• Computers
  • AMD's Ryzen launches March 2, outperforming Intel's Core i7 at a fraction of the price (p.4)
2017/03/06 00:46:11
Jim Roseberry
mettelus
Thanks for the feedback Jim. I think the bleeding edge comments have a lot of merit, since MB and BIOS take several months to align. ASUS has a habit of releasing MBs early, which can be both good and bad (I have "USB 3.0" ports that are truly not because of this).

Have you tried buffers of 128? Ultra low latency after initial tracking is not "necessary," but 128 tends to be the "hard stop" before disabling/freezing things becomes necessary. It would be interesting to get your perspective on 128 if you have a chance (since that also removes some strain on the choice of audio interface).



When encountering the garbled audio, raising ASIO buffer size to 128-samples did not resolve the issue.
At that point, my testing (and enthusiasm) was effectively done... at least for the time being.
Once second/third generation motherboards are available, it'll be interesting to see if low-latency performance improves.  The fact that SMT totally disappeared (Asus X370 motherboard) tells me there's still much to be ironed out.
 
IMO, Having to run higher ASIO buffer sizes (especially with a somewhat costly CPU) is a significant step backward.
ie: The 6700k and 7700k are both $300 CPUs that don't impose this limitation.
If looking at $500 CPUs, the 6850k doesn't impose much of a limitation on performance.  
With the right SSD configuration, you can pull 4000+ stereo voices of disk-streaming polyphony.
2017/03/06 00:47:24
Jim Roseberry
artturner
My other interest is how well Ryzen will handle synths, like a couple of granular Omnisphere patches or u-he Diva. Anyone seen or experienced anything in this area?

 
Performance with Vi synths is exactly as described (same limitations).
Instruments like Falcon (not optimized for multi-core CPUs) will see worse performance from the 1800x (compared to 7700k).
Instruments like Kontakt and HALion 6 (optimized for multi-core CPUs) will see a performance gain... subject to running at high ASIO buffer sizes.
2017/03/06 01:39:35
Sycraft
I'm confused as to why they don't have a 4 core variant given that chip itself looks to be two 4 core units laid out next to each other. To me, a cheap, and hopefully higher clock 4 core could be something interesting for regular users and gamers. Little uses more than 4 cores effectively so if they could bring the price down and MHz up with a 4 core chip it could be a real consideration vs a 7000 series Intel.
 
As it stands I'm with Jim in that I am having a hard time to recommend this. For gamers it isn't a good choice. You are better off getting a 7700k for the same money or a 7600k for $100 less. Ya you only have 4 core instead of 8 but seriously, games need clock speed not core count. Many games won't even use more than 4 cores and of those that do, almost none seem to really make much use of the extra cores. One or two will be hit hard, the rest will be low usage.
 
For things like audio production, latency is key and it seems that Intel has the latency edge, which has been the case in the past generally (I remember back when quad cores were becoming a thing and the inter-core latency on AMD chips was a good deal worse). Unless you are in a situation where your effects need a ton of power and you don't have the money for an Intel HEDT chip, it doesn't seem like a win.
 
For normal desktop use, well all that chips are way overkill. Regular desktop usage doesn't really even need 4 core, much less 8. A low end quad core, or even a nice dual core would be the way to go, save some money.
 
That leaves only really things like video rendering in the solid win category. There is is faster per dollar, no question. So if that's your thing then it is worth a look.
 
Thus while it isn't a bad chip, I just find it being in a position where I don't find many people I'd recommend it to.
2017/03/06 11:13:25
metz
I've been burned from chosing the AMD-route so not going there unless they are delivering something exceptionally good. More exited that this might kick Intel in the crotch so they have to deliver something even better.
 
PS
/I'm sure AMD is fantastic these days (so no need for a processor war here), it was quite a long time ago when I had my AMD processor that I could fry my breakfast eggs on...
2017/03/07 02:29:36
artturner
I've been very happy with my old AMD Phenom II 6-core for several years and it will handle a surprising amount of stress in the form of multiple Kontakt instances and orchestral samples. However, recent months of Neutron, Adaptiverb, Diva and Hofa IQ-Reverb have really taken their toll. I wanted Ryzen to work. But I handed the 1800x back in today and came home with an i7-6800k along with the usual goodies. I really appreciate the information in this thread and how it helped me decide.
2017/03/07 14:34:46
Jim Roseberry
artturner
I've been very happy with my old AMD Phenom II 6-core for several years and it will handle a surprising amount of stress in the form of multiple Kontakt instances and orchestral samples. However, recent months of Neutron, Adaptiverb, Diva and Hofa IQ-Reverb have really taken their toll. I wanted Ryzen to work. But I handed the 1800x back in today and came home with an i7-6800k along with the usual goodies. I really appreciate the information in this thread and how it helped me decide.



With the present state, you made the sound (no risk) decision.
The 6800 will perform well (X99 platform is mature and offers high-end options).
 
Ryzen did show flashes of being the CPU everyone had hoped.
ie: Video rendering performance was excellent (easily bested the 6850k).
If you think about the performance expectations, it's not surprising that an early-release, 1st-gen CPU/motherboard wound up performing sub-par with low-latency audio.
In the coming months (as issues are ironed out and the platform matures), it'll be interesting to see if low-latency performance improves.  If the issue is architecture related, perhaps AMD will resolve the issue in "Ryzen2".
 
2017/03/08 17:14:08
DrLumen
metz
I've been burned from chosing the AMD-route so not going there unless they are delivering something exceptionally good. More exited that this might kick Intel in the crotch so they have to deliver something even better.
 
PS
/I'm sure AMD is fantastic these days (so no need for a processor war here), it was quite a long time ago when I had my AMD processor that I could fry my breakfast eggs on...




I agree 100%. It has been a long while since I had any AMD's but with the issues I experienced I am really gun shy about them now. Even if a crash may not be caused by the processor or system board, the thought that the AMD is the issue would always lurk in the back of my mind. I just can't trust them now. Some may say the same about intel...
2017/03/08 22:09:49
kitekrazy1
artturner
I've been very happy with my old AMD Phenom II 6-core for several years and it will handle a surprising amount of stress in the form of multiple Kontakt instances and orchestral samples. However, recent months of Neutron, Adaptiverb, Diva and Hofa IQ-Reverb have really taken their toll. I wanted Ryzen to work. But I handed the 1800x back in today and came home with an i7-6800k along with the usual goodies. I really appreciate the information in this thread and how it helped me decide.




 
Phenom IIs were a great bang for the buck.  I still have a Phenom II 945 system with nVidia chipset. It can still handle a lot of stuff.  I have a 955 parted out. 
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