Finally Building My Own Computer [HELP]

[Moss.]

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

[Roph]

Budget? Any parts you'll reuse?

What socket is your cpu? A tool like CPU-Z will tell you.

Are you interested in SSDs? Crazy fast throughput and non-existant seek-times would help a lot in a production setting. No lagging as that stray sample has to be found and loaded. They're expensive per gig though. If you have an SSD in your PC, it's a given that you should put your OS & programs on it. You would have to do some management, i.e. put samples you're currently using on the SSD etc, not sure if you're bothered about mess like that. The larger and faster an SSD you go for, the price quickly becomes absurd.

[Moss.]

Let's say $1,000 - $1,500.

The only parts I already have that I can use are the two 1TB drives, which I could put in two of the HD bays.

[Moss.]

Okay. Okay, I think I've got this, now.

Build3.pdf is attached.

There's an issue with Sandy Bridge CPUs vs Ivy Bridge CPUs. Basically, Ivy Bridge isn't natively supported by Mac, yet. There's ways around it, but it's not 100% stable, and hopefully (and most likely) in the next month or so the new Mac models will be revealed, and Ivy Bridge CPUs will be natively supported.

So yeah, I'm waiting a bit. But I am going with a SSD for the OSes and applications. I hear it helps programs load crazy fast.


All other parts on the list are tested, and work with Hackintosh builds. http://www.tonymacx86.com is a wonderful website.

[Roph]

Seems ok I guess; you limit yourself extremely if you have to use OSX on it.

If your current i7 is socket 1155 though, there is no reason for you to get a new i5 CPU.

[Moss.]

I have an iMac. You can't take them apart.

Also, my girlfriend needs a new computer, so I'm giving it to her.

Also, limiting how, exactly? Is an Intel Core i7 3770k Ivy Bridge a poor CPU choice? If not that, then what? I wasn't going to buy a $300 GPU for this thing, so that's not a factor. The motherboard, then? Because that's really all that's left to factor in. Basically all RAM works for OSX custom builds. Power supplies are the same. SSD and HDs are all 100% compatible as well.

Sure, I have fewer choices, but are they really poor choices?