$500 - 600 DIY computer build suggestions for FL Studio?

[100_PERCENT ROEMER]

Hey All,

I'm doing a music production directed study with two of my students and we've been working on building a decent studio. So far we have everything we need for audio production (mixer, monitors, microphones, keyboards, drumpads, etc) but the computer we have been using is pretty much worthless for audio production at this point since it's over 7 years old and struggles greatly with FL Studio.

I can get funding for $500, maybe $600, of new computer hardware and I don't need a soundcard since we already have an M-Audio Delta AP 192. We've got an awesome dual-monitor setup too and all the normal peripherals are taken care of.

Any recommendations on a decently priced and no-nonsense build that is strictly for audio production? Any CPU/MB combos that work particularly well? Am I overlooking anything important?

[Flexstyle]

I'd be happy to put together a full build list if you like (because I like doing that sort of thing), but here are a few of my general guidelines:

- ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI tend to be the ones with the best motherboards these days, as a general rule of thumb.

- I'd probably recommend going with Intel, since you'll easily have room for an i5 in that budget, which should be a huge amount of horsepower for what you need.

- Don't underestimate the need for quiet parts--skimping on CPU cooling, the power supply, and the case can come back to bite you later on.

- Make sure that the motherboard you get still has at least one PCI slot (as opposed to PCI-E), as you'll need it for that M-Audio card.

I've been building PCs for 10 years now, work as an IT technician, and tend to stay up on part reviews and build logs, so I think I'd be fair in saying that I know some stuff.

[100_PERCENT ROEMER]

I'd be happy to put together a full build list if you like (because I like doing that sort of thing), but here are a few of my general guidelines:

- ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI tend to be the ones with the best motherboards these days, as a general rule of thumb.

- I'd probably recommend going with Intel, since you'll easily have room for an i5 in that budget, which should be a huge amount of horsepower for what you need.

- Don't underestimate the need for quiet parts--skimping on CPU cooling, the power supply, and the case can come back to bite you later on.

- Make sure that the motherboard you get still has at least one PCI slot (as opposed to PCI-E), as you'll need it for that M-Audio card.

I've been building PCs for 10 years now, work as an IT technician, and tend to stay up on part reviews and build logs, so I think I'd be fair in saying that I know some stuff.

Thanks for the reply! I used to know a lot about the latest tech, but that was 6 years ago

Any thoughts on a good CPU/MB combo that gives me what I need? I was originally planning to go with AMD, but I'm leaning more towards Intel now that I read what they've been doing lately.

I also was thinking of going with a SSD to install my OS and FL Studio on, and then using a standard HD for all the files and crap we need to store. I've never worked with SSD's before, so any thoughts there?

As for RAM, I'm hoping to get 16gb in this build. Is that overkill??

[Flexstyle]

Any thoughts on a good CPU/MB combo that gives me what I need? I was originally planning to go with AMD, but I'm leaning more towards Intel now that I read what they've been doing lately.

I'd have to look around. However, you can't go wrong with an i5 CPU and a B85-based motherboard, which should give you the best bang for buck. Something like this CPU and this motherboard would be along the lines of what I'd recommend, based on what my experiences have been recently.

I also was thinking of going with a SSD to install my OS and FL Studio on, and then using a standard HD for all the files and crap we need to store. I've never worked with SSD's before, so any thoughts there?

An SSD is always a good investment. I wouldn't ever want to go back to booting off of a regular hard drive, now that I've got an SSD in both my main rig and my laptop. However, if you're mostly using this for studio use, and you're limited to the budget you mentioned, it would probably be cost-prohibitive to get one at this point. There might be room if you get a very small one, but I wouldn't recommend installing FL on it, as that wouldn't really net you a lot of extra benefit. Plus, remember, if you're doing any audio recording, FL's default directory is in its Program Files directory. That would eat up your space REALLY quickly.

Instead of an SSD, I'd focus on getting a decent hard drive and maybe a backup system first. Put the rest of the money towards the case and power supply, unless you seem to have an extra $90 lying around afterwards.

As for RAM, I'm hoping to get 16gb in this build. Is that overkill??

16 GB is probably overkill. I'm not running into any bottlenecks, RAM-wise, with my 8 GB, and I tend to push this sucker a long way.