Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

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brbcn
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Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:24 pm

Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by brbcn » Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:27 pm

Hey guys,

I am trying to build an extremely silent PC for audio production.

Do any of you have any tips for what parts would satisfy this goal?:

What CPU fan would be optimal?

What case sound isolates the best?

What harddrive/ssd setup would work best, etc...

Thanks in advance!

CA_Steve
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:20 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

Audio production is a big catch-all phrase. :) Let's scope the problem.

- Is there a live mic nearby/in the room?
- Is it for podcasting?
- Is it for orchestral levels of track recording/virtual instruments/editing?
- Is the PC going to stay in one place or get hauled around?
- What are you using for audio capture / hardware interface / and s/w?
- What's your budget?

In general, if it's a live mic situation, the goal is to have zero moving parts while recording. So, case sound isolation isn't a huge deal.

Drives: generic answer is use SSDs for OS/apps/ working disk and a large capacity HDD for storage.

brbcn
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:24 pm

Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by brbcn » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:25 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Welcome to SPCR.

Audio production is a big catch-all phrase. :) Let's scope the problem.

- Is there a live mic nearby/in the room?
- Is it for podcasting?
- Is it for orchestral levels of track recording/virtual instruments/editing?
- Is the PC going to stay in one place or get hauled around?
- What are you using for audio capture / hardware interface / and s/w?
- What's your budget?

In general, if it's a live mic situation, the goal is to have zero moving parts while recording. So, case sound isolation isn't a huge deal.

Drives: generic answer is use SSDs for OS/apps/ working disk and a large capacity HDD for storage.
Thanks!

Yes, there is a live mic in the room.

It is not for podcasting.

It's not orchestral levels of track recording. Virtual instruments will be used, and maybe some orchestral suites, which can take up an awful lot of space. Omnisphere, which is mixture of acoustic and synthetic stuff has a library of around 50 GB and it is known to cause a heavy CPU load under several instances. Editing also of course.

PC is going to stay in one place.

I'm using an external audio interface, but I considered getting an extensive internal one. Is it any good?`

So this is basically a home production computer.

Thanks again :)

CA_Steve
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:50 pm

Ok, home studio. No budget listed...and don't know your country of origin, so here's a baseline build if you were in the US. Stay with the external audio interface. You are better off keeping the analog outside of the PC and just processing digital inside it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $219.99 - Don't know if you need the top end i5 - sorta depends on how many simultaneous tracks/VI's, I guess. But, it gives you headroom if you need it.

CPU Cooler: Scythe Kotetsu 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler $46.88 - Great cooler that will be inaudible during live mic.

Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard $150.88 - there are less expensive motherboards...and some would say you could use an H170 board...but...it's well reviewed, has very good DPC latency ( high DPC latency can cause audio issues), an Intel NIC, and decent UEFI based fan controls. You should be able to set a profile for idled case fans when recording..

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory $58.89 - 16GB should be enough for your VIs...benchmark your current setup to doublecheck. You can always add more.

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $154.85 - For OS/Apps/scratch disk. The mobo does have an M.2 storage slot...but I don't think you'll get a benefit from it and the 2.5" drives run cooler.

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99- Great ATX mid tower case. Easy to work in. If you don't have/need an optical drive, there's the cheaper but similar performance Fractal Define S. If you plan to add 3.5" HDD large data storage - go with the R5 -> better mounting.

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $79.99 - overkill for your setup as it'll pull ~120W under load. But very well made for it's relatively low price and passive fan for your workload.

Total: $821.47

We can tune for parts availability in your country.

brbcn
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:24 pm

Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by brbcn » Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:01 am

CA_Steve wrote:Ok, home studio. No budget listed...and don't know your country of origin, so here's a baseline build if you were in the US. Stay with the external audio interface. You are better off keeping the analog outside of the PC and just processing digital inside it.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $219.99 - Don't know if you need the top end i5 - sorta depends on how many simultaneous tracks/VI's, I guess. But, it gives you headroom if you need it.

