Over the past 4-6 months, I’ve noticed the signs. My PC was on the fritz. Blue screens, faulty low-level services, sketchy registry edits, and the Windows Event Viewer filled my nightmares. All signs pointed to two possible solutions:
Nuke it: do a fresh install of Windows from scratch.
Upgrade it: what better time than now?
While option 1 was undoubtedly the more logical and economical option, those nightmares gradually shapeshifted into daydreams of ray-traced graphics and unbridled computation.
I knew what must be done. It was time to build a new PC.
Well, Where Do I Start?
There are a lot of things to consider when spec-ing out a new PC and the recommendations strewn across the internet don’t always align with the factors us game audio folks must prioritize.
Noise Levels
Not all fans were created equal! The intake and exhaust fans that scale the inner walls of your computer case are one of the primary sources of noise at idle and under load. This includes the fans on your CPU cooler or radiator (if you opt to go with an AIO or water cooling setup).
To reduce noise levels from fans, you can: lower the fan speed (RPM), use quieter fans, use more fans, or use larger fans.
Because most PC cases will predetermine how many and how large your case fans may be, that leaves you with lowering the fan speed or using quieter fans. Fan speeds can be lowered in your BIOS or using a tool like FanControl. Of course, you still need to push enough air to keep things cool, and fans that are designed with ambient noise levels in mind can ensure you have enough cooling to keep your PC’s internals running safely.
I’m not sponsored but if you want a recommendation, I swear by the brown and beige blades developed by Noctua. The NF-A12x25 is somewhat of a gold standard in 120mm case fans for good reason. It also comes in a few low-noise variants, like the NF-A12x25 LS-PWM, which operates at 7.6dB(A) when paired with the included low noise adapter. For context, most conventional 120mm case fans operate well above 25dB(A). When you have 4-6 fans in a case, their noise levels stack up. Believe me when I say that Noctuas are almost eerily quiet.
If you’re planning on buying high spec parts that run hot, I’d recommend the standard NF-A12x25; it just pushes more air than the ultra low noise variants (by ~20CFM). Otherwise opt for the quietest fans you can get. Your ears and RX De-Noise modules will thank you.
CPU Cooler
While we’re on the topic of cooling, you may find yourself asking whether to go with air cooling or liquid cooling. This is an opinionated blog and I have an opinionated answer to that question, so I won’t sugar coat it.
There is no need to go with an AIO or custom liquid cooling setup. Modern air cooling solutions are just as good for most people, dramatically reduce the chance of catastrophic failure, and remove variables that can add complexity and raise ambient noise (pumps, fittings, tubing, radiators, etc).
That’s pretty much it. Get the biggest, quietest air cooler you can reasonably fit in your case. I’d recommend leaving at least 5mm of clearance between the CPU cooler height and the max cooler height your case allows. If you want a specific recommendation:
Noctua NH-D15 G2 - If you’re going with a full sized tower and have the cooler height to fit one of these, it’s not cheap but it’s probably the best air cooler on the market.
Noctua NH-U12A - For mATX builds in a mini tower, where you can’t fit the NH-D15, this cooler is the answer. I opted for this cooler in my build and would pick it again in a heartbeat.
These coolers will not fit in SFF (small form factor, <20L) cases. I do not recommend going with an SFF build unless you plan on going with a slightly lower spec (i.e. less thermally demanding) CPU and GPU.
CPUs & GPUs
Wow, two sections dedicated to fans, but I’m lumping the two most important parts into one?
Yeah.
These days, AMD might as well have a monopoly on the prosumer CPU market. You likely do not need a Threadripper (CPUs with really high core/thread counts for massive parallel tasks). At the same time, you don’t want to spend all this money building something with the same power as a gaming laptop. That leaves you with AMD’s -700, -800, and -900 series chips (and any variants ending in X3D).
In the same way that AMD is dominating the CPU market right now, Nvidia maintains their steely grip on graphics. And the same argument applies: you don’t need a Quadro GPU capable of training AI models in a data center. But you also don’t want a dinky GPU struggling to run Valorant at 60hz on a 1080p laptop monitor. I’d recommend going with Nvidia’s latest -70 (Ti/Super) or -80 (Ti/Super) series graphics card. To narrow down your decision, consider the monitor(s), resolution, framerate, and supplementary features you might need (ray-tracing, DLSS, etc).
