Which will help me more?

I've been doing a lot of video editing and converting lately on nasty file sizes (7gb). My main problem is that the master files are so big. My main system just bogs down and dies running Premier and pretty much any other package. A DivX encoder took me about 3-4 hours to run.

That being said, I've been thinking about doing one of two things: buy more memory (shooting for 1.5 gb) or buying a dual cpu setup.

I have a p4 2.4 running at 3.0 with 512mb ram. The hard drive I'm using for this work is a 15k rpm seagate drive, so that's about as good as its going to get.

Any ideas?

From what I hear, more memory will definately help for what you're planning on doing. With only 512 MB of RAM your dual processors will still be relying on the (relatively) small amount of RAM.

No way dude dual CPU's is what you need!!! That will help you incredibly, with dual CPU's you are really gonna cut down on that time. My friend was doing some of that work, and when going from a stock to OC'd system the time dropped considerably. I think CPU horsepower is really the most important thing. Might wanna check for more opinions, but I am almost positive that getting a 2CPU system is what you need. If you do plan on building one, check www.2CPU.com You probably already know about that site, but if not they are the best for dual CPU help. :)

When I regularly did graphics editing, I used 4GB of memory in my dual Xeon box. I'm not doing much editing anymore so I cut back to 2 GB. That size seems to handle all but the most complex graphics.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by ua549
When I regularly did graphics editing, I used 4GB of memory in my dual Xeon box. I'm not doing much editing anymore so I cut back to 2 GB. That size seems to handle all but the most complex graphics.

---

Alright well I'm kinda interested in what you think UA... Would you say that going with a dual Xeon system would be better than 2GB of memory and a 3.06HT or something like that???? I would think Xeon system, but then again I haven't ever used something like that :cool:

It really depends on exactly what you are going to do and the application you are going to use to do it. If all you are doing is converting file formats, memory is more likely to benefit you than going dual procs. I'd use at least 2 GB, more if your system can handle it.

A dual Xeon setup starts getting into quite a bit of cash. A good mobo is > $700. 3 GHz/533 FSB Xeon procs will cost about $1,500 for the pair. The cases must be larger because the mobos are EATX and the power supplies are typically WTX. There are a few exceptions, though. Look at the offerings from www.supermicro.com.

You have not mentioned graphics boards. I highly recommend the Wildcat x Series of video boards from 3Dlabs. That is all I'll purchase. My next card will be the Wildcat VP 990 Pro.

I'm on the fence right now. I definitely need 3 pc's and only have 2 now. The choice is to put together a cheap AMD system for under $250 (for a server), or blow a ton of cash on a dual Xeon and migrate everything down. If I go dual Xeon, it would be my main machine and I'd be going with an Iwill DPI533 board and 2x 2.66 Xeons as they overclock very well (3.4 I hear). I do have a 64bit SCSI card, but I think the potential overclock is better than giong 64bit pci. (the more expensive boards have 64bit support but they do not overclock at all).

The main problem I'm facing right now with my P4 2.4 at 3.0 is that it is not HT capable and that there are only 3 memory slots. I've heard of problems some problems with using all 3 slots? I can't afford 1GB modules, so at best I can go with 3 512mb modules. Its a very tough choice. I was not happy watching my system be useless and slammed for 4 hours doing decoding work. It was also slammed when running Premier.

I guess it all comes down to how much $$$ you're willing to spend. I personally don't have infinite wads of cash to throw at my computers, so I tend to try to find a cheaper solution. Since you really need the 3rd computer, I'd say go for the $250 AMD system and grab some more RAM. After a while prices should come down or something better will come up.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SpringDog
I guess it all comes down to how much $$$ you're willing to spend. I personally don't have infinite wads of cash to throw at my computers, so I tend to try to find a cheaper solution. Since you really need the 3rd computer, I'd say go for the $250 AMD system and grab some more RAM. After a while prices should come down or something better will come up.

