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  1. #1

    Default SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Hi all,
    I have been running the same SAC system since SAC 2.0



    Hi all,
    I have been running the same SAC system since SAC 2.0

    Running on an IWill mb with Dual Xeons, 4 gig ram and RME HDSP 9652
    On Windows XP pro. It took a lot of massaging but it has run great considering its age.

    I know PCI slots are old school but I have the RME HDSP 9652’s and have been very happy with them. Also I don’t need any higher of a track count.

    I have read on this forum over the years that some of you have been building systems with some great results. If you don’t mind I would like to pick your brains a bit.
    What would be a good MB and processor that will still accept two PCI slots?
    If good MB’s don’t have PCI slots anymore can a PCIe to Dual PCI adapter be used?
    If so do you also have any adapter recommendations as some I have researched have had some poor results?

    I am not trying to be CHEAP, but I don’t do shows anymore, but still like to have a solid system in my home studio for my kids and myself.

    Thanks for any help you can provide.
    All the best!

    Warren
    Warren @ The Masters Tracks

  2. #2
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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by Warren View Post
    SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS
    I know PCI slots are old school but I have the RME HDSP 9652***8217;s and have been very happy with them. Also I don***8217;t need any higher of a track count.
    Pretty much all motherboards still come with PCI slots.

    At this point almost any modern motherboard will work.

    I have had good success with intel core i3, and i5 processors with integrated graphics.

    For my live rig I stayed with the core i3 for the lower 65 watt power dissipation and higher clock rate 3.9 GHz, but if your not case constrained like I was it really won't make much difference which processor you use at this point.

    If your going to move to 64 bit (which I do recommend for future proofing), I'd probably look at core i5, i7 systems and at least 8-16gb of RAM. This will give you a lot of breathing room for newer VST plugins as well as other audio tools that you may want to use.

    Keep in mind that moving to 64-bit is a bigger investment in both time and money as none of your existing plugins will work and will have to be replaced with 64-bit versions (which may or may not exist).

    So legacy projects will be a challenge.
    Last edited by cgrafx; 06-17-2019 at 03:09 PM.
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

  3. #3

    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by cgrafx View Post
    Pretty much all motherboards still come with PCI slots.

    At this point almost any modern motherboard will work.

    I have had good success with intel core i3, and i5 processors with integrated graphics.

    For my live rig I stayed with the core i3 for the lower 65 watt power dissipation and higher clock rate 3.9 GHz, but if your not case constrained like I was it really won't make much difference which processor you use at this point.

    If your going to move to 64 bit (which I do recommend for future proofing), I'd probably look at core i5, i7 systems and at least 8-16gb of RAM. This will give you a lot of breathing room for newer VST plugins as well as other audio tools that you may want to use.

    Keep in mind that moving to 64-bit is a bigger investment in both time and money as none of your existing plugins will work and will have to be replaced with 64-bit versions (which may or may not exist).

    So legacy projects will be a challenge.
    Thank you for that.
    I do have a nice laptop a DELL XPS 15 9560 w/ INTEL Core I7 7th Gen Win 10 64 bit that has two USB 3 and one thunderbolt 3 w power and HDMI Video out. If adapters were avail for HDSP cards (Not sure) This seems as it would be a nice replacement for my current system if I could find an adapter or a RME replacement without to much expense.
    Sorry more picking at your brains.

    Warren
    Warren @ The Masters Tracks

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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by Warren View Post
    Thank you for that.
    I do have a nice laptop a DELL XPS 15 9560 w/ INTEL Core I7 7th Gen Win 10 64 bit that has two USB 3 and one thunderbolt 3 w power and HDMI Video out. If adapters were avail for HDSP cards (Not sure) This seems as it would be a nice replacement for my current system if I could find an adapter or a RME replacement without to much expense.
    Sorry more picking at your brains.

    Warren
    There are thunderbolt to PCI card cages, but they aren't cheap. I'm guessing it would actually be less expensive to build a new system than get the card cage.

    There are plenty of USB and Thunderbolt interface options, but again you'd be spending additional money to replace what you already have.

    The 9562 cards are still fully supported so I wouldn't personally be in a rush to replace those unless you have a specific reason to do so.

    I have a pair of 9562 cards in my studio rig running under Windows 8. I'd have moved to Win10, but the motherboard didn't support win10, and I didn't want to fight with it.

    At some point I'll likely replace that motherboard as well, to move everything to Win10 64-bit.
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

  5. #5

    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by cgrafx View Post
    There are thunderbolt to PCI card cages, but they aren't cheap. I'm guessing it would actually be less expensive to build a new system than get the card cage.

    There are plenty of USB and Thunderbolt interface options, but again you'd be spending additional money to replace what you already have.

    The 9562 cards are still fully supported so I wouldn't personally be in a rush to replace those unless you have a specific reason to do so.

    I have a pair of 9562 cards in my studio rig running under Windows 8. I'd have moved to Win10, but the motherboard didn't support win10, and I didn't want to fight with it.

    At some point I'll likely replace that motherboard as well, to move everything to Win10 64-bit.
    Hey Philip
    Do you mind taking a look at these items to determine if it would be a good system?
    I would hate to waste the resources on components that won't serve my needs well.

