Nitrousbird Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Now that I have a Blu Ray burner, and am re-encoding discs to single layer BD size...processer power is a factor. A BIG factor. I am not a PC gamer, so that's not a concern. My current rig - Asus A8N SLI Deluxe motherboard; can run in SLI but I don't, Socket 939 - Two matching XFX 7600GT XXX edition video cards; running two monitors each via DVI - 4GB Ram, max for the board. PC3200 (sad, I know) - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+, pretty much not overclocked @ 2.45 GHz per core. I can safely go to 2.7GHz on stock cooling, but was having issues that ended up being a previous OS problem, and haven't went back to overclocking it yet. - Two DVD burners - One 8x Blu-Ray burner - 5 hard drives; one 500GB 7200RPM, 4 160GB 7200RPM. The 160GB drives are in a RAID-0. Media reader and some other BS too. The problem is that encoding Blu-Ray is S-L-O-W. DVD isn't a problem, but we are talking 7-8GB vs 40-45GB I could invest in a water cooling solution, and I've heard of this processor going 3.2 to 3.4GHz on water. I still doubt I will get what I want with that solution; I think quad core is my answer. I am in the house-buying process, so money is TIGHT. Really tight. I am sure I will live with this for a bit, but I want to have my eyes open for a great deal. i7 stuff is still too pricey, but I don't want to go overly outdated. Or maybe just find a cheap water cooling solution as a stop-gap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Do a Intel Q6600, asus P5Q pro mother board(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299) and add CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory price break down is q6600 $199, p5q pro $119 with $15mir, corsair ram - $44.99 with $25MIR= $364.97, 324.97 after MIR combine it with current video cards, power supply etc and youll be fine, but what power supply are you running currently? that would be a quad core option, dual core option would be, same ram and mother board just get a E8400 at 164.99 so your not saving much going this option. I assume you have SATA correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hal Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Maybe you shouldn't have gotten yourself into a TIGHT position with your money. That would have been the responsible thing to do . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87GT Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 2 options Get a core processor, OR buy SSD's and raid them together as your operation system drive. Newegg has 160GB SSD now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewhop Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Maybe you shouldn't have gotten yourself into a TIGHT position with your money. That would have been the responsible thing to do . +rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewhop Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 To add something functional to the post I just had my socket 939 board fry on me and looking to replace it. I would look at something along the lines of a e8400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA I have heard couple different things for motherboard so still not sure on that. But I am kinda behind on some of the new hardware it still confuses me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 i would tell you to buy an OEM 9850 Black Edition from Newegg, with a certain Hardforum discount code you can get it for $90 shipped, you WILL NOT find a better deal for that price. i just did this upgrade with chip, board, and ram. kept everything else and only spent like $200 9850 BE = 2.5GHZ quad core with unlocked multiplier for overclocking $90 nice mobo = anywhere from $60-$90 4GB 1066MHZ ram = $40-$50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 If you can swing it, go core I7, hands down the video king. Micro center has them for $229 which is not much more than the Q6600, you can get a MB for $200. 6GB of DDR3 is 75-80 bux. You will be blown away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 I7 for the FTMFW !!!! I love mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbot Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Do a Intel Q6600, asus P5Q pro mother board(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299) and add CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory price break down is q6600 $199, p5q pro $119 with $15mir, corsair ram - $44.99 with $25MIR= $364.97, 324.97 after MIR combine it with current video cards, power supply etc and youll be fine, but what power supply are you running currently? that would be a quad core option, dual core option would be, same ram and mother board just get a E8400 at 164.99 so your not saving much going this option. I assume you have SATA correct? You can get Q6600's for far less than $199, i'd never pay that much for one nor recommend anyone get that chip for that price. At that price point I'd go for an i7 920 or at least a yorkfield class 45nm quad. i7 920 is $229 here: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0300438 Here's an MSI i7 board for $169 AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130221 Otherwise, you can go LGA775 but it's nearly EOL: $85 mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128389 Q8300 for $190: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115207 or Q9400 for $230: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131 DDR2 Ram is super cheap so stock it with as much as you can, DDR3 is a bit more expensive for the i7 but in the long run the i7 is the way to go. You can also get some deals if you look at computer forum classifieds. Here is a real cheap mobo that will run a quad core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500018 I own one and it's a decent board, but it's not the top performer and it has very limited upgradeability. At $35 AR though, it's very hard to beat it's performance/value ratio. You can also opt for a dual core processor over the quad, such as this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056 There are also MUCH cheaper options for mobo and etc, but there is no point in recommending you buy junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffro Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 buy yourself a v8 powered processor. similar to:http://jalopnik.com/5090926/top-gear-builds-corvette-engine+powered-blender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igotaprestent4u1647545491 Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 q6600 is a solid for the money, easy to overclock too. I7 is better, but more $ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Maybe you shouldn't have gotten yourself into a TIGHT position with your money. That would have been the responsible thing to do . I have the cash to buy whatever the hell I want; but that cash is ear marked for buying another HOUSE. That is why money is tight; I can't be spending money on BS when I should be using it for house stuff. Sorry you can't manage your money. Otherwise, the Q6600 has been a consideration, but seems to be getting outdated. Any news on price breaks for i7 stuff (the boards tend to be pricey for anything decent). It sucks that my PC takes forever to encode Blu-Ray, but I "can" wait. And yes, all