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New build: Intel, or AMD?

PhonoBrainer

By PhonoBrainer
in The Coffee House

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PhonoBrainer

PhonoBrainer

Posted
Posted

Because my killer rig from 2013 just decided it would cough up a toxic hairball filled with stopcode error 0xc000021a, cannot chkdsk because the disk is write protected, and other assorted blue screen gems.

So while I await the harrowing results of a C drive windows 10 reset,

 

. . . I fanticize and plan.

 

Intel, AMD, or does it matter?

 

Thanks y'all . . .

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kitekrazy

kitekrazy

Posted
Posted (edited)

 I guess it depends on your expectations.  If you are in need to low latency you stick with Intel.

Jim builds super duper pro rigs and I don't know what your budget is.

AMD is still a budget alternative. Their CPUs come with a cooler.

If you are thinking AMD I'd suggest researching outside of this forum.

I'd also try to fix that error first.

If Thunderbolt is in your future go with Intel. 

Edited by Paul Young
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Tony Carpenter

Tony Carpenter

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My AMD prejudice due to actual real life experience numerous times dating back to the early 90s is real. The fact is AMD is a true performer, good value. It's also true it can be a real PITA!!! not 100% code compatible at assembly level. YMMV.

 

On a side bar, there is a reason HPE and the like use Intel, AMD tends to be used with Linux in Amazon and Google platform mega setups.

 

Tony

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Starise

Starise

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Safety and proven performance/stability Intel.....live on the wild side? AMD.  With AMD I feel like its a potential gamble. Many have gambled and won. Some have gambled and lost.

AMD continues to gain traction. Pros and cons. If I were making smaller mixes with not a lot of I/O ( usb ) as many home studios do. If I wasn't making music for pay on that computer. If the build had been proven elsewhere with only minor bumps in the road I might just jump.

I usually go with Intel because it just works 99% of the time. That sounds like what I hear lots of dedicated Mac people say. I guess it's a level of assurance. Not a guarantee. Lots of people touting AMD online aren't using them as DAW hosts. 

In many cases it has more to do with the fine print. It does this and that and that very well. It might be faster HOWEVER................there's this one little thing you should know first.

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Jim Roseberry

Jim Roseberry

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I would agree with most of what I've read above.

 

The new Intel i9 10900k is a great DAW CPU

  • 10 Cores
  • 20 Processing Threads
  • 5.3GHz clock-speed
  • TDP = 125w (it'll run quiet with quality air-cooling)

It's a great balance of multi-threaded performance, ultra low latency audio performance (super high clock-speed), cost, and quiet.

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synkrotron

synkrotron

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32 minutes ago, InstrEd said:

If you are not in a hurry, wait and see what it brings to the table

I think that can be a little bit of a problem in that you will always be waiting for the next tech advancement.

Personally, I suggest to people, set a budget and then get whatever is available now for that budget.

Sometimes you can "future proof" your investment by increasing your budget.

If you have a limitless budget then just get the best available at the time... No compromise...

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Jim Roseberry

Jim Roseberry

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I said this the last go around with AMD... and it's certainly relevant for the upcoming Ryzen 4000 series.

AMD needs to get their clock-speed significantly higher.

 

AMD is killing it on multi-threaded performance... but the trade-off is (currently) poor ultra low latency performance.

If I'm spending $1000-$2000 on a CPU (3990x is close to $4000), I don't want to choose between multi-threaded and single-core performance.

I want the CPU to excel at both.

 

Threadripper has TDP of 280w.

That means aggressive cooling (noise)... and little (read none) over-clocking headroom.

AMD will need to get TDP down... while getting clock-speed significantly up.

It won't happen without significant architecture changes.

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Jim Roseberry

Jim Roseberry

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2 minutes ago, synkrotron said:

I think that can be a little bit of a problem in that you will always be waiting for the next tech advancement.

Agreed.

No matter when/what you buy, there's always something better/faster/etc... around the corner.

 

I just got a 2020 Explorer.

I'm sure the 2021 model will be (slightly) improved.  ?

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Starise

Starise

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I believe Emeraldsoul has been around here for a little while, so you may be well aware of this. Jim has been the popular builder around here for a long as I can remember.

This is for good reason. Jim doesn't just order parts, put computers together and call himself a builder. He is primarily a DAW builder and he knows what he is doing.

Though I build my own computers, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a  PC DAW build. There are a long line of very contented customers here.

Jim doesn't overtly advertise. Check his sig if you're looking for a computer set up for DAW work. I don't think I've ever seen Jim push his services here, but everyone knows about him as one of the very best. He has built for some pretty important clients. 

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PhonoBrainer

PhonoBrainer

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Thanks for all those great responses!

I was told that Intel is having trouble shipping things on time at the moment, some supply chain hitch?

 

I'm not a dice roller.

I've got my 2013 beast back up and limping with a windows restore, now I just have to go back and reinstall every friggin program. That's a first world problem.

Cheers,

-Tom

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Bapu

Bapu

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On 8/22/2020 at 6:57 AM, emeraldsoul said:

Thanks for all those great responses!

I was told that Intel is having trouble shipping things on time at the moment, some supply chain hitch?

 

I'm not a dice roller.

I've got my 2013 beast back up and limping with a windows restore, now I just have to go back and reinstall every friggin program. That's a first world problem.

Cheers,

-Tom

Whatever you choose *not* to install send it my way. I'm in need of some plugins etc.

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InstrEd

InstrEd

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5 hours ago, Bapu said:

How many tracks and instances of Kontakt can she run?

Sorry Ed my daughter is not into music production or any instrument at all. As much as my wife and I tried she is not interested. Plus I don't have Kontakt myself to even try for you. But for her needs it works well. She is really into art. This is a charcoal/pencil freehand drawing she made me for Fathers Day.  The drawing is an inside joke between her and me.

c5IcM5V.jpg

She wants to get into some computer drawing and the flex 5 uses AES active pen. So she can use the laptop for annotation her now remote school work and get into some illustrating programs.

I don't think the computer drawing will ever replace her love of actually drawing on paper. She would hide away in her bedroom drawing. We would have to go check on her to make sure she was okay :)

 

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