build a new pc specifically for x265 encoding

[vhelp]

Hi, I want to build a new pc specifically for x265 encoding.

My current specs are just too slow: dell inspiron laptop, win7-64bit, 6GB ram, 15" monitor

x265 reports show my system with the following minimal performance: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 SSE4.2 AVX

And here is a bit more detail from my last encoding I just did a few minutes ago or so that should give you an indication of how fast, or slow actually, my system is with using the -preset slow in x265 v2.0.45 for a 720x480 video:

yuv  [info]: 720x480 fps 24000/1001 i420p8 unknown frame count
raw  [info]: output file: c:\videos\video.2.0.045.20161008sat.5thelement.SR-W5U.ezcap2.A.01.crf.20.LQ.slow.hevc
x265 [info]: HEVC encoder version 2.0+45-7f9aeed70c0d
x265 [info]: build info [Windows][GCC 5.3.0][64 bit] 10bit
x265 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 SSE4.2 AVX
x265 [warning]: Limit reference options 2 and 3 are not supported with pmode. Disabling limit reference
x265 [warning]: Specifying a decoder level with constant rate factor rate-control requires
x265 [warning]: enabling VBV with vbv-bufsize=30000kb vbv-maxrate=30000kbps. VBV outputs are non-deterministic!
x265 [info]: Main 10 profile, Level-4 (High tier)
x265 [info]: Thread pool created using 4 threads
x265 [info]: Slices                              : 1
x265 [info]: frame threads / pool features       : 2 / wpp(8 rows)+pmode
x265 [warning]: Source height < 720p; disabling lookahead-slices
x265 [info]: Coding QT: max CU size, min CU size : 64 / 8
x265 [info]: Residual QT: max TU size, max depth : 32 / 1 inter / 1 intra
x265 [info]: ME / range / subpel / merge         : star / 57 / 3 / 3
x265 [info]: Keyframe min / max / scenecut       : 23 / 240 / 40
x265 [info]: Lookahead / bframes / badapt        : 25 / 4 / 2
x265 [info]: b-pyramid / weightp / weightb       : 1 / 1 / 0
x265 [info]: References / ref-limit  cu / depth  : 4 / off / off
x265 [info]: AQ: mode / str / qg-size / cu-tree  : 1 / 1.0 / 32 / 1
x265 [info]: Rate Control / qCompress            : CRF-20.0 / 0.60
x265 [info]: VBV/HRD buffer / max-rate / init    : 30000 / 30000 / 0.900
x265 [info]: tools: rect limit-modes rd=4 psy-rd=0.50 rdoq=1 psy-rdoq=1.00
x265 [info]: tools: rskip signhide tmvp strong-intra-smoothing
x265 [info]: tools: deblock(tC=-3:B=-3) sao
[0.0%] 1/4844 frames, 0.75 fps, 4332.10 kb/s, eta 1:48:04  
[0.1%] 3/4844 frames, 1.78 fps, 2605.26 kb/s, eta 0:45:19  
[0.1%] 5/4844 frames, 2.58 fps, 1610.04 kb/s, eta 0:31:12  
. 
. 
. 
[99.8%] 4835/4844 frames, 2.85 fps, 855.99 kb/s, eta 0:00:03  
[99.9%] 4837/4844 frames, 2.85 fps, 855.68 kb/s, eta 0:00:02  
[99.9%] 4839/4844 frames, 2.85 fps, 855.35 kb/s, eta 0:00:01  
[99.9%] 4840/4844 frames, 2.85 fps, 855.28 kb/s, eta 0:00:01  
[100.0%] 4842/4844 frames, 2.85 fps, 854.96 kb/s, eta 0:00:00  
                                                                                
x265 [info]: frame I:     68, Avg QP:19.78  kb/s: 3744.76 
x265 [info]: frame P:   1117, Avg QP:20.98  kb/s: 2108.51 
x265 [info]: frame B:   3659, Avg QP:26.20  kb/s: 465.08  
x265 [info]: Weighted P-Frames: Y:6.1% UV:3.5%
x265 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 8.5% 3.6% 7.4% 31.4% 49.0% 