CPU Cooler: Scythe Kotetsu 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler $46.88 - Great cooler that will be inaudible during live mic.

Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard $150.88 - there are less expensive motherboards...and some would say you could use an H170 board...but...it's well reviewed, has very good DPC latency ( high DPC latency can cause audio issues), an Intel NIC, and decent UEFI based fan controls. You should be able to set a profile for idled case fans when recording..

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory $58.89 - 16GB should be enough for your VIs...benchmark your current setup to doublecheck. You can always add more.

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $154.85 - For OS/Apps/scratch disk. The mobo does have an M.2 storage slot...but I don't think you'll get a benefit from it and the 2.5" drives run cooler.

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99- Great ATX mid tower case. Easy to work in. If you don't have/need an optical drive, there's the cheaper but similar performance Fractal Define S. If you plan to add 3.5" HDD large data storage - go with the R5 -> better mounting.

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $79.99 - overkill for your setup as it'll pull ~120W under load. But very well made for it's relatively low price and passive fan for your workload.

Total: $821.47

We can tune for parts availability in your country.
Hey CA_Steve, thanks for replying again!

I currently have a pretty decent setup:
Image

Motherboard is a bit old, and I have replaced almost everything with Noctua fans.

My fans are set up the following way:

2 front Noctua fans taking air in.

2 Noctua fans mounted to the H80i taking air out.

This is not a very quiet setup, especially with the motherboard fan...

So I am primarily looking to optimize this system. But if the motherboard upgrade is a big optimization in terms of latency I'd definitely upgrade.

However, I am also looking for parts to a transportable Mini ITX system. It has to be powerful yet silent for what I plan on doing with it..

(I am not from the US, I live in a European country and plan to buy from mindfactory.de or komplett.se)

quest_for_silence
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jun 22, 2016 2:23 am

brbcn wrote:So I am primarily looking to optimize this system.

I guess you HARDLY can optimize most of your current parts, as they look like just unsuitable for "an extremely silent PC".

Particularly: the 4930K is too hot to be cooled in an extremely quiet manner, the GTX 780Ti is one of the noisiest Nvidia ever made and too hot to be hosted in a low airflow enclosure like the Define (though I suspect you don't need it for a DAW), the H80 AIO is noisy whichever the fans because of the noisy pump and dense radiator, the WD Desktop Black is the noisiest mechanical hard drive available in the consumer market, and also the expensive Noctua F12 are not the quietest fans when operated above 800rpm (as you likely do on the H80).

CA_Steve
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:04 am

Yeah, I'd want to replace nearly everything in your current setup other than the case..and maybe the DVD writer :)

I'm curious how much of the CPU horsepower you actually use...have you ever taken a look at the task manager while running a heavy process just to see the CPU loading? i7-4930K seems like extreme overkill for your needs. Plus, it requires a separate GPU card...honestly, this setup is more of a video rendering station than an audio production one.

quest_for_silence
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:34 am

CA_Steve wrote:Yeah, I'd want to replace nearly everything in your current setup other than the case..and maybe the DVD writer :)

Well, actually the PSU is (albeit INCREDIBLE overkill for any DAW) pretty decent noise wise, it's the last (third) iteration of the RM lineup and contemporary gold rated 1kW Seasonic or Super Flower are often worse: I forgot to mention the Corsair Vengeance Pro DIMMs, whose heatspreader may collide with lots of high performance (=quiet) air coolers, but it may be considered as a minor issue (comparatively :wink: ).

brbcn
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by brbcn » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:04 am

CA_Steve wrote:Yeah, I'd want to replace nearly everything in your current setup other than the case..and maybe the DVD writer :)

I'm curious how much of the CPU horsepower you actually use...have you ever taken a look at the task manager while running a heavy process just to see the CPU loading? i7-4930K seems like extreme overkill for your needs. Plus, it requires a separate GPU card...honestly, this setup is more of a video rendering station than an audio production one.
It was originally used as a gaming/audio production computer. I don't think I plan on removing the GPU, so I'd like to optimize the setup with it.
CA_Steve wrote:Yeah, I'd want to replace nearly everything in your current setup other than the case..and maybe the DVD writer :)

I'm curious how much of the CPU horsepower you actually use...have you ever taken a look at the task manager while running a heavy process just to see the CPU loading? i7-4930K seems like extreme overkill for your needs. Plus, it requires a separate GPU card...honestly, this setup is more of a video rendering station than an audio production one.
Hey guys and thanks again for replying. I accidentally linked the wrong build.

