this is my opinion based on stuff i own and use:keyman_sam wrote:Slightly OT, but whats the fastest CPU out there?
for laptops Intel Yonah, single CPU desktops the 9xx series,for dual CPU x2 Opteron.
If are considered the use of PCI DSP cards then Intel chipsets are almost the only choice if a dual cpu is going to be used.
The imtel 9xx have not the termal issues of the previous CPU for the 775 socket, i have a 950 it runs extremelly cool, under 30º, okay this is winter here but with the 660 it reached 45º easely and most of the time even hotter and noisier.
The Intel 950 is an awesome performer but nothing as mindbogling as the first time i worked with a centino sonoma aka dothan at 2ghz, i could run projects on alaptop at incredible low latencies and it remained stable at huge workloads.
I know that the intel dualcore Yonah clocked at 2.0ghz performed as well( a little beter) as the AMD4400+ on the Nuendo's Thonex benchmarck, so most pobably the 2.16ghz will perform as well as the 4800+.
The 940 is as good as a 4400+, but i never heard of incompatibilities bettwen UAD cards and the Intel dual core but AMD x2 owners have experienced great dificulties on using their cards with such CPU's.
I'm currently running a Intel 950 on a antique chipset, the 865pe, a FireFace 800 and 4 UAD cards without a crash or problem whatsoever, but to get there i went for a lot of trouble.
i admit that the lust for power is time and money consuming plus higly addictive, so if you are capable with whatever you are using work out your ideas and projects stick with it untill you decide it's time to get something new.
installing OS and software, tweak it et all more than once a year is madness IMO, better leave those tasks to the pros or else one's get caugth on a web of tech stuff that has nothing to do with music... well at least in the old days it hadn't.
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