encoded 4844 frames in 1696.63s (2.86 fps), 890.08 kb/s, Avg QP:24.91

That clip above took 28 minutes to encode an 00:03m:22s 720x480 video

I will use an external HDD for my large video files.
I would like to stay away from big desktop pc's if possible.
I read about those tiny mini pc's, or anything very light and portable and simple to put together, hopefully minimal.
I would prefer windows 7 -64bit os if possible, and as much fast ram too.
usb3, etc., though wifi and network hardware is not mandatory since this will strictly be an hardware encoding machine.
bestbuy, ebay, amazon will probably be my method but other suggestion will be fine.
budget: $150 and $300

What are your suggestions to dramatically speed up that --preset slow in a *new* faster computer ?
Thank you for any helpful leads.

[usually_quiet]

All of the very tiny PCs (for example Intel NUCs) that I have looked at recently are using laptop CPUs. Since they usually do not have an exhaust fan, the processor needs to have a low TDP. There may be some available with desktop CPUs, but not many because they tend to run hotter.

If you want to build a PC with a desktop CPU, you may need to consider a mini ITX system instead. Such a system can be smaller than most desktops, but you won't be able to carry it around in a backpack.

[Edit]Your budget is not realistic. Tiny costs more.

[jagabo]

Look into the latest Intel SkyLake processors. The latest MSU VQMT tests indicate the hardware encoder is better than x265 (at least by SSIM scores) and much faster.

http://compression.ru/video/codec_comparison/hevc_2016/

I will remain skeptical until I've seen some examples myself. But if it's true a cheap SkyLake CPU may be worth it.

[pandy]

Well - you need to decide or cheap, small, silent and slow or expensive, fast, hot and noisy.
Second option cheapest (AFAIK) seem to be this: http://www.intelserveredge.com/intelvca/ .

[Zero-11]

forget that CPU encoding shit (the only reason to compress heavily is a slow internet connection)

use Quicksync (Skylake) or NVENC (Pascal) and get a big HDD

even if Zen gives us cheap 8 cores it still takes far too long and will cost a lot for @max. 2x the encoding speed from now on

Look into the latest Intel SkyLake processors. The latest MSU VQMT tests indicate the hardware encoder is better than x265 (at least by SSIM scores) and much faster.

http://compression.ru/video/codec_comparison/hevc_2016/

I will remain skeptical until I've seen some examples myself. But if it's true a cheap SkyLake CPU may be worth it.

exactly **** the CPU makers and their overpriced low core count CPUs

[redwudz]

I think for your budget, you might look into a refurbished PC. Such as some of these from Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Descr...096&isNodeId=1

You could build a micro ATX setup, such as one I put together a few months ago for about $400.

Parts list:

$35 GIGABYTE GA-AM1M-S2H AM1 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

$25 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBXM

$36 AMD Sempron 3850 Kabini Quad-Core 1.3 GHz Socket AM1 25W SD3850JAHMBOX Desktop Processor AMD Radeon HD 8280

$50 Antec VSK2000-U3 Black Micro ATX Computer Case with PS

$20 ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

$50 WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD10EZEX

$140 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM

Current cost, not including shipping, about $360US.

Upping the RAM or the HDD or the CPU would increase the cost a fair amount.
I suspect it would be much faster than your laptop. Price doesn't include a monitor, KB or mouse.

[sophisticles]

exactly **** the CPU makers and their overpriced low core count CPUs

You do realize that it's the "CPU makers", namely Intel that created Quick Sync, no?

Regardless, to the OP, I also add my support for not using a software based solution and instead switching to a Skylake based Quick Sync solution.

The budget is extremely tight, but you can pick up a Skylake based Celeron for $50, a cheap motherboard for $45, some cheap DDR4 and then cannibalize the rest (disk drive, case, power supply) from your current system.

The MSU test that was referenced had Quick Sync + Skylake (via i7 6700k + MSS) beating x264+placebo and x265+very slow in SSIM, PSNR and subjective tests (though the latter 2 results are only available in the paid version of the report).