The one I am using is this:
Image

quest_for_silence
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:08 am

brbcn wrote:Hey guys and thanks again for replying. I accidentally linked the wrong build.

The only real difference I see (set aside that 2nd build lacks a PSU, a typo I guess) is the GTX 770, noticeably cooler than a GTX 780ti: unfortunately it's a Gigabyte, so likely not the nicest noise-wise.

My (previously expressed) opinion substantially does not change: almost no way to optimize it as "an extremely silent PC", you need to lower the relevant thermal footprint A LOT (and then to swap the mediocre sounding options: definitely, more probably that not it's better to resell it and start from scratch for the new task).

I hope other co-forumers may help you better than me, sorry.

CA_Steve
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:35 am

Yeah - both are bad builds for a DAW with live mic. Here are the problems:

Gfx card: fans are always on and not quiet. If you insist on gaming with this build, then buy a newer card that has passive fans for 2D loads. You could also try playing with a $60-$100+ aftermarket gfx card cooler...but again, fans are always on.

CPU cooler: AIO liquid coolers aren't quiet as they need to push air through a tightly finned radiator and due to pump noise. Buy a large air cooler like the Scythe Ninja 4 for $50-60. I don't recall if this Asus board has BIOS level fan controls that are worth a darn or not. You may have to use their s/w utility...unfortunately another background task..but you can set the cpu fan profile for silent running when recording and quiet for editing.

Storage: 128GB SSD and WD Black: horribly loud HDD. Buy a larger SSD to use as the OS/apps/scratch disk and a large slow HDD for storage. Or maybe set (in Windows) the WD black to spin down quickly unless used..and hopefully it won't randomly chatter/spin up during recording.

PSU?

Case fans: Just use 2 front in and 1 rear out. Close off the top.

brbcn
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by brbcn » Thu Jun 23, 2016 2:36 am

CA_Steve wrote:Yeah - both are bad builds for a DAW with live mic. Here are the problems:

Gfx card: fans are always on and not quiet. If you insist on gaming with this build, then buy a newer card that has passive fans for 2D loads. You could also try playing with a $60-$100+ aftermarket gfx card cooler...but again, fans are always on.

CPU cooler: AIO liquid coolers aren't quiet as they need to push air through a tightly finned radiator and due to pump noise. Buy a large air cooler like the Scythe Ninja 4 for $50-60. I don't recall if this Asus board has BIOS level fan controls that are worth a darn or not. You may have to use their s/w utility...unfortunately another background task..but you can set the cpu fan profile for silent running when recording and quiet for editing.

Storage: 128GB SSD and WD Black: horribly loud HDD. Buy a larger SSD to use as the OS/apps/scratch disk and a large slow HDD for storage. Or maybe set (in Windows) the WD black to spin down quickly unless used..and hopefully it won't randomly chatter/spin up during recording.

PSU?

Case fans: Just use 2 front in and 1 rear out. Close off the top.
Thanks again guys for the advice!

I think at present time it is a bit too early for me to replace my system. So I will probably ask for advice in the future when I plan on building a new system.

Until then I will try and optimize the current system notwithstanding the 'nonoptimizable' parts. Currently I think it is very quiet, but I never set out to build a super silent system as it is only recently I added a super sensitive microphone to my setup. And I have never experienced how quiet a super optimized silent build can be, so yeah, my build may look very noisy to you guys who specialize in making silent systems.

CA_Steve
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Re: Need advice building a silent PC for audio production.

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:43 am

Optimize as you see fit. The true test is if you hear PC noise in your recordings.

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