I want to build you a computer

[Meteo Xavier]

My question comes off condescending and I don't mean it that way at all, rather I'm prying for further clarity, but what kind of stutter problem could THAT be where you have to replace the whole thing with a $6,000+ computer?

I don't want to take any business away from Brad, but that sounds very strange and I'd like to inquire further on what that means for your ultimate benefit. Potential chance whatever that stutter problem is could carry on to the next computer unless it's investigated thoroughly.

[GSO]

22 hours ago, GSO said:

@prophetik music How much would it cost for you to build this Kind of computer(my music pc is having problems with a "stutter" exporting from my DAW because I'm building my own Multis from premade instruments for the kontakt player):

 

	Computer Case	Cooler Master N 300
	CPU	Intel i9 - 7980XE Extreme (18 x 2.6 GHZ - Turbo 18 x 4.2 GHZ)
	CPU Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer 12 - Low Noise
	Memory	Corsair 128GB Vengeance LPX 3600MHz (8x16GB) - Lifetime Warranty (DDR4)
	Graphics Card	None or Motherboard Integrated Graphics
	Motherboard	Asus TUF MARK 2 (Intel X299) - 6xUSB3.1/4xUSB2/RGB
	Sound Card	Asus STRIX SOAR 7.1 (PCI-E)
	Wired Networking	Motherboard Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet Lan (Broadband Ready)
	Expansion Cards	7 x USB 2.0 External Hub (USB)
	Power Supply	Corsair RMx 1000W (Modular) PSU - Low Noise / Silent
	CPU Compound	Standard CPU Compound Supplied With Heatsink
	Extra Case Fans	1 x 120 MM Extra Case Fan - Ultra Low Noise
	Wireless Networking	Wireless Network Card 300Mbps (PCI-E)
	Hard Drive #1	6 TB Seagate (6000 GB) SATA-III HDD 7200 RPM 128MB Cache
	Hard Drive #2	2 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD SATA-III, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s - Silent
	RAID	RAID 1 (Mirror)
	Hard Drive #3	8 TB Seagate (8000 GB) SATA-III HDD 5900 RPM 128MB Cache
	Hard Drive #4	2 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD SATA-III, Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s - Silent
	Optical Drive #1	8x DVD/CD Re-Writer/Reader - USB - (External)
	Optical Drive #2	LG (WH14NS40) 14x Blu-Ray Re-Writer/Reader & 16x DVD/CD Re-Writer (Software Included)
	Card Reader	Internal Card Reader 50-in-1 (5.25 Inch Bay)
	External USB Storage	3.5" 6000GB (6TB) External Hard Drive - USB3
	Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64 BIT (Genuine DVD & COA Included)
	Security Software	Microsoft Windows Defender (10 Year License - 1 PC License)
	Backup Software	1-Click Recovery System - Image Backup - Original O/S DVD - 16 GB USB Recovery Drive
	Keyboards	* Whatever small keyboard you recommend
	Surge Protection	8 Port Surge Protection
	Power Cable	1 x 1.8 Metre EU Mains Power Cable   ...I got a quote of 6K+ in Euros from these guys: https://www.computerplanet.co.uk/

...Well, I don't really know. the stutter could be from any thing. my top theories tho are(and the multis are things like Symphony series woodwinds, brass, strings, And Alicia's Keys all stacked together):

1. My PC freaks out be cause the multis use too much RAM

2. My PC freaks out be cause the multis are taxing the CPU

3. My PC freaks out be cause the multis are being run in addition to unnecessary background programs

[prophetik music]

it's my job to tell customers if what they're doing isn't a good idea, jeff =P and i do do that, pretty regularly.

gso, i'll contact you via pm.

edit: a quote with a significantly different cpu and HDD profile came in around 5200$ shipped, if anyone's wondering. that's for a 7820X (way more practical for music work, way faster clock and a few less threads) with 128gb DDR4 3600mhz RAM, roughly 3tb of SSD space over three drives for fast access to large libraries, and an 8tb drive for storage. however, i said that with the caveat that her issue is likely that all her stuff is probably on one HDD, and spreading out her library over multiple HDDs will likely fix the issue. that's a guess though as i don't know her system setup at all.

