building a music production pc

first i totally apologize for writing this during the whole ai bullshit market that's happening right now. but just wanted to share my experience building a computer strictly for music production during this time, hoping it gives some insight for those who are wondering what's needed out of a production machine.

i like to upgrade my computer every 10ish years, and this month was about that time. technology improves very fast, even if my computer 10 years ago still holds up. honestly i could have kept the same one and continued about my business, but there were a few reasons why i wanted to upgrade.

• while i was capable of doing 98% of my tasks, there were still the occasional 2% where i needed the extra power to handle very large projects.

• appeal of new components and their generational performance so i can future proof for any case.

• needed a smaller housing so i can bring it to studios, which called for all-new components.

for those deciding: macOS vs Windows

the biggest advantage i find in apple computers is the plug-and-play quality of both hardware and software. no need for installing drivers before you use an audio interface, and bringing a macbook is a lot more convenient as opposed to carrying a large PC to a session, let alone a tour. 

it's also much easier to use in every-day situations, such as iMessage, apple devices continuity, and their mail app is leagues better than using Outlook/Office.

i also prefer the OS and its programs/UI a lot more than Windows. each piece of the OS feels more cohesive and seamless with each other, while Windows programs tend to feel like a web of cheaply underdeveloped apps that feel like they need to force data farming off its users (for example, i couldn't fully install Windows without WiFi or a Microsoft account - an account which feels useless in any other point of my life). the quality in user experience of macOS definitely feels more up to date while Windows can feel like a main character's crash-out arc.

there are ways around Window's operating system cons, however. since it's more customizable in a programmable kind of way, you can find ways to pretty much mute or replace any if not most parts of Windows. and once you get over stabilizing everything in system settings / BIOS, getting all the right drivers and software, it's hard to beat the production experience on Windows than on a mac. a close analogy is like driving a manual car vs an automatic, whereas windows is equivalent to the manual and apple to automatic. in a manual car, there's more steps to driving the car but you have more control over when and what gear to switch to, and the nuances of that transition. in an automatic car, it's easier to use since it removes the step of switching gears but you're limited to the system's decisions on when to switch gears. the analogy feels especially true when discussing a pc's capability to configure separate components (clock speed, fan curves, etc), which you cannot do in macOS.

the biggest advantage of windows especially in regards to building PCs is the cost to performance ratio. apple is notoriously expensive, and when buying equivalent parts that performs the same benchmarks you're probably set out to spend up to 1.5x if not more for a mac. as a cherry on top (and from personal experience), apple products seem to not age well. i've felt more of a need to upgrade my macbook every 5 years, while i could keep a PC built for the same price for 10-15 years. honestly the only reason why i've upgraded this time around wasn't because my pc was slowing down, but because newer parts at the same price (even less) are leagues better than what was made when i built my previous pc. 

personally i have both. a macbook that isn't maxed out but is necessary for simple things - messaging, email, file management and rekordbox. easy to carry around while on tour, can do light projects. i currently have a 2020 version (unfortunately still on Intel), and have thought about switching to an entry level macbook air. whereas my pc is used for mostly studio work. this is where specs matter to me, and will reside in session studios instead of my backpack.

i've also decided to build in a small form factor case so that i am able to travel with it to sessions. temperature was also a concern (especially in sff) so choosing low TDP parts was important as well so fans aren't working too hard in sound sensitive scenarios. i might even switch to AIO since i've had quiet experiences with those as well (apart from reservoir noise).

parts, recommended vs minimum for production (and maybe some maximums)

these are parts i've used for my PC, but i'll also try and make some recommendations for minimum or apple specs. my budget was about $1,300 which doesn't include the case, increased RAM prices and storage (which i already had).

CPU (i used: AMD Ryzen 9 7900)

• this is the brain of your computer that handles a majority of your tasks (audio playback, running plugins, etc). more cores = more multitasking (good for projects with many tracks); higher clockspeed = higher performance on each task (good for recording latency and large effect chains). each cpu performs differently depending on so many more variables, so to ease the research i just use cpubenchmark.net to quantify performance.

