Music production pc: i5 8400 or i7 8700

[Kleem_]

Hi, I'm planning to build a new pc for music production and some casual gaming. In need for advice on cpu. The overall build is somewhat like this:

-i5 8400 or i7 8700

-MSI Z370-A PRO

-atleast 16gb of DDR4 minimum 2400Mhz (not picked any specific brand etc)

-1Tb ssd crucial MX300 or MX500 (dunno much about these affordable crucial SSDs. Does anyone
know how much of a difference there is between MX300 and MX500?) SSD is for most of my VSTs which I want to load faster like omnisphere 2 and have the patches and libraries to open fast for better workflow.

-1Tb HDD (one of those affordable seagates or WDs) for games.

-Corsair CS550M 80 PLUS Gold (for example. I'm looking for an affordable modular PSU)

-a case (affordable. Dont care much about it cuz it will be under my desk anyway)

-GTX 1050 ti (best option for me cuz I dont need ultra settings on gaming and I believe this thing
can handle games well enough on 1080p 60fps medium-high settings)

-Also a better but affordable aircooler for the cpu (I had a i5 6500 which did not run cool enough
with the stock cooler when playing star wars battlefront (EA)

So there is two things I need advice on. First one is the minor one: affordable SSDs crucial MX300 vs MX500. Does anyone know how much of a difference is there?

Second is the cpu: Hyperthreading i7 8700 6 cores vs no hyperthreading i5 8400 6 cores? on cpu.userbenchmark.com the 8700 is about 12% better overall.

I tend make all kind of music. From orchestral projects to pop/rock. From recording audio to working with only VSTs. I'm more of an hobbyist when it comes to music production but I'm planning to evolve and learn during the next 2-5 years, slowly but steadily. From time to time I'd probably be working on projects with many VSTs on one project but I wonder would the hyperthreading be a really significant improvement compared to non-hyperthreading in this case?

 

[superninja12]

1) the difference is slightly noticeable but the price tag is for me not wortht he difference.
2) this 12% is just a raw data number, but the i7 is defenetly worth it in the long run!!
checkout the benchmarks: https://youtu.be/VKld5eAa5SQ

as for the affordable modular psu checkout the seasonic focus !! or corsair txm

 

[Kleem_]

1) the difference is slightly noticeable but the price tag is for me not wortht he difference.
2) this 12% is just a raw data number, but the i7 is defenetly worth it in the long run!!
checkout the benchmarks: https://youtu.be/VKld5eAa5SQ

as for the affordable modular psu checkout the seasonic focus !! or corsair txm

Those are different cpus on the vid than the ones I was looking for but still quite an interesting video on the clocked i5 8600k. I have not done any OC but I think an i5 8600k overclocked could be a really good option. Price is in the middle of i7 8700 and i5 8400. Performance is really good when OC. Thanks for this. I have quite a few months until I have the money to buy this setup so I´ll have plenty of time to consider.

 

[Kleem_]

Seems like after watching this video https://youtu.be/VKld5eAa5SQ that superninja12 posted the hyperthreading is not superior in certain tasks. But when it comes to music production I´ve not yet found which is superior. Seems like mixed from what I´ve searched. Some say hyperthreading is good when working with DAWs and some say it can be hindering the performance and they have even turned it off. I´ve read that ableton is not optimized well for multicore processing because it functions as a live DAW and that processing multicore in a live situation can produce unwanted lag. Some have had much better cpu loads (less load %) when working with bitwig and reaper with multiple VSTs and some have had better performance when turned hyperthreading off. Currently I´m working with ableton but I´m planning to buy the most current cubase standard edition as I already own elements 9. Conclusion with this could be to get a i5 8600k and overclock it so that individual core performance is high and not to buy an i7 if the hyperthreading is not working well with some DAWs and/or is not significally better if working well. Seems like when working with a lower buffer size hyperthreading can cause issues but when working with higher buffer sizes it can be beneficial. In the end I dont like to change hyperthreading on and off when changing from a project in which id use a lower buffer size due to recording audio to a project where id use VSTs and thus a higher buffer size. Seems like sticking with an i5 could be a good option. Those coffee lakes are pretty good! The i5 8400 performs better than a i7 8700k (non OC) in many games -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJOnwF8mgXc