Xeon-based DAW and no idea about it :)

axiomatc · Post by **axiomatc** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 6:49 am

hi all
im currently planning a new DAW. my first idea was to put 2 i7 - 975 on that new asus Z8NA-D6 dual 1366 mobo. well epic fail as it seems, this wouldnt work.

so now im thinking of using that Z8NA-D6 mobo with 2 X Xeon x5570.

is this a good idea? i ahve no experience with daws on server cpu's. are they any good for doing audio? (cubase 5 based DAW). how is the performance of these xeon x5570 compared to a i7 - 975?

thanks for helping

sonic6k · Post by **sonic6k** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:24 pm

Welcome good friend!

Funny, you have STEINBERG product, but obviously not read website! http://www.steinberg.net/en/support/ste ... html#c4952

axiomatc · Post by **axiomatc** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:59 pm

hey thx for this.

seen it but it doesnt tell me if the xeons are performing better or worse than the i7s do since both got ++ in the rating wich is not very detailed

sonic6k · Post by **sonic6k** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:25 am

axiomatc wrote:hey thx for this.

seen it but it doesnt tell me if the xeons are performing better or worse than the i7s do since both got ++ in the rating wich is not very detailed

I have contact STEINBERG about this, because I also am STEINBERG customer (NUENDO). Customer support said Intel XEON perform equally to Core i7 in DAW application, but Core i7 might give small advantage in gaming platform. To answer your question both are going to serve equally in performance for your DAW. However maybe CUBASE not this demanding as NUENDO, so take this with grain of salt

axiomatc · Post by **axiomatc** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:31 pm

thx for the info! in that case i will def go the dual-xeon solution, since gaming will not be happening on the studio machine anyways

Soulstorm · Post by **Soulstorm** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:41 pm

Xeon processors (the X55xx series) have the same performance as Core i7 on every application, but with a few advantages :
I7 doesn`t have 2 QPIs, just one, that`s why you cannot put 2 i7s on the same mobo.
They have a much lower TDP, 95W vs 130W, this will help with the silencing a lot. A Mugen 2 could keep these babys almost dead silent at idle and silent under load.
They overclock higher than i7s most of the time, and are designed to be stressed continously under load, being server grade components.

Bakkone · Post by **Bakkone** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:10 am

I always thought the xeons were just as I7s only they were picked up to be xeons because they were better during testing.

When processors are made, they are all tested and then labeled after performande, so the better ones get to be i7 950 and so on... because they run cooler.

Its these better ones that also get to be xeons.