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Cores vs Threads vs Speed (Pro Audio)

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NorthAmTransAm

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I'm looking everywhere for a clear answer and can't seem to find it. I figured this community would know best as I've relied heavily on it for building my machine anyways.

In terms of Avid Pro Tools and plugins what is actually best here and can a Geekbench score really be the best benchmark for such a thing?

I'm using an i7-8700 with a score of 28,470. So 6 cores and 12 threads. To be honest, its amazing as is, and I highly recommend my build to anyone looking for a good Pro Tools machine.

An Intel Core i7-6950X is 10 cores and 20 threads but only comes in at 30,758. Not at all a reasonable improvement for me especially at cost. Or the Intel Xeon Gold 6140 with its 18/36 and a score of 31,992.

I can't help but feel like more cores would be better in the environment, right?
 
Looking at Geekbench scores to gauge how Pro Tools will run isn't a good idea. If performance in a particular app is important to you, you should either look at benchmarks around that particular app or confirming whether your workflow or the app itself benefits more from multiple cores or high frequency or a balance of both.

Geekbench in particular is a bit of a crappy benchmark in my opinion. It's not representative of really any particular workload (I'm not a fan of purely synthetic benchmarks anyway) and its figures are skewed to make certain systems appear better than they actually are in real life because the benchmark does not run for long enough for throttling to occur.

I'm not into audio production myself, but you should never assume that more cores = better when it comes to multimedia apps. I use Adobe CC heavily and most of the apps in that benefit more from high frequencies (clock speeds) over multiple cores to a certain extent. In my use case, a 9900K with 8c/16t is superior to a vastly more expensive HEDT processor (eg. i9-9980XE - 18c/36t) because a 9900K has a good balance of high frequency and high-ish core count, which is what suits my workload perfectly.

If you're having trouble getting a straight answer, you could just ask Avid support too.
 
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@skittlebrau, thanks for the input.

I went from an 2 core i5 (Mid 2012 MBP) to an 8700 and it was liking being on another planet. I don't do a ton of VI so I haven't tested that out but for mixing 100 plus tracks with larger plugins I don't feel at all slow. Im feeling the pull to go to a 9900k in the future to keep up but honestly, as is, is a hell of a Pro Tools machine.

Follow up question then.

i7 9700 (8 c/t) vs i7 8700 (6/12). Would one really have an advantage over the other?
 
@skittlebrau
Follow up question then.

i7 9700 (8 c/t) vs i7 8700 (6/12). Would one really have an advantage over the other?

You'll honestly feel no difference, especially if your i7-8700 is handling your current tasks with ease.

I'd only bother upgrading when Ice Lake becomes a reality for desktop processors.
 
I seem to have my answers then. Thanks everyone.
 
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