# Bass Ackwards, Need to build CPU with raw cpu power (not for gaming)



## rectifryer (Jun 3, 2012)

I am in the middle of building a cpu for under 1200 that just needs to be a beast at multithreaded media programs.  I will be using it for audio editing and recording.

It also needs to be QUIET so it will probably be water cooled.  It needs PCI 2.0 x16 and PCI slots for sound cards I use.  PCI 3.0 is a bonus.  

Currently, I am using a 1055t x6 but I am looking at using a 2600k and oc'ing it.  Sound good?

Here is the system I have built thus far:




GIGABYTE Sumo 4192 GZ-FS1CCA-ANB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case 

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS 	Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core ... 

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4X2133C11R 

GIGABYTE GA-Z77MX-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard 

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... 

CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler 

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 



Any input would be great.  This system needs to be stout and quiet.  Also, the MB needs to have clean sound streaming.

I was thinking, that instead of buying and OC'ing the 2600k, that maybe I should just buy the $580 i7 that should offer the same power with far less cooling issues.  That way, I wouldnt really need the WC setup and I could just have undervolted case fans that are really quiet.


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## sumonpathak (Jun 3, 2012)

u can take a look at FX series...not powerful FPU wise...but in Core related works it really kicks butt


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## cadaveca (Jun 3, 2012)

Ivy bridge is faster, 3930K on X79 would be faster, but requires better cooling. Personally, I wouldn't bother with Sandybridge.


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 3, 2012)

2600k would be my choice.


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## Fourstaff (Jun 3, 2012)

3930 would get my vote too


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## Bo$$ (Jun 3, 2012)

Why use an Matx board in a full size case?? get a full board and grab a 2600k!


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 3, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> Ivy bridge is faster, 3930K on X79 would be faster, but requires better cooling. Personally, I wouldn't bother with Sandybridge.





JrRacinFan said:


> 2600k would be my choice.





Fourstaff said:


> 3930 would get my vote too



Needed to add, but of course from a price standpoint if on a small budget, fx-8150. Could drop that right in your current board. Then pretty much focus the rest on your gaming wants, whether it be watercooling, ram, video card.....


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## TheLaughingMan (Jun 3, 2012)

AN FX-8150 will holds its own in multi-thread applications, especially if they are compiled to use newer instruction sets. It is pretty much the same as a 2600K in those cases. That being said, I also vote for the Ivy bridge chip such as the 3930K since this is about raw power. And if any of your software requires the media encoding and can support Intel Quick Sync, then there is no comparison.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jun 3, 2012)

What motherboard do you currently have?


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## rectifryer (Jun 3, 2012)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> What motherboard do you currently have?



MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3+ AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ...

Currently running with the my x6 1055t oc'd to 3.5 ghz on air.  Could of went farther, but I just kinda left it alone.


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## Dent1 (Jun 3, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> Currently running with the my x6 1055t oc'd to 3.5 ghz on air.  Could of went farther, but I just kinda left it alone.



In this situation I wouldn't change sockets. The X6 1055T can rival the Intel 2500k in certain multi threaded tasks already, due to sheer core outnumbering. In this situation I would just put in an FX 8-core, arguably could outperform the 2500K in audio editing and recording and caters for your general multitasking needs, or atleast come close enough to justify spending a mere $160-200 upgrade opposed a lot more on a completely new build. 

As far as noise, I would spend $40 on a passive heat sink and attach your own 7-10dba 120/140mm fan. Also, upgrade all your other fans in your case to low dBA fans. Maybe even a more efficient and low dBA PSU. This route will be virtually silent whilst being cheaper and less problematic than water cooling.


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> In this situation I wouldn't change sockets. The X6 1055T can rival the Intel 2500k in certain multi threaded tasks already, due to sheer core outnumbering. In this situation I would just put in an FX 8-core, arguably could outperform the 2500K in audio editing and recording and caters for your general multitasking needs, or atleast come close enough to justify spending a mere $160-200 upgrade opposed a lot more on a completely new build.
> 
> As far as noise, I would spend $40 on a passive heat sink and attach your own 7-10dba 120/140mm fan. Also, upgrade all your other fans in your case to low dBA fans. Maybe even a more efficient and low dBA PSU. This route will be virtually silent whilst being cheaper and less problematic than water cooling.



The AMD system is getting converted into a HTPC/server for all storage in the house.  I have to build another CPU regardless. So I figured, instead of buying a crap cpu for the HTPC, why not make a capable device that can also act as server then build another cpu altogether for recording.  Its more this way, but its only around 600 dollars more which isnt alot considering IMO.

That gives me a blank slate, if you will.  From what I can tell, a 2600k will still outperform a 1055t by far in bench tests.  Those tests are from Anandtech so I have no idea how biased they are.  I do love my thuban, but I hope that a couple generations later something has came up to replace it.