    Noctua NH-D15, Premium CPU Cooler with 2x NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fans
    $89.99

    ASUS Prime B360 Plus LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard
    $109.99

    Intel Core i7-9700K Coffee Lake 8-Core 3.6 GHz (4.9 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 95W BX80684I79700K Desktop Processor Intel UHD Graphics 630 $409.99

    Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz (PC4-21300) C16 Memory Kit – Black $134.99
    Or
    G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-32GTZR
    $168.99

    2ea. Inland Professional 480GB SSD 3D TLC NAND SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (480G)
    OR
    2ea Samsung 860 PRO 512GB V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76P512BW)

    2ea. RME HDSP 9652 ADAT cards

    I have a 4 space Rackmount Case I just need to check if Power supply is compatible.

    Thank you so much for your input, I trust your judgement. It would appear you as have had built a few systems over the years.

    Warren
    Warren @ The Masters Tracks

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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by Warren View Post
    Hey Philip
    Do you mind taking a look at these items to determine if it would be a good system?
    I would hate to waste the resources on components that won't serve my needs well.

    Noctua NH-D15, Premium CPU Cooler with 2x NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fans
    $89.99

    ASUS Prime B360 Plus LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard
    $109.99

    Intel Core i7-9700K Coffee Lake 8-Core 3.6 GHz (4.9 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 95W BX80684I79700K Desktop Processor Intel UHD Graphics 630 $409.99

    Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz (PC4-21300) C16 Memory Kit ***8211; Black $134.99
    Or
    G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-32GTZR
    $168.99

    2ea. Inland Professional 480GB SSD 3D TLC NAND SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (480G)
    OR
    2ea Samsung 860 PRO 512GB V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-76P512BW)

    2ea. RME HDSP 9652 ADAT cards

    I have a 4 space Rackmount Case I just need to check if Power supply is compatible.

    Thank you so much for your input, I trust your judgement. It would appear you as have had built a few systems over the years.

    Warren
    I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm by no means a windows system expert.

    With that said, I see two things with your listed build (item 1 is probably not all that important).

    1. The ethernet chip is a Realtek controller (I Personally prefer Intel LAN chips, but I can't say it will make any significant difference in your use case)

    2. You have a motherboard with support for M.2 storage, but you've spec'd standard SATA drives. Don't do that, you'll be crippling your system. M.2 SSDs are connected directly to the PCIe bus and are significantly faster than the SATA interface. Easily 2-3x the performance.

    Keep the SATA SSDs for your file storage, but definitely use the M.2 as your primary system C: drive and put the OS and Applications on it.
    Last edited by cgrafx; 06-21-2019 at 03:10 AM.
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Warren,

    Noctua CPU FAN, I am using a similar model - but the stock fan should be just fine.

    ASUS mobo, looks fine.

    Intel CPU - looks fine, even though an i5 is just fine as well.

    G.SKILL is preferable over others.

    For SSD's, a very knowledgeable and very experienced IT gut always suggests Intel SSD's. Second would be WD. I would personally recommend staying away from Samsung as their support is horrible.
    * Philip's suggestion on the M2 is well worth noting - though M2's do have a tendency to be more expensive.

    PSU: The more power the better. EVGA are great PSU's.

    PS: As far as I have able to ascertain, only Intel boards have Intel LAN chips. This being said, there is nothing wrong with Realtek chipsets.

    Hope this helps?
    Last edited by mr_es335; 06-21-2019 at 09:54 AM.

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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by mr_es335 View Post
    Warren,

    PS: As far as I have able to ascertain, only Intel boards have Intel LAN chips. This being said, there is nothing wrong with Realtek chipsets.

    Hope this helps?
    There are plenty of motherboards that use Intel LAN chips. This is a really fast (like 5 minutes) sampling from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI.

    ASUS PRIME Z390-A - Intel® I219V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
    ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I - Intel® I219V
    Gigabyte H370M D3H GSM - Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
    MSI Z390-A-PRO - 1x Intel® I219-V
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

  9. #9

    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    Quote Originally Posted by cgrafx View Post
    There are plenty of motherboards that use Intel LAN chips. This is a really fast (like 5 minutes) sampling from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI.

    ASUS PRIME Z390-A - Intel® I219V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
    ASUS ROG STRIX Z270I - Intel® I219V
    Gigabyte H370M D3H GSM - Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
    MSI Z390-A-PRO - 1x Intel® I219-V
    Philip, Dell

    Thank You both so very much for your insight. Philip You don't give yourself enough credit.
    I will make changes to SSD choices as well a power supply and pull the trigger.
    I pray this thread will also in some way help others who are a bit unsure of the direction they should go.

    Dell awhile back you made a post about trying to get others to populate info on working systems. I hope in the future it come to pass, it would have helped.

    Again
    Thank you

    Warren
    Warren @ The Masters Tracks

  10. #10
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    Default Re: SAC SYSTEM BUILD QUESTIONS

    I know I only have a couple of system builds, so not a huge sampling, but I have documented and posted info on the systems I have built.

    The biggest challenged is system components change so quickly. Motherboards can easily become obsolete (from a purchasing standpoint) within 6-7 months, as chipsets and other components change.

    On the other hand it doesn't hurt to know which systems have worked and what problems people may have had.
    Last edited by cgrafx; 06-21-2019 at 02:04 PM.
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

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