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prophetik music
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If it shows how long it's been since I last actively lurked OCR, I didn't realize that Nabeel had changed his handle.

Here's a fun escalation of this case: The computer does not boot with said drive connected (BSOD error "Bad_System_Config"), but will boot just fine if I disconnect this storage drive. I can even hot-plug the drive in after boot and access files just fine, but as long as the HDD is connected during the windows boot sequence, I get a BSOD error.  I called microsoft custserv, and they recommend running chkdsk but only after I back up the drive, which means I need to find a 3TB disk in the near future.  They also sent my case to a seperate MSFT tech support team, who I won't hear from until later this week.

 

In short, I have no idea what's going on.

2 hours ago, misty78 said:

Lost most of my money on cryptocurrencies, could not cough up the 1700 even if my life depended on it.

My deepest sympathies.  I'm almost too scared to touch that realm, for that very reason.

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16 hours ago, Anorax said:

Here's a fun escalation of this case: The computer does not boot with said drive connected (BSOD error "Bad_System_Config"), but will boot just fine if I disconnect this storage drive. I can even hot-plug the drive in after boot and access files just fine, but as long as the HDD is connected during the windows boot sequence, I get a BSOD error.  I called microsoft custserv, and they recommend running chkdsk but only after I back up the drive, which means I need to find a 3TB disk in the near future.  They also sent my case to a seperate MSFT tech support team, who I won't hear from until later this week.

during boot, the computer attempts to initialize all the drives. sounds like there's something that's causing that service to choke during boot that windows itself is fine with.

replace the drive immediately. don't use it unless you absolutely have to.

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  • 3 months later...
Quote
So far the M.2 SSD’s for sample libraries has been absolute bliss. It really showed off while I was developing Shreddage 3. At a 6kb disk stream buffer our main patch is still 2GB of RAM, and yet whenever I’d load new instances of the patch I feel like I could never even notice a “load time”. The time between “i want to open this instrument” and hearing the sound respond from my MIDI controller is just insane. For the promo trailer score I was just cloning instances left and right (i think there’s 11 total??) to get different tones, different performance configs, etc. and the PC kept up as if I was just making new .txt files on my desktop.
 
And the tiny disk stream buffer has reduced the RAM load of my large projects by *over 60%*. For example one of the older Sole projects (indie game I’m scoring) was 29GB RAM load on my last computer. On this one it’s 11GB. Of course it depends how many libs are using DFD and how big their sample start buffers are, but still, it was a wide spread of orchestral stuff from different devs, so pretty averaged out in my use case.
 
With the fast processor, the Sole project also went from bleeding and sputtering at over 90% CPU usage (at a FULL 2048smp ASIO buffer) to floating around 45% (at a tiny 128smp ASIO buffer).
 
As far as dev is concerned, combining these drive speeds with FIOS gigabit is a killer combo. I can compress Shreddage 3 into an archive and drop it on our FTP in just a few minutes. Also, all of Kontakt’s resaving and audio compression utilities are much faster as well, so it makes release prep and distros in general a really painless process (previously was something you had to set aside time out of your day to take care of).
 
So far 110% happy with this rig.

My message to Brad earlier this week.

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thanks nabeel =D for those wondering, while i forgot to take pics of his build, we did a pretty fun build featuring an i7-8700k, 2tb of M.2 SSDs, and 64gb of 3466mhz DDR4. i did some overclocking on it and a bit of window dressing with RGB stuff, and apparently it's working pretty well. in particular it sounds like the crazy speed of the 960 EVOs is allowing for some really crazy load times.

i've also done a few other builds since this one - one for a guy on the boards, and two for family members (embedded machines for an office). i have two more in planning for the black friday / christmas rush as well =)

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HI, do you think you can build me the best computer possible for music production and, If so, how do you send your builds out to customs and do you have flex payment plans for people who can't pay all at once? I own a laptop that is so slow it can't even keep up with emails. A computer with speed, max ram, about 180 gig's and a professional sound card,external, that rivals any music studio is what i need just to give you an example of what i feel works best for me ONLY; No Windows 10, OS please lmao. Here is a collection of my music so you can hear and inform me if the sound quality could be better seeing as you deal with computers capable of high-end sound. Bandcamp

