logic7
old school
I feel the need to do this based on a lot of the wild misinformation that's thrown about on this site regarding CPU speed.
As a baseline, I'll use my own processor and we'll look at some benchmarks against it and some newer processors.
Intel 3.0GHz Pentium 4
Socket 478
Northwood core
Hyperthreading capable
Right off, benchmarking this processor against newer models is tough because of it's age. I've managed to find a number of tests and have found that my processor is the equivalent in 32 bit performance to the LGA775 Pentium 4 530 (3.0GHz). In all honesty, the Northwood core processors, clock for clock, could edge out the Prescott P4's whether in Socket 478 or LGA775 form factor.
Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Sandra - CPU Dhrystone
For the purpose of this guide going forward, I'll reference to the Pentium 4 530 in place of my own processor, as benchmarks against somewhat newer processors are easier to find.
Ok... So, many of you looking for a new system to build or purchase would like to know what's faster than what, or what processor is the absolute bottom of the line to go for. Using a 3GHz Pentium 4 as the bare minimum, you'll be able to see just how newer processors scale versus this old one.
In order to do this well, I'll establish a second baseline: What processor can consistently deliver twice the performance of a 3GHz P4?
Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Synthetic 3DMark06
I compared the Core 2 Duo E6550, Core 2 Duo E6420, and Pentium 4 530 together. Overall, twice as powerful is going to fall somewhere between these two processors with a bit more than twice as powerful going to the E6550. Mind you, this is generally not because of the second core either: most apps are simply not multi-threaded and cannot take advantage of the second core.
We will use this as a reference point to continue forward.
Unfortunately, it gets a bit trickier at this point... I tried to compare the E6550 with the Core i7 i7-965 Extreme processor, only to find that it's not even close to being twice as fast as the E6550. In some of the more FPU intensive tests it's only about 1.5 times as fast, but in others it may be less or more.
Which brings me to today.
Many of you are looking at cheaper dual and quad core machines and wondering if they have the performance to deal with DAW x or y, and plugin xyz. Looking at a 3GHz P4 as a baseline, we can safely say that pretty much any new machine on the market short of the ultra cheap Walmart boxes should give you ample performance.
Having said that, look at this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2861
In it, we see the Athlon II's and some Phenoms pitted against none other than the Core 2 E6550, which I've established as a processor that's roughly twice as powerful as a 3GHz P4. From the article, we can see that not only are the Athlon II X2's very competitive, but also the Pentium Dual Core E6x00 series is, at times, flat out faster than the Core 2 E6550.
So... What does this mean to you???
It means that, while it's true that there's newer, "faster" processors out there, you can still build a competent DAW with far cheaper specs than you might have been told was necessary. If you can understand just how much faster a 2x increase in speed is over a 3GHz P4 (mind you, most of these tests were SINGLE THREADED!!! We haven't even addressed utilizing a second core or even more cores), you'll see that a machine built out with an Athlon II X2 240/250, X3 435, X4 620/630, or a Pentium Dual Core E6x00 is going to be plenty fast and up to the job of running pretty much any DAW your throw at it.
As a baseline, I'll use my own processor and we'll look at some benchmarks against it and some newer processors.
Intel 3.0GHz Pentium 4
Socket 478
Northwood core
Hyperthreading capable
Right off, benchmarking this processor against newer models is tough because of it's age. I've managed to find a number of tests and have found that my processor is the equivalent in 32 bit performance to the LGA775 Pentium 4 530 (3.0GHz). In all honesty, the Northwood core processors, clock for clock, could edge out the Prescott P4's whether in Socket 478 or LGA775 form factor.
Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Sandra - CPU Dhrystone
For the purpose of this guide going forward, I'll reference to the Pentium 4 530 in place of my own processor, as benchmarks against somewhat newer processors are easier to find.
Ok... So, many of you looking for a new system to build or purchase would like to know what's faster than what, or what processor is the absolute bottom of the line to go for. Using a 3GHz Pentium 4 as the bare minimum, you'll be able to see just how newer processors scale versus this old one.
In order to do this well, I'll establish a second baseline: What processor can consistently deliver twice the performance of a 3GHz P4?
Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Synthetic 3DMark06
I compared the Core 2 Duo E6550, Core 2 Duo E6420, and Pentium 4 530 together. Overall, twice as powerful is going to fall somewhere between these two processors with a bit more than twice as powerful going to the E6550. Mind you, this is generally not because of the second core either: most apps are simply not multi-threaded and cannot take advantage of the second core.
We will use this as a reference point to continue forward.
Unfortunately, it gets a bit trickier at this point... I tried to compare the E6550 with the Core i7 i7-965 Extreme processor, only to find that it's not even close to being twice as fast as the E6550. In some of the more FPU intensive tests it's only about 1.5 times as fast, but in others it may be less or more.
Which brings me to today.
Many of you are looking at cheaper dual and quad core machines and wondering if they have the performance to deal with DAW x or y, and plugin xyz. Looking at a 3GHz P4 as a baseline, we can safely say that pretty much any new machine on the market short of the ultra cheap Walmart boxes should give you ample performance.
Having said that, look at this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2861
In it, we see the Athlon II's and some Phenoms pitted against none other than the Core 2 E6550, which I've established as a processor that's roughly twice as powerful as a 3GHz P4. From the article, we can see that not only are the Athlon II X2's very competitive, but also the Pentium Dual Core E6x00 series is, at times, flat out faster than the Core 2 E6550.
So... What does this mean to you???
It means that, while it's true that there's newer, "faster" processors out there, you can still build a competent DAW with far cheaper specs than you might have been told was necessary. If you can understand just how much faster a 2x increase in speed is over a 3GHz P4 (mind you, most of these tests were SINGLE THREADED!!! We haven't even addressed utilizing a second core or even more cores), you'll see that a machine built out with an Athlon II X2 240/250, X3 435, X4 620/630, or a Pentium Dual Core E6x00 is going to be plenty fast and up to the job of running pretty much any DAW your throw at it.
