Best Microprocessor for SmartSDR?

Jim KJ3P

Nine years ago I put together a fine mid-tower PC, for the explicit purpose of running SmartSDR and its "helper" apps, along with audio editing software as well. At that time, I chose an ASUS Pro Gaming ATX motherboard with an Intel Core i7-6700 processor, even though I don't do gaming. Probably way more power than I needed, but in all that time, it has served me well and has never faltered. However, it's still running Win10 because the motherboard is not compatible with Win11's Core Isolation requirements.

Due to this stellar experience, I'll probably get another ASUS motherboard to handle Win11, with SmartSDR in mind. But since I haven't really kept up with processor chips, a question (again, with SmartSDR in mind): Are there any microprocessors that I should favor? Any I should avoid? How about AMD's Ryzen 7? Intel's Core i9?

The collected wisdom of this group would be most appreciated.

—Jim KJ3P

Gord-VA7GP

I was like you - I had an i7-6xxx which couldn't accept Win11 (without hoops). I moved that to become my daily-Linux machine, and it's been great.

For a new SmartSDR machine, I got a Craigslist i7-10 Dell 5090 SFF and Win11 Pro installed perfectly. I like that Dell has the Activation Key stuff built-onto the motherboard - makes fresh installations hassle-free.

But more to your point: my son desired a new gaming PC, and we found the best ****-for-buck was Ryzen 9 5900X, combined with ASUS Prime B550-Plus motherboard. In his case, it excels at 144Hz 4k VR.

My last point for you to ponder: SmartSDR doesn't require much processing. But other stuff will! In my specific case, my logger (Log4OM) will periodically download solar data, and invoke VOACAP to predict paths, MUFs etc, and THIS loads my PC. FLDIGI can also add to the load. But at no time does my i7-10 use more the 25% of the CPU, so if you're sticking with ham-applications only, I think you'll be fine with anything modern.

Summary: Dell SFF desktops (and perhaps HP, others?) offer a painless path to Win11 with enough power. For overkill :-) last-year's hottest CPUs and motherboards are fantastic value, and who doesn't love 12-cores (24 threads) :-) with 32GB and m.2 for ~$500

Happy New Year 2025!

Neil D Friedman N3DF

Consider a Mac. SmartSDR for Mac is great.

ka9ees

@Jim KJ3P I'm using an I5 8600K that was running win10. I used the program Rufus to upgrade to Win11. Easy Peasy!

Jim KJ3P

Thanks, guys. On my way to Microcenter for an ASUS/AMD bundled motherboard.

Mike-VA3MW

What slows a computer down with SmartSDR is:

• Screen size - full HD or wider will slow down a computer in a hurry. The solution is to make sure you have an advanced video card. Laptops often come with underpowered video cards as do less expensive desktops.
• Multiple versions of FT8/4 decoding at the same time. If you computer is close to being on the edge, watch the DT times go long during your decoding cycle.

73

John KB4DU

SmartSDR is a very lightweight client. It’s all the other stuff that needs more power. Until I retired it, I was running smartsdr on a i5 win 7 laptop. Worked well.

Jim KJ3P

OK…I bought a Win11Pro 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12400, 2.50 GHz (desktop). Works like a charm with FT8, ACLog, email, and a couple of other utilities running simultaneously. Didn't need a "gamer" super-duper machine after all! Thanks everybody for your input!

Dan Trainor

Consider a Mac. SmartSDR for Mac is incredible. Many more features and functions than the windows version . And higher quality, speed and reliability.

bahillen

One of the key hardware components is the RAM. If doing FT8 with multiple WSJT instances and JTAlert 32 Gb with high speed performance is important. DDR5-6000.

My processor is a Ryzen 9 7900X. 12 core processor.

Get an inexpensive video card that can save a lot of money. I believe.

I got the AMD but probably would be better off with Intel as I think my past computers with Intel were more stable. My computer and station is on 24/7.

I use 4 WSJT-x instances with JT alert that is a lot of processing when the bands are very busy.
My previously radio computer was a Dell with I7 7700. It was good with two or three instances. But went over 100% during decoding and especially JTAlert processing. The reason I upgraded.

I always keep an eye on Task Manager that tells the tail. It appears like as the CPU approaches 70% it quickly goes up to 100%, as I theorize it starts doing added processing to handle the high processing.

The AMD was my first computer build and friends helped me with getting it set up. It was fun most of the time but also some frustration. I hate buying things twice so I tend to favor identifying the important components and go for performance.

The results have been impressive.

73

Bill W9JJB

Neil D Friedman N3DF

your best bet is any recent Mac.

Mike-VA3MW

That is you are a MAC person. For older retired hams, jumping from Windows to a MAC is not a trivial jump.

And, it comes with a different set of challenges like a lack of DAX and a large number of ham radio windows programs that run on a MAC.

It is a very personal jump. Personally, I use both Windows and MAC and I find the MAC the most frustrating computer device I own, especially if I need to debug something.