Is it worth getting an AM3, Phenom core 6 3.2 over an Intel for video editing?

[backtothefuture]

Per title really,

not sure whether to opt for Intel i7 950 or AMD X6 3.2 black edition.

Primary usage would be video editing, net surfing and casual gaming (and odd HD movies) and encoding...

Are the AM3 mobos going to be superseded soon?

Also seen that new Intel processors are due in Jan...

confused what to go for!



Got a budget of approx £800 for a video editing rig, for Mobo, RAM, PSU, HDDs (need at least 1 TB RAID 0) and possibly a SSD for vid editing? (already got sound card, Graphics and old case)

thanks

 

[Lemin]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/benchmarks,112.html

Id got intel, but new kit may drive prices down in Jan.

 

[cmndr_andi]

If you can wait - I would really hang on until January 9th, when the new Intel CPUs arrive. For CPU heavy tasks like video editing and encoding they should be top-dog- have a look at this preview that includes benchmarks. Also, they look like they overclock very well - so long as you go for a K series.

 

[Brian8bit]

It depends on how much you're willing to spend for encoding and rendering video a few seconds faster or giving a few more FPS in games.

 

[backtothefuture]

hm ook might as well wait, thanks...

 

[backtothefuture]

Will the SB cores be compatible with existing x58 Mobos?

 

[cmndr_andi]

Will the SB cores be compatible with existing x58 Mobos?

Unfortunately no.

The new sandy bridge CPUs (the ones coming out in January) will require brand new LGA 1155 motherboards and will not be compatible with either X58 (LGA 1366) or P55/H55/H57 (LGA 1156) motherboards.

These new motherboards are starting to crop up even now and will certainly be released by the time the CPUs come out in early January.

 

[backtothefuture]

still got the upgrade itch...trying to tide myself over till the new year but here is what I have put in my basket for a (theoretical) video editing system...what do you guys think...

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1090T Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) -
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9)
Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair HX 750W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-750HXUK)
2 x Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid SATA-II 2.5" 7200RPM 32MB
Thermaltake Frio CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3)
Akasa BayMaster Card & Drive Reader (AK-ICR-10)
2 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM
Boogie Bug AimB.Pad XL Gaming Mouse Surface Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)

 

[backtothefuture]

ok it seems that the sandybridge mobos are out...however not sure of the principal difference of h67 vs p67 (the latter are reasonably more expensive)...anyone have an idea?

there don't seem to be any CPUs in stock (for Sandybridge) at themoment...anyone know an ETA?

 

[Marine-RX179]

It depends on how much you're willing to spend for encoding and rendering video a few seconds faster or giving a few more FPS in games.

Em...video encoding/rendering aside...since when did Phenom II ever deliver higher frame rate than i5/i7, let alone Sandybridge?

backtothefuture, have a look at the following:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/03/intel-sandy-bridge-review/7
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/03/intel-sandy-bridge-review/8
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/03/intel-sandy-bridge-review/10

 

[Orcvader]

They will be out on the 9th.
P67 boards are better as you can overclock on them if I'm right.

 

[DragonQ]

P67 = Overclocking
H67 = IGP
Z68 = IGP + Overclocking

 

[cmndr_andi]

backtothefuture, do you think you will make use of Intel's new "Quick Sync Video" technology?

It allows extremely fast video transcoding (have a look here and here). Unfortunately it is limited to the H67 boards at the moment (though the overclockable Z68 boards do support the tech, but aren't out until Q2).

 

[backtothefuture]

hi,
no not really, it seems its limited to two channels audio and no higher quality to h264 (at least for the timebeing)..

will IGP give me a gaming boost graphics wise in addition to a separate graphics card? e.g. if I get a Rad 5870, will it be 'faster' with IGP vs without? (e.g. if I go for P67)

 

[cmndr_andi]

Ah, that's a shame

As for boosting graphics with the IGP + discrete card, it doesn't work with the SB system. When you insert a discrete graphics card the IGP is bypasses and put into a low-power state.

Therefore you will definitely be wanting a P67 board (SB boards and CPUs are now available from OCUK).

 

[backtothefuture]

P67 = Overclocking
H67 = IGP
Z68 = IGP + Overclocking

Both the H67 and P67 boards are advertised as socket 1155

the Sandybridge chips are advertised with either HD2000 or HD3000 graphics.

So if they are used on the P67 (as they are socket 1155) wouldn't that be OC+IGP?

how would the Z68 differ?

 

[cmndr_andi]

The P67 has no way of accessing the CPU's graphics chip (there is no VGA/DVI/HDMI connections for one thing). So technically there will be an IGP running on the CPU - but it is totally bypasses and unused.

The Z68 on the other hand does connect the board fully to the IGP - so you can run displays off the IGP using this board. Since this board also allows you to overclock (which the H67 doesn't) then this will be the ideal board for people doing CPU heavy, graphics light work (like video encoding/number crunching) who will want to overclock to get more CPU performance - but don't need/want a discrete GPU.

 

[backtothefuture]

ah ok thanks, well I guess the P67 is the board for me as I'd like some flexibility with a dedicated graphics card (for casual gaming etc..)..

think I'll hold off for a couple of months and see how the Sandybridge CPUs pan out as they have barely been launched and just saw a thread on a potential failure!