Desktop for music production

[PC108]

Hi there I'd really appreciate your help in building a desktop that caters for music production. I will be using FL Studio but I would also like to use it as a home and work PC (eg word processing, excel spreadsheets including macro code writing, watching movies etc). I won't be using it for any heavy gaming, maybe the odd online game or flight simulator! I would like any movies I watch (either streamed or on DVD) to be good quality - I'm not sure if the graphics card determines this or if it's just based on the monitor I buy?

I would like a CPU processor with at least a score of 12,000 and single thread rating of at least 2,600 (as measured here https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php).

I'm also aware that ideally the soundcard/audio interface needs to support ASIO drivers - however I'm unsure what this means in practice.

I think 8gb RAM is sufficient. Everything else I'm open to your recommendations.

My budget is £600-£750.

Thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi there I'd really appreciate your help in building a desktop that caters for music production. I will be using FL Studio but I would also like to use it as a home and work PC (eg word processing, excel spreadsheets including macro code writing, watching movies etc). I won't be using it for any heavy gaming, maybe the odd online game or flight simulator! I would like any movies I watch (either streamed or on DVD) to be good quality - I'm not sure if the graphics card determines this or if it's just based on the monitor I buy?

I would like a CPU processor with at least a score of 12,000 and single thread rating of at least 2,600 (as measured here https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php).

I'm also aware that ideally the soundcard/audio interface needs to support ASIO drivers - however I'm unsure what this means in practice.

I think 8gb RAM is sufficient. Everything else I'm open to your recommendations.

My budget is £600-£750.

Thanks.

If you're using it for audio stuff, then you need to buy an audio soundcard rather than a gaming one that PCS supply, very different beasts. For a good soundcard supplier check here, you'll want a standard USB and they all have ASIO support:

Audio Interfaces | USB, Thunderbolt & Guitar - Andertons Music

Browse the range of Audio Interfaces at Andertons! From USB to Thunderbolt & Guitar interfaces, we've got it! Get yours with free UK delivery & 0% finance!

www.andertons.co.uk

The specs including CPU will be rather limited by your budget which is very low to meet your requirements.

What monitor are you pairing this with, what resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you're unsure?

 

[PC108]

If you're using it for audio stuff, then you need to buy an audio soundcard rather than a gaming one that PCS supply, very different beasts. For a good soundcard supplier check here, you'll want a standard USB and they all have ASIO support:

Audio Interfaces | USB, Thunderbolt & Guitar - Andertons Music

Browse the range of Audio Interfaces at Andertons! From USB to Thunderbolt & Guitar interfaces, we've got it! Get yours with free UK delivery & 0% finance!

www.andertons.co.uk

The specs including CPU will be rather limited by your budget which is very low to meet your requirements.

What monitor are you pairing this with, what resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you're unsure?

Ok thanks i will do a bit of research into the soundcard. My monitor i haven't decided yet but will most likely be full hd and maximum 144hz. I may have dual monitors as my work involves a lot of Excel.

I appreciate the budget is tight but would be good to see how close i can get to it and what I'd need to sacrifice to keep it at maximum £750.

Thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is about as close as I can get, but if I were you I'd seriously consider saving more. This barely gets you the minimum of old architecture and upgradeablity isn't optimal. If you saved even an extra 100, you'd have a far superior build on a modern platform:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £769.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/nhCnYTrkf3/

 

[PC108]

This is about as close as I can get, but if I were you I'd seriously consider saving more. This barely gets you the minimum of old architecture and upgradeablity isn't optimal. If you saved even an extra 100, you'd have a far superior build on a modern platform:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £769.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/nhCnYTrkf3/

Ok thankyou. If I was to extend the budget to £850 can you advise what would the priority to improve?

 

[Oussebon]

A 3rd Gen Ryzen CPU.
And 16gb of fast RAM.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £866.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Pa4vdWBrDp/

The 2TB HDD is £35 more than the 1TB one. The 3TB HDD is only £21 more than the 2TB one. If you need a lot of storage, you could push for the 3TB drive. If you don't, or will instead be adding more SSDs to keep sample libraries on in the future, then the 1TB drive saves a lot of cash taking the price to below £830.

