questions about a64 s939 w/ sse3

[wfn]

Hi,

My main thing is video editing and encoding and i'm running intel atm (i know, i know, my other 2 boxes are XP-Ms so I shouldn't be completely discredited). I've read about the upcoming a64 s939 with sse3 instructions. The encoders i have to use on daily basis are cinemacraft and canopus procoder. I'm switching back to amd for my main box and my question is, should i upgrade now or wait for the new batch of a64 (which according to the cpu guide should arrive before summer)? will sse3 make that big of an impact for the a64 platform? anyone have any idea how soon the new a64s will hit the shelves? Thank you!

 

[MobiusPizza]

The SEE3 instruction support for AMD has yielded virutally no performance gain. For video editing Intel is still the better choice. For any other usage AMD is the better choice. The new core does have nice bug fixes for its memory controller and increased potential for overclocking.

If you are frequent on video editing I'd say stick to intel. Xbitlabs have benchmarks on the new AMD core.

 

[MDE]

If your encoding programs are multithreaded, wait for dual core CPUs if you have to have AMD.

 

[wfn]

Thank you for clearing this up for me, guys.

@AnnihilatorX: do you think the bugfixes for the memory controller warrant the wait (and if so how long do you think it'll take till they're out)?

I need to upgrade soon because the main problem I have with Intel is overheating and I've already mutilated my case and tried extra fans and it still runs at ~60C under full load. The performance is good but surprisingly the stability is not there. I went from an overclocked L12 modded Athlon XP-M 2500+ @ 2200MHz on AN7 being rock stable for over a year to an Intel 3.0GHz on i915. Iimmediately I had a plethora of power issues (even with a 400W enermax PSU), cooling problems and motherboard design problems (fan header burned out, layout is crap--can't use all pci slots). Now I have to keep the case open because my video card is sitting next to the chipset with a passive cooler which is in turn so close the actual cpu there is a giant heatspot.

 

[TomKazansky]

the new venice w/ sse3 is really about increasing it's max oc....not that the sse3 is giving it a lot more performance compare to winnnies

 

[andy nowotny]

the E3 A64 with SSE3 has powerful oc ability than winchester