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## Aquinus (Jun 4, 2012)

What kind of workloads are you going to be putting on it? If you had 16 threads available, would you use them all?



sumonpathak said:


> u can take a look at FX series...not powerful FPU wise...but in Core related works it really kicks butt


Recompile whatever you're running using FMA optimizations and that statement will quickly become false. Just because something isn't optimized to use a FMA floating point unit doesn't mean it is any slower.


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## Naito (Jun 4, 2012)

TheLaughingMan said:


> That being said, I also vote for the Ivy bridge chip such as the 3930K since this is about raw power.




****Sandy Bridge-E


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

I use cakewalk 8.5 and it currently recognizes and uses all 6 cores that I have available. It distributes the load between all the processors according to its built in cpu monitor.  I use alot of vsti's (plugins, basically) that can take advantage of multiple processors, however, some dont.  So there is a case for single cpu and multi cpu strengths here.


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## Norton (Jun 4, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> The AMD system is getting converted into a HTPC/server for all storage in the house.  I have to build another CPU regardless. So I figured, instead of buying a crap cpu for the HTPC, why not make a capable device that can also act as server then build another cpu altogether for recording.  Its more this way, but its only around 600 dollars more which isnt alot considering IMO.
> 
> That gives me a blank slate, if you will.  From what I can tell, a 2600k will still outperform a 1055t by far in bench tests.  Those tests are from Anandtech so I have no idea how biased they are.  I do love my thuban, but I hope that a couple generations later something has came up to replace it.



With the price drops on the FX-8150/8120 and the fact that your board supports the FX series it may be worth it for you to give it a trial run. I use a 1045T and an FX-8150 for crunching and easily get 50% more output from the 8150. If you don't like the performance increase, you can always setup a SB/IB system later after some more research.


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 4, 2012)

See if you can get someone to give you a connection to MicroCenter. . . .


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> What kind of workloads are you going to be putting on it? If you had 16 threads available, would you use them all?
> 
> 
> Recompile whatever you're running using FMA optimizations and that statement will quickly become false. Just because something isn't optimized to use a FMA floating point unit doesn't mean it is any slower.



So are you saying that the FX series processors better than they bench?  

I have no idea if the applications I run are designed to take advantage of FMA.


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## lilhasselhoffer (Jun 4, 2012)

Perhaps I'm missing the wording, but I don't get it.

Do you want to spend $1200 for a completely new system?  Do you want to make an HTPC and gaming rig between what you have now and $1200?  Do you, perhaps, not even know what you want beyond the fact that it needs to run certain programs well?


If you've got the need to build a HTPC, then reusing a Phenom x6 is foolish.  Running that 24/7 is going to put a real hurt on the power bill.  On top of that, 6 cores is so far overkill that there aren't adequate words.  You can build an I3 based system that is just as capable for a few hundred dollars, and save the Phenom for gaming.

if you want a multi-core beast you have to go with the 3930k from Intel.  The problem is that you'll need either very high end air or water cooling, the boards are expensive, and your budget leaves little room for decent graphics.  It can be done, but you need to know that CPU power is 100% what you need.


Please don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like an arts student.  Playing at what you don't know is a good way to lose quite a bit of money.  If I were building a rig for a content creator I would go with: 3820 CPU, motherboard with 8 RAM slots (populate all with 4GB sticks), medium range graphics card, high end PCI-e audio card, a prefabricated water cooling loop for the CPU cooler, a large MLC based SSD (something like the 240 GB Agility 3), and a big HDD for content storage.
CPU: 300 USD, but 8 threads and quad channel RAM.
Graphics: Enough to render media well, or GPGPU if the programs support it.
Audio: What you said you need.
Water Cooler: Very capable, quiet running, and very little to worry about.
SSD: Relatively cheap, but still offering enough space and performance to be "felt" by most users.
HDD: Media creators need storage.


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## CaptainFailcon (Jun 4, 2012)

if you really wanna go bawls to the socket's then u should be looking at dual socket xeon-server board
24 threads and 24GB of ECC DDR3 will do a lot of work


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## Melvis (Jun 4, 2012)

Unless your motherboard has the black socket it wont support any FX CPU from AMD sorry. So either way you will need a new mobo, either SKT AM3+ or 1155.


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## Jstn7477 (Jun 4, 2012)

Melvis said:


> Unless your motherboard has the black socket it wont support any FX CPU from AMD sorry. So either way you will need a new mobo, either SKT AM3+ or 1155.



Actually, there are a fair amount of motherboards including his that have the white socket and support AM3+ processors. Even this $60 one does: BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro...