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The one you built me ("The Cube" I call it) has been great, so I'm now trying to put something together for my wife. She picked out a case she liked, and I've worked up a part list... Thought I'd post it up for opinions/feedback:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/macroidtoe/saved/mj6zYJ

She mostly would just be using it for internet/video, but I wanted it to have a bit of gaming capability since she does occasionally find something she enjoys (or this may be a "kid's first computer" down the road). Did I overdo it? Underdo it? Still need to figure out the extra fans/cooling, but PCPartPicker is telling me a liquid CPU cooler is incompatible with the case even though the description on Newegg says it is compatible, and I've seen other people put one in their build... but I don't know if I really need one or not. Debating as well if I should split up the storage into a smaller SSD and a bigger HDD, or if just the one 500 GB SSD would be enough for her.

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you can get a 500gb 860 evo for 82$ on newegg right now. don't use a platter drive for anything under a terabyte.

you can run windows 10 indefinitely without a key legally. it updates and everything, and just doesn't let you change some basic settings. use the money you're saving from not buying that and get a better processor.

it'd be better to buy a single 8gb stick of RAM vs. 2x 4gb. that mobo's only got two slots so upgrading would require you to replace everything vs. just throwing another stick in there.

in my personal opinion, low-cost gigabyte motherboards aren't as good. msi's got some nice budget boards and so does asrock. i'd go with their options in the sub-60$ space before gigabyte. their low-end caps are really bad.

i like the pick for PSU. it's too much wattage but it's a great long-term pick that'll last forever.

lastly, the 1050 Ti WILL be CPU-bottlenecked. i approve of the 8-series Intel CPUs across the board, but you're definitely going to be hurting with the -8100, especially since games played on lower-end computers tend to be MMOs which also tend to be CPU hogs. just keep that in mind.

stock cooling is fine for an -8100. if you desperately want an aftermarket cooler there's numerous flatpack sub-30$ options that are good.

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Another glowing review for @prophetik music from here - I've had my new build for about a week and it is the sleekest, sexiest, most awesome machine I've ever used!

Brad was very capable, very knowledgeable, and very precise with all parts of how he manages this 'hobby,' as he calls it. Well, hobby or not, he has shown me a level of integrity and customer service I don't see in this world much - and I have a lot of respect for that.

If anyone needs a build, I cannot recommend anyone better for the job than this guy. Whether you know exactly what you're looking for or have no clue where to start, Brad will be able to help you get to where you need to go.

Thank you again for everything, Brad - like @PRYZM, I'm 110% happy with my new computer! :)

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On 1/8/2019 at 8:23 PM, yangfeili said:

Here's Round 2:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PPVfcY

I bumped the processor up at first to an i5-8400, but the i5-8500 was only a little bit more so I figured why not. Made a couple of other tweaks as you suggested.

looks good. the 8500's a nice cpu. too bad the 9-series doesn't have an x500 version out yet. another note - the PSU you picked is the g3, which costs a tiny bit more in exchange for having a quieter eco fan mode via a selector switch, and being ~10mm shorter to allow for more room in mini-ITX cases. if you can get the G2 for less money, it's not a downgrade IMO.

also thanks for the props everyone! it's always fun to get builds. i don't make much money off of them when fees and materials are accounted for but i certainly enjoy the work. plus how else am i going to be able to spend other people's money to play with new hardware? =)

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  • 1 year later...

i didn't realize it'd been this long since i've posted here about this, but i'm still doing this. so if you need a new machine to work from home with, or you want to use your upcoming stimulus/ubi check to play some phat games, let me know and i'll get you hooked up. i have more time than what used to be normal thanks to working from home, so i still am actively doing this.

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  • 2 months later...

Been following this thread from the shadows for 12 years now... Seeing all the people getting help, this is the one place in the internet I trust!

I'm looking to upgrade a few parts... What I have now: (Sorry its kind of word-salad to me; just writing down what I see on the boxes, or the Amazon pages I bought them from.)

  1. EVGA Supernova 550 G3 550 watt gold power supply
  2. ASRock Phantom Gaming Radion RX 580, (8GB GDDR5)
  3. Patriot Signature DDR3 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-12800 (1600MHz) 240-Pin DDR3 Desktop Memory Kit PSD38G1600K -- and another 8 GB of whatever came with the computer.
  4. Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA 2.5" Internal SSD -- plus another 1TB platter drive that I use for backup.

