Hi, I'm asking for your help in choosing the CPU for music production (Ableton) in projects with around twenty tracks and plugins. For example in the recording of a metal band with acoustic drums and all the microphones and plugins or playing instrument like electronic drum in real time (ezdrummer 3 - Superior drummer) with a short latency using my focusrite 8i6. I'm coming from an i7 8550u of a laptop and I'm literally suffering. I would also like to have decent performance for amateur video editing.
I would like the PC to stay fast for the next 6 years. I live in Italy and the maximum budget is 500 euros. Here the prices are perhaps higher. I was looking at i7 14700k (€400), i9 14900k (€480) but I read that often you have to adjust the volts in the bios to decrease the very high temperature. I would like to avoid it because I would choose an air cooler. I looked at the Ryzen 9900x, 9700x, 7900x. if necessary i could overclock.

 

Last edited: Dec 28, 2024

Dunno, @taskforce is your man for this.

 

Buy AMD Ryzen, AMD is cheaper than Intel! https://www.amazon.it Don't overclock, it will affect the lifespan of your CPU.
What you get today is high end, you'll have a Ferrari. You don't really need to change the voltage. The be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 cools your CPU reliably.

Processore AMD Ryzen 7 9700X (8 Cores/16 Threads) 65W DTP, AM5 socket, 40MB Cache, Boost di Frequenza fino a 5.5 GHz max, senza ventole)
378,94€

https://www.amazon.it/Processore-AMD-9700X-Threads-Frequenza/dp/B0D6NMDNNX?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=LTRIGYIH3YQM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.L5h0LyQeDICyEY1jIEbfw8gKHXZydV_UcseYr83G6Jfu-egncYYuwuTHqgbbxJUUge1zRhsjilV3GPup5YAKCcKSgW04l-2I3tKUTG0nz0jFWwtkxKbveVwL0uiwUEDWsHgtVt1BlMXX-TfCOlOn3zkT1a9CD8VsPGJTlkuV8ghzJReCIYLsSOryP791ulYbJpesLOdVaGaI8gx96049v89YXZ-598MIqZSqoaxp14AeqkoknBtDB_ZdBSZKo9VoFMbWFzTPYQ2-M-WVedlcz8vhO8sLHmQrgQhlYERS6e4r6d2s1HRX7CMqHj8l3VeRNCxv6nKgU08euMP0GVhusdboyMQ5NmVKL-PjQJjLPQ91-Hm_ayHzTPg03YB1XqFTWog42Yj3ipZo-_ODpv1QOokkR0ZbQjECm8aIL_d3D8QGMeinm6qUC9B4uH23843y.jRDYlIGZbswW5CX4rQs0adRoe-OQm2HDIeSQ3KQTNQE&dib_tag=se&keywords=Ryzen+9900x&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1735353562&sprefix=ryzen+9900x,aps,75&sr=8-2

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 dissipatore, airflow elevatissimo, 7 heatpipe in rame ad alte prestazioni, ventole PWM Silent Wings 120mm e Silent Wings 135mm, quasi inudibile, selettore velocità

https://www.amazon.it/quiet-Dark-Processeur-Refroidisseur-pièce/dp/B0CJY3DYQ3?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=1ILGIM2UC50CL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-UZBOpVh00C68BCVSm-FZaJlg_0mlg2bPh-7uFRumv5XS-DTG7Gx8R0kse3WX3MZCkCvuLbLdQ-F6jjoXjZMgMXKX4wWAjzAroQfKWyEPhAeZQy_s0jZQLYR8ODwtTY9mO8HYhP985bXCqP4U6fWF82GKeTOT63ynyA19Bc3dCUXmgE2HfiMH-Edk4TTR9p8gYPs3Z5961iOMXkb4IaBbA-3NCsJwxMAlHvQWoTC5MV8gRk8twaUs5hxP7bqEoeRYhw3dFX6T69eSmfqC2XXdlrbMRD8iCItC7KLPNMKnqDIk4op6Q1iB1IMq9-KoQv1m9uACA6jHmlDqqhKvdqthZ6esyhqa3iImQVFMNemyNbDYKo7roUOCcYf5lFafT0s.DO6f62eb3n2JGp-5MD9kyNzQOKwzOrQsBw8nKprWC6o&dib_tag=se&keywords=be+quiet!+Dark+Rock+Pro+5&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1735353752&sprefix=be+quiet+dark+rock+pro+5,aps,103&sr=8-1&th=1
91,76€

EDIT: DON'T FORGET TO UPDATE BIOS

 

Last edited: Dec 28, 2024

If your DAW is Ableton Live then Ryzen is the best solution. Ableton cannot handle Intel's Efficiency cores atm. The 16core Ryzen 9 7950X goes for about 480 euros atm. Now can you tell me what will a cpu do without the rest of the machine hahaha. And how on earth will an air cooler be sufficient with a beast of a cpu like that. Top air coolers cost about the same as a 3x120 Liquid Freezer II/III from Arctic. About 65-80 euros. Some are even more expensive like Noctua etc. In the case you think you will get away with a cheapo 25 euros cooler on any cpu that is from 12 cores and upwards, well, you just won't.
Cheers