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## theeldest (Jun 4, 2012)

I'd also recommend a SB-E system but I think you'd be about $275 over budget if you keep everything else the same (or nearly).

One point, you can drop your memory speed to 1866. The performance difference to faster memory is negligible. Otherwise what you have listed in the original post is about the best all-around performance you can get in that price range. (I'd look at doing a 2x8GB kit instead of 4x4GB, though. Gives you the option of going to 32GB later and it only adds about $20 to the price now)


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## Melvis (Jun 4, 2012)

Jstn7477 said:


> Actually, there are a fair amount of motherboards including his that have the white socket and support AM3+ processors. Even this $60 one does: BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro...



Does it say on the MSI website that it will support the FX CPU? and what version is the board?

Also the white socket must have the bigger pin holes also or it wont work.


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## qubit (Jun 4, 2012)

@rectifryer

You can get water cooling, but it may not be necessary. My 2700K is overclocked to 4.7GHz using a Noctua NH-D14 and it's really quiet. Personally, I prefer SB over IB due to the excess heat issue with IB and the fact that performance is only a bit faster clock for clock. It's not an open and shut case though, so you might still want to get IB, especially if you use the IGP.



TheLaughingMan said:


> *AN FX-8150 will holds its own in multi-thread applications*, especially if they are compiled to use newer instruction sets. It is pretty much the same as a 2600K in those cases. That being said, I also vote for the Ivy bridge chip such as the 3930K since this is about raw power. And if any of your software requires the media encoding and can support Intel Quick Sync, then there is no comparison.



No it doesn't. AMD's best can't hold their own in anything nowadays and that's been benchmarked and analyzed to death. Crying shame, but that's how it is. I'd really like to see the benchies that convinced you it could.


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## Jack Doph (Jun 4, 2012)

I use Sonar X1 (Producer Edition) & I have more than 30GB of Soundfonts & VSTis - I have yet to do anything (audio-wise) that even comes close to making my system break out in a sweat.
More than a 2600K/2700K is just a waste of money really.



theeldest said:


> I'd also recommend a SB-E system but I think you'd be about $275 over budget if you keep everything else the same (or nearly).
> 
> One point, you can drop your memory speed to 1866. The performance difference to faster memory is negligible. Otherwise what you have listed in the original post is about the best all-around performance you can get in that price range. (I'd look at doing a 2x8GB kit instead of 4x4GB, though. Gives you the option of going to 32GB later and it only adds about $20 to the price now)


^ this. I found 1866MHz to be the sweet spot & more speed is wasted for your uses - latency is a bit more important, but at that speed, also not as important.


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## Aquinus (Jun 4, 2012)

CaptainFailcon said:


> if you really wanna go bawls to the socket's then u should be looking at dual socket xeon-server board
> 24 threads and 24GB of ECC DDR3 will do a lot of work



 Since that would use his budget for just a single board and cpu. This isn't feasible for the price he wants to spend.

If you take the server route, dual C32 Valencias would be the cost effective solution, considering you can slap the equivalent of two FX-8120s on one board and that might be able to get squeeze into the budget since video isn't important.


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

qubit said:


> @rectifryer
> 
> No it doesn't. AMD's best can't hold their own in anything nowadays and that's been benchmarked and analyzed to death. Crying shame, but that's how it is. I'd really like to see the benchies that convinced you it could.



Considering the Thurban X6 can hold its own again the i7 2600k in various multi threaded task I'm sure the FX with 2 additional cores can hold its own too.



rectifryer said:


> The AMD system is getting converted into a HTPC/server for all storage in the house.  I have to build another CPU regardless. So I figured, instead of buying a crap cpu for the HTPC, why not make a capable device that can also act as server then build another cpu altogether for recording.  Its more this way, but its only around 600 dollars more which isnt alot considering IMO.
> 
> That gives me a blank slate, if you will.  From what I can tell, a 2600k will still outperform a 1055t by far in bench tests.  Those tests are from Anandtech so I have no idea how biased they are.  I do love my thuban, but I hope that a couple generations later something has came up to replace it.




As someone else said the X6 thurban isnt the best CPU to use as an HTPC, its overkill and isn't power efficient enough. I guess you can downclock it, reduce the voltage and turn on Cool & Quiet but it's a wate of a  good CPU.  The cheapest and efficient solution would to sell your X6 Phenom II and drop in the FX 8 core for your multi tasking needs. Then spend only $300-400 of on building a dedicated HTPC comprising of an AMD Llano or Trinity APU. 

If you want to start fresh go straight for Ivy Bridge. Sandy bridge is in the past. Get the i5 3xxx k series.


