Computing power for home recording area

[Snert]

I want to build a Windows based PC for recording etc in my home. Most of the time it will be just the bass and a drum machine and maybe vocals. However, the absolute worst case I could see me ever needing is maybe 12ch at once.

So ignoring the stuff like cables, mic pres, monitors etc, as I have all of that sorted and am going to build a desk and hardware racks too, what would you build as the PC if you could go out and just buy all the parts and assemble? I've built a few PCs so construction is not an issue. Full ATX cards are best as I have a bunch of cases and the space for them.
I'll have a number of drives local and I already have a couple of larger servers that will be backed up to, probably nightly.

Not sure on software yet, but I like the look of Reaper and a friend swears by Ableton. Please point in the right direction here too.

Also up for suggestions on analogue I/O for it for good performance at reasonable price.

It will likely also be used for some minor video editing.

I would rather build it once and not really have to touch it in terms of H/W for 5-7 years.

 

[mike buzzetti]

I would go all solid state drives etc. cheap and reliable and FAST Reaper is a very good program , there is a learning curve but its not bad, RME interface cards rock , you need D/A,A/D's and mic pre's , I actually use Behringer ADA8000/8200 as my A/D , and GOOD mic pre's with an RME 52 ch card , the ADA8000 actually uses a Alesis chip for the conversion and I cannot tell the difference compared to a $$$$ A/D

 

[Bob_Ross]

I will die on this sword: Any PC that you can cobble together in 2022 is sufficient hardware-wise to serve as a good music DAW. And I say this because two of the three computers I currently own are 12 and 25 years old respectively, and they both are more than adequate for doing state-of-the-art multitrack recording. (The only limitations are whether the computer's OS will support your DAW software's current version, and/or whether the i/o is still a supported standard.)

I would go all solid state drives

But yeah, ^^^this.

 

[Snert]

Thanks, I thought so. I have a NIB Z390 board and i3 and 32G RAM. I'll use SSDs locally and back it up to the big server every night.

Reason I asked is a lot of the software applications recommend higher power CPUs and I presumed those were for power users not people like lil ol me.

 

[And I]

Start with a budget. Once you have a number you can afford to spend, you can get the best gear for your money. I'm assuming you'd like to spend as little as possible since you haven't stated your budget.

You don't need a lot of compute horsepower for audio multi-tracking. I agree any modern computer is going to have more than enough power for your needs. Which CPU or RAM is not important. Even a modest modern CPU is going to have more than enough juice for anything you need to do. 16GB+ of RAM will be fine and you don't need anything specialized. Use a motherboard with onboard video as video cards are stupid expensive these days and not needed for audio production (or "minor" video production). M2 SSD drives are becoming commonplace, but make sure your machine has one, as disk IO is really the only thing that DAWs use a lot of.

Reaper is great for mutli-tracking--not sure you can beat it for $60... Ableton Live is designed for live performance (hence the name) so I would not start with that as your DAW.

Assuming you're looking at pro-sumer level and not higher end audio interfaces... for 12+ simultaneous inputs I'd suggest the Tascam 16x08.

 

[Crater]

As others have mentioned, you really don't need overly robust CPU or video processing as people do with gaming systems. Whatever OS you use, make sure it's 64 bit, so the system can access more RAM. I used a "home entertainment PC" case for my studio computer because it's designed to be very quiet, but the company that made it is out of business.

I would suggest a USB audio interface of your choice, they're available at price points from about $100 up to $500+ if you need more simultaneous input channels.

 

[GlassToMouth]

I have 2 incredibly bare bones computers I use for my music needs. I do all my captures via my Behringer X Air X18 on an old refurbished Dell e6250 with a 2.9HZ i5, 8 GB memory and a 256GB SSD. I've utilized all 16 tracks simultaneously recording into Reaper without a single hiccup. My editing is done on a basic HP Pavilion with an i7 7700 (non-K) with 16GB of memory. Your basic Wal-Mart budget desktop. I installed a new 450w Corsair PSU, a low profile 1050ti, and a Samsung 980 M.2 drive. I do all my audio editing without breaking a sweat, and can even run some editing in Premiere Pro with 5-6 video tracks in 1080.

