Buying New PC

[KailuaKid]

I do VHS to DVD processing with Video Studio X2. I'm buying a new PC. Which would be better for me. A system with an AMD Athlon II Quad-Core Processor with 4 Gb of Memory or a system with a Intel i5 with 6Gb of Memory.

I've read that Quad Core or the more cores the faster and that i5 is not quad core but 2 core. Even though the i5 system is $120 more expensive than the AMD system would the AMD be faster even with 2Gb less Memory than the i5 6Gb sytem.

[johns0]

Either computer is good enough for Video Studio X2,just depends on how much you want to spend,look at cpu benchmarks vs price and speed and fit that into your budget.

[KailuaKid]

I've read that Quad Core or the more cores the faster and that i5 is not quad core but 2 core. Even though the i5 system is $120 more expensive than the AMD system would the AMD be faster even with 2Gb less Memory than the i5 6Gb sytem.

[johns0]

i5 can be either 2 or 4 core depending on the code name,best to look up the benchmarks on what cpu's you are looking at.

[TimA-C]

Can Video Studio X2 take advantage of CUDA enabled graphics cards yet? If it does I'd be tempted to go for the AMD and put in a fairly decent CUDA graphics card (nVidia GTX460 or GTX560?) to more than take up the slack.

[pirej]

Im not really an AMD fan, but i always had AMD systems and i cant make a real comparison, anyway..
Athlon II X4 is A LOT cheaper than INTEL Core i5(x4), and i dont think that the performance difference is big enough for you to pay the extra money, but.. it's you're money
@TimA-C, CUDA doesn't have anything to do with AMD, if you want to use NVIDIA CUDA technology, than use Nvidia GPU + INTEL/AMD CPU, and if you want "Ati-stream" or now renamed to AMD APP technology, than use AMD GPU + AMD/intel CPU.

[jagabo]

I've read that Quad Core or the more cores the faster

It depends on how well multithreaded the software is. Many MPEG 2 encoders are not well multithreaded so they don't scale well past 2 threads. You'll have to look for benchmarks of the software you're using.

Also, the architectures are so different you can't say that a quad A64 will be faster than a dual i5 with hyperthreading anyway. You'll still have to look at benchmarks.

Tom's Hardware has lots of CPU benchmarks. No Corel Video Studio benchmarks but it's worth taking a look:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/benchmarks,112.html

[TimA-C]

Im not really an AMD fan, but i always had AMD systems and i cant make a real comparison, anyway..
Athlon II X4 is A LOT cheaper than INTEL Core i5(x4), and i dont think that the performance difference is big enough for you to pay the extra money, but.. it's you're money
@TimA-C, CUDA doesn't have anything to do with AMD, if you want to use NVIDIA CUDA technology, than use Nvidia GPU + INTEL/AMD CPU, and if you want "Ati-stream" or now renamed to AMD APP technology, than use AMD GPU + AMD/intel CPU.

Yes, I know CUDA doesn't have anything to do with AMD, but he could spend less on an AMD system, put the money saved towards a decent nVidia CUDA enabled graphics card and end up with a system that could wipe the floor with the more expensive Intel i5 system, provided that the software and type of encoding could take advantage of CUDA. Do try and keep up, pirej!

[budz]

Intel is overrated....get the AMD Quad which is plenty fast....IMHO I wouldn't buy another dual core cpu which isn't worth it....use the extra cash to buy something else....or better yet build your own PC.....

[pirej]

Sorry TimA-C, i missed your point, my bad

[TBoneit]

I'm going to suggest going the other way.

Future proof yourself.

When I decided to replace my brothers computer that he has been using for years. P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB, etc. I went for something that should last him for years again.

I went i7 2600, ASUS Motherboard, 4Gb DDR3, Nvidia video card, 160Gb SSD boot drive, 1Tb hard drive for data.

He is the easy software is needed type. I installed Freemake Video converter for ease of use.

Saturday he said he tried it out on 8 YouTube videos totaling over 2 hours run time. Convert to DVD including burn time 16 minutes. Now he is using it to capture and convert videos about the B-29 "FIFI" - Confederate Air Force B-29

before I had to do that sort of thing for him.

He should be good for years again. I built the last one many years ago as a Gift too.

Don't buy just good enough and have to upgrade again.

My 2 Cents