Prescott 3.4 VS i5-680 Clarkdale 3.6GHz

I'm considering upgrading my weakest (of 4) DAWs which is an AMD 3000+ running at 2094.4.

The 2 choices I see as possibilities are:
Prescott 3.4 or i5-680 Clarkdale 3.6GHz

Usage #1) will be with Sonar 4.0.2 ( no chance I'll upgrade Sonar so forget that )
Sonar 4.0.2 does support dual processors but as I recall it doesn't do it well? Yes ? No ?

Usage #2) is as a Giga Studio 3 satellite machine.
GS3 doesn't support dual processors, so the choice is obviously the Prescott
**if** I were only going to use GS3.
Getting the Clarkdale would be a downgrade since 1 core of Clarkdale will only give me
1800 as opposed to the 2094 I'm currently getting. Correct?
Currently the 2094 on the 3000+ is plenty for what this satellite needs to do. WWinds and Brass only.

I suspect the Prescott will smoke the Clarkdale in both 1) and 2) but I'd like to hear
what you think.
Thank you,

Steve

wow someone still using Giga? buy Kontakt and be done with that POS.

both are pretty slow but the newer clarksdale would kill the much older p4 by a big margin.
with that said you are better off buying a new sandy bridge 2600 which is the same price

even if you cant use the quad cores the architecture is vastly superior and with turbo speeds on 3.8GHz it would outclass anything else

EXTREMELY!

our first tests were not so hot. numerous reasons like beta boards lower speed like 2400 or whatever we had first.

the 2600 is bettter than any processor other than the 980x/990x
for audio it even beats the 970.

jcschild


wow someone still using Giga? buy Kontakt and be done with that POS.

both are pretty slow but the newer clarksdale would kill the much older p4 by a big margin.
with that said you are better off buying a new sandy bridge 2600 which is the same price

even if you cant use the quad cores the architecture is vastly superior and with turbo speeds on 3.8GHz it would outclass anything else

Hey Scott ... I'm glad you're still here.

I've tried a few versions of Kontact. I didn't see it as able to compete with my GS3 satellites.
Anyway, my sample players are fine and still have plenty of head room and I'm not needing any Kontact only Libs. so don't worry about that.

The real issue holding me up is ...............
I'm still not clear on core usage and how the power is divided up per core, and that is my real concern,
because I know Sonar 4.0.2 doesn't do multi core well. It's better with the option unchecked.

So maybe you can clarify and correct my wrong thinking if that's what it is?

From the original post:
"... 1 core of Clarkdale will only give me 1800 as opposed to the 2094 I'm currently getting. Correct? "
And then the 2600k is 4 cores so is that 3.8 per core ... no matter what the other cores are doing ... or is it 3.8 divided by 4?
Is Sonar going to be able to get a full 3.6 out of a Clarkdale or a full 3.4 to 3.8 out of the 2600k no matter what the other cores are doing?

One other function of this new machine will be to run Omnisphere inside of Sonar 4.0.2 or an other VST host, ( probably Cantable ) depending on where I happen to be sitting in the room.

I had been hearing for a long time ( in the past ) Dual Core will be stronger for Soft Synths at Lowest Latency than a Quad.
Is that no longer the case? Will the 2600k give me more power for Omni?

Finally ... please note that I'm very used to working at 1.5 and 2.9 ms and never higher.
I'm close to the edge now with some projects, sometimes needing to freeze tracks to stay down at 1.5 or 2.9.

Will the 2600k give me more headroom or will I be kinda breaking even?

Even with Omnisphere do you think the 2600k is the way to go?

And finally, I need 3 pci slots and have consequently picked the GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 ... if I go Clarkdale.

The 3 options I see if I go Sandy Bridge 2600K ( *K* correct one?  .... or just 2600 ?) would be:
1) ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67
2) GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel H67
3) ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67

http://www.newegg.com/Pro...eType=&srchInDesc=

If I'm expecting too much here for free ... I'll gladly do a phone call and pay you a consult fee. Just let me know.

Thanks!

Great.
I can finally put the core question to rest. Thanks.

The 3 pci slots are for sound cards. There will most likely be 2 builds of this idea.

1) Replace my weakest satellite - uses 2 Echo cards. Gina 24, Gina 3G. The Gina 24 sends light pipe when rendering and analog for monitoring. The 3G is there to provide a quick mic pre in for guitar ideas and midi in for when ever I need it.
This machine (I'm on it now) is in my favorite sitting space in an alcove by large windows, and will also be a triple boot. One for audio only, one for work and internet, on for Frankenstein tests and gaming.
( ...lusting after Portal 2 ! )

2) Replace my main sequencing work station (AMD 64 4000+) - uses 3 Echo cards - Layla 24, Layla 24, Layla 3G - all 3 are needed when it comes time to render a project because they receive light pipe and analog from the 3 satellites. It's often a full orchestra and 128+ midi tracks. I render stems by orchestral section but sometimes there are ethnic instruments mixed in and synths etc. so I can get to needing sometimes more than 16 stereo pairs to get it all captured.

I'm suspecting replacing the main work station will allow me to grab it all in one recording pass as opposed to the usual 4 or 5 and also allow me to run Storm Drum, and maybe even Omni inside of my Orchestral template as opposed to on a satellite.

So ... 2600K and P76 it is.
Thank you again.
You're very generous with your knowledge.