Help Save SFW - Seba Needs an Upgrade

Hey there! Welcome to Wulfbrand’s Tech Corner of Southern Fried Witch, where we talk about the nitty-gritty behind the scenes stuff that keeps SFW running. Y’all haven’t heard from me in a while, as I’ve been going through some major life transitions — but I think those transitions are positive and I’ve got some news.

First, let’s talk about Seba’s current podcasting setup. Seba does all her recording on a Blue Yeti Pro USB mike (with the Yeticaster boom arm and a pop filter) into a 2012 iMac 21.5”. A base model 2012 iMac. With a mechanical hard drive (or as we in the tech world call ‘em, “those old school spinny bois”). She uses Audacity (free software, pretty basic but easy to use and with solid features) to record and edit all podcasts locally on the iMac, and then uploads when everything is finished over a 4G hotspot with limited data. She also does all her blog posts from this ONE computer. This is the ONLY computer in her house right now if you don’t count phones.

And it’s on its last legs. Since Seba got back she’s been complaining of software crashes, latency, and issues with signal drop outs and clicking during recording. She can work around it — but that means she’s spending around EIGHT HOURS editing each 1-2 hour long podcast before it goes out. And that’s not including the export and upload times, which can get crazy too since the computer ain’t exactly fast and neither is her limited ‘net. I’m starting to suspect that her hard drive might be on its way out — mechanical hard drives are only good for around 8-10 years, and this one’s 10 years old. The hardware’s just plumb wore out.

So I reckon it’s time Seba had something purpose-built. An audio workstation, if you will. Something that’s not on its last legs, ideally mostly new parts. So over the last few weeks, I’ve been putting my ADHD brain to work, and I’ve come up with some ideas. The problem here is that none of us are exactly wealthy. I reckon that between myself and Seba’s other students we can put together about $1500. And computer part prices are NUTS right now.

And we’re on a timer. Because unlike the majority of us with stable Internet, Seba’s out in the country. And because of her limited data, she doesn’t have cloud backups. In fact, the ONLY place a lot of these podcast files exist is on that hard drive. The one that’s dying. That’s inside the computer that’s wore out. See the problem?

So, we’re trying to get this done sharpish, and any donations y’all can make to the project will really, really help. If you choose to donate (use the link at the top of the page) please add the comment “Studio” so we know you want us to use it for the project.

Now, let’s talk about what it is we actually want to do.

Because of Seba’s situation and setup, this new build had a couple of specific requirements. It needs to be as small form factor as possible since she has limited space, and as quiet as possible. Paradoxically that means it needs to be air cooled, with lots and lots of ventilation, as water cooling pumps are actually louder than fans. It needs to be fast — fast enough to record 4-6 tracks of audio at once for interviews in very high quality without stuttering, and it needs lots of storage including redundant storage. However, large storage devices (usually mechanical hard drives) are large and make a lot of noise since they have moving parts. The new build also needs Thunderbolt support for the upgrades on the audio input side.

Therefore, we’ve decided the best move is to split the build into parts:

Workstation Computer
Network Attached Storage (NAS) Server
Audio Upgrades
Room Treatment

Let’s start with the Workstation Computer.

For a small form factor build like this, the case is the most limiting factor. We’ve decided on the Laser3d LZX-8. It’s a Mini-ITX case with 8 liters of volume, coming in at just 9.64” (H) x 6.3” (W) x 8.66” (D). It has plenty of airflow, is highly customizable since all the parts are laser cut in the UK, and best of all, a wood front panel.

This part has over 3 weeks of production lead time and then has to make it through Customs from the UK, so as soon as we decided on this it was ordered. The case cost around 160 pounds sterling plus shipping, which came out to around $190 US at time of ordering.

Next, we move on to the motherboard / mainboard. For this form factor and use case we’ve selected the Gigabyte Z590-I Vision D. This board supports 11th Gen Intel chips - 12th Gen is out but creator motherboards on 12th Gen require DDR5 RAM memory, which is both way overpriced and out of stock literally everywhere. It also, crucially, supports Thunderbolt 4 for super low latency data transfer (which is critical for recording) as well as PCI-E 4.0 for fast data transfer on both the latest solid state drives (SSD) and graphics cards (GPU). The board also has onboard WiFi 6 and a 2.5GbE network port, which will come in handy later in the project. It’s unfortunately one of the more expensive parts, costing around $308. (This has now been ordered!)

Gigabyte Z590 Vision D — Image: Anandtech

We’re choosing to pair this motherboard with an Intel i5-11600K Rocket Lake processor, after significant consideration. The main reason to go with the i5 over the i7-11700K is thermal load - the case was designed for a specific small form factor cooling solution that simply does not provide the thermal headroom for the faster chip without adding significant fan noise under load. This CPU performs around twice as fast as the iMac’s i5-3470S, runs at a 1GHz higher clock (3.9GHz), has 2 more cores and 8 more threads than the iMac’s chip, and only draws around 30W more power. The faster performance and multithreading support will come in handy not only for audio recording, but also for image and video editing. This CPU costs around $250 (the i7, which is marginally faster but much hotter, costs $367 at time of writing). (This has now been purchased and we saved some money with Micro Center!)

