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Old 01-21-2020, 04:37 PM   #1
Powermac
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Default Is anyone using and I7-7700 (Non K)? How does it perform?

I'm seriously thinking of buying a used desktop tomorrow to use exclusively with Reaper. It's a DELL Optiplex 7050 i7-7700 - RAM 16GB - SSD 256GB with Windows 10Pro. The guy wants $550 for it and from what I've researched it seems like a pretty good deal.

My question is mainly about the 7700(non K) processor and it's capabilities with high track counts and plugins. Is anyone using one, and would you share your findings?

My I5 5200U processor is starting to have a hard time with high track counts and I'm ready to move on.

Edit: Running the 5200U at 1056 buffer and while it makes things better, it's still having a hard time at 80 tracks, and that's when I freeze two of the heaviest plugin tracks.

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Powermac; 01-21-2020 at 04:45 PM.
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Old 01-21-2020, 05:19 PM   #2
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I've got an I7-6700, which is virtually the same, and it works for me.

My common use cases:
live tracking guitar using Kazrog's 5150 and cabloader, or often other ampsims and cabloaders, Readelay, Dragonfly reverb, maybe some other effects if the track calls for it.

LABS plugins

Various other free softsynths up to around 12 tracks, maybe?

I forget what my settings on my interface (AXE IO)are, I think 48Khz and 64 block size but I might have upped that to 128.

I do get some crackles that I haven't bothered to iron out.

$550 sounds a bit much to me depending on your PC handiness level. If you have a case and PSU that you can reuse, I'd bet you could get a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM for that or less.
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Old 01-21-2020, 05:49 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Powermac View Post
It's a DELL Optiplex 7050 i7-7700 - RAM 16GB - SSD 256GB with Windows 10Pro. The guy wants $550 for it and from what I've researched it seems like a pretty good deal.
That's reasonable horsepower at that price, and you should _roughly_ see double performance, solely based on twice the cores/threads and good increase in speed. YMMV as always.

I'll also give Dell credit for good documentation on replacing components, etc. It's a good machine to tinker with down the road, but probably not one you'll be upgrading for the next 10 years.

Things I would check, and plan on doing anyway, is cleaning out the fans and re-installing the OS from scratch (or, if you insist, using the Dell reset utilities). The license should remain with the motherboard, so don't worry about needing a new Windows license.
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:25 PM   #4
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And easy way to clean the fans - open the case, take some packing tape (or any tape really, packing is best for this though), and just lightly pat where there's dust/gunk. Compressed air as desired.
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Old 01-22-2020, 03:02 AM   #5
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My main studio rig is based on an i7 7700. I'm running the K version but I'm not overclocking it. It runs exceptionally well with REAPER even on projects with plenty of tracks and lots of plugins.
I've been running this setup now for around three years with no problems.
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Old 01-22-2020, 06:27 AM   #6
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(grin) & FWIW my i7 quad 4770 non-K is still getting me where I need to go with NO issues at all. I often wonder if I should have spent the extra $$ on the 4790 but havent seen anyone saying that they are way better than the 4770. Sometimes just having your computer properly set up does more for performance than anything else in terms of bang for the buck.
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Old 01-22-2020, 06:34 AM   #7
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Powermac what interface are you using for audio?

I am also running the K version of this CPU with 16GB of RAM and it works quite well. Reaper doesn't bog down on projects with large track counts. One aside worth noting, I do not use the onboard USB ports for my Audio interface. I added a PCI express card that handles my device and takes the processing away from the chipset. It works very well that way if you're using a USB device and cuts way down on bottle knecking. This is on Win 10 and I also have a PCI express firewire card in case I want to use my old Mackie interface.
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Old 01-22-2020, 10:09 AM   #8
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Powermac what interface are you using for audio?

I am also running the K version of this CPU with 16GB of RAM and it works quite well. Reaper doesn't bog down on projects with large track counts. One aside worth noting, I do not use the onboard USB ports for my Audio interface. I added a PCI express card that handles my device and takes the processing away from the chipset. It works very well that way if you're using a USB device and cuts way down on bottle knecking. This is on Win 10 and I also have a PCI express firewire card in case I want to use my old Mackie interface.
Me too. In my admittedly limited experience, pci-e and even the old pci slots far out-perform the average USB-based interface. I have a RME Babyface too, which IS a great interface but comes nowhere near my HDSP9652 in terms of overall performance.
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Old 01-22-2020, 12:59 PM   #9
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I think you would see a bigger increase in performance by upgrading your audio device (RME, UAD, etc). You'll be able to increase the buffer size while maintaining lower latencies and thus reduce CPU usage.

Only difference with the K versions AFAIK is that they have higher heat tolerance and can be overclocked, which isn't recommended unless you have a very efficient cooling system.