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## Fourstaff (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> Considering the Thurban X6 can hold its own again the i7 2600k in various multi threaded task I'm sure the FX with 2 additional cores can hold its own too.



http://www.anandtech.com/show/4955/the-bulldozer-review-amd-fx8150-tested/7

Very few programs gives a clear victory to 8150 compared to 2600K let alone the Thuban x6


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

Fourstaff said:


> http://www.anandtech.com/show/4955/the-bulldozer-review-amd-fx8150-tested/7
> 
> Very few programs gives a clear victory to 8150 compared to 2600K let alone the Thuban x6



So you are in agreement the FX 8150 is a good alternative to the 2600k for work related and multi threaded tasks? For a cheap drop in CPU.


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## Aquinus (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> So you are in agreement the FX 8150 is a good alternative to the 2600k for work related and multi threaded tasks? For a cheap drop in CPU.



I don't think that is what he was trying to say, but for the price now it's worth it for those kinds of workloads.


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## Fourstaff (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> So you are in agreement the FX 8150 is a good alternative to the 2600k for work related and multi threaded tasks? For a cheap drop in CPU.



If you have the Thuban already upgrading to the 8150 gives little performance boost to outright losing, depending on program. This is something which needs to be analysed program to program, and on top of that you are losing the better single threaded performance of the Thuban. Sorry, odds are stacked against upgrading from Thuban to 8150.


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

Fourstaff said:


> If you have the Thuban already upgrading to the 8150 gives little performance boost to outright losing, depending on program. This is something which needs to be analysed program to program, and on top of that you are losing the better single threaded performance of the Thuban. Sorry, odds are stacked against upgrading from Thuban to 8150.



Sort of agree, single threaded tasks will have little benefit overal Thurban to FX, a bit of a program on program basis which might not be convincing enough to change from a Thurban. Bear in mind Thurbans Max OC is 3.8-4.0GHz area, whereas FX can achieve the 4.5-4.7GHz area which should sway the performance in the FX's favour in singlethreaded apps. 

The Multi threaded tasks should favour the FX notice, the two multithreaded tasks PAR2 Benchmark and Cinebench even outperformed the i5 2500k.

The Thurban still has held its value, if the OP could sell it for $100, pick up the FX 8120 for $170. It would be a good $70 upgrade.


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## Fourstaff (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> Sort of agree, single threaded tasks will have little benefit overal Thurban to FX, a bit of a program on program basis which might not be convincing enough to change from a Thurban. Bear in mind Thurbans Max OC is 3.8-4.0GHz area, whereas FX can achieve the 4.5-4.7GHz area which should sway the performance in the FX's favour in singlethreaded apps.
> 
> The Multi threaded tasks should favour the FX notice, the two multithread tasks PAR2 Benchmark and Cinebench even outperformed the i5 2500k.
> 
> The Thurban still has held its value, if the OP could sell it for $100, pick up the FX 8120 for $170. It would be a good $70 upgrade.



Sometimes with these software you don't really want to push the chips to the bleeding edge due to the increase error chances. 

The 8150 might be able to beat the 2500K, but it still loses to the 2600K by a huge margin in almost everywhere, and we are considering 2600K not 2500K. 

No, it will be a waste of your $70 to get less than 10% increase (which is more or less unnoticeable outside benchmarks/tests)


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

^

Thurban is a great CPU, it's hard justify moving from the X6 to a FX or 2500K/2600K to be frank when you weigh the price /performance and hassle of changing sockets etc.

I think OP could get away with keeping his Thurban and just upgrading the RAM. Then concentrate only $400 on building a dedicated HTCP based on Llano or Trinity. This way he will save a shitload of money. He can always revisit the CPU issue in a few months when Piledriver is released.

Saying that the Intel 3xxx K is my first choice for a fresh build.


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## Jstn7477 (Jun 4, 2012)

Melvis said:


> Does it say on the MSI website that it will support the FX CPU? and what version is the board?
> 
> Also the white socket must have the bigger pin holes also or it wont work.



Yes, the page on the MSi website states in both the marketing section and the CPU support section that it supports all AMD FX CPUs with a BIOS update. http://us.msi.com/product/mb/890FXA-GD70.html#/?div=Overview

"Some manufacturers have brought AM3+ support to some of their AM3 motherboards via a simple BIOS upgrade.[11] Mechanical compatibility has been confirmed and it's possible for AM3+ CPUs to fit in AM3 boards, provided they can supply enough peak current. Another issue is the use of the sideband temperature sensor interface for reading the temperature from the CPU. Therefore, some CPU PWM fan pins may only run at full speed. Also, certain power-saving features may not work, due to lack of support for rapid VCore switching.[12] Note that use of AM3+ CPUs in AM3 boards is not officially supported by AMD." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM3+#Socket_AM3.2B


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> ^
> 
> Thurban is a great CPU, it's hard justify moving from the X6 to a FX or 2500K/2600K to be frank when you weigh the price /performance and hassle of changing sockets etc.
> 
> ...


