I might get a new slave for VEP5 next year. I've built PCs for years now, but I'm a bit unsure what components I should get for a optimal sample streaming DAW. I'm not going to mix or use a lot of plugins inside Vienna Ensemble, mainly Virtual Stage panning and maybe few EQs. Main usage is getting those orchestral samples stream fast with high polyphony. Challenge is to find right components for a great real time performance - there are no tests however to showcase this, only vague CPU scores.
So now I've been looking this kind of build:
- Asrock Z170 Extreme7+ Motherboard http://asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z170%20Extreme7+/
- Intel Skylake i5-6600K, 3,5Ghz
- Corsair 32GB (4 X 8GB) Vengeance LPX Black DDR 4, 2400Mhz
- Samsung 128 GB 850 PRO (for OS, VEP5 and handful of plugins)
- 3 X Samsung 512GB 950 PRO M.2 SSD (2500/1500 MB/s) Link
- Seasonic 520W P-520FL 80Plus Platinum, Passive. Newegg
- Fractal Design Define R5
- Thermalright Macho Zero 140 Processor Cooler
- Microsoft Windows 10
Any suggestions or comments? I think those new M.2 drives might be interesting to try out, insane read speeds. Later on I can buy more ssds or even a PCI-e ssd and upgrade the ram to 64GB if needed. Build's price is roughly ~2010 EUR. I would be happy to hear user experiences if you have been using similar CPUs or drives. Thank you!