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6 Core or maybe a mob with 2 x 4 Core CPUs?

Rikki

Rikki

Rikki

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Glasgow, Scotland
Hey folks,

Just wondering what would work out better money and performance wise.

I k now the 980x's are mega expensive as are any other 6 cores but am I right in thinking that a mobo with 2 x 4 core CPUs would perform better and cost less?

Im going to be using my new rig for video work in HD and also extensive photography and graphic design work in Photoshop CS5 64bit on Windows 7.

Thanks,

R.
 
More is not always better and in the instances that you have cited I think you might be a tad disappointed with the two socket motheboard. The real question to ask is what software is optimised for multiple cores and specifically how many cores. Once you know that then you can start looking at the hardware side of things.

It is the software that needs to make provision for the multiple cores. Most software does not.
 
I think cs5 will use as many as the os tells it are avail. Same should hold true with latest Vegas 9 pro 64bit.
 
Well to get a 2 x 4 system you would need a server board and server-class processors, these chips are not cheap (here are suitable nahalem/westmere based Xeon chips).

This review shows how the i7 980X compares to a 2x4 system (2 x X5580 - ) as well as many other high-end configurations.

Please also note that these tests are done at stock speeds (W5580 @ 3.2GHz, 980X @ 3.33GHz), if you planned on overclocking then you would expect to take the i7 980X much higher due to the overclocking-friendly X58 boards it uses, while AFAIK most of these dual socket server boards don't come with overclocking options (the EVGA SR-02 does, but its crazy expensive).

Have you considered the AMD Phenom II Hex Cores?

Edit: Please not the above benchmarks are mainly showing rendering tests, this gives a good idea of the relative performance of a CPU in a heavily multithreaded application. However, if your software (specifically photoshop) does not use multiple threads so much then the performance differences will be less marked.
 
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Not all bits of CS5 are multi-core optimised. Also enable HT byt eh way. With CS5 I found having heaps of ram was such a huge boost to my customers production.

The best bet is to go to the software vendors web pages and get the information from the horses mouth so to speak.
 
Core i7 980x with good motherboard/cooler and 12Gb = £1275 approx - 6Core with 6HT @ 3.3Ghz

2 x Xeon E5620, Supermicro X8DAI, 12Gb DDR3 1333 ECC 2 x coolers = £1410 approx 8 core with 8HT @ 2.4Ghz

Also bare in mind that your psu/case will have to be up to scratch for both of them. Soo if your software utilises all the cores/speed you will get 12x3.33Mhz=39.96Ghz for the i7 980x or 38.4Ghz For the Xeons So there is virtually nothing in it really..

i would save the money for the additional cpu etc and get the i7 980x. They are easy to get to 4Ghz if you are willing to OC... With the Extra money you could go to 24Gb ram (Which CS5 loves) or a quadro card that will give you the best performance and drivers for that software...
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone, definately food for thought.

I tend to upgrade every 3 years and its now time to look around. Currently got a Q6600 rig OC'd to 3.4GHz with 4GB of ram under XP. 3 years ago Vista or a 64bit OS wasnt really an option but things have matured.

The design and video work isnt a full time business so I dont have top dollar to throw at a system hence asking if I could cheat it out by throwing 2 smaller chips in there. I didnt know they had to be of a certain class to co-work.

Having looked into things a bit more over the last few days Im wondering if I should hold out longer and see what the Q1 processors will bring, the new Sandy Bridge ones or if I should go for a new system as I'd wanted to in around a months time.

Thanks,

R
 
If you can afford it go i7 970 (over £100 cheaper than the 980x and most will do 4Ghz) X58a-UD3R and 12Gb of memory. You shouldnt have ANY problems with that setup with your software and should definately last you a few years... ;)
 
Thanks, I'll start working out money just now ... One other Q ... How good is Win 7 64bit? Just got it in the office and using it with IE8 seems like it crashes more than my old XP SP3 box :S
 
Rikki said:
Thanks, I'll start working out money just now ... One other Q ... How good is Win 7 64bit? Just got it in the office and using it with IE8 seems like it crashes more than my old XP SP3 box :S
Click to expand...

Windows 7 64 is a superb piece of work. IE8... well, I never use it :p

I'd say for the money an i7 950, 12GB RAM and an SSD for boot/apps and a moderate overclock is the way forward. The lack of HT in the Phenom X6 and the lower performance/clock/core make the i7 a better choice in a wider range of situations. The 6 core Intel chips are too expensive, unless render time is worth a significant amount of money to your business. Just my 2p
 
what about a 1055t with a decent air cooler (titan fenrir evo), 12gig ram and an ssd boot drive. Clock the 1055t and you have a 6 core processor at 3.8 that would work out considerably cheaper than the 980x, a little cheaper than the i7 950 option and would perform better in those few programs that do make use of all 6 cores.
 
barney magru said:
what about a 1055t with a decent air cooler (titan fenrir evo), 12gig ram and an ssd boot drive. Clock the 1055t and you have a 6 core processor at 3.8 that would work out considerably cheaper than the 980x, a little cheaper than the i7 950 option and would perform better in those few programs that do make use of all 6 cores.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly new to both AM3 boards and overclocking, but aren't AM3 board only dual channel? If so that makes 12GB an odd amount doesn't it? Surely you'd go 8GB or 16GB.
Also isn't it harder to overclock when you're using more RAM sticks (due to strain on the memory controller), which presumably you'd need to to get 12GB.

Only a minor details really I guess though as the basic principle of the idea still stands.
 
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