Athlon64 X2 encoding performance

[tonygib]

Out of interest Doom, I assume thats all using 32 bit code, ie both the OS and the encoder/codec?

[Doom9]

hindsight is always 20/20

A year is a long time in the computer world. I got my last box about a year ago and I do not recall even having heard of dual core chips then. But I knew the socket 939 was more futureproof so I spent the extra cash.. basically I could've just upgraded my SN95, but I also wanted PCI Express, 7.1 HD audio, the additional USB ports and lower noise of the SN25P.

And all that is using the regular 32 bit version of Windows. There is not even a 64 bit version of x264 as far as I can recall. I guess I could go hunting for drivers and if everything is available, give the 64 bit version a shot.

[tomos]

any idea of encoding speed for divx6 @ 1080 res using telecide and decimate? thats the reason i'm getting one of these puppies my 2500+ sadly isn't up to the job

[Doom9]

Only DivX Helium contains SMP optimizations

And we Euros don't even have 1080 sources to work with (well, extremely few and I'd need to get a PCI-E DVB-S card to capture something since the SN25P is PCI-E only (not that I'd want it any other way.. I wished DVD burner makers would release more SATA drives so I could disable IDE entirely and use only the SATA-II ports)).

I've been studying the Anandtech benchmarks and made a startling discovery: the dual core tests, the FX-57 tests.. they don't all use the same media encoding benchmarks or use the same sources.. that is extremely deplorable as only using the exact same scenario really allows you to properly compare CPUs.

[sandman1687]

doom, are you happy with the SN25P? I've heard mixed reviews, and was thinking about getting one for my next system.

[BoNz1]

Originally Posted by Doom9

And all that is using the regular 32 bit version of Windows. There is not even a 64 bit version of x264 as far as I can recall. I guess I could go hunting for drivers and if everything is available, give the 64 bit version a shot.

Hi, there is a 64bit version of x264. However, I think it is only useable with linux due to the same issues as the xvid 64bit port. Although, I would be very interested in seeing how fast it is using 64bit code and multithreading .

[Leo 69]

@ Doom9

Have you tried overclocking your X2 ? I'm just curious how far it can go... I'm sure it may work absolutely steadily at 5000+ (and even beyond) without increasing the Vcore. Wouldn't it be nice?

[tomos]

i think you can get the core's on a 4400 to 2.6-8 on air fairly easily. not sure about the 4600+

[Revgen]

I'm going to buy a 4800+ when and if MSI finally releases a BIOS update for my board. I wonder if the 1mb of cache on the 4800+ makes a difference or not. I think it will when it comes to encoding.

[Doom9]

I have my doubts about the cache size.. so I saved the money and got for the smaller cache size.. cache sometimes helps but often it has no effect. I haven't tried overclocking.. it may reach 2.6 GHz easily but I've had 3 crashes so far (blue screen moving files over, freezes when burning DVDs), and until I'm convinced that the system is 100% rock stable I wouldn't even dream changing anything to non standard settings.

As far as the barebone goes, I consider it an improvement over the SN95, but we're definitely not there yet noise-wise.. I hope we'll get to a Dell 8400 level eventually.

[tomos]

Originally Posted by Revgen

I'm going to buy a 4800+ when and if MSI finally releases a BIOS update for my board. I wonder if the 1mb of cache on the 4800+ makes a difference or not. I think it will when it comes to encoding.

there was one iirc - at least for the neo4 platinum. here

Update CPU ID for DualCore DT 2.2G & 2.4G

[Doom9]

bah, that PC will go back to the shop.. 3rd freeze today, and the machine was under no particular stress.. not unlike when I got the last barebone, but there the problems ocurred more frequently. Either it's those high speed RAM modules that I also used last time (and that after making me wait for 4 weeks they replaced along with the MB), or the MBs are really prone to error

[mrbass]

download ultimate boot cd (it's free)
run memtest of course
and a couple of CPU stress testers
cpu-burn in
lucifer
Mersenne Prime Test

[Doom9]

I'm afraid I'll have to reconnect audio and use my "old" PC again tomorrow to run some tests.. not that I'd really have to.. I paid 100 bucks to have my PC assembled just so that in the error case I can throw it back in their face.. but it's always good knowing what's going on. Though the last time I ran memtest for hours upon hours, and switched out every component but the mainboard and CPU.. it was those last two parts. Since they changed RAM and MB last time and I have the exact same effects.. it might just be the MB yet again.. and my confidence in barebones is dropping again

[Joe Fenton]

Originally Posted by Doom9

There is not even a 64 bit version of x264 as far as I can recall. I guess I could go hunting for drivers and if everything is available, give the 64 bit version a shot.

I don't know about Windows, but I'm running 64bit x264 in 64bit linux. That threads optimization was awesome! I've got a dual opteron 240 system, so running on one CPU isn't too terribly fast compared to newer AMD64 systems. Getting to use that second 240 really helps cut the encode time considerably... or I can use parameters that make the encoding slower but better looking without losing as much speed.

[sandman1687]

@doom9
i went onto shuttles website (i was looking to buy the SN25P), but nowhere did it mention support for dual cores, nor did it have any bios updates. either it already handles it, or poorly tries to. now that i've researched it and all, the lack of a PCI slot (wtf am i going to put into the PCIE 1x slot), compounded with your experiences with your system, which has very close specs to one i was going to put together, im holding off on the SN25P, or at least going to look into other SFF brands. thanks for your Dual Core stories.
-sandman1687

[Doom9]

(wtf am i going to put into the PCIE 1x slot),

I liked it for that.. get rid of the old thing as fast as possible. I haven't used serial, parallel and floppy in ages (first thing I do when I get a new system is go into the BIOS and deactivate that crap). I'm looking forward to dumping IDE as well and move on.

As far as BIOS support, I think you missed this: http://global.shuttle.com/ADVNews/NewsDetail.asp?CTID={A69AC49F-B90C-445E-A412-560BA5F2A03D}

The problems I'm having have nothing to do with dual core.. they're exactly the same I've had with the last barebone, which used the same kind of RAM. Last time they asked about my RAM timing.. (I built it myself them), this time they should've taken are of that. If it's RAM again I'll go back to regular stuff and forget about the high speed Kingston modules.

[Doom9]

well, I guess normally red is a bad sign, but memtest just came up with a load of red lines, so that's it.. faulty memory (again). And I figured the 100 bucks for assembly included a stress test which would've certainly prevented me from getting faulty components yet again.

@markrb: thanks for the tip on that CD.. it is extremely useful.

[Revgen]

Originally Posted by tomos

there was one iirc - at least for the neo4 platinum. here

I have the K8N Neo2 Platinum.

I still appreciate the help. Thanks.

[tomos]

ah sorry about that.

how do you find MSI boards anyway? never tried them before