That right processor for my home daw

I'm looking to spend around $300 on the cpu. The units I'm looking at are the i-7 930 i-7 920 i-7 860. I've asked around on a few music sites and everybody is claiming the 920 is the way to go however all these people own the 920 and really don't have any input on the 860. I've seen a few performance charts on the net and every single one had the 860 out performing the 930 and 920. I'm really looking to get some info on the 860 as my daw cpu from somebody who has real experience with all three rather then the one they feel obligated to promote since that is what they purchased.

Stashy wrote:I'm looking to spend around $300 on the cpu. The units I'm looking at are the i-7 930 i-7 920 i-7 860. I've asked around on a few music sites and everybody is claiming the 920 is the way to go however all these people own the 920 and really don't have any input on the 860. I've seen a few performance charts on the net and every single one had the 860 out performing the 930 and 920. I'm really looking to get some info on the 860 as my daw cpu from somebody who has real experience with all three rather then the one they feel obligated to promote since that is what they purchased.

so basically you need someone who has used all of the above?

That would be the ideal situation. I'd like to at least to get some info from someone who has an 860. It seems like alot of people jumped on the 920 so it is hard to get feedback on the 860 or the newer 930.

Stashy wrote:That would be the ideal situation. I'd like to at least to get some info from someone who has an 860. It seems like alot of people jumped on the 920 so it is hard to get feedback on the 860 or the newer 930.

well maybe you need to look around on computer related websites to see a comparison that maybe some other types of computer users have done (not specifically music related users)

check some of the gamer related websites that talk about part specs. just a suggestion...

I'm pretty sure a daw and system built for gaming have different needs.

Stashy wrote:I'm pretty sure a daw and system built for gaming have different needs.

yeah, systems built for gaming require more power... both are running the same operating systems. If CPU A works better then CPU B for a new game, chances are the same applies for a DAW... and for the same reasons.

any of those chips will do you just fine

konc3pt wrote:any of those chips will do you just fine

right. if you have to ask which is better for you and can't find a clear answer, then you probably won't be able to notice any difference

If you do want a noticeable difference, get fast RAM, and lots of it.

Don't forget the motherboard. System performance will actually be based on this. I wouldn't go with nothing but a top notch mobo with an intel chipset.

from price stand point, 860 is better bang for the buck...but they are all very powerful chips and will handle just about anything thrown at them...I think i-5 is also worth considering... (I am I-7 920 owner)








as other mentioned, good fast ram with solid timings, and quality motherbaord is the key ingridient to executing this right...

Based on the research I've done when I was putting together my I-920 rig over little year ago, I found out you want to stay away from asus. EVGA, Gigabyte and Intel are all good and solid motherboards, I feel intel might be bit overpriced tho.