Here's my take, let's assume that the tests were flawed and or that it's only possible with Intel's $5000 MSS software, if Skylake's (and Kaby Lake's) Quick Sync engine can only match the medium presets for x264 and x265 then it's still a better option due to the raw encoding speed advantage over a software based solution.

[vhelp]

The budget is extremely tight, but you can pick up a Skylake based Celeron for $50, a cheap motherboard for $45, some cheap DDR4 and then cannibalize the rest (disk drive, case, power supply) from your current system.

I've recently improved my x265 quality dramatically, and I would love to test both.

I'd be willing to give your suggestion a test run. Where can I pick up this $50 Celeron cpu and $45 motherboard ?
* And, get me the smallest case and power supply and ram, and the win7-64b OS
* Everything-else I have: monitor, keyboard, mouse, 320gb hdd (ide or sata)

[KarMa]

I don't know your current CPU model, but don't think you can really improve your speed by purchasing parts for a new computer with $150-$300. I would be looking at your current laptop to see if you can swap out your current CPU with the best CPU that will work with the motherboard CPU socket.

The MSU test that was referenced had Quick Sync + Skylake (via i7 6700k + MSS) beating x264+placebo and x265+very slow in SSIM, PSNR and subjective tests (though the latter 2 results are only available in the paid version of the report).

I don't see subjective tests listed. Just SSIM and PSNR.

[usually_quiet]

The budget is extremely tight, but you can pick up a Skylake based Celeron for $50, a cheap motherboard for $45, some cheap DDR4 and then cannibalize the rest (disk drive, case, power supply) from your current system.

I've recently improved my x265 quality dramatically, and I would love to test both.

I'd be willing to give your suggestion a test run. Where can I pick up this $50 Celeron cpu and $45 motherboard ?
* And, get me the smallest case and power supply and ram, and the win7-64b OS
* Everything-else I have: monitor, keyboard, mouse, 320gb hdd (ide or sata)

CPU: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Celeron-FCLGA1151-Processor-G3920/dp/B01B2P8EQI
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135407 (HDMI & DP only. Does not have VGA or DVI)
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353044
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151124
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233831
OS: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-w-SP1-64-bit-System-Builde...20250/19581740

Even with an inexpensive case, the least expensive Skylake CPU and the least expensive mini ITX motherboard I could find, this build still exceeds your unrealistic budget, once the OS is added. To be honest, I think you need a better CPU to make this build worthwhile. This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117563

I picked a modular PSU because without one you will have to find a place to store unused cables in a small case. This one is moderately priced but not cheap. Buying a cheap PSU is a bad idea.

[pandy]

Hi, I want to build a new pc specifically for x265 encoding.

budget: $150 and $300

What are your suggestions to dramatically speed up that --preset slow in a *new* faster computer ?

With this budget there is no way to "dramatically speed up" "specifically for x265 encoding" - hope it should be clear for everyone in this topic and please do not confuse H.264 with H.265 as H.265 was designed to be efficient in multithread environment...

[sophisticles]

I've recently improved my x265 quality dramatically, and I would love to test both.

I'd be willing to give your suggestion a test run. Where can I pick up this $50 Celeron cpu and $45 motherboard ?
* And, get me the smallest case and power supply and ram, and the win7-64b OS
* Everything-else I have: monitor, keyboard, mouse, 320gb hdd (ide or sata)

Microcenter

http://www.microcenter.com/product/454897/G4400_SkyLake_33GHz_LGA_1151_Boxed_Processor

http://www.microcenter.com/product/457459/H110M_Pro-VD_LGA_1151_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

Depending on the store location you can find some excellent deals on a really good motherboard and their ram prices are very good as well.

[vhelp]

none of the newegg pages show, I get "this page can't be displayed" on all the links. Anyway.

Microcenter

Holy wow.. they are in yonkers, new York. I can actually go and pick the parts up and build this sht today though it would take two hours due to all the traffic lights and sunday drivers.

