pc processor specs new vs old

[aczlan]

If I'm spending close to $1k, I'm going Ultrabook

Meh. We have them at work and I dont like them, but that's because I actually use a LAN port and a VGA port... The 14" Latitude E6440 we recently ordered is $300 cheaper than the similarly speced Latitude E7440 that I will be ordering tomorrow (both with 128GB SSD, 4GB of Ram (to up upgraded with Crucial for 1/2 the price of what Dell wants), i5 4300u, Wifi, Bluetooth, backlit keyboard, etc).
Is the difference worth it? Not for a machine that will spend most of its life sitting on a table, but for one that will be on the road frequently? Yep.

Aaron Z

 

[Midniteoyl]

Dont forget the screen quality too.. I picked up a i5 Samsung 15.4" awhile ago that was 'cheaper' and thought 'what a great deal'... The screen is crap Otherwise great specs though..

 

[Soundguy]

all sounds good then. the 7200 rpm drive out when that core 2 duo spec was out sounds like it may not be any faster than the sata 5400 rpm drive in the envy I7 I looked at... and witht he comparison on processor.. that I7 looks like it will be way more capable than the core2duo.. etc.

looks like I may have narrows the machines down now. thanks.

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

I wouldn't get too hung up on drive speed. In fact, it's kind of annoying that any sw supplier would require, as a "minimum", a 7200 vs. 5400 rpm drive. Like not having enough tractor hp, it doesn't mean it won't do it, it just takes longer, in some cases a lot longer. It comes down do how much waiting time you can tolerate and I doubt 7200 vs. 5400 makes that big of a difference in the end but just my opinion.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I wouldn't get too hung up on drive speed. In fact, it's kind of annoying that any sw supplier would require, as a "minimum", a 7200 vs. 5400 rpm drive. Like not having enough tractor hp, it doesn't mean it won't do it, it just takes longer, in some cases a lot longer. It comes down do how much waiting time you can tolerate and I doubt 7200 vs. 5400 makes that big of a difference in the end but just my opinion.

If you do video, you want the 7200 RPM's because you load the digital info from the camera in real time and you need a fast throughput for that or else you start dropping frames. The camera doesn't wait for the computer, there is no handshaking. Not sure about Cakewalk though, don't know why it would want fast throughput.

 

[RobertN]

Time for SSD?

If you do video, you want the 7200 RPM's because you load the digital info from the camera in real time and you need a fast throughput for that or else you start dropping frames. The camera doesn't wait for the computer, there is no handshaking. Not sure about Cakewalk though, don't know why it would want fast throughput.

 

[Soundguy]

If you do video, you want the 7200 RPM's because you load the digital info from the camera in real time and you need a fast throughput for that or else you start dropping frames. The camera doesn't wait for the computer, there is no handshaking. Not sure about Cakewalk though, don't know why it would want fast throughput.

the faster it is.. the lower the latency. I'm processing real time audio.. live sound. not studio bouncing.

However.. since the spec was for back with an older core 2 duo.. I'm guessing these new 5400 sata drives are plain faster anyway.

I see some machines. ( sony for instance ).. had hdd and SSD buffer.

lotsa options!

 

[Soundguy]

Time for SSD?

at least looking at it!

 

[pwright]

the faster it is.. the lower the latency. I'm processing real time audio.. live sound. not studio bouncing.

If you aren't actually capturing it then you don't really care about drive speed. Audio data is coming in, being processed and being sent back out. You want a reasonably speedy processor and sufficient memory. If you are doing real-time effects/processing of multi-track audio then the more cores the better. You probably want a 4th Gen. I7 like the 4700MQ or 4700HQ. Do not get something using the low voltage variants (I7-4550U) as their thermal management systems may not be able to handle continuous usage at the higher clock speeds. They are meant for lightweight ultras that mostly just do web browsing or documents.

Back to drives, any modern 5400 RPM drive is more than capable of capturing as much audio as you can throw it. The areal density of data on a platter has been doubling every couple years which means a lot more bits of data flying past the drive heads even at 5400 rpm. An SSD is nice but for raw storage the traditional spinning platter drives are gong to be quite a bit cheaper per GB.

 

[RobertN]

Every time I see you post(location), I think about La Posta. Only been there once, but it sure was good that one time.
La Posta Restaurant Old Mesilla New Mexico

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