Athlon XP 3000+ Barton core, 400FSB or Athlon 64 2800+ ???

[Baatfam]

Hello! First post here....been reading for weeks and still have plenty of learnin' to do.

I'm workin' up the specs to build a dedicated capture/edit/burn PC to free up my every day machine.....

So, which would be better for video work? The XP 3K+ or the 64 2800? Cost are about the same as far as I can tell. It will definatly be AMD as all the machines I've built have been AMDs and I like 'em....

Plan on using the AverMedia card and NEC 3520 I'm using now....

Thanks for any advice,
Bob T.

[reboot]

Go 64 bit and don't look back. In a couple of years, you'll be able to plunk in a CPU double that speed in the same socket (hopefully).

[waheed]

Definitely go with the Athlon64. Faster than the XP and you'll be ready for 64bit OS.

[Baatfam]

Thanks!
Still not sure though....I was kinda leanin' toward the 64, but I've had good luck with my XP machine....
Plus, there are some good MB deals for the socket A stuff....the 754 socket stuff looks to cost more, although they do seem to have more features....
Since this is planned to be a dedicated, video only machine....I'd like to keep the cost down if possible....

What to do?

Is the only advantage the speed? Or will there be some video processing quality improvement?
And how long before the 64 bit OSes come along?

Later,
Bob T.

[reboot]

Longhorn 64 bit prerelease is already out to the beta testers. You can download a preview version of it free from MS. It's a pretty slick OS, although not ready for general consumption yet (as with all MS OS's).
Please, when it comes time to upgrade, the 64 bit option is going to be far cheaper in the end.

[waheed]

Microsost has now closed the download of its preview of 64bit Windows OS. According to their website, they now aim to offer the full version in due time.

[reboot]

Glad I saved my version then

[smarkgraf]

Baatfam

I have been going through the same exercise myself. I currently have an XP2500+ system OC'd to XP3000+ speed. Using Tmpgenc I get about a 2:1 encode time for mpeg2 CBR@4K with no filters. If I turn on the NR filter it jumps to about 5.5:1(2hr movie takes 11+hours). I am trying to get a coworker to run the same test on his A64 3000+ system(939 board) to get a comparison. The A64 components I am looking at are approximately $200 more than the XP system.

Steve

[Cobra]

The A64 will probably run a lot cooler than the Barton, so there is more potential for overclocking it if you are thinking of dabbling. Otherwise, it is a more modern architecture and as a result future upgrades will be easier as reboot has already stated.

[Baatfam]

I hear ya Steve. I'm trying to justify the extra $$ for the 64 set up. I think the speed increase needs to be signifigant.

...there is more potential for overclocking it if you are thinking of dabbling. Otherwise, it is a more modern architecture and as a result future upgrades will be easier as reboot has already stated.

Well, I'm not into overclocking....
And as for future upgrades...."upgrade" usually means new MB and processor anyway, (at least for me).

Still....I'm thinkin' this board:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-498&depa=1

And a 2800 or 3000+ 64 chip would be nice And not to costly.

Later,
Bob T.

[Cobra]

Bob,

Asus would be an outstanding choice of motherboard. It isn't a component to skimp on. I have had good experiences with many, many Asus boards.

You shouldn't dismiss overclocking. Check out my signature - it's a bit outdated, but most of the information still applies. It's not as dangerous as most people make out, and it definitely isn't as difficult! However, if you prefer to stay safe then fair play.

Cobra

[redwudz]

Just a aside. If you are looking at a A64, I would go with the 939 processor, specifically the Winchester cores. The 754 processors are on the way out.
You can also convert to PCI-E instead of AGP if you want a combination that will last a few extra years.

[Baatfam]

Just a aside. If you are looking at a A64, I would go with the 939 processor, specifically the Winchester cores. The 754 processors are on the way out.

Could....but that just adds a little more to the cost and I still have to get approval from the CFO for this project, (and she's already unhappy about my racin' budget)

Not so worried about the 754 going obsolete....seems someone told me that about my Socket A Athlon machine last year....and it's still workin' fine

Maybe I'm foolish, but I've never upgraded just the CPU....I always end up with a new MB too....

Thanks for the help guys!

Bob T.

[winifreid]

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,120082,00.asp

[smarkgraf]

Here are the components I was looking at for AMD system:
Socket A
MB - EPoX EP-8RDA+PRO $ 68
CPU - XP2400+M(45)* $ 76
RAM - pqi POWER Series 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 x2 $ 76
Video - Chaintech FX5500-256Mb $ 80
HSF - ZALMAN CNPS7000B* $ 40
* retail XP3000+ = $120
total $340

754
MB - ABIT KV8 Pro $ 79
CPU - A64 2800+ Retail $120
RAM - pqi POWER Series 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 x2 $ 76
Video - Chaintech FX5500-256Mb $ 80
total $355

939
MB - Chaintech VNF4 Ultra ** $ 97
CPU - A64 3000+ Retail $146
RAM - pqi POWER Series 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 x2 $ 76
Video - Sapphire X300-128Mb ** $ 80
** PCI-E
total $399

So you can see that the A64 systems are not that much more expensive. The big benefits to the 939 system is dual channel and a faster processor.

SteveM

[BJ_M]

754
MB - ABIT KV8 Pro $ 79
CPU - A64 2800+ Retail $120
RAM - pqi POWER Series 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 x2 $ 76
Video - Chaintech FX5500-256Mb $ 80
total $355

i have almost the same system except 3200+ amd64 and cosair memory instead ...

i run it at 2310mhz (5% overclock) and default everything else -- and 100% stable and cool (it has been runing in fact 3 days straight right now at 100% rendering ..

it screams except seems slow reading from dvd (running at DMA 2) benq 1620 pro ---i also tried a old pioneer 104 in it and same read speed almost .. really got me stumped ..


a new benq firmware was released this week - ill try that , but i dont think its it (and nothing at all on ide buss) , Hard drives are on sata