CPU + Motherboard

aidman · 7 Jan 2007 at 15:07

Hello guys,

I'm interested to hear what is recommended. I'm in need of a new setup, but unlike most I'm *not* a pc gamer (i have an xbox 360 for that), so I don't require something overly graphically powered (i'd have thought!).

I have a dual monitor setup running of a dual dvi geforce 6800

My main usage of the computer is:

* Video Editing, Encoding, Burning
* Photoshop, Dreamweaver (and the like)
* Downloading, Decompressing (winrar, quickpar) etc

I'm really after something that'll suit my needs and speed up my system when encoding and to that matter when i'm decompressing downloads. I'm regually encoding video to dvd and it takes a silly amount of time each time I need to perform the task... its even worse when you find you've made a typo on a dvd menu and have to start again (aka 2am this morning lol).

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Aidman :cool:

Tetras · 7 Jan 2007 at 15:28

Budget?

b.cummins · 7 Jan 2007 at 15:38

The cheapest Sli platform is easily AM2, but the best processor for video editing etc is definitely conroe..

If I were you, i'd get one of the new sli conroe boards, the cheapest, and then work your way up from there.

This is what I came up with here at OcUK:

MSI P6N nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
£176.24 Inc VAT
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
£215.01 Inc VAT
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
£173.89 Inc VAT
and 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 160GB ST3160811AS SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM
@£82.22 Inc VAT. (the intention here is to build a RAID 0 array)

Altogether, you've got the ultimate video editing build, without needing to change ** GPU/monitor setup, at a cost of £647.37 which I hope is in your budget. If you've got a bit more I'd consider getting a single 150gb WD Raptor, and a larger storage drive of your choice, if you don't mind the noise!

Tetras · 7 Jan 2007 at 16:49

I'd recommend 7200.10s over Raptors, excellent performance for regular drives (admittedly slower than a Raptor) and for SLI consider the new Asus P5N-E SLI 650i (LGA775) which is roughly half the price of the 680i boards (around £70) and has pretty good write ups so far.

Reviews:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI0OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
http://techgage.com/article/asus_p5n-e_sli

Preview:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2894

Board thread here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17668494

b.cummins · 7 Jan 2007 at 17:46

fair enough.. the boards arent here on OcUK.. anyone know why?

aidman · 7 Jan 2007 at 18:28

Budget wise, I don't mind spending more... Simply because my current rig is in reality costing me money in lost time... I could push up to £1000.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, motherboard wise is MSI anygood... with regards to the asus board, is the cheaper board better than the more expensive boards in the OCUK shop?

Aidman.

b.cummins · 7 Jan 2007 at 18:32

tbh with you asus are a hell of a lot better if u dont mind forking out a bit more for the asus board (or less) for the cheaper chipset. If you are up budget i'd suggest going with some raptors. I'll see what I can come up with

WJA96 · 7 Jan 2007 at 18:36

b.cummins said:
fair enough.. the boards arent here on OcUK.. anyone know why?

Not enough margin maybe? If you sell something at £200-235 with 20% profit on it you make £40-£47 on it. 20% profit on a £70 board is £14. What would you rather sell? And, if they have several hundred 680i boards in stock they are hardly going to sell something for 1/3rd the price that outperforms them until they have cleared out all the old stock. Also - it appears that the 650i boards that are in the market at the moment are grey imports.

b.cummins · 7 Jan 2007 at 19:25

hmm fair enough i did wonder it was kinda strange for a while that OcUK practically had no SLI intel boards.

WJA96 · 7 Jan 2007 at 19:31

It's pure speculation on my part though. I'm probably 100% wrong and they will stock them as soon as the boards become available from ASUS Europe.

b.cummins · 7 Jan 2007 at 19:37

OK so here is what I've come up with for £1000 - Plus left the choice of case and PSU up to you.

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB)
Western Digital Raptor X 150GB WD1500AHFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM
Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 NCQ 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - OEM

£973.37 - including postage!