I recently made the mistake of thinking a faster system would solve all my problems, but the gains were marginal and I had to shell out for an RME anyway. Probably could have stuck with my old machine if I'd gone for the card first.
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Old 01-22-2020, 04:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
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Powermac what interface are you using for audio?

I am also running the K version of this CPU with 16GB of RAM and it works quite well. Reaper doesn't bog down on projects with large track counts. One aside worth noting, I do not use the onboard USB ports for my Audio interface. I added a PCI express card that handles my device and takes the processing away from the chipset. It works very well that way if you're using a USB device and cuts way down on bottle knecking. This is on Win 10 and I also have a PCI express firewire card in case I want to use my old Mackie interface.
Actually, I'm using a Scarlett Solo 2 at the moment. Don't use it for anything other than a monitor amp for mixing at the house (which is where the problem is happening). However, I do have the Focusrite Clarett 8 pre and Clarett Octo pre at my rehearsal room for tracking my band. Haven't brought them home to use during mixing since I didn't think there would be a difference with Scarlett, and Clarett both being USB2.

Please advise.

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Old 01-22-2020, 04:53 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by ReaDave View Post
My main studio rig is based on an i7 7700. I'm running the K version but I'm not overclocking it. It runs exceptionally well with REAPER even on projects with plenty of tracks and lots of plugins.
I've been running this setup now for around three years with no problems.
Thanks. Are you ever getting close to 70ish tracks with plugins? Did the 7700 handle it? I ask because my 5200U wasn't giving me many issues until I started reaching about 65 to 70 tracks.
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Old 01-23-2020, 06:52 AM   #12
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Quote:
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Thanks. Are you ever getting close to 70ish tracks with plugins? Did the 7700 handle it? I ask because my 5200U wasn't giving me many issues until I started reaching about 65 to 70 tracks.
I'm currently recording two new albums and both have some pretty complex songs. The first track on one of the albums is an electronic / prog rock track with around 100 tracks and I'm mixing everything in third order 3D Ambisonics which uses 16 audio channels per track. These projects are loaded with dozens of plugins and I can run everything at 128 buffer without issues.
I'm running an RME Fireface UFX interface which has been rock solid. In fact, I'm so impressed with it that I recently purchased a second one to use for my portable rig and also for when I need extra inputs in the studio.

My PC is a custom build with 32GB of RAM, three Samsung 850 SSDs and built around an Asus Z270 prime motherboard. I'm very happy with this system.
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Old 01-23-2020, 01:31 PM   #13
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Hi, i'll chime in however i'm using the K version 7700 with Z730 motherboard, USB motu interface. It is overclocked to 4.9Ghz liquid cooling and maintains about 40 deg C.

My projects are somewhere between 40-100 tracks, 100-250 plugins including a a full mastering chain, running at 96khz sample rate, 512 buffer for mixing, 64bit.

I've had this comp almost 2 years now, very good performance. At the upper echelon of project size, things start to fall apart for sure, I sometimes have to freeze tracks to keep the mix going.
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Old 01-23-2020, 03:14 PM   #14
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Thanks for all of the great reply's, guys! I hope you'll have patience with one more question.

Here is the computer the guy is selling with no keyboard or mouse for $550 with Windows 10 Pro.https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/p...x7050-MT-Core/

Here is a Lenovo I found that's brand new, but instead of a 7700 it has a 9700 and has twice the SSD hard drive space, and has Windows 10 home.. The only issue is that the ram isn't expandable beyond the 16 gigs it comes with. https://www.officedepot.com/a/produc...ktop-PC-Intel/

With tax the Lenovo is $706 which is obviously a $157 difference. Seeing that the Lenovo isn't super expandable and the Dell is, is the Lenovo/Intel 9700 processor worth the extra horsepower (versus the 7700) for losing expandability?

Edit: I don't do a ton of midi stuff, mainly instruments. I do demo with EZ Drummer 2 and EZ Keys if that makes a difference.

Last edited by Powermac; 01-23-2020 at 03:45 PM.
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Old 01-23-2020, 05:47 PM   #15
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you should be fine with 16g of ram if you're not doing big heavy VST instruments. I don't think i've ever seen my ram usage go above 6gb....I have 32 and it's def overkill.
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Old 01-23-2020, 06:14 PM   #16
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you should be fine with 16g of ram if you're not doing big heavy VST instruments. I don't think i've ever seen my ram usage go above 6gb....I have 32 and it's def overkill.
Same here on my 5200U. My ram is never high. It's just the CPU.
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Old 01-24-2020, 06:05 AM   #17
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I have 32GB RAM on my system too but have never gone close to using it (even half of it) even on projects with pretty heavy sample library usage. 16GB would probably be more than sufficient for anything I've ever done.
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