PC spec for specific purposes.

redline · 14 Jul 2011 at 12:38

Hi... after five years plus with my existing system [AMD X2 3800 - skt 939 mobo - 2GB PC400 - Win XP 32] I really need to update to something that will handle my current needs, which is predominately Video Editing and rendering, and Flight Simulation, with FSX and many add-ons.

I'm a little out of the current hardware loop, so only put the below together based on price and some thoughts regarding my uses.

Is it correct that video rendering [using Vegas HD10] will benefit from the extra cores of the AMD CPU? at the moment it is almost impossible to edit and render on my current PC ... FSX is said to utilize multiple cores [upto 256. lol] for terrain loading, so also hope this may work better, than a generally faster, more efficient, Intel part.

I would welcome any opinions on the above, and also the spec below... will all that work together? and have I selected the best parts in terms of price v performance?

Also looking for some future proofing potential with the Bulldozer CPU [?]... and perhaps get back into some gaming.

Thanks in advance...

AMD Phenom x6 1090T 3.2ghz
Antec CP 850W PSU
Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 PCI-Express ATX Motherboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit – OEM
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Akasa Raptor Gaming Case – Black
2 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache – OEM
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) – OEM
nVidia 9800Gt 1gb … from existing system, just for the time being.

Tot inc VAT and Del = £636.90

olivier renault · 14 Jul 2011 at 13:17

I'm thinking this instead

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £155.99
Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99
Antec High Current Gamer 620W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £62.39
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Samsung SH-S222AL/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £101.90
Total : £611.40

*Only one HD*

Difficult to say with Bulldozer, since they haven't surfaced yet. Worth waiting a bit, they are (alledgedly) out in August. But then, wouldn't be suprised if they get delayed yet again.

BTW the Antec CP PSU only works in some selected Antec cases.

Moothead2 · 14 Jul 2011 at 13:20

If you can wait, wait for Bulldozer benchmarks to come out. If you want it now then go for a 2600k setup similar to the one above. You will likely benifit from the hyperthreading from the 2600k.

shadow_boxer · 14 Jul 2011 at 13:34

Just to add that FSX is much better with Intel CPUs than AMD's offerings generally. There is no proven benefit of hyperthreading with FSX as it only sees physical cores but remember the higher clock speed you can get the better! With an i5 2500K (and improved graphics card at a later date) you will see considerably better performance than you get right now!

Also unless you need the features of a Z68 board then a cheaper P67 alternative would be fine too. Lucid Virtu may be of some use as those 9800GTs use a fair amount of power at idle!

redline · 14 Jul 2011 at 13:40

Thanks guys I appreciate the help... need this sooner rather than later, really... so not sure if I can wait for Bulldozer results.

So, the consensus is there is no benefit from having more physical cores, for applications that use them [if they do so properly]? that the Intel architecture with four cores, will outweigh any benefit of the X6 AMD?

Video editing has to be the primary concern at the end of the day, so I want the best for that.

"BTW the Antec CP PSU only works in some selected Antec cases"

Thanks for HU on that

Oh, and BTW the second HDD listed is a separate one for FSX and scenery packages.

olivier renault · 14 Jul 2011 at 13:46

Z68 supports Intel QuickSync, which offers a generous boost in some video encoding applications.

The 2500K outperforms any AMD six cores.

If you need even more balls, the 2600K will give you more performance in video and image processing.

Both 2500K and 2600K overclock easily to 4.2-4.4GHz.

I would take a decent motherboard if you plan on overclocking. The GD65 (with Hyper 212+ cooler) is a good deal, but I'd take a Asrock Extreme 4 for the same price, with QuickSync support. Then you need extra for the cooler. Any cooler above the Freezer 7 pro will do well over 4 GHz overclock.

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £155.99
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £139.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99
Antec High Current Gamer 620W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £62.39
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £43.99
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Samsung SH-S222AL/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £107.57
Total : £645.40

The Antec HCG 620W PSU has plenty of power for single card setups, up to GTX 580. For a few quids more, you have the XFX 650W, with 4 PCIE connectors and potential XFire/SLI support (6870 / 6950 / 560ti).

redline · 14 Jul 2011 at 14:03

Okay, brilliant thank you very much... I will take your advice and recompile my list based on yours... £650 is my limit, but it looks like I'll get a very decent machine for my needs with that.

Cheers... Mark