Arman,

As far as I can Google, the Dell 4550 uses an 845-series system chipset.
The more recent 4550's use an 845PE, I'm not sure what your system uses.
It should say in the 'Technical Specifications' section of the users' guide.

The original 845 was a real dog as far as memory performance goes. The 845PE is better, but still no match for more recent 865 or 875 system chipsets. Other Sonar users with 845xx Intel systems have reported seriously lacking performance -- search this thread for past messages ('845' should do it).

Memory performance appears to make a big difference as far as SonarTest latency is concerned. The Athlon64's seem to do so well (at least in part) because they have a memory controller integrated on the same chip as the CPU. With an Intel system (and older AMD systems), the memory controller is on a separate chip (part of the 'system chip set'), and acts as a traffic cop. With an 845, it acts more like a cranky traffic cop on a really muggy August day in NYC in the middle of rush hour....

- Jim

This is a great thread, very informative. As a new member of the board, a warm hello to everyone.

I posted elsewhere that I just bought Sonar PE 3, and now I need something to run it on. (I also have a couple of guitars, a Yamaha A3000 sampler and RS7000 sequencer, and a MicroKorg synthesizer.)

My question is this: Should I buy/ build a DAW based on the AMD 64 3200, or should I go with a Dual Opteron 242 set-up? This thread points me to the
AMD 64 3000, 3200 and 3400 CPUs.

BUT, there is also some info pointing in the direction of the dual opteron system, but not as much. Not as much discussion or analysis of the dual opterons. I can't afford much more than two 242's right now. (Dual 248's would be a no-brainer, but very expensive.)

I was all set to get an AMD 64 3200 CPU system, but now I am wondering about a dual opteron 242 system. Couldn't I upgrade the 242's to 248's later on as the 248's come down in price? Would the 242's be much slower than the 3200? Do the 242's give me more room to expand waht I am doing?

I am having a hard time finding info comparing opterons to the 64's for DAW performance. AMD's website seems to push you toward the Opteron for digital audio, but then they mainly talk about animation when you dig deeper. I've looked at ANANDTECH and SLASDHDOT and INQUIRER and still can't find what I'm looking for. If any of you can offer advice, please do.

Many thanks!!

Thanks for your input!

Here's mine,

ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe MB
AMD XP 2600+ no O/C
Corsair 400mhz RAM 2x512 (Setup for dual channel memory config)
Matrox AGP450 dual head Video
Maxtor 40gb 8MB cache boot drive
Maxtor 80gb 8MB cache data drive
Aardvark Q10 audio interface with 7.13 drivers
WinXP Sp1
Sonar Prod 3.1.1

SonarTest results are as follows;

Latency ASIO A/WDM(aardvarl's proprietory driver)

46.4 33% 38-40%

23.2 35-36% 49-50%

11.6 42% 67-69%

5.8 54-55% In red Warning! But audio engine still active

2.9 76% Won't run at all

1.5 N/A N/A

Thanks for going through the trouble Scott,

All the best,

Wayne

Hmmm, given the others' results, I'd expect better numbers than this...but I have had a problem lately in the middle of mixing where the CPU wacks out to 100% and stay there a ten seconds before returning, then requiring restarting SONAR to get it to run again...

Anyways, here goes:

Intel P4 2.4GHz
no clue on the Motherboard
1GB PC2100 DDR (2x512MB)
Maxtor 120GB 7200rpm drive
WindowsXP Professional SP1
Maudio Audiophile 2496

WDM

46.4ms........42%
23.2ms........46%
11.6ms........53%
slider will not go below 11.6ms...?

bob.

slider will not go below 11.6ms...?

bob.

You need to configure the Audiophile's software control panel for a smaller buffer.

-S

I have been trying to get the same answer/advice. Please let me know if anyone advises you.

Thanks,

Thanks for the clarification, Scott.

In that case, would you mind sharing what mobo you used?

Thanks,

Thanks Scott - that's good to know.

Tom

Processor AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ 2.00 GHz
Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional
Memory 1.0GB DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive 60 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive was factory 4200
Primary CD/DVD Drive 4X DVD+RW/R & CD-RW Combo Drive
Communication Built in 56K Modem+10/100 LAN & 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
Display 15.4" WVA WXGA (1280x800)
Graphics Card 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go
Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Tascam FW-1884

ASIO
46.4ms........34%
23.2ms........37%
11.6ms........43%
5.8ms.........50%
2.9ms.........62%
1.5ms.........75%

My System:

MB: Albatron PX845PE Pro
P4 2.4, 533 FSB
512mb PC2700 DDR
Seagate 80gig 7200 rpm
WD 80 gig 7200 rpm
Maxtor 30gig 7200 rpm
GEForce MX 440 64mb dual head video
Samsung CDR drive
RME HDSP 9652 using ASIO drivers


The Numbers:

1.5 = nope
2.9 = 85%
5.8 = 59%
11.6 = 45%
23.2 = 38%
46.4 = 34%

Just speaking hypothetically.....what if I overclocked my Athlon XP 3000 to (3000 mhz) and say it was equivalent to a athlon xp 4000
(if it were rated there) how would it stand up to the others? like the 64's opteron ..( ijust checked the price on most of those and they are expensive...even justifiying a cooling system....)
here are some listing of what is possible with my setup with an abit NF7-S

www.overclockers.com

or does anyone have a system like that were they can submit for review........just a thought

P.s. im not going to overclock for a while........maybe after a year and a half...until i do more research
on stability, longevity of chip, perfomance!

ORIGINAL: KevinK

The curve is actually somewhat distinct from the other CPUs
plotted on Scott's graph, and I think it ought to be plotted there.

Well, of course it ought to be plotted.

I'll be able to get to the file in the next couple days. It looks to be generally on par with a 2.6-2.8GHz P4, with the advantage of being able to run at 1.5ms.

-S

ORIGINAL: SAMPLIFIER
My question is this: Should I buy/ build a DAW based on the AMD 64 3200, or should I go with a Dual Opteron 242 set-up? This thread points me to the
AMD 64 3000, 3200 and 3400 CPUs.

BUT, there is also some info pointing in the direction of the dual opteron system, but not as much. Not as much discussion or analysis of the dual opterons. I can't afford much more than two 242's right now. (Dual 248's would be a no-brainer, but very expensive.)

I'm pretty sure that Scott's chart and this thread is the best information available anywhere on how well Sonar actually works on different CPUs. Bear in mind that the stuff on the chart reflects the FASTEST performance anyone has reported from a given CPU, so when you look at the numbers, you're USUALLY seeing a comparison of well-optimized DAW systems. An off-the-shelf dell or Gateway with a CPU that scores well on the chart may be easily outperformed by a highly-optimized dedicated DAW machine with a lower-ranking CPU. So make your decision based on your WHOLE budget. I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that MOBO, hard disk, and memory decisions can have as much effect on DAW performance as CPU can. In addition, if you're a bedroom producer who must track and engineer in the same room, having a quiet machine will have as much effect on the quality of your recordings as the computing power will. Audio recording is something that can really push a computater to it's limits, and the weakest link is always the most important one. So draw up a budget, prowl around the forums, and pick out a MOBO, chipset, RAM brand, and disk drive setup, and then buy the best-performing CPU you can afford with whatever's left. That's my not-very-expert advice, anyway. Cheers, and have fun.

Where is the chart?

Thanks.

Thanks. After checking liquiddaw.com, cakewalknet.com, I tried but didn't wait long enough for the first page of this thread to load. The joys of dial up.

Thanks again.