PC for Music Production. Tips welcome (I'm not an expert)

[Just M]

As said in the title, I'm no expert at this and just wanted some friendly advice.
I've put this together mainly for music production and do not plan to do any serious gaming on this PC.

I tried to go for a larger case to avoid any heating problems and allow room for upgrading in future. I already ordered but that was only moments ago so I can still amend things without getting charged as the build process hasn't started yet.

I don't require any specific sound card as I've got an external one for that but would love to know if this build is "decent" for my intended usage.

My budget is around £2600-2700
Any help is welcomed and appreciated.
Case
ASUS ProArt PA602 E-ATX CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-14900KS (Up to 6.2 GHz) 36MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6)

Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (4 x 16GB)

Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR

Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)

1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)

2nd M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED

Memory Card Reader
NONE

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT

Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED

USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)
Insurance
Simplesurance Purchase Protection inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would strongly suggest cancelling. Intel Raptor Lake's are not very good for audio for one thing, that processor WILL thermally melt within 6 months leading to instability, and that's aside from loads of other issues. But for audio, it's entirely pointless, there's so much latency that you have to disable all the ecores which basically means nerfing 50% of the performance anyway. You could spend under half the money and get a better processor, that's aside from the motherboard, PSU, cooling and case reductions for a normal processor vs that uncoolable furnace.

Most people didn't even review it because it's so pointless, so they just reviewed the 14900k which is literally exactly the same processor, but still dreadful

I'd cancel and then get some advice on something more suitable.

 

[Scott]

You most definitely want to cancel that order. We've been running DDR5 for years now, DDR4 is completely obsolete other than the most basic of systems or strictest of budgets.

This is such a healthy budget for a top end audio rig. Cancel and do it right, you'll even save some pennies in the process.

 

[Just M]

I appreciate the advice from both of you. I've cancelled and will probably hold off for a while as I dig a little deeper into things.

Those videos were surprising for someone like myself, foolishly assuming the newest and most expensive parts would be the best lol.

Thanks for helping me dodge a bullet. I really want to get this right.

 

[Scott]

No need to go it alone, we'll help suggest some specs where we can. Only the 14900KS part of the build was new, the rest of the platform was very dated. It's a complete minefield though so I can completely sympathise

We're all volunteers here so we just want to make sure you get the best bang for your buck. Hate to see anyone spending money where they don't need to or unwisely.

 

[Scott]

First crack at it below.

Case is a beauty. The 5000D airflow would be a fine alternative though if you fancied the more traditional shape. Define is also a good option for silence.

I don't think you need the power of the 7900 but it's a great chip for productivity with a good single thread speed. If you doubt you'll use the multi-core prowess then you can happily drop to the 7700. It's still a very powerful 8 core processor. I don't think you would need anything past the 7900 but the 7950X slots straight in as well if you think you'll be hammering the instruments/channels.

3060 is a fair choice for any build. You won't be using much, if any, GPU resource but it's always handy to have something useful in case it becomes a factor. The vRAM on the 3060 is quite generous for the level of card.

Storage laid out with seperate considerations (OS & Software / Instruments / Live Projects. You could most likely happily drop down to the P41 on the second drive, I just went with fast as the budget allowed.

Cooling is based on silent. Always want an audio rig to be quiet. If you want super quiet then the Define 7 is the case to go for. This must always be accompanied with an AIO for a good balance between acoustics & cooling.

The rest is fairly standard for this type of build.

Case
CORSAIR 6500X TEMPERED GLASS MID TOWER DUAL CHAMBER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12 Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.4GHz/76MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 32GB) AMD
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 4700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H115i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3 x Corsair ICUE LINK QX120 RGB PWM Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
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: £2,267.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/xteJDyn8Qb/

 

[SpyderTracks]

I appreciate the advice from both of you. I've cancelled and will probably hold off for a while as I dig a little deeper into things.

Those videos were surprising for someone like myself, foolishly assuming the newest and most expensive parts would be the best lol.

Thanks for helping me dodge a bullet. I really want to get this right.

Intel are desperately trying to resist a recall, at the moment they’re blaming board partners because as soon as they admit the issue as we know it currently, they’ll have to apply heavy power restrictions in a Micro code update that all board partners will have to apply in BIOS updates across all their boards. For single threaded uses like gaming, the impact isn’t so relevant but most people have bought these for multithreaded workloads and the impact there is around 20%

At that point, they either face a huge class action lawsuit for advising board partners of unsafe limits leading to silicon meltdown, or they have to bite the bullet and recall them as they no longer meet the specifications they were sold under.

I suspect it won’t be long before this becomes a government watchdog issue and they’re mandated to take action by the courts

Without question though, with things as they still stand with Intel refusing to mandate proper power limits, and most consumers not having adequate coolers, the failure rate is absolutely going to heavily escalate by the end of the year