Hi
I don't understand i7 procesors too well, they're quad but each has 2 threads so they are kind of octo?

I have noticed the i7 920 is actually cheaper then the 9650 and just a little more then a 9550. I run Cubase 4, dont mess with sample libraries. I'd love to run 4-5 instances of guitar rig in a project though. Would Cubase read 8 threads or should I get a quad with higher Ghz?

Also would I need to get a more expensive motherboard to accomodate an i7? I was going to get a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3LR as I need a couple PCI slots for UAD and RME cards as well as some PCIe's.

Oh and another question is around what type of extra cooling stuff I might need for it. I have a Arctic Cooling Silentium T ECO 80 case. Can I just pull the heat sink off my pentium 4 and stick it on the i7 (as nothing about this rebuild has been easy Im guessing not).

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I'd love to run 4-5 instances of guitar rig in a project though.

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i run an e6420 (dual-core) rig with xp and 4gb ram and i routinely use up to 8 instances of GR2...track those first then increase project latency when adding fx etc...

but of the two you mention, go core i7, be careful as to mobo, i think the gigabyte one is the most used, and then mutiples of 3 gb ram...

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My metal music! My other music!

The i7 CPU is the better buy, Cubase will see and use all 8 threads, you also say you are doing sample work, here the i7 on die memory controller will enable you to load samples and still work at low latency.

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www.directresolution.com
home of the DARC audio computer

Maybe this comparison using Cubase would be helpful to you:
http://rainrecording.co.uk/vista/performance

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Are those figures with the HT on? We had a bigger performance difference from the Q9550 to the i920 CPU. We were using different tests, different interface etc We also found the performance increase grew at the lower latency settings (64, 32 buffer)

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www.directresolution.com
home of the DARC audio computer

Quote directresolution.com:

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Are those figures with the HT on? We had a bigger performance difference from the Q9550 to the i920 CPU. We were using different tests, different interface etc We also found the performance increase grew at the lower latency settings (64, 32 buffer)

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Yep. It all depends on what you're testing and how you do it and also it's in the details. We aim for a 10ms buffer because it's realistic and achievable with almost any interface and will give a better resolution of results. We tried to use every plug-in in Cubase and so it just so happens that between the Q9550 and i7920 we were on the big Roomworks plugin and so the difference in plug-in count is uncharacteristically small but the performance difference is actually quite marked. If we'd used a piddly plug-in we could have made the results much more impressive but, you know, it's just how it worked out. Also you could cross reference with different buffer sizes but then you need to start commenting on the interface used and quality of the drivers, at which point you'll need to cross reference it with different interfaces, some Firewire, USB and PCI just to be sure and then perhaps start down the road of different software, different plug-ins, different tests, hey let's try it in zero gravity and before you know it the idea of a simple comparison has really got out of hand

Also, i may have just done something stupid and it's all wrong for one reason or another, but hopefully, hopefully there's some useful information there for people weighing up the power of various processors - that was the plan.

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Oh I see, it is hard because different tests will give very different results. Amongst our own tests we also run the DAWbench tests, they don't cover all bases but they are very good and are also a test that lots of other people run.


So for some other results http://www.dawbench.com/dawbenchdsp-i7part1.htm

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www.directresolution.com
home of the DARC audio computer

Quote directresolution.com:

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Amongst our own tests we also run the DAWbench tests, they don't cover all bases but they are very good and are also a test that lots of other people run.

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Including me


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

"Baaaaaa" (indicating in a childish way that you're all a bunch of sheep)

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Not long after posting this I picked up a random issue of sound on sound out of my bookshelf which had the review of the scan PC which gave me a good chunk of info. So looks like Its probably worth going the i7 even though I will have to revise my budget for motherboard and ram upwards again. To think less then a month ago I was going to get a dual core, all well hopefully it means I can go another 5-6 years with out upgrading again

Quote Sachizm:

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To think less then a month ago I was going to get a dual core, all well hopefully it means I can go another 5-6 years with out upgrading again

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Don't you believe it Sachizm!

I thought I was doing well still using the dual-core PC I built in December 2006, but 5-6 years? By then even Windows Notepad will need a fast 3D graphics card and 8GB of RAM


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote directresolution.com:

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Are those figures with the HT on? We had a bigger performance difference from the Q9550 to the i920 CPU. We were using different tests, different interface etc We also found the performance increase grew at the lower latency settings (64, 32 buffer)

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agreed 100% those tests dont come close to showing the real differences. there whould be a much larger gap from Core i7 to Core 2

especially in sampling ability. wrong methodology i would say.

here are some tests
http://www.adkproaudio.com/benchmarks.cfm

Scott
ADK

Quote jcschild:

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wrong methodology i would say.

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Up your bum

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Now now - go and stand in the corner young Robin, until you've learned some better manners


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Awwwww sir, he started it

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Quote robinv:

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Quote jcschild:

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wrong methodology i would say.