[prophetik music]

bit of a bump here. i'm assuming that people are getting their tax returns soon - with some of newegg's sales going on now, it might be a good time to look into buying or upgrading. i've already gotten two questions recently about it from forum members =)

[metamorphosis]

On 1/5/2016 at 4:33 PM, Nabeel Ansari said:

Once upon a time in 2011 (I was merely a 10th grader), dear brad had helped me select parts for my first PC I'd ever built

On this day, this machine is still going strong, with many wonderful upgrades cast in over the years, like an OS SSD, GTX 970, and 32GB RAM. Tanks through the biggest and baddest Kontakt libraries and power synths, and with my new graphics card, 50-60's games like Shadow of Mordor and Fallout 4. Only a one part has ever failed (the mechanical hard drive, just last year). What's most surprising is this power supply has straight been in this machine for now ~4-5 years and is still stable. 600W modular OCZ.

That's not that surprising. A decent PSU will have a lifespan of at least ten years.

Not to knock his work, of course, just noting.

[prophetik music]

14 hours ago, metamorphosis said:

That's not that surprising. A decent PSU will have a lifespan of at least ten years.

Not to knock his work, of course, just noting.

10 years is a pretty long life for a PSU sold nowadays, considering capacitor deterioration. most PSUs have three-year warranties for a reason. i have an ax850 that i keep as a backup now that was 8 years of 8hrs a day, but those are the exception rather than the rule nowadays. the only reason it lasted that long is because it was way more than i needed when i bought it, and so as a result the loss of max power wasn't noticeable for a long time. it's probably not pushing more than 500w at this point, so the max power is nearly cut in half.

[metamorphosis]

On 1/25/2018 at 3:45 AM, prophetik music said:

10 years is a pretty long life for a PSU sold nowadays, considering capacitor deterioration. most PSUs have three-year warranties for a reason. i have an ax850 that i keep as a backup now that was 8 years of 8hrs a day, but those are the exception rather than the rule nowadays. the only reason it lasted that long is because it was way more than i needed when i bought it, and so as a result the loss of max power wasn't noticeable for a long time. it's probably not pushing more than 500w at this point, so the max power is nearly cut in half.

I think capacitor aging is less of an issue than people think it is, and certainly not that extreme, in my opinion.

[prophetik music]

it's certainly not 10% a year like the forum poster claims. i use 5% as a guideline and roll with it. i'd rather not risk my data when a really nice psu frankly isn't that expensive nowadays compared to cpu and gfx and ram prices.

[Meteo Xavier]

Ok, serious post now.

I'm still not in any real market for a new computer yet, but as I'm still in an era where sheer, unmitigated disaster surrounds me every moment of every day and I really have to plan that something completely out of left field will come in and take out my desktop (which is still my most important computer), I'm paranoid enough now to need a backup idea going on and I promised my next computer would be a Brad Burr computer.

My desktop needs will need to keep me going on music production (FL Studio 11, Kontakt, Omnisphere, Zebra 2, EWQLSO and such equivalent VSTs), office work, and audio hardware recording, but I'll also be moving into somewhat more professional photo and video editing and, if possible, mid-level gaming. Such parameters I'm interested in are the following:

* Pretty damn nice new modern processor. What're these Ryzens the kids have all been about lately. New tech processors that are the next stage up from the processors of the last 5 years.

* Better graphics card than what integrated graphics and most casual computers have. I don't need the creme da le creme of graphics cards, but I do need something that is a few rungs up as editing video has produced problems lately with my integrated graphics cards and I want to be able to edit and work with higher quality camera stuff.

* Mid-level computer gaming. I'm not a computer gamer and I don't need to be running the ultimate gaming machine and whatever all the newest, biggest games are, but it would be nice if I could be able to have STEAM finally and run JRPGs like the Hyperdimension games and other stuff from GOG.com. Stuff that's come out in the last 8 years or so that my consumer level graphics cards and stuff could not run.

* Windows 7. I have an official copy of it, myself.

* Better audio card for recording from the older Roland romplers. I still have a want to fill the niche for making Roland Sound Canvas songs, songs from my XV5050 and maybe any other from that era that comes along. This would be a focus on clear audio recording quality as opposed to having lots of connections and inputs and stuff as I still only just have a small corner of a room to record with, not even close to a home studio. Again not looking for creme da le creme, but something a few rungs up for a serious hobbyist. Maybe "prosumer" is the level I'm looking at? Something that might allow me to record from the S/PDIF on my XV5050 would be nice as well, if possible.

