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Video editing with linux

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Hi All,

I am looking at doing a complete overhaul of my current AMD rig running Linux Mint. The basic idea is that I will keep the case, DVD Writer, PSU and move the hard drives around to accommodate a SSD drive for the operating system. Everything else will change.

Aside from the usual emailing, web surfing and office work the most intensive tasks will be video editing ( incl. transcoding HD to SD) and photo editing.

I will continue using Linux Mint (upgrading to 64bit)

My main questions are:
- Will the wait for the new AMD Bulldozer cpu be worth it or do I go for an i7 2600 (I am not an overclocker)? Or may be wait for ivy bridge which should be released in a few months? While price on the CPU is not a big issue I do want bang for buck. I would rather pay $ 100 less if it only means an extra10 minutes transcoding time on a 40 minute clip (Which now takes +- 5 hours to do with Handbrake)

- I currently use the Thermalright HR-01 CPU cooler which is fanless at the moment. I would like to keep the system as quiet as possible. Are the newer cpu's hotter or cooler than the old AMD Windsor processors. Can I get away with passive cooling or would I have to add a fan to the cooler? The case is fan cooled.

- Which motherboard to choose with the relevant CPU, particularly pertinent with the Intel CPU?

- I was planning on 8GB RAM, which should be sufficient. Is top of the range RAM really necessary for video work?

- Which video card, if any? I don't game.

- I was planning on getting a 128GB SSD, is there any preference for Linux?

While not on a minimum budget, cost should be taken into account as well as future upgradeability.

Thanks for any comments suggestions.

Ollie

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No one knows if BD or sandy bridge is better dollar for dollar , or in out right terms . Believe me we all want to know .....

Some general insights .
Each new generation of processors [so far] has done more while using less power . Often the makers have made them faster still by using just as much power as the previous generation .

Your video and graphics apps have to also be 64 bit to use all the installed RAM because if they're not they suffer the same RAM limitations of a 32 bit OS.
A 2 x4 gig kit is probably a good starting point .

Thanks for the reply. I eagerly go through the usual sites every morning waiting to see if any BD benchmarks have appeared, but nothing yet.

My big bugbear at the moment is trying to find a site that does easy to read Linux benchmark results. Phoronix seems to give benchmark results but I find it very frustrating to read or to find the correct benchmark.

Anyone know if Intel's quick sync (or whatever they call it) works under Linux?

You didn't list your current tower, so I'm not sure what your upgrade cycle is. If you can wait, you should. If you can't, I'd get an X6. Handbrake is one of the few apps that lets AMD's chips shine over Intels. If you go this route make sure you get one of the new 990 boards so you can put a BD chip in there if they are worth it.
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4745454b said:
Anyone know if Intel's quick sync (or whatever they call it) works under Linux?

You didn't list your current tower, so I'm not sure what your upgrade cycle is. If you can wait, you should. If you can't, I'd get an X6. Handbrake is one of the few apps that lets AMD's chips shine over Intels. If you go this route make sure you get one of the new 990 boards so you can put a BD chip in there if they are worth it.



I didn't mention my tower because I plan on basically stripping it down completely and basically treating it like a new build almost. (And I can't remember the details of the exact internals because it is about 6 or 7years old)

The odd thing with Handbrake is that I get about 5fps in Linux with an AMD Windsor core +2800 and about 27fps with my core 2 duo windows laptop. It seems like a massive difference for 2 dual core cpu's that were only bought about a year apart. Both are running on 32 bit, 4GB systems.

I'm not sure about quicksync, I remember reading something about it not working though. Although a kernel update might have fixed that.

Quote:
You didn't list your current tower, so I'm not sure what your upgrade cycle is.


If you're the guy who doesn't upgrade for years and years, then I suggest waiting for BD and maybe even SB. Both of the upcoming CPUs should be out by around the end of this year or early next year in the case of SB. If you are going to hold onto a tower for 6-7yrs, this makes the most sense.

I bought an AMD 3500+ back in 2005(ish), upgraded to an E6600 around 2008 or 9, and just upgraded again to an i5-750 earlier this year. (my video card has followed a similar path, x1800xt, 8800GS, 5750.) Because I upgrade so often I don't need to worry when the next big CPU/GPU is going to come along.

There is no windsor 2800+ that I know of. I'm assuming you meant the 3800+. The 3800x2 isn't a bad chip, but the clock speed is low. If you have a faster C2D in the laptop, or more ram that could be the difference. It could also be an OS issue, perhaps Linux isn't as good with handbrake as windows is.

4745454b said:
Quote:
You didn't list your current tower, so I'm not sure what your upgrade cycle is.


If you're the guy who doesn't upgrade for years and years, then I suggest waiting for BD and maybe even SB. Both of the upcoming CPUs should be out by around the end of this year or early next year in the case of SB. If you are going to hold onto a tower for 6-7yrs, this makes the most sense.

I bought an AMD 3500+ back in 2005(ish), upgraded to an E6600 around 2008 or 9, and just upgraded again to an i5-750 earlier this year. (my video card has followed a similar path, x1800xt, 8800GS, 5750.) Because I upgrade so often I don't need to worry when the next big CPU/GPU is going to come along.

There is no windsor 2800+ that I know of. I'm assuming you meant the 3800+. The 3800x2 isn't a bad chip, but the clock speed is low. If you have a faster C2D in the laptop, or more ram that could be the difference. It could also be an OS issue, perhaps Linux isn't as good with handbrake as windows is.


Yep, I'm that guy. I only upgrade when I really need to. Although I did update my CPU a few years ago. My mistake on the CPU it is a 64bit 3800+ and I think it is the dual core version. If I wait for until next year then I might as well wait until the one after that, it's a never ending cycle :) 

The plan is to start buying the components at the end of September or thereabouts. I'm just doing the homework now.

I recently started editing HD video and my current setup can't cope. I have to transcode before I can actually do any editing and the transcoding takes forever. :( 

I wish I could find a decent benchmarks site for Linux in order to see what type of performance gains I cold expect.

Quote:
If I wait for until next year then I might as well wait until the one after that, it's a never ending cycle


People say that, but its stupid. I didn't say never pull the trigger, I said wait until BD for sure and maybe IB. (I said SB, but I meant IB.) You can't wait for the next thing all the time, but you can wait for THIS next thing. If I remember correctly BD comes out as early as Sept of this year, or as late as Nov. IB isn't supposed to be out until Jan or Feb of next year, but things can always change. If nothing else, waiting for BD will cause prices of current things to fall.

4745454b said:
Quote:
If I wait for until next year then I might as well wait until the one after that, it's a never ending cycle


People say that, but its stupid. I didn't say never pull the trigger, I said wait until BD for sure and maybe IB. (I said SB, but I meant IB.) You can't wait for the next thing all the time, but you can wait for THIS next thing. If I remember correctly BD comes out as early as Sept of this year, or as late as Nov. IB isn't supposed to be out until Jan or Feb of next year, but things can always change. If nothing else, waiting for BD will cause prices of current things to fall.



What I mean with the never ending cycle is that if I wait for IB then not long before it's release we'll start hearing that the next version of BD will just about be ready etc. etc.

I have heard rumours that BD is going to work well with Linux, so I will definitely wait until I see benchmarks of it before making a final decision. I'm just getting impatient waiting for it. It seems to be discussed often but no official news at all. The other thing to be kept in account is which manufacturer will keep the same socket for their future upgrades as replacing a CPU is a lot cheaper than going the whole motherboard/cpu/ram route.
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