System for Video Editing

I'm assembling a system to do stuff and to edit videos.

I wonder if what I'm planning to get so far is good:

CPU: Athlon 64 X2
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
RAM: 2Gb total of DDR400 Corsair CL2-2-2-5 DIMMs
HDD: dual WD320Gb

Just to add:
I'm planning to get a single-core CPU first, and get the dual-core one when available.
I'm not into games, so game performance is not a concern for me, but video editing/compression is.
I'm not planning to overclock this machine.

It looks like this motherboard was created with a gamer in mind, but since I'm not, I wonder if I should go with this motherboard as opposed to some else.

I'm looking for a general advice on this system. Is it good as is, or would you replace something ?

no current a64 cpu will support dual-cpu's. for that you will need to get some opteron cpu's. also, for video editing, pentium really is much better than amd is, though i'm not sure if that translates to xeon's being better at it than opteron's...

I think what he is referring to is the upcoming dual core offerings from AMD. I don't think that you will need SLI for video editing so you might want to consider an NF4 board without SLI, the DFI comes to mind as a good choice.

thanks !
Yes, I was referring to the upcoming dual-core Athlon X2s.

What would be a good Intel choice ? And why is it better for videos than AMD ?
Intel was actually my first choice, as someone said they are better for videos too.
But then a review of dual-cores told me to have a new look at AMD, as apparently dual-core AMDs pretty much outperformed everything else available.

For single cores it said the choice of Intel or AMD depends on what you want to do, but if you go with dual-cores then go with AMD.

Thus ... am I back to square one which is Intel or AMD ?
Well, if there's an Intel option that's comparable or beats dual-core AMD Athlon X2 option, then I'm interested.

Why DFI's NF4 ? Is it just "another motherboard" (gasp!) or is it distinguished in some way ? From the looks of it, DFI's board is more configurable than Asus'. Is this why DFI comes forth ?

And if I get a motherboard with SLI, I don't think it will hurt to have it even if I don't use it. But then it is a point that if I really don't need it I may as well save my money by getting the board without SLI. Did I get this point the way you meant it ?

Intel has a bit better video encoding performance than AMD due to architectural differences. AFAIK, this is mainly the two FP ADDers that run faster than the chip. Since ADDs are an important operation in video encoding, this gives a good boost. SMT is also a benefit. I would take a look at a dual cpu system id I were you. You could get dual Opterons or Xeons and upgrade to dual core when they become available. Dual Opterons have the advantage of more memory bandwidth, since each cpu has a built-in memory controller.

The new X2 seems to do much better than intel at video editing mostly because it has two full speed A64 cores on it. I would say you have a great setup there, but i think the DFI Ultra-D would be a better mobo, there really is no need for SLI unless your a gamer, the Ultra-D will allow you to run 2 cards just for multi monitor support.

dennyamd said:

Why DFI's NF4 ? Is it just "another motherboard" (gasp!) or is it distinguished in some way ? From the looks of it, DFI's board is more configurable than Asus'. Is this why DFI comes forth ?

Click to expand...

The DFI board is probably the most stable 939 one, and can handle a lot of juice due to having very high spec caps and mosfets, this translates to good and stable single core overclocking but should also make it the best current board to put an A64 X2 into.

thanks. I'm now pretty clear about AMD options.

What about Intel ? Shall I settle for one single-core processor, or go for a dual Intel option ? If so, can you recommend something, or shall I stick with AMD ?

I say if you dont mind waiting for the X2 then do so, you can always build a dual optron system or a dual xeon system but the cost is going to be higher. Yes you could build a new intel system for cheaper, but then dont get dual core P-D's because the only ones that are cost effective are much much slower than any of the 5xx or 6xx series CPU's.

dennyamd said:

I'm assembling a system to do stuff and to edit videos.

I wonder if what I'm planning to get so far is good:

CPU: Athlon 64 X2
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
RAM: 2Gb total of DDR400 Corsair CL2-2-2-5 DIMMs
HDD: dual WD320Gb

Just to add:
I'm planning to get a single-core CPU first, and get the dual-core one when available.
I'm not into games, so game performance is not a concern for me, but video editing/compression is.
I'm not planning to overclock this machine.

It looks like this motherboard was created with a gamer in mind, but since I'm not, I wonder if I should go with this motherboard as opposed to some else.

I'm looking for a general advice on this system. Is it good as is, or would you replace something ?