I opted for the AMD 7800X3D paired with an Nvidia 4070 Ti Super, but you can’t really go wrong with any of the ones I just listed.
RAM
Most forums will tell you that 16Gb is all you’ll ever need for modern gaming PCs. Welp, I’m here to be the bearer of bad or good news depending on how you want to look at it: you’re gonna want more.
I’d recommend 64Gb for most current game audio builds. More specifically, opt for 2x 32Gb DDR5 sticks, with the potential upgrade path to 128Gb with an additional 2x 32Gb should you find yourself needing more. I’ve seen Unreal Engine consume 80Gb on AAA projects. And while your computer will do its best to manage memory within the limits of your hardware, it never hurts to have room to spare.
If you work on large orchestral templates or projects that load many VSTs at once, then I would consider going for 128Gb+.
Storage
Death to the HDD… Okay don’t get me wrong, they still have their place: a NAS in the closet. But going forward, I see little reason to opt for traditional hard-drives over modern SSDs.
I would recommend going with a minimum spec of 1Tb NVMe Gen4 M.2 SSD for your boot drive and applications. Don’t cheap out on the lowest end SSD you can find, aim for one with high read/write speeds (like the Sabrent Rocket, WD Black SN850, or Samsung 990 Pro series).
If you don’t already separate your boot drive from your data drives, now is a great time to do so. To complement that screaming fast primary drive, I recommend getting one or more 2-4Tb SSDs to store your game projects, sessions, and other computational cruft. Whether you should go for NVMe M.2 or 2.5” SATA SSDs depends on the I/O available on your motherboard. Speaking of which…
Motherboards
BORING! But important. If you aren’t already, make sure you use PC Part Picker to plan out your build. It’s great for ensuring the other parts you’ve selected will be compatible with your chosen motherboard.
And read the reviews! You don’t want to have to fiddle extensively with your BIOS to get things stable. Fast boot-up times are also worth seeking out. You don’t need to spend $1000 on a top shelf motherboard. The diminishing returns curve falls off a cliff at $250ish.
Case
Picking out a new PC case might be one of the hardest parts of a build. It’s the only thing you’ll really be looking at when you sit and admire your computer before tucking it into bed (sleep mode?) for the evening.
Beyond aesthetics, there are a few key things worth keeping in mind when picking out a new case:
Ventilation - A cube enclosed on all 6 sides by tempered glass might look pretty neat, but it will struggle to breathe efficiently. That means the fans will be pulling harder to keep your parts cool. And we all know that higher RPMs = more noise, right? In short: prioritize cases with unrestricted airflow (mesh panels on as many sides as possible).
Size - Small form factor cases look amazing, but the smaller volume means fewer places to add additional fans. Not to sound like a broken record but… fewer fans means they’re working harder and fans that work hard make noise and we hate noise. At the same time, “Full” tower cases are comically large.
I would recommend going with a “Mini” tower case paired with an mATX motherboard. There are tons of great options out there, just make sure they can accommodate your parts of choice.
So You Built A Computer
WAIT! Before You Wipe The Old One…
Deactivate all of your VSTs and iLoks, if tied to your old PC.
Backup all app config for apps that support it.
Remove all drives from old PC. ONLY INSTALL THE BOOT DRIVE IN YOUR NEW PC.
DO NOT INSTALL DRIVES WITH OTHER DATA UNTIL AFTER INSTALLING WINDOWS.
What Next?
BIOS: Enable XMP (ensures RAM runs at the rated speed)
Install drivers: BT, Ethernet, motherboard chipset, GPU, audio interface
Install utilities: Powertoys, HwInfo, WinDirStat, FanControl
Install apps: Ninite is a decent way to quickly install a bunch of basic apps at once. You might also want to consider using a package manger; WinGet is solid and comes out-of-the-box with Win11.
Double check monitor refresh rate in display settings
Disable windows sound enhancements
Disable services and startup apps that got added in the process of re-adding everything
My Build
Am I a man of my word? Did I even bother listening to my own advice?