Upgrading system...

[MacAttack]

I am now able to upgrade my system by shifting some funds around. Please let me know if you have any recommended changes. My first thought was to go i7 920 D0, but I would not be able to upgrade my video card for some time. I can go i5 750 and upgrade to a 5850.

Primary uses:
HD video creation from HV20 video camera
Some Photoshop work
DVD ripping and MKV conversion (takes forever on my current rig)
Gaming

Current rig:
C2D E6300 1.8GHz
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
HD4850
Corsair XMS 4GB DDR2 (2x2GB)
Seasonic S12 550W

Option 1 ($600)
i7 920 D0 ($275)
ASRock X58 Xtreme ($170)
Some CAS7 memory 6GB (3x2GB) ($150)
Intel 80GB G2 SSD (already ordered)
HD4850 (reuse)
Seasonic PSU (reuse)

Option 2 ($450)
i5 750 ($200)
ASRock P55 Extreme ($150)
Some CAS7 memory 2x2GB ($100)
Intel 80GB G2 SSD (already ordered)
HD4850 (reuse for a month and upgrade to 5850 in November)
Seasonic PSU (reuse)

 

[gwarren007]

Where are you buying from?

 

[alyarb]

if you're doing x264 conversion from DVDs and your camera, the i7 920 will really stretch its legs on the i5.

encoding isn't usually a race, though. usually it's just a job, and we like to take it slow so that we use the highest quality filters. most people do it at night when they aren't sitting at the machine, so it doesn't matter how fast the encode goes as long as its done by the time you wake up and you've got a pristine output waiting for you.

both i5 and i7 will be able to encode a full DVD in less than 3 hours even with all your x264 quality settings maxed out. HD video will take a bit longer, of course, but if you like to queue up your encodes and let the system knock them out overnight, then you can get an i5 and have your fast GPU as well.

what's the biggest encode job you've ever done? what's the biggest job you're ever likely to do? If you plan on working with blu-ray or any full-resolution 1080p, then you'll really want the i7. Anything 720p or lower isn't going to kill you with the i5. on the other hand, transcoding a 40GB blu-ray down to a 15GB .mkv file, with super high quality, will probably take more than 12 hours on an i7. wish i could tell you but i don't have an i7. i have a Q9550 at 3.7 GHz and it's still an enormous task.

 

[MacAttack]

Originally posted by: gwarren007
Where are you buying from?

Those were the prices at Newegg. No MC near me in NC. Is there any place I can get them cheaper?

Originally posted by: alyarb
what's the biggest encode job you've ever done? what's the biggest job you're ever likely to do? If you plan on working with blu-ray or any full-resolution 1080p, then you'll really want the i7. Anything 720p or lower isn't going to kill you with the i5.

I just got BluRay and will be trying to back up DVDs that my daughter can get her hands on. My collections will only be touched by me (Band of Brothers, LotR when it is out, XMen, etc).

 

[alyarb]

i'm not talking about the discs, i'm just saying if you ever plan on backing up those discs to .mkv, it's a big job and going to be slow no matter which CPU you use.

 

[gwarren007]

Combo deal $405
ASUS P7P55D LE
Intel BX80605I5750
G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH


http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.263460

What power rating is your seasonic PS?

 

[MacAttack]

Originally posted by: gwarren007

What power rating is your seasonic PS?

SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT 550W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817151027

 

[gwarren007]

That works well

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

no, you want a HT system for AVCHD editing.. HV20 is the Canon HD cam right?

although you could get away with a 775lga 3.6Ghz quad for editing ..

 

[MacAttack]

Yes, it is the Canon HV20 HD camcorder. I think I am going to go with the i7 860. I jsut wish I could get the darn Microcenter pricing on the processors.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

That'll be a sweet setup. I am trying to jump off this Q9550 machine for the new platform i put together in my sig for editing AVCHD files in Premiere Pro CS4... it would seem like such a short boat ride if i do though

 

[gwarren007]

http://www.microcenter.com/spe...talogs/broadsheet.html

page 24

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I did hear the 1156 socket (rumor) will be EOL in a year + .5 might want to re-consider the 920 1366 socket for 6core 12 thread editing

 

[alyarb]

i'm pretty much over gulftown. they have only announced the extreme edition, and no one is going to pay $1500 simply just to run four more threads, and turbo mode will not allow it to run at high frequencies when all 6 cores are active. it'll be 2.4-2.6 GHz. Between 12 threads at 2.6 GHz and 8 threads at 4 GHz, it just isn't worth the extra $1200.

i7 860 is the way to go. You get very decent speeds running 8 threads and it'll do 3.6 stock with not-well-threaded loads, and they'll do 4 cores at 4 GHz with a little voltage and $20 heatsink.

 

[MacAttack]

Forgot to mention this. If I go with the ASRock mobo, it has the holes for the LGA775 HSF. I have a Tuniq Tower 120. Is that still good for the i7 860?

 

[alyarb]

it's alright. not the best heat tower, but i wouldn't replace it either. It will definitely be good enough to get you above 3.6 GHz, and if you don't like your temps, just get a secondary fan, i wouldn't replace the whole thing.