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wrote:
I am kind of lost when I am looking up intel processors tonight. I see
they have made a processor with HT technology, and now they have a new
Pentium D. I am going to be working with Reason 2.5, and I do tend to
use a lot of processing power . I guess I don't know which technology
would be better to have for my musical applications. I typically run 1
program at a time, but I have been known to multi-task. I would assume
to just buy the lastest and greatest. What do you all think?

Hyperthreading is useless for DAWs or any other program that requires a
constant high load on the CPU. Hyperthreading is designed to allow for
better multi-tasking, which it does. It is a more efficient design, and
thus runs cooler, but "efficient" in this case means less horespower per
program.

On tests i ran with my system, i loaded up plug-ins so that i was on the
virge of crackling. With HT off i was able to run my machine stable at
about 90-95% CPU usage. With HT on i start to break up around 60%.

I saved a file that would run with HT off at its limit, rebooted and
enabled HT. The session turned into pure digital distortion.

My CPU runs 10 degrees hotter (idles at 35 degrees), but the system will
go much farther.

My specs:
P4C800 Deluxe 800mhz FSB
Intel 2.4C overclocked to 2.95
HyperThreading Off
Zalman CS-7000 CPU fan
WD-80gig OS/Progs
WD-80gig Audio Data
2 Motu 896's
WinXP Home SP1
1 gig DDR400 Ram

Roach