DVD Encoding Spec?

Tricky

Tricky

Tricky

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Joined
2 Mar 2003
Posts
129
Hi
Long time since I was here but I remembered where the best advice comes from.
Just started to use Handbrake to encode some DVD's into an iPad 2 format but was horrified to see my old system was going to take around 18 hours to encode a 30 minute episode.
I didn't realise my old PC was so out of spec:
DFI nFoce 4 motherboard,
AMD Athlon 3200+ 2 GHz cpu,
1 GB RAM,
Radeon X800 graphics card

Anyway, I don't play games on this machine anymore just need it to do encoding and a few other cpu/memory intensive tasks.
I don't want to spend more than £300 on components if possible, can you please spec me a machine within this budget?
I presume I can get away with CPU, motherboard, RAM?
I'm using Windows XP at the moment which limits the RAM I suppose?

Many thanks

Tricky
 
Thanks for the reply.
I'm not at home so can't check out the PSU but I know it was top spec when I bought it. I remember checking out the current ratings for all the lines to see which was best for overclocking.
I could upgrade to Windows 7 but that adds another £100 to the cost.
I might try using my Dell XPS laptop to see if that's faster. Windows 7 64 bit with an i5 dual core CPU. I was trying to avoid using my laptop as experience has told me that these program's sometimes have a tendency to mess up your system when you really don't need the hassle.
Just as an aside, which type of processor is recommended for encoding?
Dual core, quad core, intel, amd?
Cheers
T
 
Never had any trouble with Handbrake itself. Occasional issues with the programs you need to use before you get to HB...

Your Core i5 will be a lot faster than the Athlon. HB can use as many cores as you have and the faster the processor the quicker your encode.

Just be aware of CPU temperature in your laptop while encoding. It will generate a fair chunk of heat.
 
Exactly what was said above, when it comes to encoding, more cores and raw horsepower is your friend. Running in 64bit encoder mode also increases the speed by about 15-20% IIRC.

Even with its low clocks, due to the efficiency improvements and extra core, the mobile i5 should be quite a bit faster; just watch the heat! The Intels at the moment are faster than the AMD, as the Sandybridge and soon to be Ivybridge is a better overall package than AMDs current Bulldozer design, although when prices, OS revisions, and models change, that might change in the future.
(Bulldozer as it stands isn't as efficient, the potential is there, but its not quite right in it's current iteration)
 
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Can you not use a software that uses CUDA and get yourself a nice nvidia graphics card. there supposed to be rapid in video conversions. i think the more cuda cores the faster
 
This is what I'd buy if I were in your shoes & you are willing to build your own.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.38
(£67.82) £81.38
(£67.82)
Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Alpenföhn Civetta CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1155/AM2/AM2(+)/AM3/FM1) Alpenföhn Civetta CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1155/AM2/AM2(+)/AM3/FM1) £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £231.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £48.12
Total : £288.74
Click to expand...
 
Hi
Interesting system, thank you for your input.
It's been a long time since I last built a system and too be honest I really don't have the energy to gain the knowledge as to which component works with each other. If you're part of the scene it comes naturally but is a steep learning curve when you've been out for some time.
I made a small alteration to your list as I recognise I'll have to go down the Windows 7 route and might as well utilise more memory.

How does this one look now?


Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.38
(£67.82) £81.38
(£67.82)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Alpenföhn Civetta CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1155/AM2/AM2(+)/AM3/FM1) £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
* Sub Total : £316.10
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £65.12
* Total : £390.72

A bit more expensive than first planned but will this encode a movie in under 2 hours say with handbrake?

Many thanks for all of your help.

T
 
Updated with better RAM.

Thanks again for your input.

