Intel 3rd generation i5 vs 3rd gen i7 for VSTs?

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edit: This solves most everything
games playable with with built-in Intel HD4000/25000 graphics:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/in...033387.htm

HD video play/editing depends on CPU more than GPU.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html
DAW music production software benchmarks:
http://www.adkproaudio.com/benchmarks.cfm

"Those are PassMark benchmark scores. PassMark is a benchmarking software which runs the CPU through many stress tests like
read/write operations, math calculations, and graphics processing. People who run PassMark can submit the score they got with
their processor so those charts are showing the average submitted scores for each processor. I wouldn't read into the overclocked processor charts much because they include mild overclocks as well as extreme overclocks, and there's no way to know how overclocked the processor was when it got the given score. If you really want to see specific scores, you can click a processor from the list and it will show the last 5 submitted scores along with information like RAM, measured speed, hard drive, graphics card, etc."
Last edited by sslow235comp on Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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I have an i7 laptop, gets too hot without manually throttling the cores.

pay more for something with decent cooling if you want an i7 or steer well clear.
I play guitar

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Chickenman wrote:I have an i7 laptop, gets too hot without manually throttling the cores.

pay more for something with decent cooling if you want an i7 or steer well clear.
I have desktop i7 2600k overclocked to 4,9 ghz (aircooled with super silent thermaltake cooler). Working with ZERO problems. Not a single hickup, nothing.

Pefromance gain...Well my older cpu was core duo something....i don't know but i know that i created benchmark project file and i loaded many fx (nebula, various compressors etc.) and synths on that old configuration until ASIO meter reached 99% and my audio started to crackle.

When i upgraded to i7 2600k and that same project is using 21% cpu i mean very same ASIO meter, same windos same everything. I can load ton of FX and never worry about CPU limit.

Pretty much boosted...

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You can't compare desktop to laptop cpus as they are completely differnt chips.

Take anything Intel claims about graphics and gaming with a pinch of salt to be honest. You might be fine with CS as it's fairly old, but when you see them claim that something like Batman Arkham is playable it means it loads but you'll only be seeing 17FPS unless your willing to run everything at minimum.

TBH if you want a gaming laptop for modern games you need to double your budget. If your only playing CS you may get away with it but you also need to consider that your laptop i7 is equal to a 1st gen desktop i7 (they perform around the same as a i7 930/950) and the same goes for the i5 performing like an older 1156 based i5 chip from that year.

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I have an i5 2500k, planning to buy an i7 in the future, the fastest one I can reasonably afford. Just too limited with an i5.
Aiynzahev-sounds
Sound Designer - Soundsets for Pigments, Repro, Diva, Virus TI, Nord Lead 4, Serum, DUNE2, Spire, and others

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edit
Last edited by sslow235comp on Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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sslow235comp wrote:Good info. My same thread at HC http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... 9b19ab13a5&
They're saying 3rd gen i7s have multithreading to allow more VSTs, which FL supports, but 3rd gen i5s don't (except on some HP models).

But, can I get projects running smoothly with a 3rd generation laptop i5/i7 with soft synths (aparently nothing that needs CPU like u-he DIVA does), FX, etc, or will I need to do work arounds like saving parts as audio files to trigger in sequencer?
I7's have Hyperthreading and it does make a difference if you use brutally inefficient VSTi.

As I said though, your main concern needs to be usability - no point having an i7 locked at 1.6ghz because the thing gets too hot, my HP isn't that bad but I have had to do that for some friends due to poor cooling, especially when you have a nvidia 630m or similar which is the minimum nvidia I would recommend for a gaming laptop (I have nil experience with current gen AMD gpu).

It would be pretty difficult to quantify exactly where clockspeed trumps core count when you are looking at I5 vs I7 as it depends a lot on the software as well.

Advice boiled down: If you buy an I7 Laptop - pay extra for a "gaming" one so that you get some decent cooling and can actually use the i7 without random shutdowns.

Otherwise, buy an I5 as you will pay slightly less but also reduce power draw and temps quite a bit while still being able to maintain a semi decent clock speed across all the cores.
I play guitar

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Aiynzahev wrote:I have an i5 2500k, planning to buy an i7 in the future, the fastest one I can reasonably afford. Just too limited with an i5.
Really? I have my 2500k @ 4ghz and I don't feel limited at all. But then again, most of my tracks only use about 8x instances of synth squad, 5x guitar rig, 2x battery, 16 or so SSL channel strips, 4 reverb sends, 2 delay sends, several instances of The Glue on various busses, really wtf are you doing that you feel limited on a 2500k? Lol

though I do agree, the i7's are even better, an I5 2500k is definitely more than enough CPU to produce any kind of music, quite comfortably.

it's also still the chip with the best price/performance ratio when you factor in overclocking.
Has anybody ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

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sslow235comp wrote:I'm a moderate user, but don't want to limit myself. I'll be using FL studio and maybe another DAW. I like a lot happening simultanously sometimes. I have no VSTS right now and don't know which I'll get. I might get something in place of a ROMpler like a Korg Triton, plus a few in-depth analog synth and effects VSTs.
With 8GB RAM, a big hard drive, and 64-bit Windows 8, could I run something like a u-he DIVA on a low-end 3rd generation i7 or a mid-to-high-end 3rd generation i5? Don't turn this into a DIVA thread though, just using it as an example.

