Dual quad (Xeon) vs. single quad (i7)

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sdpcuser2010

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Please be easy on me here, team---I'm a little over my head here...the PC's I've built a few years ago seem like it was the dark ages.
I want to build a serious workstation for video editing (Premiere & After Effects) and file conversions like BluRay to matroska h264 files.
As my thread title suggests, I am weighing the pros and cons between a dual socket motherboard for a pair of quad Xeons, or keeping it a lot more simple and going with a single quad i7.
I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts.
Here's what is spinning around in my head:
--All the apps I intend to use are multi-threaded.
--DDR2 on the dual xeon board vs. DDR3 on the newer motherboards (speed, price, etc)
--new processors vs. older ones (speed, price, etc)
--is more (sockets, in this case) faster? (can I assume that two quad xeons is faster than 1 quad i7?)
--looking at the Supermicro X7DALEO dual socket motherboard for the Xeon route
--can't seem to find a dual socket motherboard for two quad i7's

Thank you for any input..I appreciate it!
 
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amdfangirl

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i7s are generally desktop chips.

Xeons are server/ workstation chips.

Newer Xeon models are normally rebranded i7s.

Multi-threaded apps will benefit from the extra quad-core.

You should definately purchase the latest i7 or Xeon, they far surpass those of previous generations due to technological advancement.
 
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amdfangirl

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Since the chips are essentially identical with the exception of socket (arch of latest i7 and Xeon are identical), more sockets will definitely lead to more processing power.

EVGA have recently released a dual-i7 motherboard at CES. This will shortly become avalible. http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17204/1/

 
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hunter315

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It depends which processors in particular you are looking at, if you are comparing 2 slow core 2 based xeons to an i7 960 then it might win, but if you are comparing 2 fast core 2 based xeons to an i7 920 then the xeons will win. Also realize that Xeons are just intels server processors, there are core 2 xeons and nehalem xeons. Now if you want a dual socket i7 motherboard those arent too hard to find, just check under the server motherboard section of newegg.

For the apps you are considering as they are multi threaded more sockets mean more threads means better performance so yes, more sockets in this case means more speed. DDR3 or DDR2 doesnt make a ton of difference, a DDR3 system will have lower upgrade costs down the line but the performance difference between the two isnt too much.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182192
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117189
 
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amdfangirl

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In conclusion, going the i7 route will be cheaper. RAM is around the same price for DDR2 and DDR3, with the latter only showing marginal improvements. Xeons are more expensive but will handle a higher workload more effectively.

Both are good choices.

However, having dual Xeons does not always improve performance. In smaller single application workloads, the first quad might not even become strained. Since I presume you will doing these tasks at the same time I recommend you choose the Xeons or dual i7s. With such heavy workloads the Xeons should allow system responsiveness.

If you happen not to be purchasing your computer strictly now, I would recommend waiting for the new hex-core i7s and Xeons coming soon. These processors are manufactured on a smaller process and generate less heat per core and also has the added advantage of 2 extra cores.
 
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amdfangirl

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Nehalem Xeons are essentially i7s anyway.
 
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sdpcuser2010

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well---I guess around $2500 would be my max. I've priced out the 2 quad xeons and the motherboard, and I found a few great ebay auctions selling used proc's in pairs (!), getting a few parts at NewEgg and a few random other places (found lower prices than NewEgg)...and I'm doing pretty ok.
Can I also ask your opinion on video cards?
I want to power dual monitors--and then a 3rd screen---a 40 inch LCD.
I was looking at the nVidia Quadro FX 580 512MB..so I guess I'd get two of those. I would love to find a card that could power 3 screens at once...LOL.
 
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amdfangirl

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I think some of the newer ATi cards have Eyefinity which lets you use 3+ monitors on the same card.

Unless you are keen on having great GPU-application accleration, I think a HD 5750 would be enough. Not much is done on the GPU when it comes to video rendering unless you happen to be encoding on the GPU (which I discourage as most applications either cost money or have dodgy format support). The highest amount of acceleration in CS4 is mainly with zooming in and out and with some filters. Depends if you really want to spend extra on the Quadtros.
 
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sdpcuser2010

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wow---cool card--thank you so much for your thoughts here!
I will go to the site and read more on it--but it looks like I could power dual monitors *and* go HDMI out to my LCD? Three separate images at once? That's what I need!
 
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amdfangirl

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One thing I will point out is that one monitor must be connected to Displayport in order for Eyefinity to work. So you can have DVI + DVI + Displayport or HMDI + DVI + Displayport. Also keep in mind that for 30" monitors you may need dual-link DVI so one graphics card might not cut it.
 
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amdfangirl

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Unless you intend to use GPGPU acceleration such as CUDA encoding (which I find on my Nvidia card quite disappointing in quality.) or GPGPU application enhancement, I would recommend the ATi card. It's not like the graphics card needs to do much more than running 3 displays. That on top of minor GPU acceleration. CS4 doesn't really take advantage of too much of your graphics card. That's why it's not a benchmark.
 
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amdfangirl

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i5 is cheaper because it lacks Hyperthreading.

Hyperthreading is virtually emulating CPU cores to trick the software into loading data more efficently. This is a huge factor in encoding. Makes a ~20% boost.

Also, i5s cannot be run in dual-socket boards. That's why instead of an i5 I decided to purchase a Xeon X3440 with Hyperthreading for my production computer (single socket).
 
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amdfangirl

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Personally I think one quad is enough.

(What I have now)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128404

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117225&cm_re=x3440-_-19-117-225-_-Product

The only complaint I have is the fact the i7-870 is horribly overpriced for the little benefit it gives. The X3440 I have is in fact the same chip, just 500mhz slower, but my Xeon is 1/2 price of the i7. (That and my little Xeon has more Virtualization functions than the i7s)
 
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