New PC Build(s)

[thedeificone]

Hi All, i am getting another PC for video encoding/transcoding mostly, It's not gonna be anything to special (expensive) i have 2 options, I was wondering what option would suit me best for "x264 1080p encoding/transcoding"

Option #1

CPU: Intel CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.00GHz, 6MB, 1333MHz, LGA775

Motherboard: ASUS P5G41T-MLE S775

RAM: 2GB DDR3 PC10600

Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII

Optical Drive: DVD 22X Dual Layer Writer

Sound: Six (5.1)-channel audio subsystem using the Realtek* ALC662

Graphics: Graphic Engine: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220, Video Memory: DDR2 1GB, Engine Clock: 625 MHz, Memory Clock: 800 MHz ( 400 MHz DDR2 )

Network: 10/100/1000 Mbits/s LAN subsystem using a Realtek RTL8111C Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Case: Penta Digital Multimedia ATX

PSU : 500 Watt ATX Power Supply


Option #2

CPU: Intel CORE 2 QUAD Q8400 2.66GHz, 4MB, 1333FSB, LGA775

Motherboard: ASUS P5G41T-MLE S775

RAM: 2GB DDR3 PC10600

Hard Drive: 500GB SATAII

Optical Drive: DVD 22X Dual Layer Writer

Sound: Six (5.1)-channel audio subsystem using the Realtek* ALC662

Graphics: ATI Radeon HD4350 PCI-E 2.0 512MB 64-bit GDDR2

Network: 10/100/1000 Mbits/s LAN subsystem using a Realtek RTL8111C Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Case: Penta Digital Multimedia ATX

PSU : 500 Watt ATX Power Supply


Ok so these are the 2 options i have to choose from, I cannot mix and match or alter them in anyway, it's either 1 or the other.

Keep in mind that option #1 has an Nvidia card so CUDA can be enabled.... Basically what i want to know is, will the Dual Core with CUDA running out perform the Quad Core with no CUDA (It has an ATI Card) for x264 1080p encoding/transcoding etc... ???

Any help would be much appreciated guys, thank you very much

[redwudz]

Option #2

For H.264, the more cores and the higher the CPU speed, the faster the encoding will be. A quad core will be usually be faster than a dual core, even at a lower speed.

What OS are you planning to run? Visa and W7 runs better with 4GB RAM, though you can add it later. XP is fine with 2GB. If you plan to use a 64bit OS, you can use more RAM, but most times 6GB would be more than enough. A 32bit OS can only address a bit less than 4GB, so no use adding more.

If you plan to do much encoding or editing, an additional hard drive or two would help considerably. Those can also be added later, even externally.

And welcome to our forums.

[thedeificone]

Hi Redwuz, thx for the reply.

Yes i understand that the Quad Core will be quicker than the Dual Core even if it has a slighty lower ghz rating, thats just basic math. But the Dual Core has an nvidia video card which can use CUDA GPU encoding to dramatically increase encoding speeds. Basically being CUDA enabled this means the application uses your nvidia video card's GPU which is ALOT faster than regular CPU's.

Anyone have any thoughts ?

[usually_quiet]

What edDV says about CUDA in this similar thread may be of interest to you. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/321291-Need-advice-with-PC-build-for-video-editing?...=1#post1989291

[jagabo]

Cuda based encoders do not deliver high quality at this time. And they are not much faster than a good quad core CPU. If you're looking to make h.264 videos for your cell phone, and you're stuck with a low end computer, CUDA is ok.

[thedeificone]

Thanks for your input guys, i will go for the Quad Core option.

[jagabo]

You might consider an AMD 6 core CPU.