New to AMD - building a video editing workstation.

[rj2828]

Hi all-

Please spare the flames if I'm making an assumption that I shouldn't be - I've been an Intel guy for most of my time, and I'm making my first foray into AMD-land.

I'm thinking of building a multimedia workstation, for doing all kinds of mmedia related work - like editing videos and burning onto DVD-R, encoding MP3, making DiVXs out of my video, etc.

Typically - my bad habit has been to use my machines for multiple uses - like being my mail server, web server, encoding MP3, etc. - and I want to get away from that. So - I've vowed to use this machine solely for my multimedia editing.

I'm stuck on exactly what I want to build though - using a budget of $500-700 for the motherboard, CPU and RAM only. I've already got a Chieftec case (the Antec SX1030 clone), which came with a 420W power supply. Got some IDE hard drives (my other machine is all SCSI - and I'd love for this one to be too, but alas, the baby came along and my machine budgets dropped - a warning for you single geeks) - 1x80GB and 2x40GB. Have a firewire card, and plan to purchase a video card as well (outside of this budget).

So why am I posting all this crap on the motherboards forum - well, I'm stuck on single versus dual CPU - and what board to buy.

I'd like to go Athlon - but from what I've read, I'm confused as to whether or not I can use XPs in a dual CPU configuration. I don't think I'd want to pony up the additional $100-150 or so for the MPs, so if not, I'll go single.

If I decide to go single, what's the best performing and most stable motherboard out there for AMD? I was going to get an Abit - and see they came out with their newest board, the AT7 - but I hear Abit isn't as great with AMDs, and I'm not too fond of Via chipsets either.

If I can go dual with Athlon XPs - any recs? Is there anyplace that actually sells a MB and 2 CPUs tested as a kit? I bought my BH6 with dual celerons that way - cost a bit more (10%) but I was sure they were the same stepping level, and were overclockable (300a's). I'd love to find a place I could do the same with the Athlon.

Finally - and this might not be the question for this forum (if there is a proper forum for it - please let me know, or just move the thread) - is all my worry for nothing? Do I not gain as much with a dual CPU configuration than I'd hope for with Athlons and video editing? I know the software needs to be written for multithreading - but I don't know if the fact that it's Athlon based changes anything.

TIA for any help,
-rj

 

[lsman]

i don't know much, may be
this MP vs Xeon can help.
and also this

 

[AA0]

The newest XPs don't seem to be dual capable anymore, the earlier ones were. I'm not sure if its possible to get them with smp or not still.

For video editting, either get the Iwill XP333 or something with a new SiS745 chipset for a single solution, and it shouldn't matter much for dual, they all use the same chipset. VIA chipsets lack of PCI bandwidth may hurt hardcore video stuff.

Dual cpu is dual cpu, whether its AMD or Intel. Its the chipset which really says how much you get out of the dual cpu config.

 

[CocaCola5]

For AMD based, look at the newTyan Thunder K7X(new 3.3V & 5V 64bit pci, and SCSI). I wouldn't mind running cheap dual 1.0G Durons on them for the time being(to fit your budget) and upgrading to T'breds later.
For Intel, the P4 is better but you'll be denied access to 64bit pci and any dual(478) motherboards.

 

[rj2828]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys..

I think I'm opting out of the dually rig for now - since I already have a dual PIII-600, and I was never greatly impressed by it's performance in multimedia - I really think this is a case of software just not SMP capable enough to make the difference. Also - considering my budget - would dual Duron's really help me at all? I thought that the FPU of the Duron wasn't so hot.

What I was thinking of was jumping on one of the 333 based boards, and getting an XP 1800+, with gobs of DDR2700 - of course, Crucial's upping of DDR prices this past week hurts now (OUCH!) but I can wait awhile.

Do Abit or Asus make anything with the SiS745 chipset? I was intrigued by Abit's new board, but I don't know how much I like the idea of USB keyboard and mouse. I thought about the nForce as well - but the lack of RAID on any of those boards is disappointing.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions..
-rj

 

[zzzz]

<< I thought about the nForce as well - but the lack of RAID on any of those boards is disappointing. >>


Abit has a raid nforce mobo.

 

[lsman]

if u can wait a while (how long...?) u can get a hammer computer and at least it is going to target some workstation market. a xp1800+ is around 100 now. you will have $$$ to get a faster one. given the $500-700 budget u have. I will look for boards that allow 4 RAM slot and RAID functions.

 

[ShinSa]

<< Thanks for the great suggestions guys..

I think I'm opting out of the dually rig for now - since I already have a dual PIII-600, and I was never greatly impressed by it's performance in multimedia - I really think this is a case of software just not SMP capable enough to make the difference. Also - considering my budget - would dual Duron's really help me at all? I thought that the FPU of the Duron wasn't so hot.

What I was thinking of was jumping on one of the 333 based boards, and getting an XP 1800+, with gobs of DDR2700 - of course, Crucial's upping of DDR prices this past week hurts now (OUCH!) but I can wait awhile.

Do Abit or Asus make anything with the SiS745 chipset? I was intrigued by Abit's new board, but I don't know how much I like the idea of USB keyboard and mouse. I thought about the nForce as well - but the lack of RAID on any of those boards is disappointing.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions..
-rj >>



The new ABIT mobo has a built in firewire so you're one step there towards video editing. Also the Raid setup will help in video performance as well. You can get a PS/2 to a USB adapter for couple of bux so no biggie there. This board is the fastest KT333 board out right now (although the difference is minimal) and if you dont have the need for a dual setup, this might be a good solution.

Im doing my video editing on a KR7A, XP1700+, 256MB Micron DDR, and a Texas Instrument Firewire card and the speed is very fast with no dropped frames using Studion DV.

 

[ShinSa]

<<

If I decide to go single, what's the best performing and most stable motherboard out there for AMD? I was going to get an Abit - and see they came out with their newest board, the AT7 - but I hear Abit isn't as great with AMDs, and I'm not too fond of Via chipsets either.

If I can go dual with Athlon XPs - any recs? Is there anyplace that actually sells a MB and 2 CPUs tested as a kit? I bought my BH6 with dual celerons that way - cost a bit more (10%) but I was sure they were the same stepping level, and were overclockable (300a's). I'd love to find a place I could do the same with the Athlon.

Finally - and this might not be the question for this forum (if there is a proper forum for it - please let me know, or just move the thread) - is all my worry for nothing? Do I not gain as much with a dual CPU configuration than I'd hope for with Athlons and video editing? I know the software needs to be written for multithreading - but I don't know if the fact that it's Athlon based changes anything.

TIA for any help,
-rj >>



Actually ABIT is great with AMDs. Some of their boards have been praised by its performance and stability. Their KT133A, KT266A, and even the new KT333 board fits like a glove with an AMD chips. Thier P4 board is still good but reviews from many sites indicate that ABIT and AMD performance is even better.

As for the DUAL CPU, it really depends on your application. Even with dual cpu, your video editing will render, capture and store at about the same rate. If there was a performance gain going with dual, it wont be worth the extra $100 for a $500-$700 budget. As you know, the biggest bottleneck in video editing is not the CPU, but storage and bandwidth. If you can fit a SCSI setup under your budget, it'd be great. If not, even a dual raid setup will show noticeable improvement.