Considering an upgrade to my main PC - Page 2

Matblack · 10-04-2007, 15:58

If I'm not going to get full advantage of the 800Mhz memory does that mean I'd be just as well off with the 667 or 533? Because they are significantly cheaper

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Daz · 10-04-2007, 16:01

Depends on your disk configuration I guess. Re-encoding large HD movies I imagine requires a lot of disk bandwidth, so without any RAID it's possible that'll be your bottleneck and slower memory wont matter so much.

Cant say for sure though, it's not something I've looked into. I can say that converting 720p on the fly with my 3800 X2, 2GB ram and striped hard drives works fine, though having the on-die controller might make that comparison somewhat invalid.

Matblack · 10-04-2007, 16:07

I'm not going to manipulating the HD material past throwing it at the projector, the work the PC does is mainly; parseing the PAR2 files, decoding the downloads from newsgroups and then unziping them into a single playable file, apart from that its just playing different movies so of which I want to use HD for. Any extra power can be used for post processing but its not hugely important to be honest.

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Daz · 10-04-2007, 16:18

If we're only decoding content then that sort of spec should be fine. Microsoft once said this:

Quote:

Minimum Configuration (to play 720p video)

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9 Series
2.4 GHz processor or equivalent
384 MB of RAM
64 MB video card
DVD drive
1024 x 768 screen resolution
16-bit sound card
Speakers

Optimum Configuration (to play 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound)

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9 Series
3.0 GHz processor or equivalent
512 MB of RAM
128 MB video card
1920 x 1440 screen resolution
DirectX 9.0
DVD drive
24-bit 96 kHz multichannel sound card
5.1 surround sound speaker system

And that was a 2004 article iirc, so you should be more than covered.

I use the 360 as my front end so need the re-encoding powah!

semi-pro waster · 10-04-2007, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matblack

If I'm not going to get full advantage of the 800Mhz memory does that mean I'd be just as well off with the 667 or 533? Because they are significantly cheaper

MB

I'd go for PC5300 or PC5400 (667mhz) if you aren't going to be overclocking much and it will save you a bit of cash. I'd probably pick the Corsair PC5400 C4, the Cas timing probably won't make much of a difference if you aren't overclocking but it won't do any harm either.

The motherboard seems fairly well specified for a mATX model and Foxconn are one of the biggest manufacturers around although mainly OEM.

Matblack · 10-04-2007, 16:57

Thanks for that, I'm wondering if its worth springing for the new E6420 C2D which has the full 4Mb of ram on the die, apparently it speeds up a few things and its only £10 more, although not in stock yet.

Also should I go with Vista 64 or 32 for this, I suspect I will get Home Premium as it has all the things I will need

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Matblack · 10-04-2007, 16:59

How much difference would I see between the E6320 and the E6420? I presume not that much if I'm not gaming?

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Stan_Lite · 10-04-2007, 17:17

The extra cache doesn't make much of a difference for encoding etc (only 1% or 2%) see here. The only real difference is with Office applications and games from what I've read.

I don't think you would see a huge difference between the E6320 and the E6420 either, although the extra speed would make a bit of difference.

As for Vista. As long as there are no problems with driver compatibility or software compatibility, there's no reason not to get the 64 bit version. You'll obviously need to check that there are 64 bit drivers for all your hardware and check the compatibility of any software you're likely to be using.

Stan

Mark · 10-04-2007, 19:37

There's a small chance you might have problems with that spangly new ShowCenter box and 64-bit, especially given the hassle you had getting it working on 32-bit. Worth doing some research on that at least.

Matblack · 10-04-2007, 19:42

Fair point, it seems to work OK for most people with Vista but need more info about the 64bit version.

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10-04-2007, 15:58	#11
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	If I'm not going to get full advantage of the 800Mhz memory does that mean I'd be just as well off with the 667 or 533? Because they are significantly cheaper MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

10-04-2007, 16:01	#12
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	Depends on your disk configuration I guess. Re-encoding large HD movies I imagine requires a lot of disk bandwidth, so without any RAID it's possible that'll be your bottleneck and slower memory wont matter so much. Cant say for sure though, it's not something I've looked into. I can say that converting 720p on the fly with my 3800 X2, 2GB ram and striped hard drives works fine, though having the on-die controller might make that comparison somewhat invalid. __________________ apt-get moo

10-04-2007, 16:07	#13
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	I'm not going to manipulating the HD material past throwing it at the projector, the work the PC does is mainly; parseing the PAR2 files, decoding the downloads from newsgroups and then unziping them into a single playable file, apart from that its just playing different movies so of which I want to use HD for. Any extra power can be used for post processing but its not hugely important to be honest. MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

10-04-2007, 16:57	#16
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	Thanks for that, I'm wondering if its worth springing for the new E6420 C2D which has the full 4Mb of ram on the die, apparently it speeds up a few things and its only £10 more, although not in stock yet. Also should I go with Vista 64 or 32 for this, I suspect I will get Home Premium as it has all the things I will need MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

10-04-2007, 16:59	#17
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	How much difference would I see between the E6320 and the E6420? I presume not that much if I'm not gaming? MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

10-04-2007, 17:17	#18
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	The extra cache doesn't make much of a difference for encoding etc (only 1% or 2%) see here. The only real difference is with Office applications and games from what I've read. I don't think you would see a huge difference between the E6320 and the E6420 either, although the extra speed would make a bit of difference. As for Vista. As long as there are no problems with driver compatibility or software compatibility, there's no reason not to get the 64 bit version. You'll obviously need to check that there are 64 bit drivers for all your hardware and check the compatibility of any software you're likely to be using. Stan __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

10-04-2007, 19:37	#19
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	There's a small chance you might have problems with that spangly new ShowCenter box and 64-bit, especially given the hassle you had getting it working on 32-bit. Worth doing some research on that at least.

10-04-2007, 19:42	#20
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	Fair point, it seems to work OK for most people with Vista but need more info about the 64bit version. MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"