* USB.3.0 plugins and all that modern shit.

 

I think from my luddite-level ignorance, those are the things I am looking for. What sort of prospects do I look for there?

[prophetik music]

a few thoughts:

none of the new processors can run windows 7 without workarounds, and it's been years since it was supported. i'd suggest moving to windows 10. you can use it indefinitely without a product key legally, so it's not like it'd cost you anything.

basically everything has usb3 nowadays so don't worry about that.

for the audio card, you'd want to do your own research on that and just let me know what you want. you know your needs better than me. if you give me a few options for what you really want, i can then make sure it'll work properly with your setup. there's always someone else who's asked about a setup close to yours in the past and often you can then confirm from reviews or real-life usage cases that it'd do what you want.

on the cpu side, it depends a bit, but for the most part both the 7/8 series of intel processors and the mid-level ryzen processors are pretty solid. intel tends to be cooler with faster individual cores, whereas ryzen tends to have more threads but run hotter and at a slower effective speed. we'll see what your price range is to pick this.

for graphics, all cards are very expensive right now, but a 1050 Ti can be found for under 200$, and that's not bad at all for 1080p gaming on new games, let alone older stuff. it won't be a monster for video editing but it'll definitely give you some gpu acceleration if your tool has that. ram prices are also up and i'm assuming you'd want at least 16gb for audio and video work, so expect that to be 180$ or so too.

overall it always comes down to price. you could spend 7-800$ and get a decent machine that does what you've described with some limitations, and you could spend 2k and get more computer. it's up to you.

when you're seriously ready to start looking at options, PM me with how much you have available to spend and we'll go from there. the market is fairly volatile right now so it's tough to estimate very far out.

[Meteo Xavier]

That's good information even if I'm not sure I'd need it now - the knowledge that Windows 7 isn't supported on newer processors in particular was worth asking about to know just by itself. I would just like to know I can still run my outdated version of Fl Studio 11 on Windows 10 as I've granted by whatever powers this universe some surprise activities in that field and won't have time to get acquainted with all the new things the modern versions change around.

I would say I'm semi-serious because, really, it could be any moment for any reason my desktop explodes and I get shrapnel embedded in my skull like Big Boss. In an 11-month period alone my wife and I barely escaped a historic wildfire in the mountains, near business collapse from said fire, 4 trees falling down on our property (one of which was 80 feet tall), the water main down the street from us blowing up twice in 3 weeks, losing my Grandma and our only car with 72 hours of each other on Thanksgiving, two miscarriages, my mom having a freak accident that completely shattered her elbow... the list just goes on. Yet while physical security is at an astonishing low, financial security in recent times has surprisingly picked up and I might be able to afford more than $700-$800.

It's again more projection, promises and chin music from me, but hopefully you might understand my unique position and need to be prepared all the same. If such a disaster happens, I'm in a much better position to give my business to you again than I was beforehand.

 

[prophetik music]

there's no reason your version of FL wouldn't run on w10. i still have fl11 installed on my music pc as well for a few things.

[fredrikd]

Hey all!

I've just pulled the trigger on a computer which Brad's given me a ton of help putting together. Shipping from the US to Norway would have meant a painful lot of money in shipping and taxes, but even if that was out of the question he still wanted to help me find the proper parts, which I could then buy locally.

Communicating with Brad has been nothing but a positive experience. He's got a wealth of knowledge and was able to answer all the questions I had in a very informative way. I can't recommend him enough for anyone who's looking for a new computer.

Thanks!

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I know I've already said this in a few places, but I just want to whole-heartedly endorse Prophetik-built computers. I got one from him about 8 years ago, and I'm still using it (albeit with a few upgrades made in the years since).

[Garpocalypse]

On 6/20/2018 at 9:06 AM, fredrikd said:

 

I've just pulled the trigger on a computer which Brad's given me a ton of help putting together. Shipping from the US to Norway would have meant a painful lot of money in shipping and taxes, but even if that was out of the question he still wanted to help me find the proper parts, which I could then buy locally.

Communicating with Brad has been nothing but a positive experience. He's got a wealth of knowledge and was able to answer all the questions I had in a very informative way. I can't recommend him enough for anyone who's looking for a new computer.

