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Core Speed VS Thread Count... Ryzen 3900x VS 5700x

PebbleStream

PebbleStream

Eager Newb
Hi all,
Going to invest in a CPU upgrade since I've been doing more mixing and mastering lately than composing, trying to decide between a couple of options in a similar price range... I hear very conflicting opinions all over the internet about the issue in the title. My motherboard can take either Ryzen 3000 series or 5000 series, I'd just go for the 5900x but it's out of my price range for now...
Advice much appreciated. Thanks!
Click to read more...
 
Generally speaking:
  • if optimizing for maximum number of tracks with sample based libraries, I would tend to prioritize core/thread count
  • if optimizing for modelled instruments and/or lots of serial FX processing, I would tend to prioritize top core speed
 
Akoustecx said:
As a general rule, core speed trumps core count in your DAW.
Click to expand...
But does it need to be a significant different in core speed to trump it?

Example, 5800 chip 8 core 3.4 core clock 4.5 boost

5600 is 6 core 3.9 core 4.4 boost

The big price difference suggests the 5800 performs a lot better, but I don’t know if it really translates that way in the DAW.

Maybe the boost speed numbers are more important than the core speed?
 
If it were me, I'd go for the 5700x over the 3900x all day. The improvements between each Ryzen generation that aren't expressed as core speed or count mean that even when comparing top to bottom of range, you almost always want to go with the more recent generation.
I'm in a similar situation, I suspect. Currently running 1600x, waiting for funds and deals to coincide, hopefully for a 5900x, but a 5600x would still be an appreciable upgrade.
 
Look here for a comparison:
www.techpowerup.com

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Review - Finally an Affordable 8-Core

With the Ryzen 7 5700X, AMD is finally offering a more affordable 8-core processor. In our review, we take a close look at how this $265 CPU performs against the Ryzen 7 5800X, and also compare it to Intel's Alder Lake lineup, including the i5-12600K and i7-12700K.
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com

Akoustecx said:
As far as I understand it, and I'm no expert, you should more or less ignore boost clock figures, unless you're running some pretty specialised cooling, as they are not sustainable for any length of time before throttling kicks in.
Click to expand...
That's only true for a small number of desktop CPUs as most can be cooled adequately with air cooling.
Keep in mind that DAW usage doesn't usually stress all cores fully and certainly not for an extended period.
So the actual maximum sustained power consumption for DAWs is a lot less than the headline figures for video encoding and the like.
Also, you can usually easily tame the power consumption by for example reducing the max wattage in the BIOS, with little to no impact on performance.
 
Thanks all for the responses, I think I will go with the newer generation of Ryzen processors in the end. Again, many thanks!
 
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