"The Upgrade" -an Epic Poem by PantlessOne

[PantlessOne]

Since you guys probably get tonnes of upgrade threads I thought I'd present my anguish, as I try to pick the perfect Budget Non-Linear Editing Computer, in the form of a poem.

Before the poem a note of my source of inspiration...

Everyone is talking about fast nowadays, all the reviewers and reviews forecast OCing ability almost in the first page of their reviews. Now there is nothing wrong with that but what about speed AND stability? I don't want a computer that can chug a few months at the highest of high speeds and spit out the biggest benchmarks and then have to be underclocked the rest of its' life due to damage and instability.

I'm trying to build a Budget Non-Linear Editing Rig for Digital Video and everywhere I read is about speed and ability to overclock but I hardly read anything about long term usage that requires speed and stability. Which set-up is better to Upgrade for Stable Speed...

... and now my epic poem...


~ The Upgrade for Stable Speed ~

If overclocking is not for me - And stability is the key
For the love of computer gods - What are my best odds:

For trouble free operations - Seemless component cooperation
No show stopping exasperations - And no frigg'n catastrophications

I wish I could spend - One hundred ga-thousa-tillion dollars
Mr. Gates if ya wanna buy me a computer - Just gimme a holler

So after counting my pennies - And obssessing over performance benchies
I have it down to two, but only one can make
My Digital Video Non-Linear Editing Dreams come true...

.PentiumD 930 3.0GHz. - 800MHz FSB 2x2MB L2
.ASUS P5WD2 Premium. - Intel 955X LGA775/1066FSB Dual-DDR2-800
.OCZ Gold PC2-5400. - 2x1GB DDR2-667 CL4-4-4-8
CPU ($246can) + MOBO ($220can) + RAM ($234can)= $700

.Athlon64 X2 3800+ 2.0GHz. - 1000MHz HT FSB 2x512 L2
.ASUS A8N-SLi DELUXE. - nForce4 SLI S939/1066FSB DDR-400
.Mushkin HP PC-3200. - 2X1GB DDR-400 CL2-3-2
CPU ($330can) + MOBO ($154) + RAM ($257) = $741

.Antec Performance TX1050B. - SmartPower 500W ($134.00)
.Sapphire Radeon X1800XT. - 512MB GDDR3 ($388.00)
.Western Digital WD2500JS 250GB. - 7200RPM 8MB-SATA2 ($98.00)

entiumD 930 Build: - $1320.00 vs :Athlon64 X2 3800+ Build: - $1361.00

I'm looking for satisfaction - In a Budget Non-Linear Editing Computer
Not overclockification - In a Benchmark Scoring Hot-Rod Computer

Gimme smooth video processing - Reasonable timely media encoding
No nonsense rock steady performance - And maybe some gaming

I don't need the best of best of the best that is greater then the rest
I just want something stable but clearly able to handle video tasks
While everyone just wants smoking fast that can be push faster
I need smoking fast and super stable on cleary limited dollars

I'm a wannabe computer geek, who secretly doesn't know it all
And doesn't want to buy stupid crap that will be obsolete by fall
But I can't wait too long because there will always be more
The sleepless anguish and unbearable torment of deciding...

...is now the perfect time for the perfect bargin for... ... ...

...the Upgrade?

- an Epic Poem by PantlessOne


So here you have it.

I'm not waiting for AM2 or Conroe simply because it will take some time for them to iron out the bugs and for people to figure out what was hype and what is for real, and most importantly what is the best deal. By then the companies will have complicated the issue by announce even better stuff to consider and what was yesterdays news will become affordable for me.

They, being the companies, will always have something in the works that is a better deal then the other guy, that is faster then the other guy, that is better then the other guy, and you can go out and buy it before anyone figures out if what they are saying is really true... or you can wait until real world experience sorts it out and then make a buying decision.

I'm speculating that the PentiumD 930 3.0GHz and the Athlon X2 3800+ is in that sweet spot of maximizing my Cost-to-Perfomance Ratio and they are damn close in many ways (I consider 2-8% difference close) when they are compared in benchmarks... I just need to know which one is proven to be not only fast but incredibly stable...

