Looking for a Desktop, ~$1,200 Budget

[SenorDingDong]

Hey, I am having the damnedest time finding a desktop for recording without going the gaming route, in which it has been difficult to find a good deal as GPU power doesn't much matter to me, and the prices and specs are skewed specifically towards gaming performance.

I would prefer a Windows PC, I don't like Mac UI, and can spend around ~$1,200.

I currently own and MSI GT80 TITAN SLI, and the things it does, it does to extreme degrees (dual 1080ti in SLI crush mostly anything) but what it struggles with is being suited towards my gradual lack of interest in gaming and increased focus on recording. I want to switch the tables.


Anyways, thanks in advance!

 

[TedEH]

Realistically I see no reason why your MSI couldn't handle some recording even if that's not what it was purpose built for. That being said, if you're looking for specifically a desktop or just an upgrade, I'm not sure that there are very many purpose-built-for-audio PCs out there, especially within reasonable price ranges.

If I wanted a recording-specific PC, I'd probably look up the parts and build it. Given that a GPU for gaming tends to be a big money drain, excluding it would give you lots of budget to get good stuff everywhere else. Skip the GPU, the beefy power supply and fancy rgb nonsense and throw that extra money into more RAM, better CPU, faster disks, etc.

 

[SenorDingDong]

Realistically I see no reason why your MSI couldn't handle some recording even if that's not what it was purpose built for.

I'm mainly looking to get the form factor and utilize maximum USB ports for a desktop. My Titan is an 18 inch, 14 pound monster that takes a ton of room due to how much is packed into it.

I might look into the building route or do a bare bones kit if I cant find anything else. It's such a pain in the ass. I looked at what Sweetwater has available and it's a laugh, about 300-400% markup, given the specs and hardware used in their builds.

 

[TedEH]

That's fair. I don't pay close enough attention to the world of hardware, but I'm definitely the type who would just enjoy the process of building, including the research into the parts I want and stuff, so that's the route I'd take.

I know I've heard of audio-tailored builds before, but as soon as you get into "premade workstation" territory, my assumption is that prices are going to start going up.

 

[otisct20]

The sweetwater ones are pretty pricey. I would assume building is the best option at the moment.

 

[zarg]

I would go the building route if you can. For a config you should try to get somewhere like: Core i7, 16/32GB of DDR4 and mostly SSD Storage and HDD Mass Storage. A good quality/lasting 500W PSU and compatible mb and you're set.

 

[littlebadboy]

Realistically I see no reason why your MSI couldn't handle some recording even if that's not what it was purpose built for.

I agree with TED.

My late father left behind an old laptop. I picked it up and just upgraded the cpu to an i5 and maximized the RAM. It works well with my DAW. A Behringer UMD204HD interface is plugged into it as well as my Boss GT-100 via USB including a trackball but they don't slow the machine down.

 

[devastone]

Pretty much any modern desktop, or i5 or better laptop is light years ahead of where it was 5 - 10 years ago. Unless you are planning on running more than 32 tracks at a time, pretty much any i5 or better machine should be fine, just up the RAM to 8 or 16G and put in a fast hard drive, preferably a SSD with another disc for backups. The backup could be a USB drive, I have a 1TB USB drive (HD, not a stick) that was around $100 IIRC.

 

[TedEH]

preferably a SSD

Legit question -
Is SSD a good idea for audio? I'm thinking that the speed boost is definitely good in terms of being able to handle a lot of playback/tracking at once, but would the frequent read/writes take a good chunk out of the lifetime of the drive?

 

[SenorDingDong]

So I guess I should clarify, my laptop is a $5k monster, and easily capable of every task I can think of throwing at it, but it is so bulky monstrous, and I am moving away from gaming, the easiest setup would be a tower under the desk and a pair of monitor on top, rather than a massive laptop in the center of everything. I just want a new avanue to focus on recording, and condense my studio.


I will look into building, but still would rather pay for an end result than spend hours of my own time and effort creating something that, hourly, doesn't make sense from a financial perspective.

 

[TedEH]

hourly, doesn't make sense from a financial perspective.

IMO, if you take the research element out of the equation, building a PC takes.... what, 30 minutes? And even a pre-installed machine usually (for me) means re-installing and setting stuff up from scratch anyway, so that part isn't really a factor either. If it was me, I wouldn't think of it as much time saved.

 

[GunpointMetal]

So I guess I should clarify, my laptop is a $5k monster, and easily capable of every task I can think of throwing at it, but it is so bulky monstrous, and I am moving away from gaming, the easiest setup would be a tower under the desk and a pair of monitor on top, rather than a massive laptop in the center of everything.

So just close it, hook up a couple of monitors, and slide it under a monitor stand?

 

[buriedoutback]

So just close it, hook up a couple of monitors, and slide it under a monitor stand?

This was my initial thought.
external screen(s)
wireless keyboard/mouse
usb hub
usb interface into monitor speakers
smoke-show

 

[Descent]

There are strictly DAW recording builders:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...sional-audio-and-video-production-workstation


High end pro workstation will also do it:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1417766-REG/hp_4al73ut_aba_800_g4_twr_i7_8700.html

or built strictly for recording:
https://pcaudiolabs.com/rok-box-mc-x-series/

I've also built my own systems, so far have had no flops. You can find local computer shop that can put one for you, Frys and Micro Center offer that service, so spec your gear and you can go that route. AFAIK there is one local shop that does that internationally:

www.directron.com

 

[buriedoutback]

Legit question -
Is SSD a good idea for audio? I'm thinking that the speed boost is definitely good in terms of being able to handle a lot of playback/tracking at once, but would the frequent read/writes take a good chunk out of the lifetime of the drive?

I've been rocking a ssd in my recording rigs for about a few years now. The speed is definitely an incredible advantage for playback/tracking. Honestly I can't comment on ssd life, but I bought (what i felt) was the best ssd I could (samsung evo), so I'm not too worried about it.

 

[GunpointMetal]

Legit question -
Is SSD a good idea for audio? I'm thinking that the speed boost is definitely good in terms of being able to handle a lot of playback/tracking at once, but would the frequent read/writes take a good chunk out of the lifetime of the drive?

Technically, the rewrites will take a toll on the drive but you’re talking A LOT of disk usage before there’s an issue. HDD or SSD, you’re doing “serious” recording and your files are only saved in one place (or only two places) you’re asking for trouble. IME, mechanical drives are 200% more likely to have an issue over SSD.

 

[B.M.F.]

Technically, the rewrites will take a toll on the drive but you’re talking A LOT of disk usage before there’s an issue. HDD or SSD, you’re doing “serious” recording and your files are only saved in one place (or only two places) you’re asking for trouble. IME, mechanical drives are 200% more likely to have an issue over SSD.

Preach. I lost a whole album on an IDE drive going bad in 2003. SSD is a miracle especially the OS speed and installed programs speed. They will last near an eternity if handled with care...

 

[Descent]

I've had nothing but problems with SSD so I am still going with RPM 7200 and 10000 drives.

 

[SenorDingDong]

I would try the closed idea of not for the amount of hardware and the temp at which my laptop runs. It has a mechanical keyboard, not a traditional chiclets, and is designed very different than run of the mill laptops. I can easily see the burn-in potential of the keys onto the screen.

That's the design. While running heavy processing applications, the steel chassis can get warm enough that resting the screen again it could definitely cause warping.


Will look into some of those work stations.

 

[TedEH]

The workstations don't surprise me too much - I figured that kind of thing was out there, and the value isn't as bad as I was expecting - but my is that your dollar would go farther by building it yourself. At the same time, I recognize the value of paying not to deal with the hassle too, so to each their own.