 

[Oussebon]

I would like a CPU processor with at least a score of 12,000 and single thread rating of at least 2,600 (as measured here https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php).

Never trust anything on sites like CPU benchmark, CPUboss, (or GPUboss etc), userbenchmark, game debate, or any other sites that generate clicks through apparently automated comparisons of hardware.

The numbers and the overall verdicts they provide mean the square root of damn all. They're worthless at best, and dangerous at worst as they lead to people buying products based on meaningless garbage.

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

Just to add to the above, a cheap system can generate more 'noise', which will be picked up by better quality monitor speakers and played as hum. So if you were using something like the KRK Rokit G3s to listen to what you've produced, these are senstive enough that you might get hum coming out of them because they are connected to a cheaper end system, where the hard drive and fans result in this noise being transferred out.

On cheaper speakers you won't get hum because they aren't sensitive enough to pick it up. This is good for a cheap system but it's also picking up and playing out a much smaller range of frequencies. To get the widest range of frequencies and played without hum requires a better system and better speakers.

Motherboards at the higher end will use better quality components and have better shielding to reduce hum to the point where you wouldn't hear it. If you are going to use an external DAC, as opposed to a dedicated sound card, if you haven't already bought one, a DAC that takes an optical input and a corresponding motherboard with optical out will give you a great listening experience, even at higher volumes.

It's Christmas coming up so perhaps there are friends and family who might like to help you get something a bit better than you current budget permits.

A good audio system from PC to DAC to speakers makes listening to sound a joy. When I switched from a basic sound card into 2.1 computer speakers, to a DAC and proper monitors, it was like having ears that were 30 years younger than the rest of me.

Frank100

 

[PC108]

A 3rd Gen Ryzen CPU.
And 16gb of fast RAM.

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £866.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/Pa4vdWBrDp/

The 2TB HDD is £35 more than the 1TB one. The 3TB HDD is only £21 more than the 2TB one. If you need a lot of storage, you could push for the 3TB drive. If you don't, or will instead be adding more SSDs to keep sample libraries on in the future, then the 1TB drive saves a lot of cash taking the price to below £830.

Thanks for this. I have a few questions:

1. From my (very limited) knowledge I understand that people advise to opt for a mixed storage system with HDD mass storage and an SSD boot drive for Windows 10 install. Does your configuration adopt this mix? If not, is there a reason why?

2. I don't think I'll need more than 1TB storage for at least the next year or so. Could I reduce my storage to reflect this? If I do this I assume I can increase it some point in the future?

3. I engaged with some FL Studio material and they recommend using the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy RX sound card (it assumes I am not recording external instruments / vocals which is true at least for the next year). I think I can select this as an option?

4. I imagine the demands placed by producing multiple layers of music can be quite strenuous - especially with respect to heat. Would you recommend improving the cooling system to over and above the standard AMD cooler?

 

[PC108]

Never trust anything on sites like CPU benchmark, CPUboss, (or GPUboss etc), userbenchmark, game debate, or any other sites that generate clicks through apparently automated comparisons of hardware.

The numbers and the overall verdicts they provide mean the square root of damn all. They're worthless at best, and dangerous at worst as they lead to people buying products based on meaningless garbage.

Ok thanks for the advice. How would I know which processors have the strongest single core performances (which is most important for music production) without using those websites?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Ok thanks for the advice. How would I know which processors have the strongest single core performances (which is most important for music production) without using those websites?

Your budget is largely influencing the processor selection. The fastest single core would be the i9 9900ks @ 5GHz but that’s around £550 JUST for the processor.

To get the requirements you’ve stated, you need to up the budget significantly.

 

[Oussebon]

1. From my (very limited) knowledge I understand that people advise to opt for a mixed storage system with HDD mass storage and an SSD boot drive for Windows 10 install. Does your configuration adopt this mix? If not, is there a reason why?

People don't advise this at all. Or they shouldn't, because there's no reason to advise this - I can't even think of a hypothetical one! You can use as many, or as few, HDDs and SSDs of different kinds as your budget allows and your needs dictate.

