I love the computer I have and all, but after 3 years I can no longer look past its glaring flaws and continue to think "this is a great computer for a music studio." So I’m finally going to give building my own computer a shot, and since I know you guys are very knowledgable about this kind of thing, I figured I’d ask for your help.
This is going to be a music rig, not a gaming rig, but maybe that won't make much of a difference. Also, it has to run both Mac AND Windows. All my work is in Mac only format, but there are a few video game music programs (like Wwise) that are Windows only, so I need to be able to run both. I'll probably just install Mac OSX, and use dual boot to set up a Windows 7 partition, I haven't had any problems with this in the last 3 years. If this turns in to a Mac vs. Windows debate, I'll start deleting posts or banning people (not that I really can, since we're like ALL MODS ANYWAY) or something. Whatever, just be cool.
So here’s what it needs:
- SPACE. The biggest regret I have about my iMac is the lack of HD space. I have 2 1TB internal drives, hooked up in an external enclosure and connected through firewire. That works okay, but I can only use 1 at a time, and when I'm using a lot of samples at once (sometimes I get carried away...) the system chokes because firewire isn't fast enough to handle some of the heavier loads. So yeah, samples and recording take up a TON of space, and I hadn't planned for that. So, I'll probably need at least 3 SATA HD bays.
- Graphics? I don't really need a souped up graphics card. As long as I can run Skyrim on higher quality settings, and have a port for a 2nd monitor, I'm good.
- POWER. In my system now, I have a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7, with 4 GB of RAM. It is fast enough, and I've never had any problems or ever felt like I was waiting too long for anything. So I guess aim a little higher than that? (This is where I am obviously less knowledgable.)
- QUIET HEAT MANAGEMENT. Running my iMac in the summer SUCKS. I have to turn the internal fans on full blast to keep it from overheating (the music stuff heats up the system more than gaming does), and all that noise gets in the way when I'm writing/listening. I have nice speakers, I'd like to be able to use them in the summer.
- AUDIO. Don't worry about it, I have an external sound driver.
- CASE? Anything I should be aware of, here? Or is a case just a case?
That's all I can think of ... which is why I'm coming to you guys. Can you help me out, here? Have any ideas, or things I haven't considered?
Is actually building the thing all that difficult? If I had a good set of directions, I'm sure I could handle it, but I don't even know what all it entails. Like, is there any soldering and shit involved? I have no idea.
he;lp?
<3