PantlessOne

 

[YO_KID37]

8O

 

[rodney_ws]

An interesting read, but I think the OP needs to read up on rhyme scheme and meter... that's my 2 cents.

 

[zarooch]

very nice!

 

[FITCamaro]

X2 3800+. Can be OCed a good bit if desired and still be stable and cooler than the P4. Plus your power bill will be lower. Longevity only starts to be affected when you start pumping more voltage through parts and you don't have to up the core voltage to get a decent overclock out of the AMD.

Intels are known for being good at media tasks but in the overrall system whats an extra minute on a 1 hour encode.

 

[avarice]

As epic poems go - this was akin Homer's Iliad - as edited for Reader's Digest and translated into ebonics; with random words removed - just to keep ya guessing.

I realize you have poetic license - but I think you may have made a few moving violations.

Of course - everyone's a critic. So take this with a grain of salt.

Otherwise - fairly creative. Might I suggest haiku for the next time you wish to wax poetic? Or perhaps the Lymerick would be a fun and creative outlet for you.

There once was an upgrade gone sour
with anguish and pain by the hour
I just couldn't boot it,
I was ready to shoot it
then my kid brother plugged in the power.

Cheers!

 

[rodney_ws]

id go with the AMD. according to THG's cpu charts the there is not much difference between the 2. should be a good system regardless of what you want to use it for.

oh and nice to see an original post. oh and to rodney, poems do not need to rhyme, if that was what you were implying.

True... it's not always about rhyming. I just remember in AP English learning about iambic pentameter... in simple terms, it just helps if each line has the same number of syllables... just helps with the flow.

 

[Jebazor]

AP tests were stupid, but who cares about rhyme scheme and meter, this is supposed to be about CPU's, not composition.

 

[rodney_ws]

It was an admirable effort... but definitely difficult to read out loud without feeling dumb.

 

[buckiller]

Well...I guess since ou actually have a budget AMD Opterons are out? Those are the most stable processors out right now. Even if OC....

Both your main choices should be good, based on reviews and such the AMD choice would be better.

 

[Jebazor]

I like Opertons, they are usually cheaper, too.

 

[buckiller]

I like Opertons, they are usually cheaper, too.

They are cheaper...but not cheaper than same clock speed AMD 64's. Opterons are the crem de lacrem (lol)...best in the biz.

 

[Jebazor]

Clock speed isn't everything though, which gives even more credit to the Opertons for outperforming Athlons with similar clocks.

 

[dvdpiddy]

:lol: Great poem very good and original i give it a 10 out of 10.

 

[angry_ducky]

:lol: Great poem very good and original i give it a 10 out of 10.

I'll second that. Very good read

 

[sojrner]

poem critique aside (it was a good read and nice originality to an otherwise dull forum in this regard) I would go w/ the amd system.

someone else said it correctly that w/ oc's if you dont increase the voltage and just do small steps stability and longevity is not an issue. but you dont care about oc'ing so no big deal.

IF oc'ing was an option and power use / heat output was not an issue then the intel system could potentially be better... potentially.

The amd is just a rock solid system, the mobo is a good choice and that video card will serv you well. Opterons are nice, but you are paying for a server grade chip that is only useful if you oc. For stock clocks get the x2. Having said that, I regret on my system that I did not get the 4400 that has more cache. Benchies dont show it but performance may do more in the future w/ more cache and for you that chache may prove useful. The 4400 may be out of your price range in which case the opty 165 may hit you better but w/o oc'ing will not perform as high as the 3800. For now that 3800 is just plain good.

regardless the amd system is the best... low power (compared to intel) and solid performance w/ no stability issues.

 

[joset]

I'm trying to build a Budget Non-Linear Editing Rig for Digital Video

Well, I don't know about the lyrics but, if you want to build a NLE system, even a budget one, I'm sure you should downgrade everything you can but RAM, a 2nd 10K rpm HD and a prosumer Digital Video card (& software, of course!). That, would give you enough NLE stability. Everything else is but... lyrics.


Cheers!