For general consumer PCs, it's common to have a small/medium sized SSD for Windows, programs, favourite games, and active editing projects. And a larger HDD for cheap mass storage - your archived projects, ripped DVDs and CDs, other games.

For high end video and indeed audio workstations you might have one SSD for the OS and programs, another for project files or samples, a third SSD for scratch, and a huge HDD for archived material. Or that sort of thing.

2. I don't think I'll need more than 1TB storage for at least the next year or so. Could I reduce my storage to reflect this? If I do this I assume I can increase it some point in the future?

You can add storage any time you like, yes. And there are also increasingly popular options like cloud storage and network storage.

3. I engaged with some FL Studio material and they recommend using the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy RX sound card (it assumes I am not recording external instruments / vocals which is true at least for the next year). I think I can select this as an option?

Take manufacturer recommendations with very large doses of salt. Even if they mean well (and that can be a big if) the recommendation might not be relevant to you. Adobe recommends quadro GPUs for video editing but that doesn't mean a consumer GPU isn't a better buy.

I can't speak as to FL Studio and that sound card, but just because they say you need X doesn't mean you do or that it's the best thing to buy.

4. I imagine the demands placed by producing multiple layers of music can be quite strenuous - especially with respect to heat. Would you recommend improving the cooling system to over and above the standard AMD cooler?

The stock AMD CPU cooler will do, and is apparently fairly quiet too, but you could go with the Cooler Master Lite 240 cooler or the Noctua cooler if you want to improve cooling without breaking the bank. The Noctua is known for being very effective and also very quiet. But that's £60 you need to find.

How would I know which processors have the strongest single core performances (which is most important for music production) without using those websites?

Strongest single core alone isn't always the best for music production, as you will see work leverage more than 1 core / thread. Also words like "best" and "strongest" are dangerous words as 1) they take components in isolation and 2) depend what test you do to measure them.

For instance, @SpyderTracks points out what most people (rightly) would that the 9900K/KS can be considered to have the highest single threaded performance. But, if you look at this: https://static.techspot.com/articles-info/1940/bench/CB20-1.png
The best single threaded CPU in cinebench is an AMD R9 3950X. But in other tasks that prefer fewer, faster cores to lots and lots of cores, or are more sensitive to memory latency, or respond less well to L3 cache quantities, or whatever else it is about the R9 that tickles Cinebench, an Intel i9 CPU will be faster. e.g. gaming (or certain games anyway)

Also the 3950x is £750 or so, which you can't afford, just like an Intel i9 or i7. An i5 9600k might have stronger single threaded performance than an R5 3600, depending on the task/measurement, but it is also a lot more expensive, meaning that to afford one within X budget you need to nerf the rest of the system. And it has fewer threads.

But to answer where to get your information from, reviews of CPUs from websites like Techspot, Tom's Hardware, Techpowerup, etc. Sites that actually test the CPUs across a range of tasks, and give you their methodology. Any site that comes up on google as CPU A vs CPU B and appears to be a list of automatically generated comparison data should be avoided as the info tends to be garbage.

 

[PC108]

Your budget is largely influencing the processor selection. The fastest single core would be the i9 9900ks @ 5GHz but that’s around £550 JUST for the processor.

To get the requirements you’ve stated, you need to up the budget significantly.

Ok - I am happy with the processor mentioned above given my budget. When it comes to AMD, FL Studio recommend one of Ryzen 9 3900X, 7 3800X, 7 3700X & 5 3600X so at this stage I think I'm content with the suggestions.

 

[Oussebon]

When it comes to AMD, FL Studio recommend one of Ryzen 9 3900X, 7 3800X, 7 3700X & 5 3600X so at this stage I think I'm content with the suggestions.

Just as a footnote, the R5 3600 is pretty much the same as the 3600x. The 3600x is microscopically faster, but costs £40 more. It does come with a free game (a choice of borderlands 3 or the outer worlds I think, if either of those interest you) - so go with the 3600x if you want the game and offer is still on.

Otherwise, as one American reviewer put it, the R5 3600x is "$50 for a letter" So you can stick to the R5 3600 without the x.

 

[PC108]

People don't advise this at all. Or they shouldn't, because there's no reason to advise this - I can't even think of a hypothetical one! You can use as many, or as few, HDDs and SSDs of different kinds as your budget allows and your needs dictate.

