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[Trumpetguy]

I have built a couple of media computers, and my recent one is an i7 2600@3.6 (five years old). I am contemplating about a new build with primary use:
Local content, bluray disc or mkv rips, stereo and multichannel audio with 15 paths convolution.

The question is - how is JRiver working, should I prioritize single-core number crunching or multicore performance? E.g. AMD Ryzen 1800x or i7 7700?

[Manfred]

It depends:

Do you want to you use ROHQ to upscale all type of video conten to 4k- an Nvidia GPU GTX 1050 TI/1060 with min 4 GB VRAM is highly recommended. In that scenario an i3-6100 (JR Mark of 4300) from my point of view is enough. My i3-6100 + GtX960->typically workload for the i3 <13% for audio processing with room correction, playing BD, DVD etc. The newer i3 is i3-7100  Kaby Lake.

If you don't need ROHQ, iGPU for RO Standard is enough but if you need parallel transcoding i5 or i7 may be better than the i3. But keep in mind that you rarely find mainboards supporting HDMI 2.0a/b 4k@60Hz. The new i7 base NUC with Iris Graphics supports HDMI 2.0a.

The AMD Ryzen has no iGPU! In that scenario you need an Nvidia or AMD GPU(has driver problems with madVR?).

If you look in the benchmark thread an AMD Ryzen R7-1700X at 4.05GHz had an JRMark of 6014.

[RD James]

Surprisingly few components in Media Center are multi-threaded enough to take advantage of the new 8-core Ryzens.
Even things like 6-channel SACDs are limited to 4 threads for decoding, and overall, single-core performance is going to make the biggest difference.
 
The main advantage that Ryzen has right now is that it supports ECC memory, while Intel's mainstream CPUs do not. Unless you're planning on building a system with ECC memory though, I'd recommend waiting for the new 8-series CPUs from Intel in a few weeks time.
The Core i5 and i7 are going to have 6 cores with Intel's stronger IPC/Single-Core performance, or you could drop down to an i3 to save some money since they will be quad-core. I wouldn't be surprised if the 6-core 8700K is faster than an 8-core Ryzen for most tasks.
 
For video playback with ROHQ, the GPU is what matters. And yes, Ryzen lacks an iGPU.

• The GPU takes up more die space than the CPU now for Intel.
  
• AMD were basically able to release 8-core CPUs for the same price Intel was charging for 4-core CPUs by placing a second CPU on the die (CCX) instead of an iGPU.
  

Intel is pushing back hard by increasing the core counts while keeping prices the same though.
 
I went from an i5-2500K to an R7-1700X and it's been a big improvement in performance for many tasks. But those which aren't very well multi-threaded have not always seen a significant increase in performance due to the modest IPC improvement and lower clockspeed for Ryzen. (my i5-2500K was at 4.5GHz for 6.5 years no problem) I think the biggest issue with my i5-2500K was the lack of hyperthreading more than anything else to be honest.
I don't regret buying a Ryzen CPU, but I maybe wish I had held off another 6 months to see what Intel's response to it would be. Then again, with 50TB+ storage in this system, it seems irresponsible to build a system without ECC memory.
I'm thinking that by the time NVIDIA have new GPUs out, I may end up keeping this as a server/workstation (it flies for things like video editing) and build an Intel system for gaming.

[Manfred]

My PC has an Haswell i7. First I had MC running on the i7 with DDR3-1600.

The difference between my new i3-6100 DDR-2133 and the i7 was that the latency between MC and my Devialet with the i3 and DDR-2133 RAM was reduced from 100ms to 50 ms. Lipsysnc is almost perfect.
If you often want to rebuild all Thumbnails or other global replacement task on the library server an higher multi core CPU is better.

i3-6100/7100 and also some Pentium CPU's support ECC Memory.

[Hendrik]

Unless you know you have tasks that can really use the 8 cores, Ryzen probably not the best choice. Most desktop and audio workloads are inherently single-threaded or at least limited in multi-threading (can't just throw threads at all things, sometimes it just doesn't benefit it). The only of your tasks that would benefit from as many cores as it can get is video decoding, but its not like its "required" to handle Blu-ray content, a quad-core is enough for that (and of course you can off-load that to the GPU as well).

So for a new multimedia system, I would probably wait for one of Intels 8000 series six cores. The i5s will probably be quite affordable, or as RD James suggested using one of the i3 quad-cores which are coming out, which should be really great budget options.

[Trumpetguy]

Thanks for really good advice, it was as I expected, really. The current rig does the job with convolution and ROHQ with some headroom to spare. Now I know better how to prioritize when it eventually needs more muscle. E.g. the day the HD projector is replaced by a 4K and/or HDR projector.

[username2013]

I found this site as very helpful in getting most performance for your dollar in building a PC in general.

http://www.userbenchmark.com/

I don't know which CPU or components would be best for your media PC but I believe you would want a CPU/components that can run a cool as possible because the more fans you need the louder the PC gets.  And you want the PC to be a silent as possible.  I suppose overclocking the CPU would not be recommended because that will create a lot more heat and need for more fans.