ericuk Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I am going to get a new PC and want something pretty dope that will stand the test of time. My current one is 4 years old and still doesn't look to bad on paper but I need something a bit meatier for Cubase. I currently have a quad core i5 2.8ghz with 8gb ram, so was thinking of getting either a 3.5ghz i7 or a 3.2 six core with 32gb ram. Should I be getting the faster quad core or the slightly slower 6 core? Is 32gb ram worth having? anyone got that much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 GHz doesn't tell the full story on how fast a processor is, but assuming that everything was equal other than clock speed and number of cores, then the reason to choose the one with more cores is if you use software that can take advantage of them. If I was building a PC today I would use an Intel Core i7 4770K CPU, which is the newer version of the one I have (3770K). Overall, I don't think the 6/8 core AMD CPUs are worth it, although they tend to be a bit cheaper. If you've got money to burn, then you could go with an Extreme Edition Intel chip. I have 16GB of RAM in my PC and have never come close to using it all, but I don't use Cubase (or any production software really), so I don't know how much RAM they use. If you can afford it, sure, go for 32GB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I have that same chip which I overclocked to 3.9 ghz and it makes a world of a difference. Have you thought about OC'ing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 I saw a company that sells OC motherboard kits. They have a 4.4ghz over clocked i7 that sounded pretty cool. I don't really know much about it to do it myself. I know it can be done from adjusting voltages in the bios but that's it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 OC'ing is pretty easy nowadays, as more than likely on a new motherboard you wont have a BIOS. You'll have it's replacement, UEFI. It should have the option to just bump up the OC in 5% increments and the same on your RAM. If I was choosing I'd go for a fast quad/hex core AMD, but that's because I'm a skintflint. I'd choose a faster quad over a slower hex, it's hard to see which programs will use all those cores efficiently so I'd say it's better to know you have that extra grunt for programs that can't. 32GB of RAM is crazy big but it's pretty cheap for DDR3 now anyway so just whack it in if you want to. Also, make sure you buy a solid state drive, I think Steve has one? (not to sell obviously!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacken Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I don't think that you need that much ram or over clocked CPU for audio software. My biggest ableton projects use about 30% of my 8gb ram. 16GB is more than good for now and good for future. You should invest into SSD and use it as your system drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Just read an article as to why you SHOULD have loads of RAM coincidentally: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/07/16/ssd-competition-heats-up-crucial-offer-500-gb-for-under-300/ There’s also been some interesting experiments done about the impact larger amounts of system RAM have on SSD lifespans too over on Tom’s Hardware. They show just how having more RAM significantly cuts the amount of writes software has to do to your SSD. And the less writes it takes the longer those Flash chips are going to last. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 cheers for the advice folks. Final question is - where is the CHEAPEST uk shop to get components from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Not sure about the cheapest but Novatech and Ebuyer have always been good to me. You'll save on getting everything from one shop for postage. Don't use overclockers.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I called up 2 places local to me and one didn't call me back, the other asked me to email spec and hasn't got back to me. Fucking idiots. I'm buying 2 pc's so they could be taking a couple of grand off me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I'll build you one for a small fee. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 it's cool, I can build them, I was just exploring component prices and MB kits that have already been OC'd and tested. It seems that the cheap sites are very much the same sort of prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Intel Core i7-3930KAsus GeForce GT 640 4GB PCI-ExpressCorsair Vengeance Performance Memory modules 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 2133MHzZALMAN CNPS 12X - Processor coolerFATAL1TY X79 CHAMPION S2011SANDISK 240GB SSD EXTREME BOOM. Wait till I OC dis biatch. DV is gonna be so fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 You not getting a PSU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 750w....cant remember the joe brand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Great choice of components. It's gonna be a beast! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Hopefully your CPU fan doesn't get in the way of your RAM (since you are using 4sticks). I had to go from 4 to 2 sticks because my cooler stuck out so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Its gonna be tight in there. ... said the vicar to the maid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Picking up the parts today. Going to be a busy boy tomorrow... got 2 machines to build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 Bloody computers! Okay so getting the motherboard connected up was easy. Everything was normal until putting in the massive cpu cooler. It barely went in and had all funny fitting. The ram just squeezes in and I had to move the graphics card. Rediculous. Then the screen didn't show the bios. Tried all the fsult finding to then realise it was the screen. All in all it was a long day of faffing about. At least the second one will be easier now I know what to expect. Oh and its only showibg 24gb ram so that's my next issue to solve. Hopefully its just a poorly seated stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 When I had a glance at that cooler, I thought you'd be OK as it doesn't look as big as the one I have. I guess not though. I bought low profile RAM because regular RAM wouldn't fit in. Also, on a lot of MOBOs the upper GPU slot is 8X while the lower one is only 4X so there is a performance hit by having to use that lower slot. I just about got my GPU to fit into the upper slot, but I made a dodgy back plate for the GPU out of card and electrical tape, so it's wedged in the very small gap between the back of the GPU and the cooler to prevent any shorts. If the card simply won't fit at all though, personally I would probably just send the cooler back and get a smaller one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie(the)goonie Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 With the money that you're spending on this system - have you ever thought of water cooling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 I looked into water cooling when I built my machine, but I decided against it. I don't know enough about it to build some crazy custom water cooling, so I would have gone with one of the all-in-one solutions such as those made by Corsair. Only problem with those is, they don't offer much better cooling than the top end air coolers and they are much noisier unless you lower the fan speeds, in which case the air coolers offer better temps while still being as quiet, if not quieter. I made sure everything would fit before I bought the components, but it only just does. This isn't my PC, but it's the same cooler as I have in the same case and you can see how close the back of the GPU is to it: - http://i.imgur.com/HMppHUw.jpg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 phwoar nice set-up Steve! If the card simply won't fit at all though, personally I would probably just send the cooler back and get a smaller one. That's what I did, too much faffing and stress in the end so went for something smaller.that CPU cooler is a right Beastadon too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericuk Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 I got it up to 4ghz without breaking a sweat. I need more alone time with my new toy to drop the voltages and check temps under load but its looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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