[vhelp]

Do they sell windows 7-64bit and cheap?

How small of a case can I get? I don't want a tower. I have 4 of them and only one (w/ xp home) in use.. the rest have Window 98 gold on'em

The dual-core worries me since software would only be able to use 2 cores. I have that on my desktop pc, amd from 2010 I believe. 4 or 8 would be better I thought.

I might be able to put the budget to $350 or $400 if I can get a really fast system since I will be software encoding. I have other software encoders that I use too (xvid, mpeg2, x264, etc., plus software filtering--need speed for that), so I need that flexibility in speed on a cpu.

** ----------------------------------------------------- **

what I don't have
ram - what is fast
cables - what am I missing ?
software - windows 7-64bit, and any others that I might need

what I have
* 23" widescreen monitor by Hannspree model HF237
* psu 350 watt, by Antec, model BP350 (or do I need a new one?)
* mouse
* keyboard
* several external 1TB HDD's for large files

[usually_quiet]

Do they sell windows 7-64bit and cheap?

How small of a case can I get? I don't want a tower. I have 4 of them and only one (w/ xp home) in use.. the rest have Window 98 gold on'em

The dual-core worries me since software would only be able to use 2 cores. I have that on my desktop pc, amd from 2010 I believe. 4 or 8 would be better I thought.

I might be able to put the budget to $350 or $400 if I can get a really fast system since I will be software encoding. I have other software encoders that I use too (xvid, mpeg2, x264, etc., plus software filtering--need speed for that), so I need that flexibility in speed on a cpu.

** ----------------------------------------------------- **

what I don't have
ram - what is fast
cables - what am I missing ?
software - windows 7-64bit, and any others that I might need

what I have
* 23" widescreen monitor by Hannspree model HF237
* psu 350 watt, by Antec, model BP350 (or do I need a new one?)
* mouse
* keyboard
* several external 1TB HDD's for large files

If the Antec is more than 2 years old, I would get a new PSU.

I tested my links and all work here. You probably have a host file or privacy software blocking them. The newegg part numbers are in the link and can be pasted in their search box. For example "N82E16811353044" = part number for the case.

For the build I posted, you will need an HDMI cable, as far as I can tell.

My build uses a case that is too small for the MATX motherboard suggested by sophisticles. It is for mini ITX boards only. If the case I posted is still too large, then yes, it is possible to go smaller, but that will definitely raise your costs higher. However, since I strongly suspect that nothing I can come up with will please you, I'll leave others to help you.

[ezcapper]

If you can use quicksync instead of x265 I would wait a couple months and get a used or open box Acer laptop with a i3-7100u. It should be right at $300. Especially if you're looking to edit sd/hd, that will probably be well within the capabilities of the machine. That clip would encode in less than 3 minutes.

edit: msi released one of the small form factor pc's you were talking about with the same kaby lake processor (barebone system) for $300. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167148&cm_re=kaby_lake-_-56-1...-148-_-Product
you would need $30 8gb ram:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B015HQ9UDO/ref=sr_1_6_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=14761537...condition=used
and $27 new 500gb 2.5 inch hdd
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00ISKS416/ref=sr_1_4_olp?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=147...condition=used

The link to the ram and hdd are sellers that only have 1 left, but if sold, I'm sure it would be possible to find something in the same ball park. That would be a good little quicksync encoding box

[sophisticles]

none of the newegg pages show, I get "this page can't be displayed" on all the links. Anyway.

Microcenter

Holy wow.. they are in yonkers, new York. I can actually go and pick the parts up and build this sht today though it would take two hours due to all the traffic lights and sunday drivers.

They have multiple locations, Yonkers, Brooklyn, Long Island City, Paterson NJ, they have locales all over the country.

