MOTUnation.com

Hey all,
I'm shopping around for components to build my next PC, and wondered if you have any tips on hardware components I should stay clear of in order to have a good experience with the newer MOTU interfaces. I'm looking at something like the Ultralite AVB, though might select a different one of the same generation if budget allows.

I have seen some threads on here about issues with certain motherboards or USB controllers. Have those issues been resolved? Any components that have been causing you problems with the drivers? Since this is a new build, I'm hoping to get it right the first time to avoid unneeded costs or workarounds. This will be a Win10x64 PC with a new or new-ish i7 CPU, 32 MB of RAM and a mix of SSDs for system and HDDs for audio. Beyond that, the specifics are up in the air.

Thanks!

HHDs are for backup anymore. Everything else goes onto SSDs. Your PC will run faster, quieter and cooler.

You can get 2T crucial MX300 under $600 or the Samsung 850 EVO under $700. The Samsung tests better and has a longer warranty but you are unlikely to notice any real world difference. I have one of each.

There is no advantage to splitting system and audio or VIs among drives except organization (if I threw all of mine onto one, I’d run out of room so VIs are on my 2nd drive). Internal data transfer is much faster.

For backup drives, the WD Red HHDs are built with extra heavy bearings and use less energy than most (NAS is spec'd to run 24/7) and have a longer warranty. Amazon has them from 2–8TB.
https://www.amazon.com/Red-8TB-Hard-Dis ... 2B8tb&th=1

For remote backup, the WD MyCloud uses those same Red HHDs. These hook up via usb and ethernet only. Available from 2–16TB in single and dual drive configurations
https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Personal-N ... cloud&th=1

A friend of mine who worked at Seagate turned me onto these. It is a bit of a chore to set up NAS but simple automated backup for Windows and Mac (including Time Machine) configures easily.

MOTU says to avoid motherboards with the X99 chipset. That isn't the latest one, but still pretty common I think. I just switched computers to get away from that using my Ultralite AVB. I had pops/crackles and very strange recording artifacts. Switched to a different machine and the problems all went away.

Thanks guys, I will stay away from X99.

RE: The HDD/SSD question, I'll probably have to upgrade some of those later, as I'm really pinching pennies at the moment. Getting something functional for my current needs with a long-term upgrade path is the goal.

Anybody had luck with AMD chips? Some of their new stuff is getting some hype, as they're generally offering more cores for a given price.

Better do some Googling re: AMD for DAW. The latest AMD offerings look very strong, with high core counts and great bang for the buck. Just don't know if there could be any gotchas.