# I9 10850K vs. i7 10700K - Trying to decide.



## BradHoyt (Nov 16, 2020)

Hi All, 

I'm putting together a new dedicated music PC (mostly using virtual instruments) and wanted to drop this question here to get some feedback regarding whether I should go with an 10 Core i9 10850K at $399 or an 8 Core i7 10700K at $319? I've seen a lot of tests, but most have to do with gaming performance so it's been hard to get an idea of which of these processors is best for music production. They are really close in performance it seems... It feels like spending the extra $80 is mostly for piece of mind... Anyway, Any thoughts are appreciated!


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## Neifion (Nov 16, 2020)

My question is, where are you finding a 10700k for $319? Or are you buying used? I just ordered one yesterday for $365 at B&H; lowest price I’ve found for a new one.


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## José Herring (Nov 16, 2020)

BradHoyt said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm putting together a new dedicated music PC (mostly using virtual instruments) and wanted to drop this question here to get some feedback regarding whether I should go with an 10 Core i9 10850K at $399 or an 8 Core i7 10700K at $319? I've seen a lot of tests, but most have to do with gaming performance so it's been hard to get an idea of which of these processors is best for music production. They are really close in performance it seems... It feels like spending the extra $80 is mostly for piece of mind... Anyway, Any thoughts are appreciated!


I just went through the same agonizing processes. Ultimately the 10850/10900k perform about the same. They have a slightly better performance that the 17 10700k but not by much worth noting. Technically the cache is a little larger on the 10850k but not by much. And you get 2 extra cores that boost performance a little bit.

In the end I decided to save the money and go wtih the i7 10700k. I figured I could OC it and make up the difference but I doubt if I will. I also considered the W1290 but those Xeon chips were too confusing.

In early 2021 Intel will release their Gen 11 chips I think. It will be the last one for the LGA1200 architecture I've heard. So I decided to save the money and use the i7 107000k until the next generation or wait until 2022 a make a new build. So building now, even though my machine is plenty fast enough was a temporary choice to be updated later possibly as early as early 2021 where I will just pop in a new chip or 2022 where I will replace the mobo, chip and ram (DDR5).

Hope that helps.


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## BradHoyt (Nov 16, 2020)

Neifion said:


> My question is, where are you finding a 10700k for $319? Or are you buying used? I just ordered one yesterday for $365 at B&H; lowest price I’ve found for a new one.


I'm getting my parts at Microcenter. If one is near by, it's a cool option. You have to go into the store to pick up the products though... Here's a link to the i7 they have on sale: https://www.microcenter.com/product...ake-38ghz-eight-core-lga-1200-boxed-processor


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## BradHoyt (Nov 16, 2020)

José Herring said:


> I just went through the same agonizing processes. Ultimately the 10850/10900k perform about the same. They have a slightly better performance that the 17 10700k but not by much worth noting. Technically the cache is a little larger on the 10850k but not by much. And you get 2 extra cores that boost performance a little bit.
> 
> In the end I decided to save the money and go wtih the i7 10700k. I figured I could OC it and make up the difference but I doubt if I will. I also considered the W1290 but those Xeon chips were too confusing.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. I kinda feel the same way, but I don't think I'll be upgrading as quickly. Since I plan on using this system for at least 3 years or more, I'll probably invest in the 10 core i9 for $80 more. 

I'm at a point where my old i7 4790K will a 32GB Ram limit just will not cut it anymore. I considered the new Zen 3 Ryzen chips, but decided on going with the Intel platform which I think developers are most comfortable with (in our specific application anyway). Plus, they're impossible to find right now. Just wondering - how much RAM do you have? I'll be getting 64GB (2x32GB) and buy more later if I need it.


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## Neifion (Nov 17, 2020)

BradHoyt said:


> I'm getting my parts at Microcenter. If one is near by, it's a cool option. You have to go into the store to pick up the products though... Here's a link to the i7 they have on sale: https://www.microcenter.com/product...ake-38ghz-eight-core-lga-1200-boxed-processor



Ah, nice! Unfortunately I am stationed in Japan. And while the computer stores here have a great selection, PC parts are typically more expensive.


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