For general consumer PCs, it's common to have a small/medium sized SSD for Windows, programs, favourite games, and active editing projects. And a larger HDD for cheap mass storage - your archived projects, ripped DVDs and CDs, other games.

For high end video and indeed audio workstations you might have one SSD for the OS and programs, another for project files or samples, a third SSD for scratch, and a huge HDD for archived material. Or that sort of thing.

Ah right. For example this website

Should you get an SSD or HDD when building your PC?

Building or upgrading a PC and don't know whether to go with SSD or HDD for your storage? Let's break it down.

www.windowscentral.com

recommends the set up. They say "Our ultimate recommendation is to opt for a mixed system with HDD mass storage and an SSD boot drive for your Windows 10 install. This way you'll get a balance of price, performance, and space, and you'll have a well-rounded machine for all occasions. If your storage requirements are smaller, an all SSD system is the way to go."

If I wanted one SSD for the OS and programs, another for project files or samples, and one HDD for archived material how would I choose this in the configuration? Is it in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storage options? Or is it the M.2 SSD?

You can add storage any time you like, yes. And there are also increasingly popular options like cloud storage and network storage.

Ok thanks.

Take manufacturer recommendations with very large doses of salt. Even if they mean well (and that can be a big if) the recommendation might not be relevant to you. Adobe recommends quadro GPUs for video editing but that doesn't mean a consumer GPU isn't a better buy.

I can't speak as to FL Studio and that sound card, but just because they say you need X doesn't mean you do or that it's the best thing to buy.

Sure - noted.

The stock AMD CPU cooler will do, and is apparently fairly quiet too, but you could go with the Cooler Master Lite 240 cooler or the Noctua cooler if you want to improve cooling without breaking the bank. The Noctua is known for being very effective and also very quiet. But that's £60 you need to find.

Ok thanks.

Strongest single core alone isn't always the best for music production, as you will see work leverage more than 1 core / thread. Also words like "best" and "strongest" are dangerous words as 1) they take components in isolation and 2) depend what test you do to measure them.

For instance, @SpyderTracks points out what most people (rightly) would that the 9900K/KS can be considered to have the highest single threaded performance. But, if you look at this: https://static.techspot.com/articles-info/1940/bench/CB20-1.png
The best single threaded CPU in cinebench is an AMD R9 3950X. But in other tasks that prefer fewer, faster cores to lots and lots of cores, or are more sensitive to memory latency, or respond less well to L3 cache quantities, or whatever else it is about the R9 that tickles Cinebench, an Intel i9 CPU will be faster. e.g. gaming (or certain games anyway)

Also the 3950x is £750 or so, which you can't afford, just like an Intel i9 or i7. An i5 9600k might have stronger single threaded performance than an R5 3600, depending on the task/measurement, but it is also a lot more expensive, meaning that to afford one within X budget you need to nerf the rest of the system. And it has fewer threads.

But to answer where to get your information from, reviews of CPUs from websites like Techspot, Tom's Hardware, Techpowerup, etc. Sites that actually test the CPUs across a range of tasks, and give you their methodology. Any site that comes up on google as CPU A vs CPU B and appears to be a list of automatically generated comparison data should be avoided as the info tends to be garbage.

Thanks that's helpful.

 

[PC108]

Just as a footnote, the R5 3600 is pretty much the same as the 3600x. The 3600x is microscopically faster, but costs £40 more. It does come with a free game (a choice of borderlands 3 or the outer worlds I think, if either of those interest you) - so go with the 3600x if you want the game and offer is still on.

Otherwise, as one American reviewer put it, the R5 3600x is "$50 for a letter" So you can stick to the R5 3600 without the x.

I think i'll be sticking with the 3600 - not value for money to go for 3600x.

 

[Oussebon]

If your storage requirements are smaller, an all SSD system is the way to go."

That's a little superficial. Ultimately some files don't get any benefit from being on an SSD at all. A ripped DVD doesn't play "better" on an SSD than an HDD. Nor does a music track. It just plays at a fixed speed and other than maybe a microsecond opening the file to begin with it will play just the same.

