CPU best for me

[zaquedidit]

I posted earlier about power supplies and got to talk with someone about CPU's in the thread but I'd like to go more indepth, I'm new to building PC's and im currently putting together a custom PC for my music studio, I'm building a dual boot hackintosh that i'll also ocasionally game from as well too. These are the parts that I have so far, I've got a budget of 1400 but I was wondering is there a cheaper CPU for better money? Most music creation software doesn't deal well with hyper threading and I've got no clue what overclocking does or if it would be good for my situation.

 

I produce music of all kinds of genres but I also record and mix as well, depending on the genre like EDM for instance the plugins I use are power hungry and tend to use up a lot of CPU power.

 

Currently i've got an i7 8700 in my parts list but I was wondering if there was a cheaper alternative that's more bang for my buck. I've chosen the motherboard that I have because it has thunderbolt and my studio runs off a thunderbolt system so that can't be changed I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

 

EDIT: My friend is building the computer for me and he's going to take care of the hackintosh side, I'm not doing it myself.

[emosun]

You might want to use a real mac if you've never built a pc before as a hackintosh isn't the easiest thing to get working even with the correct parts list especially if you've never built a pc before.

[zaquedidit]

Just now, emosun said:

You might want to use a real mac if you've never built a pc before as a hackintosh isn't the easiest thing to get working even with the correct parts list especially if you've never built a pc before.

My friend is building the computer for me, he's built hackintosh computers before. I suppose I should put that in the main part of the threat, I'll have to edit it. I can't justify spending that kind of money on a mac anymore, 8 years ago when I bought my laptop I was able to buy in 2020 with their prices and hackintosh computers existing I can't do it.

[jaslion]

I'd say just get a used mac as well hackintosh for all that it's worth is not an easy to set up thing and unstable as one small update can break everything.

[jaslion]

7 minutes ago, zaquedidit said:

I posted earlier about power supplies and got to talk with someone about CPU's in the thread but I'd like to go more indepth, I'm new to building PC's and im currently putting together a custom PC for my music studio, I'm building a dual boot hackintosh that i'll also ocasionally game from as well too. These are the parts that I have so far, I've got a budget of 1400 but I was wondering is there a cheaper CPU for better money? Most music creation software doesn't deal well with hyper threading and I've got no clue what overclocking does or if it would be good for my situation.

 

I produce music of all kinds of genres but I also record and mix as well, depending on the genre like EDM for instance the plugins I use are power hungry and tend to use up a lot of CPU power.

 

Currently i've got an i7 8700 in my parts list but I was wondering if there was a cheaper alternative that's more bang for my buck. I've chosen the motherboard that I have because it has thunderbolt and my studio runs off a thunderbolt system so that can't be changed I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

 

Also just so you know but hackintosh thunderbolt is one of those barely functional things. If it works at all you will need to restart your pc every time you plug or unplug a device from it.

[zaquedidit]

Just now, jaslion said:

I'd say just get a used mac as well hackintosh for all that it's worth is not an easy to set up thing and unstable as one small update can break everything.

One of my friends is doing the hackintosh part for me, he's done it for years and he said he'd take care of it for me if there's ever an issue

[DarkAavenger777]

8 minutes ago, zaquedidit said:

I posted earlier about power supplies and got to talk with someone about CPU's in the thread but I'd like to go more indepth, I'm new to building PC's and im currently putting together a custom PC for my music studio, I'm building a dual boot hackintosh that i'll also ocasionally game from as well too. These are the parts that I have so far, I've got a budget of 1400 but I was wondering is there a cheaper CPU for better money? Most music creation software doesn't deal well with hyper threading and I've got no clue what overclocking does or if it would be good for my situation.

 

I produce music of all kinds of genres but I also record and mix as well, depending on the genre like EDM for instance the plugins I use are power hungry and tend to use up a lot of CPU power.

 

Currently i've got an i7 8700 in my parts list but I was wondering if there was a cheaper alternative that's more bang for my buck. I've chosen the motherboard that I have because it has thunderbolt and my studio runs off a thunderbolt system so that can't be changed I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

 

EDIT: My friend is building the computer for me and he's going to take care of the hackintosh side, I'm not doing it myself.

ryzen 7 3700x

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, zaquedidit said:

One of my friends is doing the hackintosh part for me, he's done it for years and he said he'd take care of it for me if there's ever an issue

This whole system is 2 generations out of date by now and not worth the money. Also why the 2 ssds?

