Upgrading my CPU, need advice.

[davidmoore]

I'm currently running an E6600 C2D cpu and I'm wanting to upgrade to another processor, quad core preferred. I'm not sure which processor to get though. Should I go with a Core2Quad or a Xeon?

I mostly use my computer for watching movies (Blu-ray, x264 1080p files). I do, however, transcode video which is my main purpose for wanting to upgrade. It currently takes my computer about 14 hours to transcode a Blu-ray movie to a 1080p x264 at around 10Mbps.

I know that the Xeon is suited for servers and such as opposed to the Core2Quad which is more for desktops, so I'm wondering if a server processor would be better for my transcodes or if I should just get a Core2Quad instead.

[davidmoore]

Nevermind, after more research they are exactly the same where it counts (for me at least.) I'll probably hit up a Q9550 shortly.

[turbojet]

You might want to know that core i7 are almost twice as fast as the fastest C2Q with x264 but also a bit more expensive especially considering you have to buy a new motherboard and ram.

[Dark Shikari]

You might want to know that core i7 are almost twice as fast as the fastest C2Q with x264I'm not sure how you can get "twice as fast" from "~40% faster per clock."

[turbojet]

Almost twice as fast

PASS1 PASS2
i7 920@3.8 50 35
Q6600@3.4 30 20

That's much more than 40%

[Dark Shikari]

Almost twice as fast

PASS1 PASS2
i7 920@3.8 50 35
Q6600@3.4 30 20

That's much more than 40%I said "per clock", but you overclocked the i7 to a higher clock speed than the Q6600 despite the fact that Core 2s generally clock a bit higher than i7s.

In fact:

1. Neither of those are at stock.
2. The i7 is 40% faster than a Penryn. You're testing against a Conroe, which is significantly slower.

[turbojet]

I have tested Q9650 at 3.7ghz and got roughly 32/22 fps all with the same avc source.

I've never overclocked a cpu easier then an i7 920, it runs general things at 4.6 ghz well but once it's loaded it doesn't take long for thermal shutdown on a decent air cooled system.

On the other hand I've never been able to get more then 3.4 and 3.7 from the C2Q and heat is not an issue.

I will check i7 920 at 2.66 ghz and see what happens. With the 40% calculation it should be a close match to the C2Q 9650 at 3.7 ghz right?

[Dark Shikari]

I will check i7 920 at 2.66 ghz and see what happens. With the 40% calculation it should be a close match to the C2Q 9650 at 3.7 ghz right?In theory, it should.

[turbojet]

i7 920 at 2.66ghz (stock) is 42/27 fps
This is with ffmpeg-mt decoding a 1080p avc clip, only lanczosresize(1280,720) used in avs.
--pass 1 --bitrate 3000 --bframes 3 --weightb --direct auto --subme 2 -psy-rd 0.0:0.2 --partitions none --vbv-bufsize 20000 --vbv-maxrate 25000 --me dia --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --aud --nal-hrd
--pass 2 --bitrate 3000 --ref 4 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --weightb --direct auto --subme 7 --trellis 1 --psy-rd 1.0:0.2 --8x8dct --me umh --vbv-bufsize 20000 --vbv-maxrate 25000 --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --aud --nal-hrd

I understand there's many variables that can affect the difference between the 2 cpu's but I think these are pretty average settings for 720p/1080p encoding. Just off hand I think 1080p is a little closer between the 2 but not much. I might do 1080p testing later on.

[DJ Bobo]

People tend to forget that the Core i7 is not only more expensive and heats/consumes a lot more, they also forget that it needs motherboards that are 3 times more expensive than your usual motherboard!

I'd go for an AMD Phenom II @ 3GHz. Its performance is close to that of a Q9550 but it is significantly cheaper: you get a Phenom motherboard + a Phenom CPU for the price of the Q9550 alone! Also, you can still use a Phenom motherboard for further CPU upgrades in 2 or 3 years (the socket is the same), where you'd have to change the motherboard with Intel, since the socket 775 is getting obsolete.
Overclockability is also good with the Phenom II. The 3GHz version (model 940) is a black edition, which means overclocking is very easy: you just need to adjust the multiplicator. Several users report stable operation at 3.6GHz with air cooling, this is a 20% performance boost off the shelf.
I would add that the Phenom II runs cooler than the Q9550: using the same CPU cooler, the Phenom II 940 runs about 8°C cooler than the Q9550.
For comparison, the lowest clocked Core i7 runs even hotter than the Q9550, about 6°C more, this makes a total of 14°C more than the Phenom II!

[davidmoore]

It would cost about $700 for me to switch to i7. This was a thought I was having though, don't get me wrong. I believe I'm going to go for a Q9550 or Q9650. There have been many reports of breaking 4ghz easily with the motherboard I have. I'm looking forward to it. Until then, I'll just keep rocking out my E6600 and try to get a stable 3.4ghz out of it.

The i7 does run hot, probably due to it being a 130w processor. /shrug