I think this sums up the thread nicely.



lilhasselhoffer said:


> Perhaps I'm missing the wording, but I don't get it.
> 
> Do you want to spend $1200 for a completely new system?  Do you want to make an HTPC and gaming rig between what you have now and $1200?  Do you, perhaps, not even know what you want beyond the fact that it needs to run certain programs well?
> 
> ...



Also, to satisfy conjecture, I am not an art student.  I am studying EE at UCF.  Lets clarify some of my original statements:

1) I want to build another computer because an keeping an OC'd thuban cool is loud.  I could spring for water cooling it but putting together a kit is cost prohibitive.  Why not just use this board/cpu as a *SERVER*/HTPC that I need anyways?  Think the bolded part is what some are reading over. At idle, this setup doesnt pull much power as it is.  I don't think having it on is going to add much to my elec. bill.  Honestly, I haven't even considered this aspect so thanks for letting me know.

2)I don't care about graphics _at all_. 


HOWEVER,

Most of you are saying that upgrading from a 1055t to a 2600k in this case will be a waste?  That makes me sad panda.  That really sucks because I was all stoked to do this thinking there was something better out there.  I don't understand though, because most of the benchmarks say an OC'd 2600k nearly doubles the power of a 1055t.  Is this the case or not?  



Jack Doph said:


> I use Sonar X1 (Producer Edition) & I have more than 30GB of Soundfonts & VSTis - I have yet to do anything (audio-wise) that even comes close to making my system break out in a sweat.
> More than a 2600K/2700K is just a waste of money really.
> 
> 
> ^ this. I found 1866MHz to be the sweet spot & more speed is wasted for your uses - latency is a bit more important, but at that speed, also not as important.



3). Jack,  Cakewalk 8.5 PE running FL 10 with IN Massive is a stress on my system.  Combining that with live monitoring and you are looking at more latency than clients would like during recording.  It doesn't necessarily max it out, but it puts my 1055t outside its comfort zone (probably due to poor single thread performance).  I do ALOT of work with plugins and vst(i)s.  I have alot of money tied up there, thus optimizing my system for this makes sense in the long run.  I noticed you have a 2600k and run a similiar setup, that makes me think this is worth it.  

4) I already have the audio card I am planning to use, in this case its a M-Audio 1010lt PCI card.


I really appreciate you guys' input.  Critiiques of the setup are exactly what I am looking for.


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> 1) I want to build another computer because an keeping an OC'd thuban cool is loud.  I could spring for water cooling it but putting together a kit is cost prohibitive..



Thurban isn't loud, its your brand/type of heatsink sucks. You are probably using the stock heatsink provided or a poor aftermarket one. You can stick on a Scythe Ninja or Zalman CNPS9900A or premium aftermarket heatsink for $30-50 and I garantee you it will be virtually silent. Better yet get a passive heatsink like the Scythe Kozuti and put your own 10dBA fan and you won't hear any noise what so ever.

Fill in your current specification.  http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/profile.php?do=specs



rectifryer said:


> HOWEVER,
> 
> Most of you are saying that upgrading from a 1055t to a 2600k in this case will be a waste?  That makes me sad panda.  That really sucks because I was all stoked to do this thinking there was something better out there.  I don't understand though, because most of the benchmarks say an OC'd 2600k nearly doubles the power of a 1055t.  Is this the case or not?



I wouldn't say it's twice as fast, but yes it is signficantly faster overall mostly in single threaded applications. 

The issue is your usage seems to be quite niche, in some multi threaded tasks the 1055T can perform almost as fast or as fast which mades which changing sockets less desirable. 

The i5 3xxx is of a newer and faster architecture than the 2600k, IMO upgrading will be a bigger jump than the 2600k. But either way the 1055T is still great and you've got a solid upgrade path for Piledriver.


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## Jstn7477 (Jun 4, 2012)

A little bit of a thread detour here, but I have a Thuban (1045T @ 3GHz on a cheapo board) and a 2600K @ 4.5GHz with HT enabled. Both run World Community Grid distributed computing programs, which is set to use all 6 cores of the Thuban, and 3 out of 8 threads (37.5%) of my i7 2600K. The 2600K using 37.5% of the CPU actually matches and beats the Thuban by a few hundred points daily (we're talking like 3600 vs. 3300 here yesterday).  You can verify on my stats here (I'm not here to show off or anything, I just want to prove a point: http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=user&proj=bwcg&name=652421

If you scroll down to the Hosts table, you'll see several machine IDs and stats. ID 1784897 is the 2600K and 2004979 is the 1045T. I just increased the threads from 2 to 3 two days ago on the 2600K so the past stats are off a bit, but it seems to do ~1K+ points per thread. The 3GHz Thuban appears to get ~550 points per core, and my 3.6GHz Deneb gets about 450 points per core.