Here's the other side of my question I asked a computer forum so you can understand my situation.

'Intel 3rd generation i5 + GPU VS i7 without GPU for HD vid, gaming, music production'


getting a $650ish laptop with 3rd generation intel i5/i7.
People told me a GPU's needed for Counter Strike Gloabal and HD video playing + editing. However, Intel lists Counter Strike Global as a game any 3rd generation Intel can play without a GPU if it's an HD 4000/2500 gfx model with Windows 7 64-bit (and assumingly windows 8 64-bit). I'd be getting an HD4000, so an HD2500's lesser quality doesn't matter. Intel link: http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/i ... 033387.htm
Someone playing CS Global no problem with Intel 3rd generation CPU, HD4000 gfx without a GPU and a decent amount of other players http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UOle1uU_B8

This Intel video says all 3rd generation CPUs with intel HD GFX can PLAY HD smoothly. And, I assume blue ray because there are 3rd generation Intel laptops with blue ray players and no GPU. I don't want blue ray, just saying. Also, some forums say full HD can play on a 3rd generation Intel HD4000 gfx without a GPU but sometimes tweaks like bitstream or codex are needed.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ ... video.html

About 5 sentences in, Intel says all 3rd generation CPUs with HD GFX can EDIT HD video: http://newsroom.intel.com/community/int ... -to-the-pc

For about $650, an 8GB RAM laptop with either a low-end 3rd gen i7 without a GPU or a mid-to-high-end 3rd gen i5 with a GPU can be had.
I'm assuming the i5's at least a mid-grade i5, and the i7 would be low-grade i7. I'm trying to figure that all out, but this PC's so slow you have no idea, and I'm in a rush for Black Friday sales.

I want an i7 for a music making program with virtual instruments. I'm asking a music forum now if an i7's even needed considering what I'm wanting to do. Also to make internet and Windows Explorer faster, but I assume I'll never even max-out an i5 with just internet and Windows Explorer, and everything will be instantaneous.


IOW, the only reasons I should get an i5 + GPU instead of an i7 without GPU would be to play video games that are more advanced than Counter strike Global and to play/edit full HD video without having to configure things like codex and bitstream?

Much Thanks.

the links work if you copy paste to google and remove the space(s), or just believe me.
one other thing to note - you are asking a lot out of a laptop here. especially a sub $1000 one.

personally I will never use a laptop as my main workstation again. my laptop is pretty much an internet/movie watching machine at this point, even though it has plenty of cpu to do DAW work, I just don't trust it.
Has anybody ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

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@midnight wrote:
Aiynzahev wrote:I have an i5 2500k, planning to buy an i7 in the future, the fastest one I can reasonably afford. Just too limited with an i5.
Really? I have my 2500k @ 4ghz and I don't feel limited at all. But then again, most of my tracks only use about 8x instances of synth squad, 5x guitar rig, 2x battery, 16 or so SSL channel strips, 4 reverb sends, 2 delay sends, several instances of The Glue on various busses, really wtf are you doing that you feel limited on a 2500k? Lol

though I do agree, the i7's are even better, an I5 2500k is definitely more than enough CPU to produce any kind of music, quite comfortably.

it's also still the chip with the best price/performance ratio when you factor in overclocking.
I don't know, but I have my buffer right up to 1024 and still have issues with CPU usage.

Also, I've only got 4GB of ram so I'm going to upgrade that. That might help.
Aiynzahev-sounds
Sound Designer - Soundsets for Pigments, Repro, Diva, Virus TI, Nord Lead 4, Serum, DUNE2, Spire, and others

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Aiynzahev wrote:I don't know, but I have my buffer right up to 1024 and still have issues with CPU usage.

Also, I've only got 4GB of ram so I'm going to upgrade that. That might help.
Are you running it 96khz? That could do it. I still run at 44.1khz and with my whole template loading up, (all that stuff I mentioned) I am at like 10-15% cpu usage lol.

I just use oversampling instead of running 96khz because that eats too much cpu and plus the hard drive requirements are horrendous.
Has anybody ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

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@midnight wrote:
Aiynzahev wrote:I have an i5 2500k, planning to buy an i7 in the future, the fastest one I can reasonably afford. Just too limited with an i5.
Really? I have my 2500k @ 4ghz and I don't feel limited at all. But then again, most of my tracks only use about 8x instances of synth squad, 5x guitar rig, 2x battery, 16 or so SSL channel strips, 4 reverb sends, 2 delay sends, several instances of The Glue on various busses, really wtf are you doing that you feel limited on a 2500k? Lol

though I do agree, the i7's are even better, an I5 2500k is definitely more than enough CPU to produce any kind of music, quite comfortably.

it's also still the chip with the best price/performance ratio when you factor in overclocking.
+1

I could have written the second post. Basically the same setup here: slightly overclocked i5 2500K running an average of 30 tracks with tons of FX.... Uses about a third of the resources than my old OC'ed Q6600 system.

Aside from the CPU, only other component upgrade was going to a 128 GB Samsung SSD for the OS/apps drive. Under stress (What's that? :lol:), the box runs a lot cooler and quieter too!

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thanks

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