Recording - December 2017 - 38

ROLL YOUR OWN!
17.280 MB/track-minute, or 1.22 GB per
24 track pop song-12.44 GB for a 10song collection, not including mixdowns,
MP3 versions, alternate takes, etc).
Sample libraries, of course, take up
space... generally way more than stuff
like software, presets, notes, Word
documents, and so on. So depending
on how much you do, you might want
anywhere from 250 GB to 2 Terabytes
or more. My advice is to get as much storage as you can afford. If you use a lot of
sample libraries and virtual instruments,
consider a separate drive just for that
data. You may also consider an SSD
(solid state drive-Figure 6), at least for
your main drive if not storage drives, as
SSDs can be quite a bit quicker. They
are a lot more expensive per Megabyte,
though, so bear that in mind.
If you're doing video work, your
specs need to be quite a bit higher, and
you'll probably need a dedicated video
card rather than using your CPU's onchip graphics. That video card should
have at least 1 GB of its own memory,
2 GB would be a better minimum, and
4 or 8 GB would be even more awesome. Your CPU needs to be faster if
you're doing video, too, and you'll
probably need 8 GB of RAM at a
bare minimum.
Here are the basic specs of my latest
build, which I use for video and audio:
~ Intel i5 3.0 GHz quad core processor
~ 16 GB DDR4 3000 RAM
~ NVidia GeForce GT 730 video
card with 4 GB RAM
~ 250 GB SSD (for OS and software)
~ 2 TB 7200 RPM internal hard drive
(for project and sample storage)

RECORDING December 2017

Were money no object, I would
have gone a lot farther, but that machine serves beautifully for anything I
can dream up to do with audio, and
has been doing great with video footage for music videos and such, given
the proper workflow. I would probably
need a few upgrades to make a feature
film for Warner Brothers, but for me, it's
a great machine!
As far as which parts to buy, specs
are your main concern, but read carefully about compatibility. Not all motherboards work with all chips, for example.
Another common problem is skimping
on the power supply and not having
enough juice for all your components.
Read carefully before you order, and
here's a little trick: Use a custom build
website to "fantasy build" your machine
virtually, then note the power supply and
other components. This is also a good
way to track how much money you're
really saving.

The build itself

The build itself is pretty straightforward,
but you want to be accurate, respect
the delicacy of components, and be
especially careful in a couple of critical
areas. Here are your basic steps:
1. Open the case
2. Install the power supply
3. Install the motherboard
4. Install the CPU and cooling
5. Install the RAM
6. Install the video card
7. Install the hard drives
8. Install extra components (DVD, etc)
9. Connect data connections from
drives to the motherboard
10. Connect the power supply to the
motherboard and drives
11. Connect LED and front panel connections
12. Close the case
13. Connect power, monitor, keyboard,
mouse and audio interfaces
14. Power up for first test
15. Scream in frustration
16. Open case
17. Use manuals, wit and Google to
figure out why it won't power up

18. Kick yourself over your stupidity
19. Fix problems
(repeat steps 14-19 ad nauseam)
20. Power up for umpteenth test and
achieve victory
21. Install operating system and drivers
22. Configure and tweak OS
23. Install software and configure
24. Pay credit card bill
25. Rejoice
The order you do steps 3 through 8
doesn't matter much, but be aware of your
layout. In many cases, it's necessary to install
the CPU and cooler before the RAM, simply because of the proximity of parts. If you
find a component is in the way of another,
you can always take it out and put it back,
but in the case of the CPU, that can be
a can of worms. Better to get the CPU
installed first, and then everything else.
While we're at it, be extra careful with
the CPU. Make sure you have it oriented right (refer to installation instructions,
which should show you an arrow), because you can bend pins and ruin the
part pretty easily. Also pay close attention
to instructions on mounting the extra fan,
or the extra awesome cooling tower
you're replacing that stock fan with. You'll
be applying a cooling gel onto the chip
itself, so do that carefully, as you don't
want that stuff all over the motherboard.
Remember to connect the CPU fan to its
power source (a 2-pin plug on the motherboard). CPU cooling is quite important,
and I highly recommend springing for
that extra awesome cooling tower. If your
CPU heats up too much, your computer
will throttle back performance, intermittently power down, or worse yet, you
could damage or destroy the CPU itself.
In addition to that, here are some
other common mistakes you can avoid,
most of which will cause the computer
to not boot up:
~ Forgetting the 4 (or 8) pin CPU
power connector (Figure 7).
~ Forgetting power on the graphics card
~ Seating components incompletely
or incorrectly (especially RAM)
~ Not plugging in CPU fan (Figure 7)
~ Loose screws or incorrectly screwing down the motherboard
~ Forgetting to turn on the power
switch on the power supply
If your computer doesn't boot, start
by checking those.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2017