General Use & Video Editing

[dnrsslr]

I'm considering a build for a friend. I believe he is considering some video editing but mostly general internet, music, office apps, etc. and possible light gaming. The AMD Phenom II X6 1090T seems like a REALLY good deal based on rankings at www.cpubenchmark.net. Here is the build I have put together at Newegg:

- MSI 880GM-E43 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Item #:N82E16813130293 $79.99
- LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive Black SATA Model GH22NS50B Item #:N82E16827136216 $16.99
- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Item #:N82E16820231193 $47.99
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #:N82E16822148433 $64.99
- Rosewill R519-BK Black Computer Case Item #:N82E16811147081 $59.99
- AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor Item #: N82E16819103849
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders Item #: N82E16832116754 (processor & Windows combo for $274.98)
- Grand Total: $544.93

This looks like he could have a REALLY FAST computer for $550! What are your thoughts? What am I missing? Would it be worth another $48 to go from 4GB to 8GB memory?

 

[omnisome]

1090T? You don't need six cores for video editing and general use really. Get a quad-core and invest in a graphics card instead.
G.Skill 4GB to 8GB - Well the 880GM-E43 doesn't support quad-channel RAM so you'd have to get 2x 4GB instead, although I trust you know this already.
Seagate Barracuda: No-no. Here's a much better drive for the same price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20hd103sj
Tell me, where is the power supply?
Corsair CX600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019 ($60)

 

[dnrsslr]

Yes on the memory.

What makes the other hard drive a better drive than the Seagate Barracuda?

The case includes a 500W power supply.

 

[omnisome]

Yes on the memory.

What makes the other hard drive a better drive than the Seagate Barracuda?

The case includes a 500W power supply.

Seagate have a terrible reputation and set of reviews, don't get one. The HD103SJ is the best "bang/buck" drive you can buy right now.

 

[dnrsslr]

Processor: what about the Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz. It's $100 at Newegg. Would you say the difference would not be noticeable for video editing and "general use"?

Would the affect of a graphics card be noticeable for video editing and "general use"? If so, what card would you suggest?

 

[omnisome]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103030 - XCLIO Nighthawk ($55)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044 - Antec EA-650 'Green Edition' ($65)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 - (Optical Drive = $18)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=hd103sj - Samsung HD103SJ ($65)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402 - Asus M4A79XTD-Evo ($84)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 - AMD 'Deneb' 955 ($140)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 ($100) - RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125360 ($75) - Gigabyte Radeon HD5670-1GB

$600

 

[dnrsslr]

Probably up to $600 but I'm really trying to spend the money on components that will make a difference for his use. For example, I don't see spending $200 (or even $100) on a video card because I don't think it would make ANY difference for the way he will use this computer. That's why I'm asking here, maybe I'm wrong!

I use www.cpubenchmark.net to tell me where processors rank. Is that as good of reference as any?

 

[dnrsslr]

I guess I didn't specify, I would want to be able to get Windows 7 within that $600 max budget...

I'm not arguing, just asking, why a separate video card rather than built in on the motherboard? I know you need better video cards for gaming but do I need it for my uses?

 

[omnisome]

I guess I didn't specify, I would want to be able to get Windows 7 within that $600 max budget...

I'm not arguing, just asking, why a separate video card rather than built in on the motherboard? I know you need better video cards for gaming but do I need it for my uses?

Video editing can be rather demanding, especially in HD and chipset graphics are usually quite low.

 

[batuchka]

In order to ascertain if you could see gains leveraging on GPU: elaborate on what software/app u use to edit videos eg:

Premiere Pro : yes via Mercury Playback Engine (depending on size of projects as well)
Vegas, etc : CPU/RAM bound

Stick to the X6 + 8GB RAM

A case for GPU computing: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and the Mercury Playback Engine
http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/reviews/a-case-for-gpu-computing-adobe-premiere-pro-cs5-and-the-mercury-playback-engine/

This project consists of compressed 640×480 video footage. These small video files were being eaten alive by the massive 1090T hexa-core processor and 8GB of RAM. Premiere Pro CS5′s increased performance with multi-core systems coupled with bleeding fast hardware will make fast work of any simple projects such as this, not giving the GPU enough work to really make a difference. These results do suggest that if you’re editing small-time video footage, you will not benefit much from using Mercury Playback.

 

[dnrsslr]

batuchka:
Sorry, I really don't know what software he is planning to use for videos...

Are you saying you feel it would be worth it to spend an extra $60 for the Phenom II X6 1090T over the 'Deneb' 955? That would get me close to $800 with Win 7. I really wanted to try to do this around $600.


Omnisome:
The motherboard you suggested is out of stock this morning. What about ASUS M4A77TD, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131603 instead? Or, another recommendation?

 

[batuchka]

It depends - if he has more intense need a simple 1055T + OC on a cheap IGP chipset will be an awesome performance bump and u can actually hold off GPU purchases anyway with a workable Deneb/Thuban config with an IGP chipset ^^

If Microcenter is an option: 1090T + Gigabyte 880G $235
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

 

[dnrsslr]

Thanks for your thoughts and advice! I have ordered this from Newegg. I know it's probably overkill on the processor but hey, it's FAST!

1 x DVD BURNER LG|GH22NS50B R - OEM $16.99
1 x PSU OCZ|OCZ550FTY 550W RT $69.99
1 x MB ASUS M4A77TD AMD770 R $74.99
1 x HD 1T|SAMSUNG HD103SJ 32M 7K % - OEM $64.99
1 x CASE XCLIO| XCLIO NIGHTHAWK RT $54.99
1 x VGA GIGABYTE|GV-R567D3-1GI HD5670 R $74.99
1 x CPU AMD|PH II X6 1090T 3.2G AM3 RT $199.99
1 x CARD READ ROSEWILL|RCR-IC002 R $16.99
1 x MEM 4Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $99.99
1 x WIN HOME PREM 7 64-BIT ENG 1PK DSP - OEM $99.99
1 x MNTR ASUS|LCD 23" 2MS VH236H RT $179.99