mATX Build for Uni

[Caged]

Ok guys, the time has come where I've realised my laptop isn't cutting it for the kind of things I need to do at uni (video / audio editing, program compiling etc), so I'm building a new rig up.

Now, the problem is I can't really decide what to do, I've selected two possible combinations of motherboard and processor, and really just want opinions on them. You'll notice one is AMD and one is Intel, I know the P4s at the moment aren't up with the AMDs for gaming, but I'm not gaming. I'm doing video encoding / editing and compiling, which is an area in which I think everything is Intel optimised, but feel free to tell me I'm wrong.

Anyways, here are the current two options:

Asus A8N-VM
AMD Athlon64 of some kind. X2 is too expensive, want the best "bang-for-buck" and am very out of touch with the different cores. I understand they have differing levels of cache and things like that, but I won't be overclocking them.

And on the Intel side:

Asus P5LD2-VM
As for the processor, possibly stretching to the Pentium D 820, depending how much money I can divert in the way of this system. I don't have to buy a hard drive for it so I suppose the 820 is an option.

So basically, a Dual-Core 64-bit Intel setup can be had for less money than a Dual-Core 64-bit AMD setup. However, is it worth it, or will an AMD solution take large dumps over the Intel one?

Then of course there is the option of waiting for boards featuring EFI to appear, but I want to build this system over the easter holidays (I get a month off around April time). Will EFI be along then, or will I be waiting much longer for that to happen?

Cheers guys.

 

[semi-pro waster]

I don't know about EFI I'm afraid but for the same amount of cash as you would get your Pentium D 820 you would be looking at an A64 3700 which in single use applications would be considerably better than the P4. I don't think the difference between AMD and Intel in terms of video encoding is anywhere near as great as it was but there may still be optomisations that AMD doesn't have.

If you will be running multiple instances of programs then the dual core of the P4 might be a benefit, otherwise I'd probably go with the A64. I'd wait for more opinions though

 

[Caged]

Thanks for your input, as I understand it the benefits of a dual-core setup will really become apparant once apps start to take advantage of it. From what I can gather the Pentium Ds sit between the A64s and the X2s in terms of performance. Now there may be a chance that in two months the X2 price may drop nicely, but then I'm stil left with the motherboard option, and I consider nVidia chipsets to be the lesser of all the evils on the AMD platform, but still not as good for my sanity as an Intel one would be.

Have they improved since the nForce 2, and are the onboard NICs still gash?