[vhelp]

@ usually_quiet
Sorry about that. I'm just learning that it is the videohelp forum that is mingling with the right-click and copy-shortcut selection in internet explorer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353044

http ://go.videohelp.com/?id=19619X769413&site=videohelp.com&xs=1&isjs=1&ur l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct. aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16811353044&xguid=a2c121ba160ef4 e4971b8b8206e8bd22&xuuid=4cf44789f9d4d478bafcef83f aea8c8d&xsessid=&xcreo=0&xed=0&sref=http%3A%2F%2Ff orum.videohelp.com%2Fthreads%2F380775-build-a-new-pc-specifically-for-x265-encoding%3Fp%3D2462146%23post2462146&pref=http%3A% 2F%2Fforum.videohelp.com%2F&xtz=240

note: I intentionally added a "space" after the http else the forum pads with url tabs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353044

your links do work now, if I manually highlight it and select/copy it. Only discovering this out now. And thank you for your suggestions. I just saw the Case (above) that you suggested. Though I was hoping for a flat version instead because i/o cards tend to ware on the contacts. At least that has been my experience. But it doesn't look too bad, may even consider it due to the size.

And I have decided not to go over to Microcenters in Yonkers after all. I will wait a few days in order to search a bit more and then decide on all the suggestions. I believe I can go as high as $400 for the pieces.

Oh, forgot to mention, I also have usb dvd drives for loading software.

I think that all I need is Windows 7 Home Premium, since that is what I have on my laptop. I don't see any benefit for the Professional. Its not going to improve speed, only cost more.

[vhelp]

For the windows 7, I see this link, below. What does anyone have to say pro/cons about ebay for the OS ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-64-Bit-SP1-Full-Version-Servi...oAAOSwWKtUx1AJ

Otherwise, this one at Wal-Mart is the cheapest, at $98 dollars. (usually_quiet's suggestion)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-w-SP1-64-bit-System-Builde...ype=10&veh=aff

[pandy]

If you buy some motherboard from large vendor like Dell, HP etc then usually Windows 7 64 bit license is provided in BIOS (as SLIC table) - Windows is already preactivated and genuine - just use Windows OEM version - this works for me from years on notebooks, desktops, workstations...

[Mr_khyron]

For the windows 7, I see this link, below. What does anyone have to say pro/cons about ebay for the OS ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-64-Bit-SP1-Full-Version-Servi...oAAOSwWKtUx1AJ

Otherwise, this one at Wal-Mart is the cheapest, at $98 dollars. (usually_quiet's suggestion)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-w-SP1-64-bit-System-Builde...ype=10&veh=aff

I buy my cd-keys from Kinguin
https://www.kinguin.net/category/13816/windows-7-professional-oem-key-sp1/

https://www.kinguin.net/category/19429/windows-10-professional-oem-key/

some youtube tech channels also buy from kinguin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTqz3Fd28M

[usually_quiet]

If you can use quicksync instead of x265 I would wait a couple months and get a used or open box Acer laptop with a i3-7100u. It should be right at $300. Especially if you're looking to edit sd/hd, that will probably be well within the capabilities of the machine. That clip would encode in less than 3 minutes.

edit: msi released one of the small form factor pc's you were talking about with the same kaby lake processor (barebone system) for $300. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167148&cm_re=kaby_lake-_-56-1...-148-_-Product
you would need $30 8gb ram:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B015HQ9UDO/ref=sr_1_6_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=14761537...condition=used
and $27 new 500gb 2.5 inch hdd
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00ISKS416/ref=sr_1_4_olp?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=147...condition=used

The link to the ram and hdd are sellers that only have 1 left, but if sold, I'm sure it would be possible to find something in the same ball park. That would be a good little quicksync encoding box

vhelp wants to use Window 7 64-bit. Kaby Lake requires Windows 10. Intel won't release chipset drivers for any earlier operating systems, nor will Microsoft support Kaby Lake in Windows 7 or windows 8.x.

[usually_quiet]

I just saw the Case (above) that you suggested. Though I was hoping for a flat version instead because i/o cards tend to ware on the contacts. At least that has been my experience. But it doesn't look too bad, may even consider it due to the size.

I looked at some HTPC and desktop form-factor (flat) cases at newegg. Most are larger than you would expect and many of them use SFX or TFX PSUs that you might have difficulty replacing if they died.