[zaquedidit]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

This whole system is 2 generations out of date by now and not worth the money. Also why the 2 ssds?

He put it together, We figured having two separate boot drives for each OS would be the best thing to do, he's done it with his dual boot systems before and it works for him. 

[Stahlmann]

1 minute ago, zaquedidit said:

He put it together, We figured having two separate boot drives for each OS would be the best thing to do, he's done it with his dual boot systems before and it works for him. 

Can't you just use a Windows only machine? Idk about music software but that seems like the best working thing.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, zaquedidit said:

He put it together, We figured having two separate boot drives for each OS would be the best thing to do, he's done it with his dual boot systems before and it works for him. 

Makes sense. I also recommend you move to intel 10th gen. The i5's are basically the same as your i7 8700 but a bit better.

[zaquedidit]

2 minutes ago, Stahlmann98 said:

Can't you just use a Windows only machine? Idk about music software but that seems like the best working thing.

Because I do all my recording in logic and it's what im comfortable with, my production is in FL studio and it's better optimised for windows 

[zaquedidit]

4 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Makes sense. I also recommend you move to intel 10th gen. The i5's are basically the same as your i7 8700 but a bit better.

that's fair, what CPU would you recommend then?

[Stahlmann]

Just now, zaquedidit said:

Because I do all my recording in logic and it's what im comfortable with, my production is in FL studio and it's better optimised for windows 

I'd rather get used to a new recording software than to be locked to MacOS. Is it such a big problem to learn a new software?

[zaquedidit]

Just now, Stahlmann98 said:

I'd rather get used to a new recording software than to be locked to MacOS. Is it such a big problem to learn a new software?

I've spent the last maybe 8 years or so using logic and I know it like the back of my hand, finding people that would be willing to come and record while I use new software would be a bigger pain than it's worth. Also it would set back my delivery times, I usually deliver within 5-7 working days but if I have to learn a new software it would hinder that

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, zaquedidit said:

Because I do all my recording in logic and it's what im comfortable with, my production is in FL studio and it's better optimised for windows 

If that's all you use mac osx for then why not just run it in a vm for logic? Cpu wise if you go for a hackintosh a i5 10400, 10500, 10600, 10600kf or 10600k would do. If going the vm route a ryzen 3600.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, zaquedidit said:

I've spent the last maybe 8 years or so using logic and I know it like the back of my hand, finding people that would be willing to come and record while I use new software would be a bigger pain than it's worth. Also it would set back my delivery times, I usually deliver within 5-7 working days but if I have to learn a new software it would hinder that

Hey I also have an idea here. Why not just get a cheap mac mini for logic and then a windows pc for the remainder? As you need to reboot to get into the other os anyways this way can very well work.

[zaquedidit]

2 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Hey I also have an idea here. Why not just get a cheap mac mini for logic and then a windows pc for the remainder? As you need to reboot to get into the other os anyways this way can very well work.

It's just a lot simpler for me if I go the hackintosh route, not having two computers and constantly having to switch over HDMI chords and whatnot to connect to my monitor, I'll be able to share audio files between the "two computers" easer than if I have two actual computers, I've worked out of my friends studio and I enjoy the workflow between the two.

[jaslion]

Just now, zaquedidit said:

It's just a lot simpler for me if I go the hackintosh route, not having two computers and constantly having to switch over HDMI chords and whatnot to connect to my monitor, I'll be able to share audio files between the "two computers" easer than if I have two actual computers, I've worked out of my friends studio and I enjoy the workflow between the two.

Ok then take the suggestion of the cpu's I listed. Preferably grab a k series one so you can oc in the future. Do keep in mind you need a 400 series motherboard then.

[Stahlmann]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-10600KF 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor	$277.50 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI Z490-A PRO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard	$150.98 @ Newegg
Memory	Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$73.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$64.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$64.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Gold 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$95.49 @ Amazon
Video Card	Sapphire Radeon RX 580 8 GB PULSE Video Card	$174.98 @ Newegg
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P600S ATX Mid Tower Case	$146.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Best Buy
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1249.78
	Mail-in rebates	-$10.00
	Total	$1239.78
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-17 12:53 EDT-0400

 

If it's true what the others said about thunderbolt reliability with Hacintosh i'd just leave thunderbolt out.