Of course I'd love to have a sexy, modern rig. But I've made some decent side cash with the listed gear above handling the tech duties for both my bands and a few others. A halfway decent processor, a modest amount of memory, and a SSD alone can do a great job capturing multi-track audio and some editing as well.

 

[tothemax]

I went with this refurb off of Amazon for $124.00 and upgraded the memory to 32GB. I use Cakewalk and it really works well. It's paired with a Tascam US16x08 interface and it seems to be a nice match.

I use a 1TB portable drive unit to store my projects, keeping the local SSD drive lean and mean.

DELL Optiplex 3010 Desktop PC - Intel Core i3-3220 3.1GHz 8GB 250GB DVD Windows 10

 

[Snert]

Thanks to everyone for commenting.

Since the OP a couple of things have changed for me and I think I might build a new PC that will be multipurpose. I can use it for all the audio and video recording and editing I can think of, plus I need a machine with some serious horsepower to do some FEA/FEM work for some new projects, so a dual Xeon can be justified. If that's the case I'll use the i3 and Z390 for a new bedroom PC (I already own them NIB).

 

[Patrice B]

Thanks, I thought so. I have a NIB Z390 board and i3 and 32G RAM. I'll use SSDs locally and back it up to the big server every night.

Reason I asked is a lot of the software applications recommend higher power CPUs and I presumed those were for power users not people like lil ol me.

I have a i7 Gigabyte Z390 board with a Presonus Quantum 2626 in a quiet case. Plenty of power unless you use hungry CPU synths or do orchestral work with a gazillion of tracks.

 

[Gothic]

A good idea that can last quite a while more would be to go for a relatively "budget" Ryzen build. A used 3700 still kills in processing taks and a tomahawk B450 board can be had new for about 130 of whatever your currency is. No iGPU there, though. 16 gigs of RAM @3200 is enough and won't break the bank. I recommend a small 256GB SSD for OS and Reaper (yeah I'd recommend that, can't beat it, especially for 60 bucks) and the rest is up to you. But I'd keep the OS separate.

As for the interface, personally, I could never tell the difference between modern ones and my ancient tascam us-122l. Especially if you're running decent preamps. I wouldn't go for the cheapest stuff but yeah... In any case, I think the most important criterion there is how many inputs you want to be able to record simultaneously.

Now the GPU... it's a really bad time to get one, although prices are normalizing lately. I suppose if you HAVE to have one, the most basic 1030 or 730 or whatever is going to work fine - you won't be relying on it for anything other than video output, anyway and with a dGPU you won't have to worry about having integrated graphics on your CPU.

My personal rig's a (now outdated) Ryzen 2600 on a Gigabyte B450, 16gigs of RAM @3200 (running unfortunately on 3000 max with the 2600) and a 1660 super. Works fine and I do pretty much what you're wanting to do with a PC, plus a bit of gaming too.

Good hunting!

 

[Real Soon]

I did a build a couple years ago around a Ryzen 3900X and a couple good-quality drives, with Gigabyte X570 AORUS ULTRA mobo & 32gb RAM (not really necessary but available). GPU is a GTX 1070, gotten because I like video games but light video editing in Olive has also been pretty breezy.

I do run Ableton, and it likes a fast, versatile CPU because it tries its best to do everything with zero glitch or lag. That said, once upon a time I'd have said Adobe Audition is an affordable solution... but screw their subscription-only model. Audacity is open-source and seems to be popular for a range of uses.

The main reason I rebuilt was because my old rig couldn't handle latter-day VST plugins. I'm a Waves guy and their mid-level mixing effects were taxing me, and any master bus or vintage emulation type things crushed the CPU, to say nothing of modern VST instruments. Now I can cruise on hella plugins with impunity!

My main recording drive is a Western Digital Black HDD because I'm not recording more than 4-5 tracks at a time, but my OS is on an oversized SSD, so if I had urgent need to lay 8-12 tracks at once, I can switch to that.

Building ain't a free pursuit, but it's really fun if you ask me. And it's worth investing in a system you'll be spending hundreds/thousands of hours on!