I know this isn't related to content creation at all, but it shows how stupidly fast and efficient Sandy Bridge (and even more so Ivy Bridge) are. Not saying the Thuban isn't solid, but it's relatively slower and in the content creation industry where speed matters especially on live audio/video feeds, the Intel will take the cake.


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> Thurban isn't loud, its your brand/type of heatsink sucks. You are probably using the stock heatsink provided or a poor aftermarket one. You can stick on a Scythe Ninja or Zalman CNPS9900A or premium aftermarket heatsink for $30-50 and I garantee you it will be virgually silent. Better yet get a passive heatsink link the Scythe Kozuti and put your own 10dBA fan and you won't hear any noise what so ever.
> 
> Fill in your current specification.  http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/profile.php?do=specs


I have that specific zalman.  I think you are right anyways.  My case fans are really the problem.

What I should say is that running fans at their rated voltage seems to be loud.  I was thinking that I could undervolt the fans in a water cooled setup and end up with less fans and less noise from each individual fan.


Jstn7477 said:


> A little bit of a thread detour here, but I have a Thuban (1045T @ 3GHz on a cheapo board) and a 2600K @ 4.5GHz with HT enabled. Both run World Community Grid distributed computing programs, which is set to use all 6 cores of the Thuban, and 3 out of 8 threads (37.5%) of my i7 2600K. The 2600K using 37.5% of the CPU actually matches and beats the Thuban by a few hundred points daily (we're talking like 3600 vs. 3300 here yesterday).  You can verify on my stats here (I'm not here to show off or anything, I just want to prove a point: http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=user&proj=bwcg&name=652421
> 
> If you scroll down to the Hosts table, you'll see several machine IDs and stats. ID 1784897 is the 2600K and 2004979 is the 1045T. I just increased the threads from 2 to 3 two days ago on the 2600K so the past stats are off a bit, but it seems to do ~1K+ points per thread. The 3GHz Thuban appears to get ~550 points per core, and my 3.6GHz Deneb gets about 450 points per core.
> 
> I know this isn't related to content creation at all, but it shows how stupidly fast and efficient Sandy Bridge (and even more so Ivy Bridge) are. Not saying the Thuban isn't solid, but it's relatively slower and in the content creation industry where speed matters especially on live audio/video feeds, the Intel will take the cake.



That is very relevant to my interests.  Thanks for sharing.


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> I   My case fans are really the problem.



You should buy your fans from http://www.quietpc.com / co.uk etc


They specialise in really quiet fans. Once you find the fan you want look up the same model elsewhere for cheaper.

I would start by removing any 80mm fans infavour for 120mm and 140mm ones as they are slower moving, often lower voltage and give better CFM (airflow).

Something like the Noctua NF-S12B, dBA from 6.5 - 18. which is virtually silent.  It also comes with rubber grips to stop vibration. You also want to use only the 3-pin connection straight to your motherboard so your system can automatically control the voltage based upon temparature etc (or so you can cantrol it manually in the bios). I personally wouldn't buy any fan that exceeds 20dBA peak.

http://www.quietpc.com/products/120mmfans/nf-s12b-flx




rectifryer said:


> I have that specific zalman.
> 
> What I should say is that running fans at their rated voltage seems to be loud.  I was thinking that I could undervolt the fans in a water cooled setup and end up with less fans and less noise from each individual fan.



You should be able to undervolt your current fans in the bios. doesn't have those options? There should be options so the increased voltage only triggers when above a certain temparature. 

Which model of Zalmans are you using?

Edit: stn7477, interesting results. I don't know much about folding, but your results do have a 1.5GHz handicap. I would be interested to see both CPUs at the same clock speed 4 core (2600K) vs 6 core (Thurban).


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## Fourstaff (Jun 4, 2012)

Friend has a HTPC/server built around Gentoo Ahtlon dual core (first gen), it works perfectly fine. You don't need superpowerful stuff for servers unless you are hosting some serious game, and even then a chap quad core can do the job easily. 

Either way, I still want you to consider either getting a 3820 or even 3930K, the increased RAM bandwidth is more than welcome here. 2600K is also a decent target, but I can safely say anything lower than a 2600K will be a royal waste of time and money since that the performance difference the increased quietness will not recoup the cost, especially if you are planning to push the new CPU to the edge (and end up with lots of noise anyway)


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## rectifryer (Jun 4, 2012)

Well hot damn.  This thuban isnt cutting it power wise so what am I going to do with it?  Should I just sell this system, use the extra to pay for a server setup and add to my 1200$ budget?   This is an awkward situation.


