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CPU for digital audio work

zsscorpJan 3, 2010, 10:08 AM

Hi!

I am buying a laptop for music production.
I need to pick between 2 cpus
T9600 - for about 300USD
and
T9900 - +-600USD

Please tell me if the T9900 is worth the extra cash, or i wouldnt feel any difference and should go for the T9600.
I will use the laptop for recording and midi work.

Thanks in advance!

5 answers Last reply Jan 4, 2010 Best Answer Jan 4, 2010

More about digital audio work

frozenleadJan 3, 2010, 6:02 PM

There will be a slight difference (the T9900 will be faster, of course) - but I don't think the minor performance bump is worth $600. Stay with the T9600.

If you've the cash, you should really be looking for a quad-core. HP makes some pretty cheap ones.
WR2Jan 3, 2010, 6:46 PM

zsscorp said:

Please tell me if the T9900 is worth the extra cash
Will you be earning money or making a living with this laptop?
Is your music production MIDI only?
Do you have a good quad core desktop PC to help with post-production activities?

Can't find your answer ? Ask !

zsscorpJan 4, 2010, 8:59 AM

Yes, i will be earning money with this laptop.

My productions are MIDI and audio.

I don't have a strong quad core PC and wont buy one for at least a year...
Means i'm counting on this laptop for all my production\post.p stuff.

I saw the HP quad core's, they are cheap...but i'm wondering, where's the catch???
hundredislandsboyJan 4, 2010, 2:41 PM

You can wait as prices will drop soon with the release of mobile i3 and i5 CPUs. Then you can buy at a lower price but if I was you, I would research and seriously consider a laptop with the i3 or i5. These new CPUs smoke the old C2Ds. You don't want to wait twice as long converting a 20mb .wav file to MP3. With an i3 you'd been done already!

Best answer

WR2Jan 4, 2010, 10:59 PM

The only catch with the HP quad cores (or any quad) might be that your production software isn't multi-threaded and so will run SLOWER on a quad core than a faster clocked dual core.

Is there a forum or website where you can research your production software, find out of it's multi-thread for quad core processing?

Since you're out to earn money with this laptop and you don't have another computer to help with the workload it seems to make sense to upgrade the laptop a bit. This is especially true if you software is in fact multi-threaded and will get a good boost from a quad core CPU.

I don't know if T9600 -> T9900 (+.26Ghz) upgrade is worth $300. My guess would be no.
Passmark CPU benchmark scores: (remember - useful comparison for multi-threaded software)
T9600 = 1984
T9900 = 2358
C2Q 9100 = 3391 (2.26Ghz x 4 cores)
Core i7 720M = 3356 (1.6Ghz x 4 cores)

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