What would speed up my computer the most????

[jw33]

Memory or a new proccesor?

Right now my machine does pretty ok, but of course I want to make it as fast as possible. I can render a 29gig AVI file into a MPEG-2 >4.7gigs in about 4.5 hours, but want to make it faster. I am running a 1.53 Tbird running at about 1.65 with 512mb of 2100 DDR. What is the major bottleneck in the video editing system?

[thayne]

CPU. You would be better off with a P4. They are much faster than AMD CPU's at encoding.

[ZippyP.]

Get the fastest cpu you can afford. AMD can be a better value for your dollar.

[holistic]

Paint it red, put some stickers and a bigass spoiler on it .This has been know to make civics faster.
MPEG2 conversion is "number crunching" - no mystery - the faster the CPU the faster the conversion.

][

[jw33]

What about a 6inch exhaust tip????

[Innershield]

Don't forget about the fuzzy dice!

[gll99]

faster cpu (Intel or amd) more bang for the buck. I prefer P4 but don't have any problems with AMD based on cost. I run my P4 1.6 at over 2300 with the standard heatsink and fan with no heat problems at all.

.... and better yet! Strobe lights in a dark room will really make it faster.

[jolo]

Without question, AMD is the choice, unless you like overpaying for the chip as well as everything else that goes along with it.
They cost less, and they now make the fastest processor PC processor with their new 64 bit one.

It is always a great time to buyt when a vendor comes out with a flashy new something, it always drops the price of what used to be the flashy new something and you can get a great deal. You know price/performance.

Are you comfortable getting individual parts at a vendor like New-Egg which probably will be your lowest price. Or you might be more comfortable with a vendor like J&N who you can speak to, get advice and they assemble and test the custom PC before shipping. http://www.jncs.com/

You want to make sure that the processor you select will run at optimum speed, so the motherboard selection is important as well as the DDR. Put all of them together, you get a smoker and save yourself quite a few bucks as well.

I know New Egg just had a suevey with thousands of votes and selelcted AMD overwhelmingly as the better processor over Intel.

Some people are more comfortable with the old "name brand security" and will get Intel on the strength of the enormous amout of dollars on marketing which get passed right back to you the consumer. There is nothing wrong about getting a processor because of the name if you feel more comfortable.

[theDruid]

I'd suggest this belongs in the Computer forum.

Apart from that - there will never be a resolution to the AMD/Intel argument on this forum or any other, but one thing to bear in mind is that a new AMD Athlon would probably work in jw33's motherboard if (s)he's running a Thunderbird now.

So, quite apart from the price/performance considerations of AMD vs Intel, I'd suggest a shiny new Athlon would be the way to go, unless you want to invest in a new mobo as well as a P4.

In fact, for the price of a P4, you might be able to buy a faster Athlon and a more up-to-date board to run it in!

If you look at the prices in pile-em-high sell-em-cheap type shops, there's often a particular model which is such a popular choice that it's cheaper than the next (slower) model down. (e.g. an XP2200+ for less than a XP2100+)

One last thing to add is that if you're in to overclocking ("... a 1.53 Tbird running at about 1.65 ...") Intel's arguably have a better reputation for this - in terms of cooling if nothing else; although some will argue that this is because you can set an Intel at a fast clock speed, and it will just throttle down if it gets too hot - thus not actually running as fast as it appears to be. Although - actually - I'm a bit behind on the overclocking front (I don't bother) - can you even overclock a P4?

If I won the lottery, I'd probably try a P4, but until then it's AMD all the way for me!

cheers,
mcdruid.

[Heavensent]

what are you using to convert ?
i whould go for a faster encoder (asuming you use a slow one = tmpg).
the encoder is going to stay with you even when you buy a new system some day.
try cce basic, you might like it and its going to be even faster on a
faster cpu.

[overloaded_ide]

I unless your wanting to build a whole new system I would just get the fastest AMD cpu your system board supports! More ram would not hurt too.

Monitor your system resources when you are working and see if your maxing out the CPU, if you are or nearly are, then go with a new bigger one! If you have a problem elsewhere and the Cpu is only showing about half maxed, then cpu ain't the problem and look else where.

Intel/Amd discusion is pointless! It's an AMD board! If he was going to switch to Insmell he might as well just build a whole new system from scratch and have 2 systems!