Need CPU for music production

[Shaggy dogg]

Hey guys, setting up a new rig for music production (top priority).

Im really confused with the amount of options available out there! Looking for the best performance within $200..

As im in a less budget.. Cant afford the i7s right now!

Please drop in suggestions! 

Cheers!

 

[Guest]

200? Two hundred?? 

[Shaggy dogg]

TWO HUNDRED*

[ARikozuM]

Almost any CPU will do you well. I would check your music program and see what the recommended specs are.

[Cyndre1033]

6 minutes ago, Shaggy dogg said:

Hey guys, setting up a new rig for music production (top priority).

Im really confused with the amount of options available out there! Looking for the best performance within $200..

As im in a less budget.. Cant afford the i7s right now!

Please drop in suggestions! 

Cheers!

 

$200 for whole build or just for chip? If just for chip loom at your program (i5 6500 is very good) or wait for Zen, if for the whole build then I have no idea. 

[SeanAngelo]

7 minutes ago, Shaggy dogg said:

Hey guys, setting up a new rig for music production (top priority).

Im really confused with the amount of options available out there! Looking for the best performance within $200..

As im in a less budget.. Cant afford the i7s right now!

Please drop in suggestions! 

Cheers!

 

i5 will do just fine

 

or wait for the new architectures to come out

[Shaggy dogg]

Okay.. Just making things clear.

$200 just for the chip.

And im using (FL studio DAW).

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, Shaggy dogg said:

Okay.. Just making things clear.

$200 just for the chip.

And im using (FL studio DAW).

From what I read, a Pentium is recommended. Do with that what you will.

[The Sloth]

wait for zen 

[Shaggy dogg]

so you guys sure i can make the bet on intel and not amd??

as far as i researched the amd 8320/8350 are the grab for the buck..

[Shaggy dogg]

so intel then..

any models in specfic?

 

[LAwLz]

We are weeks from both Intel and AMD releasing new CPUs. This might be the worst possible time to buy a CPU. Just wait a few weeks and see how things play out. If you do that then you might also be able to save up the ~30 dollars extra for the 6600K or 7600K or whatever CPU you end up getting.

 

If you really, really have to get it this week, and can't possibly afford the potentially much better performance you will get if you order after the two announcements, then get the i5 6500.

The 8350 will be faster in a few very, very specific situations, and music production is not one of them. Also when the 8350 wins it's usually a very small victory, while when the i5 wins it wins by a lot.

Benchmarks can be found here (please note that it is sometimes "lower is better" and sometimes "higher is better", and that the 6500 and 6600 are the same chips, except the 6600 runs 100MHz faster)

[Shaggy dogg]

@LAwLz Damn... idk that! thanks for the prep talk anyways! Im in a position where i gotta make the decision asap!

Anyways il wait i guess.. And any idea when exactly is the ZEN rolling out? 

 

[LAwLz]

35 minutes ago, Shaggy dogg said:

@LAwLz Damn... idk that! thanks for the prep talk anyways! Im in a position where i gotta make the decision asap!

Anyways il wait i guess.. And any idea when exactly is the ZEN rolling out? 

 

No idea when it will come out, but we might get more info at CES 2017. CES starts in 2 days (January 5). Rumors has it that AMD will actually launch it at CES and if that's the case we are just a few days away from it launching. That seems a bit optimistic to me though, so I am hoping for more info at least. If we get more info then maybe we can determine if it's worth waiting or not.

 

If you don't want to wait, then the i5 is your best bet. Either the 6500, or if you can save up a bit more go for the 6600K (can be overclocked).

[Omon_Ra]

46 minutes ago, Shaggy dogg said:

@LAwLz Damn... idk that! thanks for the prep talk anyways! Im in a position where i gotta make the decision asap!

Anyways il wait i guess.. And any idea when exactly is the ZEN rolling out? 

 

Q1 sometime. If you need it now, Intel i5 will be fine. AMD's current lineup is too far behind on peripherals and hardware connectivity to be a worthwhile investment. Music production doesn't require a ton of CPU power, fast storage (SSD's or m.2 nvme) and lots of RAM will benefit you more. The only time the CPU is really hammered is in encoding, and for your typical song that's ~4min long, it doesn't take much.