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Up your bum

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Looks like the thread turns into "which is more power-ADK or Rain" , actually I am interested in getting new laptop from one of them, or maybe there are more companies like that, European company would be preferred(that`s advantage of Rain I believe). Sorry for diverting from the main theme.

absolutely NOT a who is more powerful.

there would be little differences in out systems given same processor, HDD, etc.

we do use DDR3 1600 CL8 vs their 1333 CL9 which does matter with sampling but all in all little diff and its not about that.

i was going to leave it alone.....
its about the method used to test as well as the software used.

so let me expound.
composers want to know 1 thing
how low can i go? (Buffer setting)
not so much how many, as the how many is an impossibility due to what software, what patch, what articulation, what effect was added etc.
then there is OS differences and if the software is truely 64 bit Etc.. how much ram in the system and what kind

with Vista 64 and Veinna Symphonic Cube we gave up trying to load instances (dual Xeon Nehalem 64gig ram Vista 64)

with samples the key factor is memory bandwidth.
so any test for samples should show the differences in platforms based on showing memory bandwidth.
(lowest buffer with a given samples set)
rather than how many.

again not who has the best system.

as to the laptop
the laptop shown on Rains website (both US and UK) is completely discontinued and no where to be found.
it worked rather well (we sold it on the Sonica site)
no clue what they are selling now...

and with all fairless to Rain the pictures on both my sites are not represenative of what we are selling (15") either.
we think we finally found one to replace both the Sonica and ADK (not discontinued but broken via bios) 15"

Scott
ADK

Aha, but our systems are more likely to get you laid. It's to do with the organic nature of tungsten carbonate alloy over living tissue that create an aura that triggers the release of endorphins and generates a feeling of well-being. you feel more alive by simply standing near it - it's like karma enhancing, moral centring, life affirming. The vodka based cold fusion reactor ensures unbeatable clean and efficient power right between your toes.

Scott - let's not.

Thanks
Robin

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PC-Music.com hints, tips & reviews
Rain Computers UK - Creative Audio PC's

Oh, not only I do not get any info regarding actually and not cyber fictually available notebooks but am slowly getting impression- you cant take such companies seriously, judging from the way they are "represented" here on the forum. You might buy something with "liftime" warranty from enterprise that wont even exist after few months.

Hi Avi

Robin & Scott are ole web buddies who are just having fun on here. Their audio PC companies are highly regarded on SOS and by various Pros, used by the likes of say U2 on their world tour. Also Directresoulution, whose pcs were used by oscar winning composer A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

Well done for that 'oil on troubled waters' post tft


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote table for two:

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Hi Avi

Robin & Scott are ole web buddies who are just having fun on here. Their audio PC companies are highly regarded on SOS and by various Pros, used by the likes of say U2 on their world tour. Also Directresoulution, whose pcs were used by oscar winning composer A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

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A.R. studio is 100% Mac and so is the studio where he works in Mumbai. Anyway, what about my notebook question ?

We have to ask the person before we can say someone is a user, can't just make that sort of thing up we'd be on shaky legal ground!

I really don't feel I've said anything wrong here to be honest, just felt that there were other benchmarks that better showed graphically the performance increase over the last generation of CPUs.

We are still trying to find our perfect laptop, I'm not fight for any sales here:-)

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www.directresolution.com
home of the DARC audio computer

Quote robinv:

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"Baaaaaa" (indicating in a childish way that you're all a bunch of sheep)

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Wow,

That must make me the head of the herd... :-)

In all seriousness , there has been huge quantifiable improvement with the i7 over the previous generation at lower audio buffer latencies, and its not really a mystery as to why, as the lower latency and bandwidth of the OBMC accounts for the majority, throw in some execution improvements on the CPU architecture, not to mention Hyperthreading that actually works, and the new QPI and we have what we have... , all good. :-)

RE the audio laptops, what a bloody minefield , and for those on the outside looking in, you really have no idea the lengths that are required sometimes to gets something that works across the board reliably for audio. There is good reason why the DAW builders play their cards close to their chest on that one, and to be brutally honest, its not as easy as saying brand x will work , as the goal posts move so quickly with the ODM's, a slight change at MB level or even a BIOS change can easily nuke a working solution without warning, so there really isn't a simple answer on that.

Peace

Quick heads up,

For those that are interested, I have updated the i7 DAWbench DSP results to include the Dual i7 Xeons , which confirm that the quantum scaling improvement has been maintained at the lower audio buffer settings on the dual socket platform.

Check them out Here

A thank you to Scott and the team at ADK for the time and energy to test and supply the results for the Dual Xeon system , I do need to mention the team as the tests were carried out by the boys, not Scott who from what I hear sits in the office all day now, sipping double expresso's , barking out orders... ;-)

No wonder he is so edgy all the time..

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sipping double expresso's , barking out orders... ;-)

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close! Grande javachip with caramel frappe'
one of the few treats i allow myself 3 times a week.

i am so dang grumpy due to watching my diet
low carb this low fat that cant eat that but i WANT THAT.

aint much good food left.

arrrrgggh to be 25 again.

Scott