[Zero-11]

vhelp wants to use Window 7 64-bit. Kaby Lake requires Windows 10. Intel won't release chipset drivers for any earlier operating systems, nor will Microsoft support Kaby Lake in Windows 7 or windows 8.x.

there are Kaby Lake drivers for Windows 7&8

[usually_quiet]

vhelp wants to use Window 7 64-bit. Kaby Lake requires Windows 10. Intel won't release chipset drivers for any earlier operating systems, nor will Microsoft support Kaby Lake in Windows 7 or windows 8.x.

there are Kaby Lake drivers for Windows 7&8

Windows 7 and 8.x drivers only exist for motherboards up to the current 100 series Skylake chipsets. There will be none for the new 200 series chipsets for Kaby Lake. Intel has confirmed this.

vhelp also expressed a preference for a 4-core CPU, and few of the NUC-type mini-PCs have them, including the one you suggested.

[vhelp]

i3 vs i5 vs i7

What I do know about the i3, it is a dual-core (2 core processors) and that it "simulates" 2 additional cores, thus giving you a 4-core view (in task manager) but its still 2 cores/2 processors

Now, I've seen i5 labeled as dual-core and quad-core. So, I am wondering if the i7 is an 4-core (w/ 4 additional simulated cores to total 8-cores) or is it a true 8-core processor ?

And, can someone go into the details as to the differences or benefits between an i5 and i7 ?

I was thinking about getting an i7 cpu if it will give me faster fps encoding over an i5 for instance. That includes video processing/filtering in post edits, ie avisynth, etc.

Thanks.

[ezcapper]

if you are very serious about x265 encoding over quicksync h265, here is a benchmark table that will show you how many frames per second you can get out of a wide variety of processors. The bargain buy there might be the 2nd generation i7, which gives you 10 fps for full hd. You can probably get a used computer with that processor for $300
http://x265.ru/en/x265-hd-benchmark/

[Brad]

i3 vs i5 vs i7
...
can someone go into the details as to the differences or benefits between an i5 and i7 ?

Try this...

[SameSelf]

The main difference is that the i5 doesn't have hyper-threading enabled. Thus you only get the number of physical cores as processing units. The i7 however has hyperthreading which means you get two threads per physical core, for a total of eight threads.

The only way to get more than four physical cores is to either go with the Extreme skus or Xeons. The Broadwell 6950X is a beast with 10 physical cores for a total of 20 threads. Benchmarks put it somewhere north of 4 fps for 4K x265 encode. The lowly 6700K will get maybe half that frame rate. Only dual Xeons will get you faster.

Now, this leads to the natural question, what difference does hyperthreading offer since the i5 and i7 have the same number of physical cores? I haven't seen any x265 comparisons of the 6600k vs the 6700K, but for 2-pass HD x264, the 2nd pass had a 30% faster fps. Whether this difference would hold, grow or shrink for x265, I'll let you be the judge.

I don't know what sort of filters you regularly use in Avisynth, but if you frameserve your Avisynth script directly to x265, then I imagine that could be a bottleneck since few Avisynth filters (e.g. QTGMC) are optimized for multi-core cpus. So keep that in mind when deciding on which to purchase. You can get around this with lossless intermediates. Most modern NLEs use gpus to assist in computation intensive filters like NR. Therefore, imo, any serious editor should have an nVidia 10xx gpu, but I have no idea if that will help with Avisynth filters.

[sneaker]

Yep, not everything scales perfectly (this includes x264 and x265) so the speed increase from more cores isn't linear. More threads may even decrease quality to some extent. Also, the 6700K has a higher clock than any of those 6+ core CPUs have which can also make up for some of the difference (not to a 10 core, of course, but might be better option than any 6 core or current AMD 8 core).

Maximum x265 speed and being on a budget don't combine well. CPU power is crucial and costs money. When doing mass x265 encoding you might also want to calculate energy prices. Storage might be cheaper than slower encoding settings' electricity costs.