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## Dent1 (Jun 4, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> Well hot damn.  This thuban isnt cutting it power wise so what am I going to do with it?  Should I just sell this system, use the extra to pay for a server setup and add to my 1200$ budget?   This is an awkward situation.



The chances are your Thurban rig would outperform any HTPC grade CPU i.e. Llano or Trinity APU (not clock for clock, but overall performance) so effectively, you'd be selling it for a downgrade or for similar performance. The only benefit it is would consume less power and output less heat which is what HTPC are often based around.

Bear in mind, there is no rule saying that an HTPC has to be power friendly, its just most HTCP user leave their rig on 24/7 so its just an ideal. Nothing wrong with having a Thurban as an HTPC, just that it was built for more intensive tasks than movie playback. But it can be done.

It would be easier to downclock and undervolt the Thurban and turn on Cool & Quiet and whichever other power saving features your bios has.

In addition you can disable 2 or 3 of the cores within the bios to further increase power efficiency.


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## theeldest (Jun 4, 2012)

Dent1 said:


> You should buy your fans from http://www.quietpc.com / co.uk etc
> 
> They specialise in really quiet fans. Once you find the fan you want look up the same model elsewhere for cheaper.
> 
> ...



+1

Check out my cooling. Noctua does a great job of making a 'silent' system. I've got a hefty overclock and two overclocked/unlocked GPUs and you can hardly hear it.


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## Melvis (Jun 6, 2012)

Jstn7477 said:


> Yes, the page on the MSi website states in both the marketing section and the CPU support section that it supports all AMD FX CPUs with a BIOS update. http://us.msi.com/product/mb/890FXA-GD70.html#/?div=Overview
> 
> "Some manufacturers have brought AM3+ support to some of their AM3 motherboards via a simple BIOS upgrade.[11] Mechanical compatibility has been confirmed and it's possible for AM3+ CPUs to fit in AM3 boards, provided they can supply enough peak current. Another issue is the use of the sideband temperature sensor interface for reading the temperature from the CPU. Therefore, some CPU PWM fan pins may only run at full speed. Also, certain power-saving features may not work, due to lack of support for rapid VCore switching.[12] Note that use of AM3+ CPUs in AM3 boards is not officially supported by AMD." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM3+#Socket_AM3.2B



Fair enough then, thats good for the OP, had to make sure, better be safe then sorry.



Jstn7477 said:


> A little bit of a thread detour here, but I have a Thuban (1045T @ 3GHz on a cheapo board) and a 2600K @ 4.5GHz with HT enabled. Both run World Community Grid distributed computing programs, which is set to use all 6 cores of the Thuban, and 3 out of 8 threads (37.5%) of my i7 2600K. The 2600K using 37.5% of the CPU actually matches and beats the Thuban by a few hundred points daily (we're talking like 3600 vs. 3300 here yesterday).  You can verify on my stats here (I'm not here to show off or anything, I just want to prove a point: http://stats.free-dc.org/stats.php?page=user&proj=bwcg&name=652421
> 
> If you scroll down to the Hosts table, you'll see several machine IDs and stats. ID 1784897 is the 2600K and 2004979 is the 1045T. I just increased the threads from 2 to 3 two days ago on the 2600K so the past stats are off a bit, but it seems to do ~1K+ points per thread. The 3GHz Thuban appears to get ~550 points per core, and my 3.6GHz Deneb gets about 450 points per core.
> 
> I know this isn't related to content creation at all, but it shows how stupidly fast and efficient Sandy Bridge (and even more so Ivy Bridge) are. Not saying the Thuban isn't solid, but it's relatively slower and in the content creation industry where speed matters especially on live audio/video feeds, the Intel will take the cake.



What does the 2600K score at 3GHz? 6 threads vs 6 threads but one is at 3GHz and the other is at 4.5GHz i would expect the 2600k to win 

Im a bit confused here as you say HT is enabled but your only using three threads?


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 6, 2012)

Melvis said:


> your only using three threads?



With crunching you can set aside how many cores/threads you want to do the work for the projects. 

@jstn

Core speed makes all the difference. What's happenning is essentially you are running your 3 cores on the 2600k in "double time" so to speak in comparison to that Thuban. What's happenning is you are getting the same amount of work done due to clock speed alone. Try 3Ghz on the 2600k and see where it falls.


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## Melvis (Jun 7, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> With crunching you can set aside how many cores/threads you want to do the work for the projects.



Yea that's what's confusing me, if he is only using three threads (3 cores i presume), why bother with HT turned on?  or am i missing something here? or is the 3 cores been helped by HT?




JrRacinFan said:


> Core speed makes all the difference. What's happenning is essentially you are running your 3 cores on the 2600k in "double time" so to speak in comparison to that Thuban. What's happenning is you are getting the same amount of work done due to clock speed alone. Try 3Ghz on the 2600k and see where it falls.



