what computer configuration is best?

[jwms]

I am getting ready to upgrade to a faster computer. What do you guys think of the P-4 vs. P-3? I keep seeing that the P-4 is not the way to go for video editing/ burning, but I want to use it if it works.

Also, any ideas on which OS to use in conjunction with a particular processer? I want to create vcd's w/ analog input thru AIW 32mb DDR the card yet, so any input on it would also be appreciated...

[Dhruv]

I've heard that an Athlon XP CPU with Windows XP or Windows 2000 is a killer machine.

[tinycorkscrew]

To answer your second question first, I don't know that any given processor works better with any given OS. There are a lot of factors involved in OS performance beyond the processor. For example, Windows Millenium doesn't perform nearly as well as Win98 if you don't have much RAM. The same holds true for Windows 2000 and XP. If you have a healthy amount of RAM, XP will perform about the same in most applications as 2000. If you don't have enough RAM, performance in XP will suffer.

"I keep seeing that the P-4 is not the way to go for video editing/ burning, but I want to use it if it works."

This is where I'm confused. If you keep seeing that the P4 is not the way to go, then why do you want to use it? I don't mean to be harsh, but have you already made up your mind and you just want someone to reaffirm your decision?

Sure, a P4 will work. It will be more expensive than an Athlon XP and it won't perform as well. Read this review to find out more:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1554

When the Northwood Pentiums come out, things might change, but if you're going to buy a processor right now, you'd be crazy not to get an AMD.

[d4n13l]

Yep, I wouldnt even think of buying a P4 until I see how the Brookdales set for Q2 of next year will perform against the Athlon. I have seen some very preliminary tests with Brookdale (Not using RDRAM) Vs Athlon (O/clocked) and things look like they will be very, very close. But until then, the P4 just does not cut it performance wise.

BTW, if you do get a P4 system, make sure it has RDRAM.

[tendtend]

CPU speed is not a issue if you do not want to do real time encoding. Consider these:
(1) a >40G 7200rpm hard drive
(2) >256M RAM

Let the computer do encoding for you when you are sleeping!

My PII 266 does a great job (do not laugh at me, this lovely toy is 4 years old) with 320M RAM and a 40G 7200rpm HD.

[jwms]

Thanks for the input, guys! I will be building a machine with lots of ram; RD for sure if I go P-4. It sounds like the AMD is the way to go.

Soooo, if I go with AMD and lots of ram, WinXP, great big 7200 rpm hd, can anybody tell me which software works in that environment, and which ones don't?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to be sure that I don't spend the money for a machine that won't perform for it's primary use! Like I said before, I will more than likely use an AIW card to capture, but will need an editing program that hads the ability to adjust bitrates and such...

thanks

[Benderchuk]

If you decide to go with WIN XP try to get P4, because WIN XP is best performing with P-4. Also, try to get RAMBUS instead of SDRAM. RAMBUS is the fastest ram memory now. I have only 256 Mb of RAMBUS and it kicks but. I have very good MSI motherboard though. As other people said HD speed is important try to get 7200 rpm. As far as processor clock frequency you can get away with 1 Ghz too. Anyway, if you are going to render overnight, who cares!

[Valnar]

Rambus has bad latency. It will bite it in the ass when DDR SDRAM gets up to that speed.

For maximum compability, I'd get one of the new SIS 645 chipset mobos with a P4 processor.

Robert


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Valnar on 2001-12-20 08:07:25 ]</font>

I have recently built several systems for people both in PIII, P4, and AMD XP. The PIII will be the slowest performer in the group even if running dual cpu's (I know because I gave my daughter my Dual PIII 1 ghz when I went to my new system).

The P4 is a very good cpu. The problem is the access rate of the memory. If you go rambus it cost you an arm and a leg. SDRAM is just way to slow. There are two boards out that use DDR Ram, Shuttle and AZZA. I recently built a system for my boss with the AZZA board and 512Meg PC2100 Memory and when I tested it compared to the Rambus with the same 1.7 Ghz cpu, in most applications currently available, the DDR Ram system was significantly faster.

The AMD XP1800, Which is what I have now, with the Soyo Dragon plu board, 512Meg DDR Memory is fast. I have it running at 1612 Mhz or approx. XP2100+ with no problems until I get to running TMPGenc and then it locks up until I slow down the CPU to normal speed.

Which is better, it is hard to say. It really depends on your choice. For speed, stay with the Windows 2000 if possible. XP is ok, but does have some problems.