Which CPU for Video Encoding?

[GeorgiaPeach]

I'm using a Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8GHz Conroe and it works just fine for everything but HD video encoding. It encodes HD okay, but my computer slows down enough to interfere with my multitasking; for example, watching reruns of 21 Jump Street on Hulu.

So, would the Pentium DC E6500 or Core 2 Duo E7600 eliminate the lag? I've found attractive prices for both CPU's, and lean towards the E6500 because at $70 I can also buy a more up-to-date GPU. But I am concerned that by going for the E6500 I'd be going backwards, since it's not a C2D (but does that really mean anything considering their specs are nearly identical?). My ideal budget is under $150, but I can stretch it to $200 max if need be.

Switching to the AMD or i3/i5/i7 platforms is not an option. I don't have the funds to change everything out at once, and I don't need to have the latest and greatest. Thanks in advance!

 

[EnzoLT]

q9550 if you can find it for less than $180

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

I just did a quick search and the lowest price I saw was $215 before S/H.

In my reading, I've seen many people suggest the Q9550. It seems to be the latest "it" CPU. I don't doubt it's a great processor, but are there no 8000-series quads (w/ virtualization) that would suit me just as well, and be more affordable? What about my question? Will the E6500 or C2D E7500 eliminate the sluggishness? Thanks for your help!

q9550 if you can find it for less than $180

 

[alyarb]

This is the best you can do for the money, especially if you know how to overclock.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=Q93...4d634d98f960f0

 

[EnzoLT]

yeah u can take alyarb's suggestion and oc it. i suggested a quad because its the way to go for video encoding without a new platform and a q9550 just has the right balance. go around forums and you are bound to find one, if not, make a wtb thread.

i think i answered your question about the e6500/e7600 with this. pretty much video encoding = quad core.

 

[boomhower]

Get a quad. Their is a Q9550 in the classifieds now for $170. Heck I would go with a Q6600 over another dual.

 

[zerocool84]

Q9550 $170 new Microcenter and 2 in ATL area.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0299412

 

[Jd007]

Actually if the only CPU intensive thing you do is video encoding, you can consider getting an add-on card for it, like the WinFast PxVC1100 video transcoding card. Here's a recent review of it; it's much faster than even an i7 920 (and that's with the CPU almost completely loaded to do the transcoding, whereas using the card CPU usage is much less). You can pick it up for $185 on Newegg.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Thank you all for your responses! I have some more questions...

I'm thrifty and want to get the most for my money, so I took a look at AMD. The reason I initially didn't want to switch platforms to AMD is because I knew I'd have to also get a new mobo, and I thought I'd also need to get new RAM. But when I took a look at some AMD mobos, I saw that I could use the DDR2 RAM that I already had, which is great, but I also didn't think about the mobo/CPU combos from places like Newegg. :lightbulb:

So, I went and checked out Newegg specifically for AMD components, and they have some CPU/mobo combos for triple and quad core AMDs, at prices low enough that I can also buy a new case if none of the mobos will fit in my mid-tower (will they?) OR upgrade my video card (I also do photography and it's not spiffy enough for some Photoshop CS4 features) and stay under $200.

So, my next question is, do you think these combinations are good:

#1 - $131.98
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 Rana 2.7GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core (Model ADX425WFGIBOX)
Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315894


# 2 - $134.98
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core (Model ADX435WFGIBOX)
Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315857


#3 - $134.98 w/ $10 MIR => $124.98 final
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core (Model ADX435WFGIBOX)
Mobo: ASUS M4A77D AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315754


#4 - $155.98
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core (Model ADX620WFGIBOX)
Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315856


#5 - $168.98 w/ $10 MIR => $158.98 final
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 360 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core (Model ADX630WFGIBOX)
Mobo: ASUS M4A77D AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.315752

If these aren't good combinations, what can you suggest? Can ATX or Micro ATX mobos go into a Mid-tower case? If not, no worries, the case needs to be replaced, anyway. Also, what would be a good PCI-e video card for under $60? I currently have XFX Nvidia GeForce 6200 PCI-e 128MB (512 support) w/ TurboCache. THANK YOU.

 

[fffblackmage]

It certainly sounds like what you want is a quad core. I believe the AMD 785G is newer than the 770, but other than that, I don't know what improvements it has or what new features it can offer. And yes, microatx can fit in any atx case (just not the other way around).

 

[heyheybooboo]

Here is the Antec Three Hundred case with free shipping for $52 with code EMCYZNT57.