If you had 800gb of files, 700gb of which were ripped DVDs, there'd be no merit to getting a 1TB SSD rather than a (cheaper in total) 250gb SSD and 1TB HDD.

It depends what the individual user is storing, how much money they have, and - if the money is limited - whether they should be spending it on something other than SSDs. e.g. a better CPU. You can always add an extra SSD yourself in the future, but replacing a component is less cost effective and more wasteful.

If I wanted one SSD for the OS and programs, another for project files or samples, and one HDD for archived material how would I choose this in the configuration? Is it in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storage options? Or is it the M.2 SSD?

Typically PCS will put the OS on the 1st M.2 drive. If you have a system with multiple SSDs you can specify where you want it installed when you click "proceed" I think. OS should always go on the fastest drive.

Ppick SSD models and sizes appropriate to your needs, spec, and budget, and you can just store files where you want when you receive the PC

For instance:
1st M.2 SSD - 970 Evo 250gb (OS + programs)
2nd M.2 SSD - 1tb PCS SSD (how big depends on your sample library size)
1st Storage Drive - HDD.

But as above, if you're increasing your budget to afford multiple/larger/faster SSDs, it's worth checking you shouldn't instead be buying (e.g.) a better CPU. Or a quieter CPU cooler like the Noctua if you want a quiet system (you can ofc add a CPU cooler yourself but it's significantly more hassle than adding an SSD).

 

[PC108]

That's a little superficial. Ultimately some files don't get any benefit from being on an SSD at all. A ripped DVD doesn't play "better" on an SSD than an HDD. Nor does a music track. It just plays at a fixed speed and other than maybe a microsecond opening the file to begin with it will play just the same.

If you had 800gb of files, 700gb of which were ripped DVDs, there'd be no merit to getting a 1TB SSD rather than a (cheaper in total) 250gb SSD and 1TB HDD.

It depends what the individual user is storing, how much money they have, and - if the money is limited - whether they should be spending it on something other than SSDs. e.g. a better CPU. You can always add an extra SSD yourself in the future, but replacing a component is less cost effective and more wasteful.

Typically PCS will put the OS on the 1st M.2 drive. If you have a system with multiple SSDs you can specify where you want it installed when you click "proceed" I think. OS should always go on the fastest drive.

Ppick SSD models and sizes appropriate to your needs, spec, and budget, and you can just store files where you want when you receive the PC

For instance:
1st M.2 SSD - 970 Evo 250gb (OS + programs)
2nd M.2 SSD - 1tb PCS SSD (how big depends on your sample library size)
1st Storage Drive - HDD.

But as above, if you're increasing your budget to afford multiple/larger/faster SSDs, it's worth checking you shouldn't instead be buying (e.g.) a better CPU. Or a quieter CPU cooler like the Noctua if you want a quiet system (you can ofc add a CPU cooler yourself but it's significantly more hassle than adding an SSD).

Thanks for your help so far with this. I did some thinking over the weekend and managed to find another £100 - this takes me to £850. I'm sure if I really needed it I can also find another £100 by sacrificing a few things in the year. So at a very maximum I think I can squeeze £950. With that in mind this is a spec I created based on what you shared:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
250GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
2nd Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB ADATA SX6000 LITE M.2 2280 (1800 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy Rx
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £979.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/NBXRUNu4AP/

I have a few follow up questions on this configuration:

1. If I ever wanted to in the future, could I change the CPU to something more powerful? And If I can, would it have to be AMD or would Intel work too?

2. It looks like I will have 6 USB ports in total (4 at the back and 2 in front). Have I read this correctly?

3. I think I know the answer but will this set up allow me to watch 4K movies if I wanted (assuming I have a 4K monitor)? IF not, what is the cheapest graphics card that will let me?

4. Am I able to connect this PC to a monitor via HDMI? I don't think I can see where it specifies the HDMI ports.

5. Is there a headphone jack?

6. Are there any glaring downsides to this PC which I should be aware of?

Thanks.

 

[Oussebon]

1. If I ever wanted to in the future, could I change the CPU to something more powerful? And If I can, would it have to be AMD or would Intel work too?