And yeah, it’s beige. So what?

Laser3D recommends a specific cooling solution to fit their case, the Noctua NH-L12S. This small form-factor, low-profile cooler is capable of dissipating the i5’s heat load while only producing 23.9 dB(A) of noise under full load (around the volume of leaves rustling); with some creative fan tuning we can get that down to around 16.8 db(A), right around the same volume as a person breathing. This cooler uses Noctua’s famous SSO2 fan bearing, which has a mean time before failure of greater than 150,000 hours. That means this fan is rated to spin for 17 years, continuously, without problems. For just $50! (This has now been ordered!)

Noctua NF-A14 — Literally no better fan exists. This right here is the diamond standard when it comes to fans.

Since we went Noctua for the cooler, it only makes sense to add a Noctua case fan as well, the NF-A14 PWM. This fan has a similar noise profile to the cooler, and will move a LOT of air. Like the cooler, it’s in the Noctua standard beige-and-brown colorway (though it won’t be visible in this case anyway) and costs $21, which is on the pricey end for case fans. It’s worth the extra $10 though for the reduced noise and very high reliability. (I’ve been using Noctua fans in my builds for around 10 years, and have NEVER had a single one fail. Never.) (This has now been ordered!)

Team Group T-Create Expert DDR4-3200 CL16 64GB — Image: WCCFTech

Next, we need system memory (RAM). Due to the low profile requirement and creative workload for the PC, we’ve decided to go with TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert DDR4-3200 CL16 — 64GB of it. With this use case, DDR4-3200 CL16 and DDR4-3600 CL18 are approximately the same speed — but the 3200 costs $100 less (sometimes you ARE just paying for “Bigger number!”) This kit is pricey, at $255, but this much RAM will come in VERY handy for the memory-intensive audio, photo, and video editing workloads that we do at SFW, and is the maximum the board supports. With DDR5 out, DDR4 RAM is going to become harder to come by as the market becomes saturated, so it’s important to future-proof our build by maxing out the RAM immediately. Unlike more expensive and better-known brands (Corsair, G.Skill) Team Group offers a lifetime warranty with this product.

Update: We instead purchased T-Force Vulcan Z, from the same company, due to availability and it being on the motherboard’s Qualified Vendor List. With this much RAM, ensuring compatibility is very important.

Now, let’s talk storage. For the main storage device we’re also going with Team Group, this time with their T-Force CARDEA Zero Z440 2TB m.2 drive. At $269, this is the most reasonably priced 2TB PCI-E 4.0 SSD on the market with blazing-fast transfer speeds of 5GB/s read and 4.4GB/s write.

Update: Due to a good deal I got at Best Buy we were able to score a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro, which is even faster at 7GB/S read and 5.1 GB/S write.

We’re pairing it up with another 2TB of PCI-E 3.0 storage, slower but still pretty blazing fast at 3.5GB/s read and 3.3GB/s write: The Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB at $219.99. That brings us up to 4TB of working storage for the system total. (This has now been purchased!)

Now, we need a small-form-factor (SFX) power supply to match the build. Based on the estimated power load of the build, the best power supply we could find is the Corsair SF750 80+ Platinum, which is able to run fanlessly until it hits 30% load and uses a 90mm fan to reduce noise. (SFX-L supplies, which are slightly longer, could create space constraints with our Graphics Card (GPU) choice). These run around $172. The 750W load capacity will allow headroom for future upgrades, while allowing the fan to stop spinning when the system is under low load. (This has now been ordered!)

EVGA RTX 3060 Ti XC GAMING — Image: EVGA

Finally and most cost-critically, we need a graphics card (GPU). Initially, we’ll be using an EVGA Geforce RTX 2060, since it’s what I have available. Ideally, though, we’d really like to get an EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti XC GAMING — it’s the fastest card that will physically fit in the case, but is only available from eBay and StockX scalpers for around $730 before fees. These occasionally come into stock at MicroCenter but cost around as much as they do on StockX once taxes are taken into account. This card has the horsepower to do high-quality video editing and run plenty of monitors for productivity, as well as enabling AI-accelerated noise cancellation while recording which could prove critical for Seba’s editing workflow.

Next, we’ll move on to the Network Attached Storage (NAS) server.

A NAS unit really has only two main components — a shell, and lots of hard drives. This can be located in another room in Seba’s house and connected with a network cable (which is where that 2.5GBE LAN port on the motherboard will come in handy)! For this we have two options — we can use a commercial shell (small and preloaded with all the software we need, but more expensive) or roll our own using some old hardware I have lying around. That hardware is 2012 era and only supports SATA 2 (everything has been on SATA 3 since 2013 or even earlier), though.

For the shell, if we go with the prebuilt option, our best bet with the features we need is the QNAP TS-453D-8G-US coming in at $600. Its onboard dual Celeron processor and 2x2.5GBE ports will support the data throughput we need for on-site backup, and it supports redundant drives through RAID that will offer impressive redundancy. The enclosure we’ve selected supports four hard drives, though they do offer a 6-drive version for more cash. It’s quoted to support transfer rates over the network of up to 312.5 MB/s, meaning that we can back up Seba’s entire 4TB system in under an hour. This will give us a lot of headroom for growing the podcast as well as the ability to store Seba’s (and her husband’s) other work data with ease.

