Getting a new PC to use with Maschine - does this spec seem ok?

I’ve been getting a lot of crackling and lagging recently when using Maschine with my PC, to the point where it’s just not fun anymore. I looked into diagnosing and fixing it but I concluded I don’t have the technical skills and I decided to splash out on a new PC (with a limited budget). I read that Ryzen multicore processors and 16GB RAM is good for music so I went to Pcspecialist.co.uk which lets you pick and choose your components. The full spec is below. 500 odd euros including shipping to France! I’d be grateful for your thoughts.

Case

PCS 3312B BLACK CASE

Processor (CPU)

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.1, 6GB/s

Memory (RAM)

16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card

1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 730 - DVI, HDMI, VGA

1st Storage Drive

256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)

Power Supply

PCS 250W 80+ BRONZE POWER SUPPLY

Power Cable

1 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling

STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Thermal Paste

STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Card

10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

Wireless Network Card

WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD

USB/Thunderbolt Options

MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System

Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]

Warranty

3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery

2 DAY DELIVERY TO FRANCE

Build Time

Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

 

I have the same CPU but one generation behind, so the 2600x and it's enough for maschine, even for big cubase projects. You only need more drive space, i would buy a 1 or2 TB drive and add it. Then you have a decent audio PC.


Uwe

P.S. i hope you have a audio interface, those onboard sound cards are not bad but not for making music.

 

Plus I would get a a bigger power supply (400w or better) .... Unless wattage measurements are different in Europe

 

Ohh yes, true that's way too small, i even didn't know they exist anymore. 400 is minimum today for a desktop PC.

Uwe

 

Thank you for these very useful comments.

nb - I'm currently using my old Zoom R24 hard disk recorder, as a mixer I guess, which I route into the back of Maschine. I route the Maschine output into the PCs audio in, so I guess I'm just using the PCs soundcard.

What soundcard would you recommend for the new PC?

 

TBH at that budget, I would opt to buy something in the used market with general higher specs

Isn't that case full-ATX? It will be huge for a tiny Micro-ATX board... also check if it comes with at least one fan.
Only 1 256GB drive? Do you have external drives already?

In the 100-150$ price range, all interfaces offer mostly the same functionality I'd just go for whatever is new and popular.

 

I would recommend a focusrite solo or scarlett 2i2 interface. And D-One is right about a used computer, that's also an option. Or you buy this one and add later stuff like i said, but a better PSU i would buy right away.


Uwe

 

Sorry I got that wrong - I'm using the Zoom R24 as a mixer routed into Maschine and the Maschine outputs go to the speakers. In Maschine preferences I have the driver set to ASIO and device set to Maschine Mk3. So, with this configuration I'm using Maschine as my soundcard?

If yes, and my understanding is correct, then the sound card on the new PC is irrelevant?

 

Then you don't need a new audio interface - correct.

Uwe