do i need to update?

[cw_ek9]

Yea anyways... it takes me about an hour and 10 mins to encode a video clip that is 20 mins long or 350mb. I know my friends computer which is pretty fast takes about 20-30 mins. I dont have the money to really build a new computer. So what kind of hardware determines how fast it encodes? I have a athlon 1.10 ghz processor and 768mb of ram and a Radeon 9700 Pro if it matters. Any ideas? Thanks i advance

[steve2713]

The processor is the area you need improvement in. You'd be better off building a new system rather than trying to simply upgrade your processor, as your current Motherboard won't be able to utilize the newer, faster processors.

I know you said you can't really afford a new computer, but I've built a pretty good system for about $150. Fry's/Outpost.com, for example, sometimes have Sempron/MB combos for around $50-70. I've gotten a Sempron 2500/MB combo for $60, it would cut your processing time about in half. Find a cheap tower or use the one you have now, use the HD, and use your video card. You'll probably need different RAM but you can get 512mb for about $40. So for about $100 or so you could put together a pretty decent system (if you use your existing Video Card and Hard Drive(s)).

[cw_ek9]

whats the minimum i would need to get my encoding to about 20 mins?

[steve2713]

I have no idea, you haven't even specified what program(s) you are using, what you are encoding from and what you are encoding to, etc.

I'm just going to make the assumption you are converting DIVX or something similar to MPEG2 for DVD playback. Are you using TMPGEnc or what?

[cw_ek9]

I have no idea, you haven't even specified what program(s) you are using, what you are encoding from and what you are encoding to, etc.

I'm just going to make the assumption you are converting DIVX or something similar to MPEG2 for DVD playback. Are you using TMPGEnc or what?

yea u are correct lol. sorry about that. Yea im using TMPGEnc. And thanks for all the quick replies

[mats.hogberg]

For "realtime" encoding, I'd suppose ~2.5 - 3 GHz will do. I get 0.5 - 0.75 on my 3.2 GHz box (20 min video done in 10-15 min with MainConcept)
My view on processor pricing is that the fastest is always too expensive, but that the second fastest model has dropped radically. The drop to even lesser processors isn't that big.

/Mats

[cw_ek9]

Would using MainConcept be faster than Tmpgenc?

[mats.hogberg]

Yes, MainConcept is faster than TMPGEnc.

/Mats

[D.A.R.J.R.]

For "realtime" encoding, I'd suppose ~2.5 - 3 GHz will do. I get 0.5 - 0.75 on my 3.2 GHz box (20 min video done in 10-15 min with MainConcept)
My view on processor pricing is that the fastest is always too expensive, but that the second fastest model has dropped radically. The drop to even lesser processors isn't that big.

/Mats

I know what you mean. I just built a new pc and the best way to save money was to use "next to new" technology because all of the prices were lowered. Mine ended up costing me $600, but to buy it prebuilt it would have cost around $1200.

[mats.hogberg]

Xactly. And if 200 MHz (like 6%) speed difference makes 100% price difference, the decision isn't that hard.

/Mats

[cw_ek9]

Yes, MainConcept is faster than TMPGEnc.

/Mats

same quality though right?

[wwjd]

CCE Basic is also faster than TMPGEnc and does a very good job of encoding. At $58 it is a good deal.

[mats.hogberg]

same quality though right?

Sameish. Hard to say - very subjective. See recent encoder shootouts to make your own decision. From a quality perspective, I prefer Procoder...

/Mats

[edDV]

For the same encoder, encoding times scale fairly linearly with CPU speed so long as minimal RAM is present (say 256-512MB). Typical graphics cards have minimal effect.

Some higher end encoders like the Mainconcept versions in Premiere and Vegas support Intel's Hyperthreading. Hyperthreading will give an additional 10-20% encoding speed boost if supported by the encoder software.

See encoder benchmarks for more:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/intelamdcpuroundupvideo/

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

mats.hogberg Wrote:

And if 200 MHz (like 6%) speed difference makes 100% price difference, the decision isn't that hard.

Numbers doesn't lie!... coudn't agree more with you.
That difference ammount in speed does NOT justify at all the difference in the price.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

when I use TMPGEnc, it takes about 3 to 3 and half hours to convert a 20 min avi to m2v/wav
but, I'm having some issues right now and am currently unable to run my CPU at it's full speed - when's the last time you heard of somebody underclocking their PC :P ?
before my problems, it was taking just under 2 hours
additionally, the settings you choose will also increase/decrease the total dealing time