As far as hard drives, the best bang for the buck right now is the Western Digital 6TB WD Red Pro NAS, costing $195 each, or $780 for four. That’s around 3.1 cents per gigabyte at relatively high supported transfer rates. With four of them, we can run a RAID 10 array for 12TB of total storage space with very high redundancy.

Now, let’s move on to stage 3 of the upgrade: Audio!

Our audio upgrade for Seba has 3 parts:

Recording Interface
Microphone(s)
Monitoring

We’ll start with the recording interface. At least initially, I’ll be giving Seba my Presonus Quantum 2626 Thunderbolt 3 interface (and I didn’t tell her! She doesn’t know about it unless she read this far in the blog post! Shh!) [and I’m totally buying myself another one. This box is AWESOME]. The 2626 is WAY overkill for Seba’s needs, which is actually great - with EIGHT high-quality microphone preamp / line in ports, 10 balanced line out ports, and the ability to connect to other audio devices by optical cable or the various ins and outs, the 2626 is an impressive piece of hardware. It has such low latency over Thunderbolt 3 that the delay between recording audio, processing it on the computer, and then outputting it to speakers or headphones can be as low as ONE MILLISECOND. It also comes bundled with Presonus Studio One 5 Artist, a full-featured Digital Audio Workstation that makes Audacity look like a high school project.

I am currently working on designing a podcast creation workflow for Seba using Studio One 5 and should have a tutorial video ready for her to use by the time we get the PC built. She’ll still be able to use the Yeti Pro for recording solo (though another microphone might work better for minimizing background noise, which I’ll explain in the next section), but will now have the ability to put as many microphones as she wants in for recording interviews or groups. With this interface, she can even connect her phone as a line in and record phone calls using an adapter cable — no more holding the phone up next to the microphone! (Seba now has this in her house with a test computer so she can play with it!)

Next, let’s talk microphones. Seba currently doesn’t have an XLR microphone. The mic of choice is the ElectroVoice RE-20. This chonky boi has been in regular use in the broadcast industry since its introduction in 1968. It minimizes background noise while still allowing the artist to turn their head while recording. It has a storied history and was the microphone Joan Jett used to record her vocals on “I Love Rock & Roll.” This broadcast staple of the 80s will be the perfect pair for Seba’s recording style. It even features an internal pop filter and shockmount, meaning it will take up significantly less space on Seba’s desk despite the size and weight of the microphone. At $449, it ain’t cheap, but neither is the sound that comes out of it. (This has now been ordered and I saved $100 by getting a mint condition used mic on Reverb.com!)

For Seba’s interviews, a Rode Procaster dynamic microphone will be the tool of choice. From the same makers as the amazing tube-based NTK, Rode is a relatively small Australian company that is doing great work in the microphone space. The Procaster is quite a bit cheaper than the ElectroVoice but still features an internal pop filter and shockmount. The Procaster runs $218.

(And we can still run the Blue Yeti in analog mode for omnidirectional recording using an adapter cable if needed.)

OK, let’s talk output. For initial recording, Seba’s currently using a pair of Sennheiser HD598SE Open-Back headphones. While these are great for listening to music, they’re not actually the best for recording, since the sound playing through them could bleed over into the mic input. A sensible pair of cans for recording might be Sony’s venerable MDR-7506 - they aren’t pretty, but they’re comfortable, accurate, and sealed, and have been a staple in the studio environment for many years. They run around $100.

(We decided to go with the AudioTechnica M40X due to availability (i.e. they had one at MicroCenter)

A far as editing goes, the best way to go is a set of powered studio monitors (also known as speakers!) I absolutely love my JBL LSR305 monitors. The latest version, the JBL 305P Mk II is an equally solid choice and features an updated tweeter design. They cost $155 each ($310 for a pair). They’re not the cheapest option, but are far from expensive (monitors range from $100 up to $2k) and are in a price/performance sweet spot. (And based on my experience with the original LSR305, if she decides to listen to some Joan Jett, they’ll get LOUD!)

Update: We may change to smaller studio monitors due to space concerns in the studio. It ain’t huge and these boys are a little bigger than a gallon of milk.

Room Treatment and Acoustics

This is by far the most subjective section. I won’t know exactly what’s needed here until we get everything into the new room and run some audiometrics using my MiniDSP Umik-1 Measurement Microphone. Likely all we’ll need to do is install a pair of bass traps in the front corners of the room, and ensure there’s a bookcase at the back of the room to act as a diffuser. We may also want to add a bass trap to the ceiling above the listening position, some foam to the door, and a set of heavy curtains over the windows to knock down reflections. We can also possibly get a foam microphone isolation booth that attaches to the mic stand — these are cheap and pretty effective but they also take up space.

Anyway, that’s the game plan. Everything other than the main computer build can wait. But getting Seba on to something fast and reliable for the studio PC can’t. And every bit that our SFW listeners and readers can contribute will help. Thank you so much and I’m looking forward to a witchy 2022!