This build was a bit more original in regards to what the person wanted from their machine. Gaming wasn’t a top priority, but working with music in DAWs was. As a result, we made some choices in regards to parts that were uniquely suited to this machine. There were a few things I’d have wanted to do, but this budget was pretty strict, so we did the best we could.
CPU – Intel 4770
While overclocking wasn’t really possible at this price point due to the increased cost of a Z87 motherboard and an aftermarket cooler, the hyperthreaded 4770 was still in range. DAWs are typically very good at utilizing multiple threads, and an i7 ensured excellent performance while working on audio projects.
Cooler – None
No aftermarket cooler was needed in this build since we’re not overclocking.
Motherboard – ASRock H81M-DGS H81
All we need for this build is a motherboard to hold the parts. The H81 chipset is fine because we don’t need a ton of features from the board, and we have no plans to overclock. Saving money here lets us invest it into other parts as well.
RAM – Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1600
While loading a ton of samples and VSTs inside of a DAW it’s possible to use a ton of RAM. 16 gigs ensures that the producer will never get bottle-necked, even when working with a large number of plugins etc…
GPU(s) – PowerColor HJD 7870 XT
The 7870 will do fine for gaming in this system. As I said earlier, gaming wasn’t the focus, so we went with a really well priced, budget series card.
Storage – Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5″ 7200RPM
I actually used a Toshiba 2TB HDD here because it was cheaper at the time of purchase, but any 2TB HDD will do.
Case – NZXT Source 210 (Black)
Again, to save as much money as possible, we went with the cheapest case possible. The Source 210 is my favorite budget case because it’s cheap and it gets the job done well enough for these budget builds.
PSU – Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W
Decent quality PSU given the wattage, and perfect power for this build.
DVD Drive – LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer
Just a standard optical drive for reading DVDs.