A P.C Build for Audio?

[Allan.T]

Hey there,

My friend has no knowledge at all when it comes to PC’s, he’s asked me if he pays, will I make him a PC thats built for audio. He’ll mainly be playing and editing music, he also wants to watch movies, edit some video clips and do a bit of light gaming. He stressed that audio is the utmost important thing on this build.

Now like I said, he’s come to me, someone who knows very little about what components I should be putting in a build like this, he’s also give me a limit of £500 ($653.27). I’m not going to charge him for building it, I did mention I have no idea but he trusts my judgement. Now I’m coming to you guys to seek help, because I just have no idea what to do! heres my idea so far!

Motherboard - MSI 970A-G43 Plus (£65/$84)
CPU - AMD FX-6300 (£65/$84)
RAM - Patriot Viper Black mamba 2x4gb 1600mhz (£60/$79)
PSU - I have no earthly idea, will a bronze suffice?
HDD - Western Digital Purple surveilance 1 TB (£50/$65)
GPU - MSI GTX 750 TI (£70/$91)
Optical - Asus x12 Blu-ray combo (£50/$65)
Sound Card - Asus Xonar DSX PCIe 7.1 (£40/$52)

Total so far (£400/$533)

I’ve not found a case or a PSU, all I know is that with the build I’m thinking of I’ve only got £100($130) to play with to get these items. I could get a cheap aero cool PSU £40 ($52), but apparently they’re not that good, and a CiT case for around £30 ($39), which would be within the ideal price. I feel that this type of build will need a SSD though.

Anyone have any ideas?

[veeg]

Hello Allan

IMHO the built in audio on most mobo’s are really good with the correct audio software. A bronze psu may do,imo the psu needs a good rep and has at least 25 amps or better on the 12 volt and the 5 volt as well.

@phillpower2 @Evan Omo @DOUGIE

[Allan.T]

Hello Allan

IMHO the built in audio on most mobo’s are really good with the correct audio software. A bronze psu may do,imo the psu needs a good rep and has at least 25 amps or better on the 12 volt and the 5 volt as well.

@phillpower2 @Evan Omo @DOUGIE

The guy is really wanting a sound card, to be honest I’ve never even owned one, let alone had one in my computer. Like you, I find the onboard audio more than good enough for the tasks I undertake. I know he does mixing for some tunes/songs so maybe thats why he’s persistent. I think he just wants crystal clear audio at 7.1.

I’m not sure, all I know is that it’s got me stumped, I would have wanted to put a better PSU on there too, but if he wants games aswell he’s going to struggle with the budget he has. I’ll have to have a natter with him, see if theres anything I can deduce from the build. Until others hopefully give me their two cents anyway!

[Evan_Omo]

Hi Allan. The build looks fine so far but I would change/add a couple of things.

For the HDD get this Western Digital black drive as it comes with a much longer warranty and is more reliable: WD 1 TB Performance Hard Drive - Black : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the case you can get something like this: CiT Venom Mesh Gaming Case with Black Interior and 12cm Blue LED Fan : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the PSU, this is the most important computer component and you should never skimp on a PSU. This is as cheap as I would go with your PSU based on the components that will be installed in the machine and how much power the computer will be using: Corsair CP-9020101-UK CX450M 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply Unit : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the DVD drive, is it a requirement that your friend needs a Blu-ray DVD player combo or will a regular DVD drive suffice?

If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know.

Thanks.

[Allan.T]

Hi Allan. The build looks fine so far but I would change/add a couple of things.

For the HDD get this Western Digital black drive as it comes with a much longer warranty and is more reliable: WD 1 TB Performance Hard Drive - Black : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the case you can get something like this: CiT Venom Mesh Gaming Case with Black Interior and 12cm Blue LED Fan : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the PSU, this is the most important computer component and you should never skimp on a PSU. This is as cheap as I would go with your PSU based on the components that will be installed in the machine and how much power the computer will be using: Corsair CP-9020101-UK CX450M 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply Unit : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

For the DVD drive, is it a requirement that your friend needs a Blu-ray DVD player combo or will a regular DVD drive suffice?

If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know.

Thanks.

I’m glad it looks okay, I’ll admit I have been loking round the internet quite a bit to get it this far on the budget I have, he’s happy with it so far, but is asking for a better sound card. I tell him he needs to fron up more £ if he wants a kick-butt one.

I agree with the PSU, I would like to get a good one, I’ve not heard many good things about the CX line though when it comes to corsair, I’ve tended to stay away from them, but tbh I’ve never really owned one myself to comment truly on the matter.

I’ve pushed all items in his direction, and hopefully he’ll be happy

[Evan_Omo]

I have owned and bought many Corsair PSU’s so I’ve always recommended them. The CX line is their cheapest line of PSU’s but since the budget is tight, that will be the best one for the price.

[Allan.T]

I have owned and bought many Corsair PSU’s so I’ve always recommended them. The CX line is their cheapest line of PSU’s but since the budget is tight, that will be the best one for the price.

Well I know he’s not going to be ocing or anythinig like that, which from what I can tell is why alot of people don’t like them (because of cheap capacitors or something? I dunno I aint no electrician lol). Either way,m he’s happy with the build and will buy the parts, I’ll build it and he’s free to upgrade in the future. Thank you very much Evan

[Evan_Omo]

You are very welcome.