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.38
(£67.82) £81.38
(£67.82)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £79.98
(£66.65) £79.98
(£66.65)
Crucial Ballistix Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLE2CP4G3D1608DE1TX0CEU) £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Alpenföhn Civetta CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1155/AM2/AM2(+)/AM3/FM1) £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
* Sub Total : £324.44
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £66.79
Total £400.73
 
Tricky said:
A bit more expensive than first planned but will this encode a movie in under 2 hours say with handbrake?
Click to expand...

I'm running a similar system to the one I specced but with 8GB ram, a 128GB SSD & a samsung TB HD. At stock speed it will encode a 2 hour DVD into a 720x405 mpeg4 file in about 15-20 Minutes. It would be quicker if I overclocked (Probably would get the CPU speed up to 4.5) probably cut at at least 5 Minutes off the encoding time. Can't be arsed though. :p
 
Grimley said:
I'm running a similar system to the one I specced but with 8GB ram, a 128GB SSD & a samsung TB HD. At stock speed it will encode a 2 hour DVD into a 720x405 mpeg4 file in about 15-20 Minutes. It would be quicker if I overclocked (Probably would get the CPU speed up to 4.5) probably cut at at least 5 Minutes off the encoding time. Can't be arsed though. :p
Click to expand...

Sounds impressive.
I think I'll go for this although have missed out on the free shipping and reduced VAT now.
Thank you for all of your help.
T
 
I'd check your HDDs first fella. Your original rig could well be using IDE not sata drives. Almost all current mobo's have dropped the IDE connector!

Don't want you to buy this i5 setup and have no way to install the OS as the DVD and HDD can't be hooked up.
 
honosuseri said:
I'd check your HDDs first fella. Your original rig could well be using IDE not sata drives. Almost all current mobo's have dropped the IDE connector!

Don't want you to buy this i5 setup and have no way to install the OS as the DVD and HDD can't be hooked up.
Click to expand...

I know the HDD is SATA will have to check if the DVD's have both connectors though as I'm sure they're connected with IDE cables.
Forgot about that, thank you.
 
Tricky said:
I know the HDD is SATA will have to check if the DVD's have both connectors though as I'm sure they're connected with IDE cables.
Forgot about that, thank you.
Click to expand...

No worries fella. Sometimes we get carried away and forget the basics. What are you watching the rips on?

If you need a DVD drive, you could lower the spec and fit a blu-ray drive in so you could encode HD movies too.

A Llano mobo bundle would be around £150 and they make excellent HTPC builds ;) I'm not suggesting it crunches numbers better than the i5 but it certainly much better than what you have and it's IGP is better than the sandybridge offerings.

Oh I also got into the habit of "dumping" the DVD to my HDD. Then encoding the source video from the HDD rather than the DVD. The HDD reads quicker than the DVD drive incase you wondered why.
 
Tricky said:
I know the HDD is SATA will have to check if the DVD's have both connectors though as I'm sure they're connected with IDE cables.
Forgot about that, thank you.
Click to expand...

Nope, IDE only.
At this rate it would be cheaper to buy my DVD's again through itunes.
 
honosuseri said:
No worries fella. Sometimes we get carried away and forget the basics. What are you watching the rips on?
Click to expand...

Mainly on iPad 2 but will eventually watch the rips on a networked HDTV.

I currently use DVD Decrypter to Rip the DVD's to the HDD before starting the encoding process, works well for me.

Cheers

T
 
Tricky said:
Nope, IDE only.
At this rate it would be cheaper to buy my DVD's again through itunes.
Click to expand...

Well I did suggest the AMD Llano to help keep the price down. You can get the whole mobo bundle for the price of the i5 CPU. Even adding a bluray drive will keep it well in budget.

If I remember right from the anandtech encoding benchmarks the A6 Llano CPU is on par with the i3. The A6 is well under £100 which is the rough price of the i3.

The i5 is a monster of a CPU but you have to pay the premium for that performance.

*EDIT*

You have been a member a good long while but your number of posts is keeping you from qualifying for free delivery I believe. Certainly worth discussing your options to get your posts to 100+ ;)
 
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