• this was the highest performing and also the most efficient in terms of wattage/TDP. comparable CPUs run much hotter. i had initially thought getting the 9950x3d, but the heat concern vs the performance difference wasn't worth it to me.

• the heat was an important factor to me because 1, it's in a small form factor case and 2, definitely don't want the fans running in sessions.

• i am actually currently in the process of undervolting the cpu just to trim a bit of the power fat. this shouldn't affect performance, just makes power consumption more efficient.

• CPUs are typically where you want to spend most of your budget on for production.

• the absolute minimum i'd recommend is something like an intel 6700k, and i say this because this was in my old computer i built in 2013, and i felt like i never had any serious problems with it. my 2020 macbook pro runs around the same performance in terms of benchmarks. however i think with power demands of newer OS and VST3 plugins (cough serum 2 cough) you might want something stronger, especially if your project files are over 100 tracks and you are not bouncing your realtime instruments/effects to audio. what i would recommend for best value is probably a 3900x you can grab for about $100 used, or if you're concerned about live latency i'd go for the 9600x which runs for $200 used and has prettttty good single thread performance (and is also a cpu that runs cooler). 

GPU (i used: Nvidia RTX 4060)

• this handles computing the graphics

• not the sexiest gpu if i was an avid gamer (now my alias is a misnomer), but this is a pretty good performing gpu that also stays cool compared to others in its bracket.

• i'm sure it has a use in video editing (haven't really done enough to tell the difference in workflow experience on a good vs bad gpu, but i'm it's at least essential).

• if you're looking to solely do music production i'd probably just skip the gpu entirely and use that budget towards a cpu. you can always get the gpu later. just make sure your cpu has integrated graphics. i could consider that my minimum, but if you are looking to at least get a graphics card, i can say i've gotten quite far with using 1070s and 1550 supers up until now as i write, but these were just for editing/cutting non-raw video and no color grading/special effects etc.

RAM (i used: 96gb 6000 mt/s, 36C)

• this is like your computer's main 'cache' - it stores whatever it needs readily available such as samples as opposed to reading them off a disk which is leagues slower.

• ok now for the average electronic music producer this is absolute fucking overkill. but if you're an orchestral composer, the story is a bit different - i've seen some run 128gb because of their sample library usage. it's also necessary for video editingn/production especially if you are editing high quality videos (i.e. RAW / pro res, etc).

• if you're doing edm i've found that 8gb is enough in most cases, but it is the minimum i'd install in your computer - i would recommend 16gb. if you plan on doing 8gb make sure you get one ram stick that is 8gb so that way you can install the additional 8gb later when you decide to upgrade. just make sure they have the same clock speeds, latency etc (or just look for the same model #).

• i know ram prices are hot right now but you'll be surprised the used prices aren't so bad.

PSU (i used: 850w platinum)

• this powers your computer. you typically want your computer's wattage to be 2/3 of your psu's wattage as to give it headroom.

• this might've been overkill for what i need considering my computer only runs at 344w. i've heard mixed reviews that you don't want to have too much headroom or you're getting diminishing returns, or that it's harmless to the system and doesn't change efficiency.

Main Storage (gen 4 NVME m.2 1TB)

• this stores all your files and where your OS and programs run.

• m.2's are the fastest for storage, next to sata SSDs, then sata HDDs. i could have done gen 5 but the difference seems negligible according to reviews - they also run hotter which also wasn't worth it to me.

• i'd say the minimum would be 256gb but they would just be to store the OS and programs. at that point, you'd want additional drives to store project files and samples, whether it's SATA or external.

Motherboard (i used: Gigabyte Aorus b650i)

• this is where all your components will sit and talk to each other. 

• ⁃ motherboards usually don't have any direct impact on performance (so i can't recommend a minimum), just mainly compatibility. For example, i wanted a motherboard that can hold my cpu, compatible with ddr5 ram, has the right generation pcie slots and just enough sata connections for my drives.