Click to expand...

I'd advise you to get one HDD for now, and see how things go. 320GB fills up a lot faster than you'd think, and you wouldn't want to be stuck with 2 of them when 400GB drives are already out. Trust me on this.

My Thoughts

dennyamd:
You must have done your research your orginal selections were excellent and
insightful.
1) Your choice of the Asus A8n-SLI MB is the one MB that we know is compatible with the A64x2. Asus has already released the bios upgrade necessary for it to be used to run the A64x2.It is probably true that most of the Socket 939 MB manf will release bios upgrades that will do this but we know the A8n-SLI has already.
verfication:http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzY2
2) You decision to build the unit and use a standard A64 until the A64x2 are
released will give you a immediate increase in preformance but top preformance when the A64x2 is released.Of course you probably realize you could build an intel based unit that will give you better vidieo and editing preformace in the short term but when the A64x2 is put in the unit nothing now or that will be availible in desktop units will be able to match it.
verfication:
http://www.techworld.com/opsys/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=1420
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzY2LDQ=
If you contionue your research thru all of the reviews that are now availible the A-64x2 seems to outpreform the dual intels and all of the current alternatives.I am sure thier will be more and more Reviews availible.
It will be interesting to see if they contionue the direction the inital reviews are going.It would take a lot of budget to go with the commerical units that could compete and that hasn't been determined yet.

Intel will significantly beat AMD in video encoding. The dual core Intels are even better but the problem right now with the dual core procs is there are not many mobos that will overclock 'em yet and heatsink manufacturers haven't geared up for 'em yet either. Still, a nice single core 6XX series P-4 with 2M cache will easily O/C over 4 gig and will handle video tasks much better than anything AMD has for the price.

Thanks, and thanks CeeDeeJay and everybody !

In dual-core systems it looks like AMD will be cheaper and thus have a better performance/value overall.

But since Intel beats AMD in video encoding for a single chip, I wonder if I should take another look at Intel and single-core chips in general, and if they will be better for me. But then it seems to me that dual-core AMDs will outperform pretty much all single-core chips at this time. Thus I'll be staying with my original option, unless something changes.

batboy said:

Intel will significantly beat AMD in video encoding.

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Where do you get this info? Are you talking about single core processors only?

Most benchmarks of dual core processors show the X2 beating Intel's dual-core offerings: http://www1.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050509/cual_core_athlon-15.html

I love it when the AMD boys trot out the lame stock vs. stock comparisons. Let's look at O/C vs. O/C since this is overclockers.com. Overclocking an Intel really gives it a huge performance boost in memory bandwidth (quad pumped bus and dual channel DDR).

If this is gonna be a dedicated editing terminal because if it is- I'll suggest a G5.


Nuff said.

batboy said:

I love it when the AMD boys trot out the lame stock vs. stock comparisons. Let's look at O/C vs. O/C since this is overclockers.com. Overclocking an Intel really gives it a huge performance boost in memory bandwidth (quad pumped bus and dual channel DDR).

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1. overclocking can only do so much, and we don't really know how well these dual cores will overclock.

2. Dual Core pentiums require a different socket, so there isn't much point buying now and upgrading later which is what this guy apparently wants to do.

3. AMD dual cores are better designed than the intel ones, thats the reason AMD is aiming for the premium market (with dual cores) and intel isn't, at this point AMD duall cores are better, i'm sure that the next revision of intel dual cores will be up to scratch with AMD (reverse engineering) but at this point AMD has the advantage

I agree with most of what you just posted, but what are the AMD dual core better at? Yeah, the jury is still out on the dual core processors, both Intel and AMD. That's why I recommended the 6XX series P-4. Also, everyone seems to missing the point that Intel chipsets are still the best in the world.

batboy said:

I love it when the AMD boys trot out the lame stock vs. stock comparisons. Let's look at O/C vs. O/C since this is overclockers.com. Overclocking an Intel really gives it a huge performance boost in memory bandwidth (quad pumped bus and dual channel DDR).

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I was just trying to clarify something, no reason to call me a fan boy. I am just trying to help denny get every side of the story, so he can make the most educated decision possible. Your statement "Intel will significantly beat AMD in video encoding." simply is not true anymore.

Also, didn't you read the first post?

dennyamd said:

I'm not planning to overclock this machine.

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Don't forget. If it is an option I would be looking at an Opteron or a Xeon system. Just my 2 cents.