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  3. 2 Intel core i7-3930K vs 1 Intel Xeon E5-2670

  • 2 Intel core i7-3930K vs 1 Intel Xeon E5-2670

    J
    J
    Hello, Quick question. Does anyone know if, and in that case, how much it boosts the system to use dual i7-3930K vs single? Is it worth it? I expect to run MIR with a lot of additional plugins. Rather large projects on that. Is it better to go single E5? Thanks, BR Jhonny Eriksson
  • M
    M

    Jhonny,

    MIR with several plugins, during large projects requires big time horse power.

    So yes, 12 cores should be better than 6, and I must add, 2 or more computers are better than 1...

    Are you running slaves for these large projects?
  • J
    J
    Hi, Thanks for your reply. I undestand. I guess the main thing I am after is to get a future safe cost effective platform.
    So... If I re-phrase the question to; What gives the better performace using VSL;
    2 Intel Core i7-3930K
    or
    1 Intel Xeon E5-2670
    The thing is that one could always start out with 1 E5-2670 but have a motherboard supporting 2. In case expansion need to be made. However - buying 2 i7-3930 is more cost effective. As a respond to your last questions of running slaves; is it better to have, lets say 2 computers running dual i7-3930 than one computer running dual E5-2670?
    Thanks
  • M
    M

    To my way of thinking, for MIR and the wonderful world of Vienna Ensemble Pro.

    2 computers running 4 cores each are better than 1 running 8. Sharing or spreading the work load is (Vital)...

    So yes, any configuration:

       Master 4 core Slave 4 core.

       Master 6 core Slave 6 core.

       Master 6 core Slave 8 core.

       Master 6 core Slave 12 core.

       Master 12 core Slave 12 core.

    Any two are better in my opinion than one 8 core. As for future safe, the more cores on each, or the ability to upgrade to more cores, the better.
  • J
    J
    Wow, thanks. In that case I'll go for dual i7-3930K (6 core). I've read that the extreme model (i7-3960X) isn't really worth almost the double price tag of 3930 - only getting slightly higher clock frequency. According to a number of tests the actual performance is close to the same.
    Master 2x6 core (Intel i7-3930K 3,2GHz) Slave 2x6 core (Intel i7-3930K 3,2GHz) Total 24 core 24MB L3 cache ~4500$ (Processor + MB)
    Master 2x8 core (Intel Xeon E5-2670 2,6GHz) Total 16 core 30MB L3 cache ~4800$ (Processor + MB)
    So 24 core total is cheaper than 16 core total. Little less cache though... anyone know what consequences that might have?
  • M
    M

    3930K is only for single-CPU systems, no?
  • J
    J
    Hmm... Well it's the same socket as E5 (2011) so with a motherboard supporting x2 2011 processors it should work?
  • M
    M

    I am pretty sure that only the Xeons have the QPI required for multi-cpu systems. 3930k is limited to single-CPU systems.
  • M
    M

    No, Martin is correct... It's not a Xeon and has no way of communicating with other CPUs.

    Still for MIR, and VEP 5, multiple computers are better than one.

    How you build them is up to you. I'll leave you to research what can and can't be done.
  • J
    J
    Then I guess it has to be Xeon. Can anyone point me in the direction of any good site explaining this? I would have fallen into the trap of bying two i7-3930k if I not would have asked the question here. Thanks.
    How about Xeon E5-2630. Is that one good enough ?
    Same case as before, planning to run large projects /w MIR plus other plugins. I could afford 2xE5-2630 but if I have to go E5-2670 I have to look over my budget.
    How about memory. I've been reading some on CL values and of course clock frequency. I take it that CL10-10-10-27 (does almost just as good as CL9) or would it be worth to go CL8-8-8-24? 1600MHz seems to be the obvious choise.
  • M
    M

    Okay, the 2630 is a Xeon so it can run in pairs.

    I still say you'll want two machines as you've described your project size.

    Everything we said before now applies to the 2630.

    If the 2670 cramps your style, feel confident as the 2630 is no slouch.

    As for RAM... Yesterday's memory got the job done, as did the generation before that and the generation before that.

    Purchase as much RAM as you can afford. If you can get the newer faster stuff at a price you like (do it).

    If not, in my opinion there's nothing wrong with maxing your machine out with something you can afford.

    But that's just me....
  • D
    D

    There is nothing wrong with running multiple computers, but you have to be able to live with the added latency. If you never play anything live, this may not matter.

    I find that I can run most things on my set-up at 128, although for mixing I tend to raise the soundcard buffer, because certain 3rd party plugs complain otherwise...!

    DG
  • J
    J
    How much latency could be expected? I might be a little old fashion but I intend not to be to hard on the mixing and trying to avoid quantization whenever I can, since I feel it just tends to give the sound a little more present, live-ish impression. Would it be a possibilty to run the VEP on the master and have all the librarys installed there - and to increse the buffer when reaching the mixing stage (having the plugins, incl.MIR on the slave)?
    I just did a comparasion on the X-5675 and the E-2630 and it seems that the only thing that differs radically are the frequency (3GHz vs 2,3GHz)? The buss speed seem higher on the E-2630 and the L3 cache is a little bit bigger. However, the price tag is more than double for the X-5676. Would it be a way to go and start with a dual E-2630? That would at least get the recording stage done, and then add a slave during the mixing stage?
  • A
    A

    Hello,

    the best price / performance is also in this solution

    overclocking Socket 1155, Chipset Z77, CPU IvyBridge i7-3770K (up to 7.0GHz!!!) or SandyBridge i7-2600K/2700K (up to 6GHz!!!)

    low price, high performance, high power consumption and medium/high noise

    Regards

    Elia

    http://www.spec.org/cpu2006/results/cpu2006.html

    http://www.spec.org/cgi-bin/osgresults?conf=cpu2006&op=form

    CFP2006 Rates (=floating point performance)

    257 E5-2690 (default GHz)

    200 i7-3960X (default GHz)

    170 E5-2630 (default GHz)

    137 X-5675 (default GHz)

    130 i7-3770k (default GHz) (@4.9GHz very close to i7-3960X SiSoft Sandra Whetstone FPU GFLOPS , Overclocked power consumption remains really good at 189W @ 4900 MHz)

    115 i7-2700k (default GHz)

    ...
  • J
    J
    Taking from the previous post VSL is more optimized using more cores. So it's performance would be better with [more cores, less speed] than [more speed less cores]?
    Looking at that, I might be able to fit Xeon 2650 into the budget. Running on a dual pair of 8 cores & 2.0 GHz should be able to support my projects?
    Also... I found the E5-1650 to be a real cost saver. However I got notice that they do not run in pairs, can any one confirm that? It is a Xeon, so should run in pairs?
  • D
    D
    Well, actual test results don't lie...so here is a site where you can see where this is put to the test dual 3930K's if necessary...check it out... http://www.aworldtech.com/test-data/krakən-iii-test-data/cinebench-test-results/