New Build for Music Production - 3900x

[Ethan_Clatterbaugh]

Hello! So I believe I have figured out my new build for music production to replace my old computer that I had built 4 years ago. If you all are able to look it over and tell me if anything seems off or if you have any advice or recommendations, I would really appreciate it.

My old computer I built in 2016:

old comp pcpartpicker list

My proposed new comp (mainly for music production) list:

new comp pcpartpicker list

I already have:
55" 4k tv as a monitor (only doing 30hz now from the Intel HD 530)
Keyboard & Mouse
Audio Interface
Speakers
UPS for voltage regulation and stabilization

I also have already purchased the samsung 970 EVO and installed it in my old computer. I thought this would be enough to get by in Ableton Live 10 for a while, but it still runs choppy and so I’m ready to upgrade.

My thought process is that I will start with buying the 1660 SUPER because I can put it in the old comp until I get all the pieces of the new one.

I was planning on also buying the 3900x and x570 this week with the help of the stimulus check and some good news related to work. The RAM and the case are next in line after that.

Questions:

I will be running Ableton Live 10 on the new computer for my music production, and it has been eating up my RAM and CPU, and they recommend multiple cores/threads for improved performance. That lead me to this build after well over 100 hours of research/investigation. Does this look like a good option that will also be future proofed for the next few years at minimum?

Can I reuse the power supply from the old computer?

I was planning on temporarily cannibalizing the old computer of the 970 EV0 and power supply to get the new computer rolling sooner, is there any risk or disadvantage to that?

I want to run the old computer with a linux OS to work on programming, is there anything with that plan that would require different components?

Thank you!

[khaudio]

@Ethan_Clatterbaugh

Does this look like a good option that will also be future proofed for the next few years at minimum?

Depends on what you’re doing but it should be more than enough for most audio production work. Unless you regularly use huge VIs that need tons of ram then you’ll be fine. If you do, however, just get more memory.

@Ethan_Clatterbaugh

I was planning on temporarily cannibalizing the old computer of the 970 EV0 and power supply to get the new computer rolling sooner, is there any risk or disadvantage to that?

Well… if the new machine bugs out, and you have work to do, you’ll have to reassemble the old one, and that’ll be a pain. Other than that, I suppose it’s fine.

@Ethan_Clatterbaugh

I want to run the old computer with a linux OS to work on programming, is there anything with that plan that would require different components?

I don’t see a problem. If it works, now, it should work when you put linux on it. If you’re unfamiliar with linux, you may have to distro hop or drudge through different drivers to get what you want, but this bit leads me to believe it’s nothing new to you:

@Ethan_Clatterbaugh

to work on programming

Anyone else have any insight? Your hardware looks solid. Live should be fine.

[ajkandy]

That all looks good. I would say get more RAM, generally speaking between sampled instruments and the DAW / VIs you can always use more.

You might want to look at a Be Quiet case if that is in your budget, or make sure you have good vibration absorbers around the fans etc.

I presume you will keep one SSD for the boot OS and apps / plugins, and the other for your work files? If so, I would suggest getting a PCIe add-in card that can carry 2 to 4 additional M.2 PCIE SSDs, so you can put larger sound libraries, if any, on another disk to speed up access.

Then, you could devote another SSD to your Linux system, and in theory another if you want to allocate it to Windows or apps that need scratch disk / temp file space.

Regarding the graphics card, that one might be a bit overkill for a DAW unless you need it for other reasons? I recommend a basic Radeon Pro WX2100 (two MiniDisplayPorts and an HDMI out) as it’s small, quiet, doesn’t need additional power, and can still power dual 4K displays or a single 5K. Excellent for 2D, but if you need more horsepower for GPGPU stuff your original card is fine.

Double check that your power supply has everything you need for the new board and cards, calculated wattages etc.

It really does depend on how intense your mixes get. If you find it still straining, freeze your tracks, look at making your mix more efficient with bus and effect groups, etc. No need to instantiate 32 separate reverbs when one on a send will suffice