i3 or i5??

I am building a small form factor PC with a new Skylake CPU. I can get a 3.7 Ghz i3 (i3-6100) for about $130, or I can do a i5-6500 3.2 Ghz CPU for $199.

It will be to run Kontakt live (so the lowest latency I can get)...but that is probably all it is going to do.

Is there any real need for the i5? since it is small form factor, heat is always a concern as well, and the i3 has a lower TDP (51W vs 65W for the i5).

Any thoughts?

 

I'm not a PC builder so can't directly comment on the i3 vs. i5 question.

Latency will not be processor-dependent, except in an indirect way. Latency is entirely dependent upon the hardware buffer size you choose (in Kontakt's audio options, or your host's audio options/setup). Lower latency comes with lower buffer sizes, but lower buffer sizes make the computer work harder (i.e. higher CPU usage). So a faster CPU will handle more power, which will let you get to lower buffer sizes.

But all of this is dependent upon how much polyphony you use at once. If you literally mean "playing live" as in playing in a live band, then you're probably only playing 1-3 instruments simultaneously (I'm taking into account if you're layering sounds, etc.) which means your total simultaneous polyphony is unlikely to go much beyond 100-200 at the most. A slower CPU can handle that kind of polyphony at a low buffer size.

A faster CPU would benefit you if you are loading gigabytes of orchestral samples into a Kontakt machine where you might be playing many hundreds of simultaneous voices.

 

The i3 is technically faster, but the i5 has more cores.

But, yes, I am talking playing live as in a band. I have other machines to record on.

It sounds like the i3 should be fine though, based on your comments.

 

Sounds like it, yes. I'd be interested to see if any PC builders chime in. EvilDragon knows what he's talking about in this area; if he sees this thread he might have some thoughts.

 

i3<<i5<<i7. Simple as that. 51W vs 65W TDP is not a huge difference, any proper cooler will be able to keep that under control (also bear in mind that that TDP number is expected under 100% load, which is not always the case).

I would go for the i5. It's always better to get 4 real cores than 2 cores + 2 HyperThreaded cores.

 

I'd also say i5 if not higher. But if you currently run into latency issues with your existing machine you should consider a solid audio interface first, a good CPU can be bottlenecked by a bad interface

 

Any revreb or other plugins could make a huge difference. Just let us know if you think about other vst or software that you might use at the same time.