These are all pretty new so I really don't want to replace them!

What I'm looking to get:

  1. A new case -- current one is banged up, the front fan is suspended by rubber bands.
  2. A new motherboard and CPU
  3. Whatever else is necessary for a computer to run. DVD drive? Haven't used it in years...

What I'm looking to do:

  1. Run Red Dead Redemption 2
  2. Go crazy with VSTs in Reason 9
  3. Not be bothered by noise. Right now there's some water cooling system that's rattling, driving me crazy. I can't find a model name or number on it and don't have the receipts to figure out what it might be. Nervous about taking it off to clean it and not being able to put it back on, or if the CPU itself is part of it. Its been 7-10 years now and I read they last like 5, so...
  4. Maybe, possibly, replace the GPU, too. Its just so damn loud, especially in indoor environments. FF14 and GTAV both run pretty much fine when outdoors, but soon as I go inside an apartment, the fans get so loud so fast I fear they're going to crash the drivers or computer--like several un-optimized Unity demo games have done. In Outer Worlds, soon as I look at the coloured glass the professor guy is hiding behind in his space station, it does the same thing, then starts cooling down when I turn away. Had to set the FPS cap to 30 to stop it. GTAV claims its only using 1600 MB of the 8 GB too.

I figure that covers the big stuff! I'm in Canada, so I don't know about shipping, and still waiting for one of those fancy stimulus checks. Trying to figure out what will work with my current upgrades and if I'll be able to afford it. Would really appreciate it if you could help! :D

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hey jigs! so for mobo/cpu, i can't recommend the current ryzen series enough. there's a ton of talk out there but the current ryzen series is stellar and has the infrastructure to be a great cpu for a long time. i'd look in that realm. for cases, if i were you, i'd look at whatever cases have the most reviews on newegg that'll fit your motherboard you pick (likely standard atx) and that newegg actually sells. there's a ton of options out there, but if you buy one that generally has a lot of good reviews it'll be hard to go wrong. you can do similar for a mobo. expect to spend maybe a hundred USD for the motherboard. you can get a great case shipped for maybe 60 or 70 USD as well. for the ryzen, one of the mid-level options would be perfect, like the 3600.

Edited by prophetik music
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Thanks! I'm looking around some, and I might be a little confused. A Motherboard doesn't come with a CPU? So its $100 for the motherboard, $60-70 for the case, and the CPU itself... This?

Do CPUs come with thermal paste for installation, or is that another thing to get on its own?

 

 

Edited by Jiggery-Ponkery
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correct. you'd want that cpu since it doesn't come with the motherboard. it comes with a cooler with some basic thermal paste on it so you don't have fool with your own unless you want to (it's cheap and pretty easy, but i get not wanting to do it yourself).

there's a ton of great youtube tutorials on how everything plugs in together. just be careful since that cpu has pins and it's easy to bend them =)

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This is getting pretty difficult for me as a picky person who knows nothing about modern technology.

Someone suggested this case and this motherboard, but a Youtube review mentioned that my particular graphics card tends to run hot with this case due to the lack of front fans. That sounds bad, since the most annoying thing is the graphics card's fans running loud. Then my friend mentioned the motherboard has spacing issues and limited fan plugs, so if I went with another case I don't know if I'd even be able to plug in more fans? And both those suggestions came with downgrading to a Ryzen 3 3300X to fit within the budget range I offered--because it turns out I need to upgrade my RAM to DDR4 as well. Oof. Feels like I'm back to square one with figuring out what to get...

Edit: Recruiting another friend to help me narrow selections down, hopefully I'll figure it out before midnight tonight! If not, then I'm stumped and I'll come begging for specifics. XD

 

   
Edited by Jiggery-Ponkery
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you're keeping the budget low so there's only so much you can do, really. i would definitely recommend a case that has front and back fans (front pull, back push) to keep air moving, but it doesn't need to be a complex decision past that. pick one with good reviews that doesn't complain about quality and you'll be fine. as for the motherboard, you need a mobo that supports your CPU and has at least one pci-express x16 3.0 slot and two fan headers. if you need wifi you'd need an uncovered pci slot as well probably (uncovered means that the gfx card isn't going to cover it up). the rest is pretty standard. in general i prefer msi motherboards these days but use asrock and gigabyte as needed based on prices and features.

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