New build ideas for Jan 11

stevej696

New member
Hi Guys,

Ive recently started to look into the video encoding and picture maniplulation but im finding that a 2 hour video at constant 25fps is taking around 2 - 3 hours on my current rig and was looking into a possible upgrade in January 2011.

Ive had a sit down and have come up with what i think to be an ideal and cheap system that has plenty of power for what i need but just need a bit of feedback on real world usage with the products before i decide on final specs.

Im currently running socket 775 with an e2160 at 3.0GHz with 2GB OCZ Platinum dual channel memory currently running at 900MHz.

Im now looking at socket 1156 and have come up with the following list:

Intel G6950

MSI H55M-E23

4GB Novatech memeory at 1333MHz

A new case but not sure what.

Total cost: £157.95

I will be using my current 500GB and 1000GB hard drives and Cooler master 460w Extreme PSU to keep down costs.

Question 1: Would this be worth the money?

Question 2: Would there be a considerable difference in encoding time?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated and any personal feedback with the hardware greatly appreciated.
 
Not worth it. That G6950 is just a dual core CPU. Go with a Lynnfield i5 or an i7.

Edit: Even stepping it up a tad to an i3 with HT would be a better choice, at least you'd have four threads.
 
Im probably only going to have £200 for the build so an i5 650 wouldtake up 3 quaters of it.

I was thinking of the i3 540 and overclocking it to 4GHz. Would this give me simialr performance of the i5 650 and save me £100 in the process??

Cheers in advance

Edit: sorry replied before you edited!
 
Not worth it. That G6950 is just a dual core CPU. Go with a Lynnfield i5 or an i7.

Edit: Even stepping it up a tad to an i3 with HT would be a better choice, at least you'd have four threads.

^That.

The G6950 (even though it overclocks like a demon) is nothing but an I3 Clarkdale with no Hyperthreading.

The I3 would be sort of worth it, but that Pentium thing isn't worth it TBH. Like Hmmblah says, if you're going to do it get an I5 (but not an 1156 I7 because they're a bit plop) and do it right.

Or, take a look at Aria/OCUK's I3 bundles as some only cost around £240 or so.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Bundl...al+Core+Home+&+Office+Bundle+?productId=43091

£199. Doesn't come with crap ram nor a crap board. TBH mate I wouldn't dare get anything less than that.
 
Thanks for the link Alx.

Im definatly tempted by that deal as it does have everything i need for not silly money. Thats going to be a definate i think.

Is Mushkin memory good then? Seems cheap to buy but whats the quality like?

Any good??

Cheers in advance
 
Thanks for the link Alx.

Im definatly tempted by that deal as it does have everything i need for not silly money. Thats going to be a definate i think.

Is Mushkin memory good then? Seems cheap to buy but whats the quality like?

Any good??

Cheers in advance

Just look at our reviews, and look at the £600 gaming pc build as I used that bundle (same kit just preoverclocked) that has benchmarks ect in there.
 
Ok that all seems good. Are the Boards easy to overclock?

Would it be stable for long periods of time at around 4.0GHz would you say?

Cheers tom
 
Ok thanks all for the input much appreciated.
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Roll on January!
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The one I had came with a preset 4.2ghz clock.

The new K0 i3's would do an easy 4.5 if you knew what you were doing. even a noob could get to 4ghz tbh.
 
Ok so January's here and before dealing with a new encoding/ editing pc I have to replace my server as it crashed and died on my over the christmas period! Bloody budget boards!

So it was back on to the aria website and this is the kit I am in the process of ordering.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Bundles/Motherboard+Bundles/Gladiator+Sempron+Home+%26+Office+Bundle+?productId=41878

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/MIDI+Tower/Xigmatek+Asgard+Pure+Black+Edition+Gaming+Case?productId=38515

Nice reliable PC and cheap too for a full build.

Should hopefully be here late next week! Yey
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Not to go too far astray, but I'd maybe also take a look at the software you're using for encoding.

Currently I use MediaCoder (which is free) but more importantly uses CUDA. Relatively will take your hours of encoding down to minutes, without the need for a purchase of a new cpu/mobo/ram/etc. (that is if you have an nvidia gfxcard)

Encoding using cpus and software which is based on a free commandline utility that everyone uses, is a thing of the past. There's no longer a need for it to take even an hour.
 
@alicarve- No sorry sounds like i didnt make it clear, my server crashed during christmas so the specs listed with amd are for my new server. My i3 build is still on the cards its just I need the server most so will be doing that first
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I did think about the gpu encoding route but I really need an upgrade from my current system as it keeps giving out a load of errors to do with the bios (resetting itself with low voltages etc). Tryed a bios flash which was sucessfull but didnt solve problem so will swap the whole systems for brand new 1.

Edit- Possibly might get a 250 Gpu or somthin so that i can game and use it for encoding
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Sorry for the confusion
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You can use an GPU for gaming and encoding mate, so dw about that. But a higher end card will lead to better performance in both areas.
 
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