 

 

Ditto to this.  I built my first machine 2 years ago and consulted with him about the various aspects of building a PC that could be used for music.  Brad was a huge help recommending parts to use and I ended up with an awesome PC that was right on budget.  

In short, Brad is a stand up guy. Buy from him.   

[Anorax]

Brad, I have to ask - what are your thoughts on Intel's optane memory, especially in regards to secondary HDD acceleration?  Only resource I can find that talks about this is this linus tech tips video.

[prophetik music]

On 6/22/2018 at 10:30 PM, Anorax said:

Brad, I have to ask - what are your thoughts on Intel's optane memory, especially in regards to secondary HDD acceleration?  Only resource I can find that talks about this is this linus tech tips video.

what's your goal? is it just to get a w10 boot drive to run faster? or are you trying to accelerate a big storage drive?

[prophetik music]

i did a build recently for a currently unnamed person on the boards who said it was ok to post about it. pretty slick build overall.

 

here's the build. shroom for sizing. MX300 boot drive, 2x M.2 evo for samples, 64gb RAM, i7-8700k cpu, evga 650w G2 psu, big cooler, nice mobo. buyer already had a GTX 970 so they didn't need a graphics card. isn't the cooler box obnoxiously large?

i OC'd the cpu to about 4.4ghz or so and the ram to around 3333mhz (didn't quite run stable enough for music at 3466). HDD benchmarks were off the chart. superpi and hyperpi numbers were obnoxious as well as is expected.

for reference, this was about 2600$ in parts shipped to me.

meshify c case. really great tempered-glass case for the price.

here's a shot of the inside. no graphics card yet but you see where it'll go. the cpu cooler, RAM, and mobo all had RGB which was a fun thing to get to read together (in other words, it wasn't). front mounted radiator which is a first for me but it worked really well. the one fan cord is killing me...i didn't have a spare extension/molex converter or splitter, i didn't want to plug in a psu cable just for that connection, and my only complaint about this board is that it doesn't have enough fan headers IMO for chassis fans. oh well. there's always one cord you can't really hide.

this shot is a little clearer about what's what with rgb.

[Meteo Xavier]

Hi-TECCCCCCHnical.

[Anorax]

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 8:11 AM, prophetik music said:

what's your goal? is it just to get a w10 boot drive to run faster? or are you trying to accelerate a big storage drive?

Storage drive; this is all on the machine you built for me a few years back, and I still have the 950 EVO as the boot drive.

Specifically, I'm getting disk errors and dropped samples in Kontakt when reading off of my HDD in larger projects (honestly it wouldn't surprise me if this is a defrag or file location issue).  I suppose if push came to shove, though, I could get a 1TB dedicated SSD for samples, although I think I'm close to pushing 1TB of samples as it is.

[prophetik music]

i don't remember offhand what was in it, but assuming it's a generic big storage drive, and you're still getting disk errors after a defrag cycle, get a new drive. you might be in the early stages of early drive failure. anything i built in the last few years shouldn't be failing at loading projects so hard that it's timing out on loads.

[Anorax]

10 hours ago, prophetik music said:

i don't remember offhand what was in it, but assuming it's a generic big storage drive, and you're still getting disk errors after a defrag cycle, get a new drive. you might be in the early stages of early drive failure. anything i built in the last few years shouldn't be failing at loading projects so hard that it's timing out on loads.

It's a WD Black 3TB, and it looks like I have 0% fragmentation on this drive. And yet:

Would it be safe to assume the drive may be in the process of failing at this point?

[Nabeel Ansari]

Does that happen in standalone Kontakt with those patches as well? If it only happens when your project is huge then it's just a case that a WD Black can't really stream a metric ton of sample data since Kontakt libraries are usually configured for DFD (direct from disk). If you have extra unused RAM, check if it improves when you manually override the preload buffer and set it to max size:

Places less strain on the hard drive.

If it happens in standalone, then it's probably either drive failure or Windows is messing with your disk usage (make sure real-time protection is turned off, and your computer isn't running backups or virus scans or w/e).

Either way, moving to SSD is what you want to do for sample streaming, which is pretty much expected in Kontakt libraries nowadays.

 

[prophetik music]

nabeel's got it. streaming DFD might be your issue. if not, then it's definitely possible the drive's failing.

[misty78]

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