#989584 - 05/19/04 02:40 PM
Computer frontside bus speed effects on recording?
|
silverrain1
Member
Registered: 04/13/04
Posts: 3
|
Offline
|
|
Anybody knows if the computer Frontside Bus speed difference between 533MHz and 800MHz really matters to recording quality?
The frontside bus is the communication between the Processor and the DRAM, while the backside bus is between the Processor and the SRAM.
I am hesitant whether to buy laptop Sony Vaio GRT360 or Fujitsu Lifebook N5010. They both have Hyper Threading technology, 3GHz processor speed, and 512MB of RAM. The difference is Fujitsu N5010 has the Frontside Bus speed of 800MHz vs. 533MHz in Sony GRT360.
I wonder this matter depends on how the recording progam, the sound sample program are written, and there is no solid answer.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#989585 - 05/29/04 09:26 PM
Re: Computer frontside bus speed effects on recording?
|
Philip O'Keefe
10k Club
Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
|
|
Offline
|
|
I'm no expert on the PIV systems, but in general, a faster FSB is going to increase system speed, but will have no effect on overall sound quality - that's going to come down to the converters you use and to a lesser extent, the software you're running. But you can safely assume the faster FSB machine will be a better performer - all other things being equal.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#989586 - 05/29/04 11:54 PM
Re: Computer frontside bus speed effects on recording?
|
AudioMaverick
Platinum Member
Registered: 05/19/01
Posts: 1790
Loc: Outskirts of Big Bear, CA,UNIT...
|
|
Offline
|
|
I was recording 16 tracks a t 44.1kHz/32-bit(24-bit & 8 float bits) using a P3/733MHz running 133MHz FSB. At this point int he PC hardware arena, that is not an issue.
Where the difference will be useful is in post-production. All those filters and processed will apply that much faster with an overall faster internal component set.
Remember, the FSB is only part of the entire PC performace equation. It really boils down to doing a test drive of the systems and seeing how the overal experience comes across to you. Even a slower graphics chip is going to present slower video updates. Latency inherent to the RAM used is another. Then, there's the HDD, itself. Oh, and a crummy device driver will toss in some other system performance problems.
That all being said, I am not usally a Sony fan. But, I see something that kind of bithers me about the Fujitsu... An 800MHz FSB (400MHz system clock) and DDR333 RAM (not DDR400) It seems to me that there is going to be some sort of a timing issue here, if the clocks don't match. And, Sony doesn't give the RAM speed on the GRT-390Z. With an FSB of 533MHZ, I'd expect it to be using DDR266 (the system clock speed).
These speeds are rediculously faster than what is needed to get a good recording, these days. It may be a mute point. My guess is that either will work well for you. I am biased against Sony from bad Customer Service experiences, in the past. And, I've never been exposed to Fujitsu's.
Just my two ambiguous cents to rub together. I hope someone else chimes in about the CPU/RAM bus speed mismatches...
_________________________
"It's all about the... um-m-m, uh-h-h..."
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#989587 - 05/30/04 12:00 AM
Re: Computer frontside bus speed effects on recording?
|
Philip O'Keefe
10k Club
Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
|
|
Offline
|
|
An 800MHz FSB (400MHz system clock) and DDR333 RAM (not DDR400) It seems to me that there is going to be some sort of a timing issue here, if the clocks don't match.
It's certainly not ideal, but running async like that happens on a lot of systems. It's not normally ideal from a performance standpoint though.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
Moderator: bdbklyn
|
|
|
