. Why haven't I heard this before? So I have to overclock it and that's that?

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:47 am

chk071 wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:21 am
annode wrote: Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:42 am Thanks for your help.
So Dell MOBOs are crap then. I see.
I have no idea why so many people claim that some mainboards are crap these days. For all my life, I almost exclusively had "crap" mainboards (ASRock two times, for example), and, I never had an issue with them.

Interestingly, I had major issues with a PC I set up myself. The one I use now is a complete system I bought, and, apart from a fan in the PSU which goes nuts sometimes (probably bearing failure), it's the most stable system I ever had.

I built an Intel MOBO / P4 w/two raid0 twenty years ago and it hasn't failed me yet. But I also have an old Dell Latitude D-430 notebook just because, that has been getting worse over time.

I expect when inferior components and solder masking age, they become susceptible to voltage spikes, power surges, static and that's enough to take them out. If you keep your internal and electrical environment clean and cool, good change even a shotty mobo can last a long time. But if your driving it hard for long periods...well ya know.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 31, 2021 11:39 am

Maybe dedusting my computers every half a year or so pays out in that regard.

Is this a good price for a new production computer?