Best $150 CPU for video encoding & web surfing.

[grimpr]

Get the FX-6100 and upgrade to a Piledriver FX-8350 8core that will spank at 5ghz when you're ready.

 

[Rickyyy369]

Get the FX-6100 and upgrade to a Piledriver FX-8350 8core that will spank at 5ghz when you're ready.

This is probably what i'll end up doing further down the line if Piledriver turns out to be a significant improvement over BD.

I decided to upgrade my PSU and case also so my new build looks like this:

CPU: AMD FX-6100 @ 4.2ghz+ (hopefully)
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212+ cpu cooler
Mobo: ASRock 970 Extreme3 AM3+ mobo
Memory: 8GB G.skill Ares DDR3-1600
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4830 512mb(from previous build)
PSU: Corsair CX500 V2 500w PSU
HD WD 250GB 7200rpm HDD (from previous build)
Case: Thermaltake Commander White

Total comes to just about $400 with the $15 coupon from superbiiz for the CPU.

I dont think my old PSU would handle the new overclocked FX. It only has a 4-pin CPU power connector and I don't think that would handle the amount of power these chips require at OC speeds. Hopefully Ill get at least 4.2ghz with that cooler without setting the atmosphere on fire with temps. Im sure with whatever oc I get it will still be a huge improvement over my old build. Here it is if you're interested:

Athlon 64 X2 5600+ @ 2.8ghz
Gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 AM2 nForce4 chipset
Radeon HD 4830 512mb
3GB A-Data DDR2-800
Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM HDD
Sony Optiarc DVD-RW
NZXT Trinity mid tower case
NZXT generic 500w PSU (was included with the case)

 

[AE-Ruffy]

used 2500k can be found for $160-180

 

[sequoia464]

You can hit 4200 easy with that 6100. I have one running at 4200 - with turbo enabled it runs at 4700.

CPU at 1.3625 volts; multiplier at 17.5; turbo at 19.5; FSB at 240.

I have all of the power saving features enabled also. I can't do that with my Thuban at high clocks.

 

[HDAmazon]

Intel 2500K is the best choice for price/performance. You might get Micro Center for $150 deal.

 

[Stoneburner]

Ivy bridge will be out in 48 hours. Would be a huge mistake

apparently not.

 

[Maximilian]

I would get a used 2500k over faildozer any day.

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a 460 1GB and youll be set. The x2 will bottleneck, don't know what your using now... you want full frame rates need to upgrade this x2 to a quad or a intel quad of your choice.. gl

The time has come my friends.. its time to retire my old Athlon 64 X2 and move on to something new. We sure have been through a lot together but her age has just become too evident.. the wrinkles in her performance.. too deep. When she hit 115C and crashed after 10 minutes of encoding a movie.. I knew it was time to put her down.

This isn't going to be a very high cost upgrade. I'm looking to spend around $300 total for the cpu, memory, and motherboard, and im willing to allocate a full half of that total for the CPU alone, so im shooting for a cpu of around $150 or less.

In order of importance, I primarily use this pc for encoding movies, web surfing, and the occasional game. I almost never have time to game anymore thats why im not concerned with upgrading the archaic Radeon 4830 that i have in it.

There seems to be about 3 choices:
AMD FX-6100 Six-core
Phenom II X4 975 Quad-core
Core i3-2130 Dual-core

Im not going to be buying an aftermarket cooler with these so overclocking isnt really a concern. I know the 2130 isnt overclockable and the 975 probably is about at the limit that the stock cooler can handle. If I went with the 6100 I would probably see what I could get out of it with the stock cooler, but im not expecting much.

Really what im primarily focused on is video encoding speed. I know that encoding likes more cores and it looks like AMD is willing to give me those cores at a better price, so im actually leaning towards the FX-6100, but I wanted to check with what your opinions are.

Is the woefully better per-core IPC of the core i3 worth it or should i go with the more cores of AMD?

 

[tweakboy]

Get 6 core if its a video rendering you do.. gl gotta OC it nice too, the gurus will help you.

 

[gmaster456]

I'd go with the FX-6100 as well. Sure the i3 is fast per clock, but the FX would crush it in said workloads.

 

[Substantive]

I've got nearly the same senario, I'm about to be crushed under a mountain of encodes and I've been looking at grabbing another system to foist the workload upon. In my area, the following systems are available for $300

1. A highly strung fx4100
2. An HP with a Phenom X6 that has been gutted and rebuilt like the million dollar man
3. Dell PowerEdge with dual E5310 (2x core2 Quad @1.6)
4. Dell PowerEdge with dual E5335 (2x core2 Quad @2.0)

This is pretty much the most I can manage for a sidejob like this, but I can't draw a decisive victor. Please help?

I'm not aware of any program that has support for making VC-1 with GPGPU/Quicksync, but if anybody does please make yourself heard, it could be a game changer for me!

 

[exar333]

Phenom x6 1045T Thuban

 

[exar333]

Avoid BD

 

[pelov]

Aren't we forgetting Quicksync here?

How much use can you get out of quicksync? If you can benefit from it then cores be damned, there would be little reason to buy anything more expensive from Intel or anything AMD at all.

 

[TheRyuu]

Aren't we forgetting Quicksync here?

When I think of video encoding I think of something which I would actually use, x264.

 

[nyker96]

for 150 the best encoding cpu is the tried and true Phe II x6 thuban.