of my stuff is SATA, and have a good 600W power supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbot Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Until the 975's and such hit the market, i7 prices aren't going to change. If you can wait a few months, then you should and go for i7 when the market changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Are there any interim water cooling solutions that I could mostly transfer over to a new setup later (by changing nothing but the heat sink). That might be a reasonable solution for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Are there any interim water cooling solutions that I could mostly transfer over to a new setup later (by changing nothing but the heat sink). That might be a reasonable solution for now. Yes, build a decent Danger Den kit and all you have to do later is swap out the waterblock. (Just did this when I went I7). $50 for the new block and you are ready to rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 I know you may be able to get the q6600 cheaper however if youve been watching the market of processors you'd know the price went up $20-$30 on intel processors while the core i7 prices have dropped. Joe just piece your own watercooling setup together instead of buying a kit. but generally a good water cooling setup can cost a decent amount. generally you can buy a good pump, reservoir, good radiator, tubing, clamps and CPU block and its all reusable except the block. generally when you make a setup and change out you will need to redo the coolant hoses for the new block setup because its rare that motherboards have the CPU in the same location. generally your looking at 200-400 for a water cooling setup. most your money will be in a radiator for the computer. Just look at what danger den has to offer and you will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbot Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 I know you may be able to get the q6600 cheaper however if youve been watching the market of processors you'd know the price went up $20-$30 on intel processors while the core i7 prices have dropped. Joe just piece your own watercooling setup together instead of buying a kit. but generally a good water cooling setup can cost a decent amount. generally you can buy a good pump, reservoir, good radiator, tubing, clamps and CPU block and its all reusable except the block. generally when you make a setup and change out you will need to redo the coolant hoses for the new block setup because its rare that motherboards have the CPU in the same location. generally your looking at 200-400 for a water cooling setup. most your money will be in a radiator for the computer. Just look at what danger den has to offer and you will be fine. There are MANY good parts out there for watercooling. Also, many of the newer waterblocks will cross platforms. The Swiftech Apogee GT and DteK FuZion can be used on both AMD and Intel platforms. Many of the new blocks come with the hardware for both, or they can be easily purchased. +1 though on building your own system. Many of the pre-built kits are garbage. I'm partial to the Petra's kit: http://www.petrastechshop.com/wacoki.html or the swiftech kit: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swh2edukit.html System #1: http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1407/1002006.th.jpg System #2: http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7545/1001202mu6.th.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 I'm going to take a different approach to this. Buy a new videocard. There is applications now for both Nvidia and ATI cards that uses your GPU to encode video. And they are fucking fast. I use Badaboom (nvidia only) with my 9600GT, and I can transcode videos at 4-5x the speed my Q6600 can. Imagine what you can do with a GTX280 or so. Badaboom should support bluray but you might want to look into the ATI option using their AVIVO Transcoder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I'm going to take a different approach to this. Buy a new videocard. There is applications now for both Nvidia and ATI cards that uses your GPU to encode video. And they are fucking fast. I use Badaboom (nvidia only) with my 9600GT, and I can transcode videos at 4-5x the speed my Q6600 can. Imagine what you can do with a GTX280 or so. Badaboom should support bluray but you might want to look into the ATI option using their AVIVO Transcoder. Any more info on the software; if it can't do Blu-Ray, it isn't useful to me at all. I'll tell you what; this crap I am using now takes FOREVER! Looks like I'll have to do a little more research on water cooling as well. I am pretty good at getting stuff on the cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbot Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I'm going to take a different approach to this. Buy a new videocard. There is applications now for both Nvidia and ATI cards that uses your GPU to encode video. And they are fucking fast. I use Badaboom (nvidia only) with my 9600GT, and I can transcode videos at 4-5x the speed my Q6600 can. Imagine what you can do with a GTX280 or so. Badaboom should support bluray but you might want to look into the ATI option using their AVIVO Transcoder. Sounds like a much better option than an entire system update. I'd like more info myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Sounds like a much better option than an entire system update. I'd like more info myself. Not sure how well it has come along, but early releases were buggy and did not deal with HD/BLURAY stuff very well. http://www.badaboomit.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Well, playing with it more, Demuxing each m2ts file looks like the better way to go. Very hard drive intensive, but 4 drives in a RAID-0 has that covered reasonably well. I have been messing with it some, and I think I will be able to pull enough info out of each file that I may not need compression for most movies; I'm discovering there is a LOT of waste on the Blu Ray discs (8 audio tracks, 1080p track + 2 720p tracks for the main movie, etc.). I only want the best audio and video track; can't see why I would want the rest. I think just spending some time pulling out what I don't need will care for 80% of the movies that are dual layer; I'll have to work on compression for the others...the transcoding software I have tried so far has caused intermintant slightly choppy video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you upgrade I want your processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) i would tell you to buy an OEM 9850 Black Edition from Newegg, with a certain Hardforum discount code you can get it for $90 shipped, you WILL NOT find a better deal for that price. i just did this upgrade with chip, board, and ram. kept everything else and only spent like $200 9850 BE = 2.5GHZ quad core with unlocked multiplier for overclocking $90 nice mobo = anywhere from $60-$90 4GB 1066MHZ ram = $40-$50 Would you think the 9850 is better than the X3 710? I get that there is another core, but isn't 2mb L3 cache weak? Edit: Found my answer... Link Edited March 30, 2009 by iwishiwascool cite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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