Help me build an audio production PC

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1

I am going to build a PC for audio production, and I need help picking out all the hardware. I want to keep the budget under $1000, and hopefully quite a bit under it. This will be a Firewire interface based audio system. (Interface is not included in build)

 

My musical needs are this:

Tracking Audio - I need the ability to record at least 8 mono tracks at a time, and ideally 16 tracks mono at a time, or greater, would be awesome.

 

Mixing Audio - I need the ability to have many tracks playback simultaneously, in order to mix the tracks. I'll also be using effects and plugins, and will need to be able to use several at once. I'd like to have the capabilities to playback at least 24 mono tracks at a time, with at least 5 effects/plugins being used simultaneously.

 

 

Mastering and Burning CDs - I'll also need to be able to master and burn CDs on the computer, though the ability to quickly burn multiple CDs at once is not a priority for me at this time.

 

I also need the computer to be upgradable for video production and editing in the future.

 

 

Things I do not need/already have/not including in purchase are:

 

Operating System, Mouse, Keyboard, monitor, audio monitors, interface, surge protector ... 

 

 

 

Hardware requirements I know I'm going to need are - Firewire and USB ports, optical drive, very good and fast processor, lots and lots of very fast RAM, and an SSD to run the OS and DAW software on. I'll run and record a session and save it all on the SSD, and then export to HDD for storage. I also need the computer to be quiet.

 

I'm going to run different Operating Systems and see what works the best for me, so I don't know if I'll end up being Windows based or Linux based. I would much rather prefer Linux, but for music and video production I may have to go Windows. I just need a system that works really well, and is capable of handling lots and lots of audio tracks.

 

As said, I'd like to stay a nice amount under $1000, but as a general principle I do like to pay more for quality when it is needed. For instance, I'd rather get an Intel processor than AMD. That's just a general statement and example. Thanks to anyone and everyone who can offer any help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2
  1. Is this intended for home studio or does it need to be portable?
  2. what type of interfaces do you plan on using?
  3. What type of audio sources (instruments) are you plan on using?
3

Home studio, portability not needed. Modularity/expandability needed.

 

Firewire Interface

 

Acoustic sound sources, such as acoustic guitars and pianos, acoustic drums, as well as vocals. Electric guitars and synthesizers mic'd through amplifiers. Not much direct in recording, if any at all. MIDI will be needed.

4

You are going to need a USB mixer for that many inputs. That will be a separate cost from the machine. Yamaha, Mackie, amd KRK make the best monitors all around.  the software you would want is albeton Live    But for under a grand here is something that will work. 

5

+1

6

Most of your money wont be spent on a PC, you will only need a $500 computer or less, like you know, 16GB ram, i5 or i7 processor and that's about it.