---

Yep.. good advice. I picked up 1gb of ram for my P4. I'll move the memory I have now to the new system which is going to be an Epox 83GA+ with a Barton 2500+ on it and 512mb (from my P4 system). It should make for a rather nice server. Fortunately I have a case, psu and a warranty hd (new) to put with it. It should be here by tomorrow! Its odd to be going AMD.. LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by ua549
It really depends on exactly what you are going to do and the application you are going to use to do it. If all you are doing is converting file formats, memory is more likely to benefit you than going dual procs. I'd use at least 2 GB, more if your system can handle it.

A dual Xeon setup starts getting into quite a bit of cash. A good mobo is > $700. 3 GHz/533 FSB Xeon procs will cost about $1,500 for the pair. The cases must be larger because the mobos are EATX and the power supplies are typically WTX. There are a few exceptions, though. Look at the offerings from www.supermicro.com.

You have not mentioned graphics boards. I highly recommend the Wildcat x Series of video boards from 3Dlabs. That is all I'll purchase. My next card will be the Wildcat VP 990 Pro.

---

wow, a good mobo for more that 700? The ones I typically see that most people consider good (e7505 mobos from supoermicro, iwill, and intell) are about 400-500 bucks. Are the ones you are thinking of equiped w/ onboard scsi, what chipset? Some of those serverworks mobos look like they are up there.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by pudad


wow, a good mobo for more that 700? The ones I typically see that most people consider good (e7505 mobos from supoermicro, iwill, and intell) are about 400-500 bucks. Are the ones you are thinking of equiped w/ onboard scsi, what chipset? Some of those serverworks mobos look like they are up there.

---

Some of the intel boards are that expensive, but often have dual channel U320 scsi built in along with PCI-X support and PCI64 support. I don't see the need to spend that much since I'd rather pick out my own SCSI controller anyway.

The board that really interests me is the Iwill DPI533 as they have a bios out for it now that lets one overclock xeons. Its a pretty sweet deal. The only thing it is missing is 64bit pci slots.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Tripitz


Some of the intel boards are that expensive, but often have dual channel U320 scsi built in along with PCI-X support and PCI64 support. I don't see the need to spend that much since I'd rather pick out my own SCSI controller anyway.

The board that really interests me is the Iwill DPI533 as they have a bios out for it now that lets one overclock xeons. Its a pretty sweet deal. The only thing it is missing is 64bit pci slots.

---

yeah that is one sweet board, but the ones I was talking about have pci-x too, just not onboard scsi 320...

what scsi controller are you running one dude? heh, I'm on a crappy yet inexpensive LSI U160, I'll maybe get a nicer PCI-X card later when I get a mobo that actually has pci-x.

hmm, I guess if you are already willing to pay for a n smp setup, more ram wouldn't really hurt the wallet too much more :-/

I'm also running an LSI U160 controller (its a 64/32 card) and I would say that it is anything but crappy. It isn't a RAID card for sure, but its performance seems to be very good. Besides, its the same chipset that the Tekram's use which perform equally to the much more expensive Adaptec cards. I'm also not running a raid setup and I only have 2 drives on this pc (seagate 15k.3 and maxtor 10kIV) so I really don't need the extra bandwidth the more expensive boards offer.

Since I just ordered a Barton 2500+ and a baord along with more memory, I'm going to hold off on the smp setup right now. I'll see how much the extra ram helps and then go from there. I can't wait to see how this amd performs.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Tripitz
I'm also running an LSI U160 controller (its a 64/32 card) and I would say that it is anything but crappy. It isn't a RAID card for sure, but its performance seems to be very good. Besides, its the same chipset that the Tekram's use which perform equally to the much more expensive Adaptec cards. I'm also not running a raid setup and I only have 2 drives on this pc (seagate 15k.3 and maxtor 10kIV) so I really don't need the extra bandwidth the more expensive boards offer.

Since I just ordered a Barton 2500+ and a baord along with more memory, I'm going to hold off on the smp setup right now. I'll see how much the extra ram helps and then go from there. I can't wait to see how this amd performs.

---

yeah I don't think it is crappy, I was just kinda joking. There is better stuff out there though... But I am VERY happy w/ my setup, don't get me wrong. You got some nice drives too I see :). Anybody know how soon the 4th generation of Seagate's 15K drives will be out? Thinking about getting another Cheetah, but I may wait...