If you have a decent s775 motherboard the MC Q9550 for $170 would be a good move ---- don't have to reinstall the OS.

The AMD combos are looking good this week, too. Take a look at the 785g chipset over the 770 ---- something like the Gigabyte A-MA785GM-US2H / x4 Propus 620.

The onboard video of the 785g would pretty much smash the GeForce 6200.




--

 

[aclim]

no point going amd. Keep your current board and get a quad. Intels preform better in this area anyway

 

[soccerballtux]

I think #5 is a good deal.

 

[Cogman]

no point going amd. Keep your current board and get a quad. Intels preform better in this area anyway

This, you already have an LGA775 board, why swap it out?

 

[pukemon]

Doesn't look like the OP's current mobo supports 1333FSB or 45nm CPUs so that rules out newer C2Q...

 

[nyker96]

if you doing heavy duty encoding work you need to get yourself a daughter card just for it:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/leadtek-winfast-pxvc1100,2523.html

winfast PxVC1100 is a Cell CPU on a card tuned for nothing but h264 encoding jobs. check it out. No need to dump so much cash on the rest of the machine and it's extremely power efficient for encoding jobs. As long as you got a PCIe 1x slot open. I think with this card your current machine can beat up a i7 in encoding jobs.

 

[EnzoLT]

yeah, just get a q6600/q8xxx/q9xxx and be done with it. no point of going AMD as thats actually a slight downgrade/sidegrade compared to when you just get an intel quad for the lga775 you already have.

 

[tweakboy]

Listen to enzolt . Your 1.8 dual core will blow up on rendering heavy stuff.. gl

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

It does. I'm running bios 2101 and it supports all the quads except the two revisions of the Q8400 and the Q9505. I'd have to upgrade my bios to 2104 if I wanted to use one of those three, but ASUS's bios update utility is very easy to use. Thanks for you help.

Doesn't look like the OP's current mobo supports 1333FSB or 45nm CPUs so that rules out newer C2Q...

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

LOL! Then it's a good thing I haven't progressed past video blogging, yet. :biggrin:

Listen to enzolt . Your 1.8 dual core will blow up on rendering heavy stuff.. gl

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Cool, thanks. I was wondering why the Q6600 was so popular (and expensive) in comparison to other quads, but when I checked out the specs and saw the amount of L2 cache, I knew why, LOL.

yeah, just get a q6600/q8xxx/q9xxx and be done with it. no point of going AMD as thats actually a slight downgrade/sidegrade compared to when you just get an intel quad for the lga775 you already have.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

I'll definitely bookmark info about that card for future reference. But, for right now, I'm nowhere near needing something like that. At this point, I'm only video blogging and learning how to use editing software like Vegas Movie Studio and Premiere Pro CS4. It'll be awhile before I get into heavy duty encoding, but thanks for your help!

if you doing heavy duty encoding work you need to get yourself a daughter card just for it:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/leadtek-winfast-pxvc1100,2523.html

winfast PxVC1100 is a Cell CPU on a card tuned for nothing but h264 encoding jobs. check it out. No need to dump so much cash on the rest of the machine and it's extremely power efficient for encoding jobs. As long as you got a PCIe 1x slot open. I think with this card your current machine can beat up a i7 in encoding jobs.

 

[aigomorla]

Cool, thanks. I was wondering why the Q6600 was so popular (and expensive) in comparison to other quads, but when I checked out the specs and saw the amount of L2 cache, I knew why, LOL.

Yorkfields > Kentsfield

Yorkfields = Q9450, Q9550, Q9650 QX9650 QX9770 X3300 series.

Kentsfield = Q6600, QX6700, X3200 series.

Yorkfields are FASTER then kentsfield clock per clock.

Yorkfields also are cooler then kentsfield clock per clock.

Yorkfields are the tock cycle while kentsfield was the tick cycle.. so get a yorksfield, and not kentsfield.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Thanks.

no point going amd. Keep your current board and get a quad. Intels preform better in this area anyway

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Thank you! This is good to know.

Yorkfields > Kentsfield

Yorkfields = Q9450, Q9550, Q9650 QX9650 QX9770 X3300 series.

Kentsfield = Q6600, QX6700, X3200 series.

Yorkfields are FASTER then kentsfield clock per clock.

Yorkfields also are cooler then kentsfield clock per clock.

Yorkfields are the tock cycle while kentsfield was the tick cycle.. so get a yorksfield, and not kentsfield.