1000$ PC build for video encoding ?

[Wobewt]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a new PC.
Currently, I have an i7 2700k @ 4.6ghz and I'm looking for an upgrade.
I was looking at the latest i7s, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to go with DDR4 based systems since the prices are still pretty high.

So I'm wondering which kind of dual xeon build you would recommend, for under $1k ?
That would be for the CPUs and motherboard only, since I already have the rest.

Thanks

[newpball]

So I'm wondering which kind of dual xeon build you would recommend, for under $1k ?

None, wanting current generation dual Xeons for under $1K is not possible.

[Wobewt]

Wouldn't a build with 2 x Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 be much better than my i7 2700k ?
This should put me back under 1000$

edit: haha I guess those are for single CPU only, right ? I'd have to get a E5-2620v3 for dual cpu ?

[newpball]

Wouldn't a build with 2 x Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 ......

Why would you ever want to use that?

The rule is simple: stay mainstream unless you have no alternative.

Unless you get a great deal on an old X97 the Z97 or X99 chipsets are what you want to get now.

Only if you must have additional power start thinking of the Xeons, but remember you will pay a hefty premium for it and in a two years nobody would want to give you your, in your eyes, fair'asking price and you will find out you lost a lot of money if the increased costs did not pay back by generating more income.

[Wobewt]

It's quite a dilemna, I know.

What would you recommend ?

[newpball]

What would you recommend ?

Depends what you need.

Do you edit mostly SD, HD, UHD?
Do you use a lot of effects?
3D?
How important is production speed?
Do you need 10bit+ video?
What kind of monitor(s) do you need?
...
and so on.

In short, it depends!

[Wobewt]

It's pretty simple really, I want the best config for encoding x264 (transcoding)
Besides that, I just edit photos using lightroom/photoshop.

edit: and occasional gaming, but nothing that requires a 4x SLI or whatever they call it

[redwudz]

The PC in my computer details does a Blu-ray to H.264 conversion in an average two and a half hours and that's a two pass encode to a 8GB MKV file using RipBot.
It does a DVD to MKV conversion with Vidcoder at a quality setting of 19.5 in about 15 minutes.

You don't need to spend a fortune for a fast encoding PC. For fast gaming, just add a expensive video card.

[Wobewt]

Hehe that's good to know, cute performance.

I just want something better, is it too much to ask ?

[usually_quiet]

Hehe that's good to know, cute performance.

I just want something better, is it too much to ask ?

I agree with everyone else. Get something more mainstream, especially given the budget and the parts you want to re-use.

The E5-2620v3 you are considering costs about $410. You need two of them. An inexpensive dual socket LGA 2011 server motherboard still costs over $300. Most cost more. Only some dual socket LGA 2011 motherboard support the E5-2620v3. You need to check the motherboard's supported CPU list before purchasing

You may not have "the rest". Have you ever looked carefully at a dual Xeon server motherboard? Most are not ATX motherboards. They more often use other form factors, like EATX or SSI EEB. Server CPUs don't come with a CPU cooler. You need two suitable aftermarket coolers. The DDR3 desktop memory you currently have may not be compatible. You need to check the RAM you want to re-use against the motherboard manufacturer's approved list. Is your PSU sufficient?

[sophisticles]

for a grand i would pick up a 5820k, buy a nice water cooling setup, lots of good DDR4, a good power supply, a gtx 960 and overclock the 5820k.

here's the thing, you're 2700k is overclocked to 4.6ghz, that means you would need 2 xeons clocked at 2.3ghz to match it's performance under well threaded apps and they wouldn't match it under lightly threaded apps. add in the fact that most dual socket boards only use ECC ram, which is slower than regular ram and that means that you need to spend quite a bit more than $1000 to really see the benefit of a dual xeon setup while encoding x264.

since you like to overclock, how about a 4790k, which will allow you to reuse your ram and only buy a new motherboard with the new cpu, maybe add some ram and you're done.

[newpball]

for a grand i would pick up a 5820k...

I agree, the 5820k is currently the sweet spot.
Unless you want to go with 4 GPU cards it should do just fine.

[Gravitator]

Hi!
It is better to bet on the hardware encoding and decoding HEVC (GTX 960). NVEnc already encodes HEVC (so far only on low settings). x265 is silent on the particular hardware by supporting GPU.

[Wobewt]

Thanks for all the info guys !

I finally bought a used i7-4930k and Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4.
It should improve encoding speeds quite a bit (50% if the OC goes well) compared to my current rig, and it will come relatively cheap since I already had all of the components (except the cooler)

GPU encoding seems promising, but for now it's too LQ for my use (BD backups mostly)

[newpball]

Thanks for all the info guys !

I finally bought a used i7-4930k and Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4.
It should improve encoding speeds quite a bit (50% if the OC goes well) compared to my current rig, and it will come relatively cheap since I already had all of the components (except the cooler)

GPU encoding seems promising, but for now it's too LQ for my use (BD backups mostly)

Congratulations you just bought a dead end platform.

How much did you pay for the CPU?

By comparison a 5820K for the new X99 platform is around $380-400.
Obviously X99 is the road to the future.

Now you are stuck with X79 with no more room to grow. The X99 platform already has an 8-core and there is surely more to come in the next two years as I think it is technically compatible with 18 cores.

[sophisticles]

While it may technically be "older" technology, a 4930k is still a pretty nice cpu, especially if he got a good deal on the combo. OP, how much did you pay for the combo?

[Wobewt]

Thanks for all the info guys !

I finally bought a used i7-4930k and Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4.
It should improve encoding speeds quite a bit (50% if the OC goes well) compared to my current rig, and it will come relatively cheap since I already had all of the components (except the cooler)

GPU encoding seems promising, but for now it's too LQ for my use (BD backups mostly)

Congratulations you just bought a dead end platform.

How much did you pay for the CPU?

By comparison a 5820K for the new X99 platform is around $380-400.
Obviously X99 is the road to the future.

Now you are stuck with X79 with no more room to grow. The X99 platform already has an 8-core and there is surely more to come in the next two years as I think it is technically compatible with 18 cores.

X99 means DDR4, how much would you pay for that ?
It's too pricey right now, I'd rather stick with my 32GB of DDR3.

X79 still leaves me a little bit of room to grow, since I could get an 8 core Xeon, but the 4930K is a way better option at the moment.
The Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 is far from being outdated and is a real upgrade from what I had so far (Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3)

But I will most likely switch a bit after the new Intel generation comes out.

All in all, I don't really see how this was an idiotic purchase, as you seem to suggest ?

While it may technically be "older" technology, a 4930k is still a pretty nice cpu, especially if he got a good deal on the combo. OP, how much did you pay for the combo?

I paid around 400$ for the combo, not sure if it's a good price in the US but it was quite OK here.

[newpball]

I paid around 400$ for the combo, not sure if it's a good price in the US but it was quite OK here.

I think that is a pretty good price for the combo.

[sophisticles]

I paid around 400$ for the combo, not sure if it's a good price in the US but it was quite OK here.

Yeah, that's pretty good, who did you end up buying it from, I doubt it was Tiger Direct or NewEgg because they shaft you every chance they get.

[Wobewt]

I paid around 400$ for the combo, not sure if it's a good price in the US but it was quite OK here.

Yeah, that's pretty good, who did you end up buying it from, I doubt it was Tiger Direct or NewEgg because they shaft you every chance they get.

I got it from the local 'ebay', aukro.cz.

I'll post some pics of the build today or tomorrow.