Theoretical build for video encoding

[killazys]

Well hello Anandtech, first post here... be nice?

This is mainly a processor discussion, but I put it here because I will be talking about GPU, case, and build cost comparisons. And asking for someone to benchmark Interlagos ^^.

So I recently built a 2600K/GTX 570 gaming/encoding rig. I'm supremely happy with it, but some conversations with some fellows has my eyes set on using dual server processors, server mobo, and ATX full tower case for my next build.

In terms of cost, let's look at Interlagos 8-core, specifically the 6212:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819113026
If we get two of these, the total cost will be around $560, which is $240 over what the 2600K is going for on Newegg.

Assuming that both end users get Noctua heatsinks for their respective chipsets, I factor in the cost of one heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835608022. That's $77.

Only one motherboard here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131643, $430. It's more than double the price of the P8Z68-V PRO/GEN 3, $210.

Let's assume we both get the same ATX full tower case (as the mobo has the same dimensions as E-ATX), etc etc etc.

At the end of the day, I spend $537 more to get double the processing power, according to Cinebench R11 benchmarks. And in 7zip compression testing, 2600K scores 4611KB/s vs. Interlagos' 25.6.. GB/s.

This rig would probably end up at around $2000 when paired with a GTX 570 or similar graphics card, 16GB RAM, SSD, and extra case fans.

My question is, why aren't more people doing this? Discussion? Do you guys think it's worth it?

PS. I'm looking for x264 2nd-pass benchmarks for dual interlagos.

 

[fffblackmage]

Not many people think it's worth it, obviously.

No home user would need such a rig, but mostly, I don't think most people want to spend $1k+ for video encoding.

 

[mfenn]

A 2.6Ghz dual-Interlagos rig would be a pretty piss poor desktop system just from a performance point of view, not to mention the heat, size, and noise. A 2P 16-core (really dual quad module, but who's counting?) Interlagos system will have great throughput for the buck, but the single-threaded performance sucks, especially at a low 2.6GHz clock speed. That's why you don't see many people recommending Bulldozer (same architecture).

I could see building one as a dedicated render box that can be stuffed into a closet, basement, telecom room, etc. but they are server processors for a reason.

 

[killazys]

mfenn, would the single thread performance be noticeable in day-to-day use?

 

[mfenn]

Do you mean, "would the lack of single-threaded performance be noticeable in day-to-day use?". IMHO, yes. A 3.6 GHz Bulldozer core is already 20% slower than a 3.4 GHz Sandy Bridge core. A 2.6 GHz core will be only slightly more than half as fast.

 

[killazys]

How do you feel about Piledriver?

 

[nickb64]

How do you feel about Piledriver?

I don't think anyone can give anything other than wild speculation on that, but AMD's recent CPUs don't give me a lot of hope, which is unfortunate.

 

[Icecold]

I had priced out 2 of these for a similar video encoding / VM server / etc. machine with a crazy amount of ram awhile back, but at the end of the day couldn't justify it. Instead I run 2 Phenom X6 machines w/ 16gb of ram each and a Phenom X4 machine and saved quite a bit of money in the process.

 

[mfenn]

I don't think anyone can give anything other than wild speculation on that, but AMD's recent CPUs don't give me a lot of hope, which is unfortunate.

:thumbsup: I think that AMD is falling inexorably behind Intel. Which really sucks because we need a strong competitor. Maybe the new high clockspeed ARM chips will be worthy competitors?