Exactly!!


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## Aquinus (Jun 7, 2012)

Melvis said:


> Yea that's what's confusing me, if he is only using three threads (3 cores i presume), why bother with HT turned on? or am i missing something here? or is the 3 cores been helped by HT?



No, hyperthreading helps all those applications running in the background. Hyperthreading only helps if the extra logical cores actually get used.



Melvis said:


> Exactly!!



That only means that IPC of the i7 is higher. More work done per clock which means Intel is getting more instructions through even though it's at the same clock. I would still recommend the 3820, not because the 3820 is a better CPU (it is marginally better than the 2600k), but because X79 is a better platform with more upgrade options and with another line of CPUs slated for early next year.


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## JrRacinFan (Jun 7, 2012)

Melvis said:


> why bother with HT turned on? or am i missing something here?



Yup, what you are missing is 1 extra core that can be used for daily use, 4 extra threads for multitasking. When he wants to game, WCG/crunching will just momentarily "shut down" and allow him to use those other 3 cores if needed.


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## D007 (Jun 7, 2012)

rectifryer said:


> I am in the middle of building a cpu



I wish I could build Cpu's.. 
/endtroll


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## rectifryer (Jun 10, 2012)

Well, I am looking at more agressive means of overclocking now as well as upgrading to a SSD and better ram.  Cooling is at the center of this issue.  Currently I have revised my bios profile to a 3.8 ghz oc which works out real nice with my ram.  I will try to push it to 4ghz and see what happens.  I suppose I should hold off on the i7 build.

Well I hope you guys are happy.  You talked me out of it haha.


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## Buns (Jun 10, 2012)

last december I built X79 system with 32gb of memory, now I wish I had sprung for the 64gb kit. even with a ocz revo drive, the ramdisk apps are light years faster period. my apps & games start in a blink of a eye! plus all the crap windows makes is cleaned after a reboot. 

got some pic's of performance for you; atto is the revo drive, 4GB Z Drive is my Ramdisk which has been expended too 16GB.


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## rectifryer (Jun 10, 2012)

Buns said:


> last december I built X79 system with 32gb of memory, now I wish I had sprung for the 64gb kit. even with a ocz revo drive, the ramdisk apps are light years faster period. my apps & games start in a blink of a eye! plus all the crap windows makes is cleaned after a reboot.
> 
> got some pic's of performance for you; atto is the revo drive, 4GB Z Drive is my Ramdisk which has been expended too 16GB.



I totally forgot you could do that.  Thanks.  I also haven't even considered PCI drives yet.


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## Aquinus (Jun 10, 2012)

Buns said:


> last december I built X79 system with 32gb of memory, now I wish I had sprung for the 64gb kit. even with a ocz revo drive, the ramdisk apps are light years faster period. my apps & games start in a blink of a eye! plus all the crap windows makes is cleaned after a reboot.
> 
> got some pic's of performance for you; atto is the revo drive, 4GB Z Drive is my Ramdisk which has been expended too 16GB.



...but is it worth it? My SSD raid does just fine and allowed me to opt for faster memory rather than more. 64gb of memory can get expensive really quick, more so than just buying two SSDs also that is just for DDR3-1333, 64gb of 2133 you're looking at 800 USD or so and that is a ton of money that could buy you just about anything, including a revodrive or SSDs in RAID. 64gb isn't practical, even on X79.

Also using a ram disk requires you to copy off you drive at some point anyways, so you're still stuck waiting for your ram disk to get populated on every boot, and at that point an SSD is just a better option all around. Less wasted time and plenty of speed.


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## Jack Doph (Jun 11, 2012)

The speed of the HDD is damn near irrelevant to the OP.
Honestly, a good amount of RAM (with low latency at a decent speed) is *FAR* more important.
Unless the HDD in question is a 'green' 5400RPM drive, all the above suggestions are utterly useless.

16GB @ 1866MHz & CAS 10 or 9, coupled with a 2600K (or a better equivalent) would be best suited for his needs, as a minimum.
All other comments are truly irrelevant.

As a comparison: I've just finished working on a track that has 7 VSTis & 1 SoundFont, & I damn near ran out of memory (of my 16GB, I only had 406MB left). If I was to re-issue something that uses 16 tracks or more, Windows would simply crash due to the dreaded 'out-of-memory' error.
I know this is a specialised field, so my apologies for those missing the point.

Please restrict your replies to something that's useful & specific to the OP's needs.

Today's music PC requires lots of RAM and a fast multi-core CPU - anything else is just an exercise in mental masturbation.


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## Wrigleyvillain (Jun 11, 2012)

Isn't is back-asswards?

Yeah, I got nothin else.


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