The short answer is that you will probably have some future CPU upgrade options with AMD, but not with an Intel build.

It's not quite to do with AMD or Intel, it's to do with the socket on the motherboard. Intel and AMD don't share sockets, so it would only be AMD, but different generations of CPU can use different sockets, so if you buy an AMD motherboard, or an Intel motherboard, a CPU from that company in 3 years time probably won't be compatible with today's motherboards.

Plus any other limitations from the BIOS and chipset but you can mostly ignore that bit).

That socket is AM4, so only supports AM4 CPUs. That means AMD Ryzen 1000, 2000, and 3000 series CPUs, and probably 4000 series CPUs that launch next year. After that, future AMD CPUs may use a different socket.

Intel is worse off in terms of upgrades in that the socket on their motherboards only supports 8000 and 9000 series and won't support anything beyond that (almost certainly as far as I know). Intel have a reputation for making people change motherboards every generation or couple of generations. AMD try to support more generations per socket iteration.

If you want a new CPU in, let's say, 4 years and you don't want to buy a whole new PC, you can of course still do that upgrade. But you will need to replace the motherboard and probably the RAM too if we're on DDR5 by then. But you can do that, it's like more expensive Lego.

Just because an upgrade is technically compatible of course doesn't mean it will be a good idea to do it. e.g. if you bought one of the cheaper B350 motherboards in 2017, trying to run an R9 3900x in it probably wouldn't be very safe, even though you can technically do it.

2. It looks like I will have 6 USB ports in total (4 at the back and 2 in front). Have I read this correctly?

The bit where PCS say "MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS" is a minimum. What you actually get depends on the case and the motherboard.
With the case and mobo currently in your spec, you'll have
2 x USB 3.0 front
4 x USB 3.0 rear
4 x USB 2.0 rear

3. I think I know the answer but will this set up allow me to watch 4K movies if I wanted (assuming I have a 4K monitor)? IF not, what is the cheapest graphics card that will let me?

Yes, easily. Watching 4k movies (and having a 4k desktop, with browsers and other 2d software) isn't demanding at all and many very weak GPUs are capable of it. It's 4k gaming that's extremely demanding.

4. Am I able to connect this PC to a monitor via HDMI? I don't think I can see where it specifies the HDMI ports.

Yes. The GPU will have an HDMI port. It will probably also have a DP output and a DVI output. Both the DP and HDMI output will support 4k 60hz.

And DP to HDMI adapters are only a few quid, say you ever had a pair of 4k screens with only HDMI as the input.

5. Is there a headphone jack?

The front of the case has a headphone jack and a separate port for a mic. The rear of the case has the 6 coloured audio connectors as below:

6. Are there any glaring downsides to this PC which I should be aware of?

If you're aiming for a quiet PC, a quieter PSU (TXm series, ideally RMx if you wanted super quiet).

In terms of outputs for Audio, the only extra output the sound card has is the optical audio out.

If you're not using that you could use the motherboard's outputs and drop the sound card.
If you are using the digital audio out, or you are otherwise keeping the sound card, drop the mobo to the Asus B450 PLUS. It doesn't have the slightly better audio of the B450 AORUS and is therefore cheaper. But if you're not using the motherboard's audio because you have a sound card, not much point buying the more expensive AORUS! Also the B450 PLUS has USB 3.1 Gen 2, which the AORUS does not.

The SSDs. You're buying small and cheap and relatively slow SSDs. Probably makes more sense to get a better SSD, and just add more SSDs in the future. The 970 Evo will quite possibly be faster than both of those SSDs put together.

You could drop the Noctua cooler. The R5 3600 cooler is fine, and free, and reasonably quiet so I understand. You can always add an upgraded cooler yourself in the future, but for now that's £60 to spend on other components and/or lessen your other sacrifices.

No point having a whisper quiet CPU cooler if you can just hear the PSU over it all anyway. Which I say as someone who built a PC with a be quiet! Dark Rock 3 cooler and an EVGA G1 PSU, mounted facing the side...

 

[Oussebon]

So with a:
revised mobo
revised cooler
revised SSD
whisper quiet / silent PSU:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 SUPER - HDMI
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy Rx
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £980.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/wAwetynF2z/