Dual xeons vs 3930k

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alegomaster

alegomaster

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Hi, I am planning to do a build for a friend that is going to university for film classes. He is willing to spend around 2000$ to 3000$ for the computer, and I came up with two different cpu configurations he could use. The first is to take a x79 motherboard and a 3930k, and overclock the cpu to 4ghz+. The second is to take a dual socket motherboard (based on the c60x chipset) and put two e5 xeons in it (probably this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117269).

I am wondering if it is worth it to spend the extra money to go with two xeons , because it seems like the i7 3930k will offer similar performance for less money.

Random extra information: He is using adobe cs 5.5 premiere pro and after effects. He only cares about the rendering speed.
 
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laircouk

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Seriously, if you want to render something that complex and seriously BIG OR LARGER than whatever you can imagine, then look for Xeon processor - no kidding....

Like me, I am going to be using x79 motherboard + Intel® Core i7-3930K for my university course. That processor which I am planning to purchase is already powerful, or should I say, it's WILD like a bunch of mustang drinking beer without taking a break.

In short, the i7 - 3930K provides 6 CORES (12 threads)... that is 6 crazy horse-power with two lungs...



 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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The 2 xeons (total would mean 12 cores, 24 threads) are clocked at 2 ghz, and the 3930k will be clocked clocked at 4ghz+, so wouldn't the overclocked 3930k be about as fast as those two xeons?
 
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laircouk

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Nearly, I would say... BUT, you got to be careful if you are going to overclock! That involves tweaking your bios settings, voltages and stressing your processor beyond repair! Overclocking your processor is dangerous and will provide shorter-lifespan. It will also void your warranty!!!
 
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laircouk

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What your friend should do is invest more on Memory (capacity) and high-grade GPUs!

Please look at Ati Firepro / Nvidia Quadro. These GPU are VERY useful for Video production and will speed up his work and cut his workload by half! Adobe Suit, Autodesk and other production software are supported by company standard GPUs. Normal GPU, such as Ati Radeon doesn't have that advantage...

 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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So the Nvidia Cuda GPUs are not normal GPUs
 
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laircouk

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*Face Palm* I will put these in simple terms...

Nvidia Workstation GPU (Quadro) provides acceleration for production application, such as Autodesk, Adobe Suite, Rhino and many more you can think about. It can also process video 10x faster than ordinary GPU (Consumer GPUs) and provides ISV certification. However, it sucks if your friends want to play games...
 
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devBunny

devBunny

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I was considering the same thing. What I did was create a list of all the possible Xeons .. http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Xeon/TYPE-Xeon%20E5-2600.html .. and calculate a simple number crunching potential (cores x clock rate) and compare that with the 3930. In another column put the cost of the processors and motherboard. As the work that I'm doing requires 100% CPU 24 hours a day for a solid few months, I didn't consider overclocking. With that consideration I found that twice the performance would cost three times the moolah. The Xeons therefore aren't worth it for me and I've got a 3930. It uses the built-in turbo clock rate of 3.8GHz with all 6 cores running.

I also looked at the Quadro cards versus the standard GTX cards. Again it seemed to me that the cost of processing was higher without an equally substantial benefit. The professional CUDA cards have features such as error correction, which you need if you're doing critical calculations, but for my work, or your friend's rendering, that's not the case. However, as I'll be writing my own CUDA programs, I didn't take into consideration how well the various packages support standard GTX versus Quadro, as suggested by laircouk.

 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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Is it worth it to buy the quadro cards, because the issue I find is that adobe premiere pro has only a handful of effects which support CUDA, and after effects has none(except some third-party), so it seems like there will be no increase in rendering time in some cases.
 
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wr6133

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Its not bad the CPU's with K after them are multiplier unlocked so that you can OC them easily. Match with a good cooler and its all great

stressing your processor beyond repair! Overclocking your processor is dangerous and will provide shorter-lifespan
Click to expand...

Long as you do it properly thats all b*llsh!te. Its a perfectly good and increasingly normal way to gain performance.

Also I'm sure you can use high end Geforce inplace of Quadro as this is for Uni, he isnt trying to design the next generation of nuclear reactor but i bet he will want to game at some point. I think the difference isn;t in the tech but in the way they work with the Geforce rendering things in a way needed for rapid gaming, the quadro taking more time on the detail (but i stand to be corrected there).

Your friend should take in to account he is in Uni not Irans nuclear program so he may not need to spend an insane amount. By the time he graduates and needs a rig for real work anything built now will be antique anyway. Pair the 3930K with a shed load of RAM, a big HDD (for college Pron) and the best specced GTX580 you can find, slap a fancy monitor with it, a great CPU cooler and a sexy case. Overclock it to hell and back. Make him spend the change on beer for you as he will have one hell of a rig probably far better than any student on his course
 
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wr6133

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If you can wait for the 600 series then by all means. I myself am waiting :) on that budget though you may as well get a flagship card and assosiated performance/bragging rights but none of us can really comment till they release them.

If he is doing lots of Video work more than the 8GB normally recommended here could be beneficial.... RAM is cheap right now and your budget is enormous so 16GB or more is sort of a "might as well" thing.

*edit to add* A 560ti with that CPU would be sort of underkill
 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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He wants to save some money so I am planning to get the mid range gpu, because I heard that the mid range and high end consumer video cards have nearly equal performance in cs 5.5.

Edit: U2412m or U2410: Is the U2412m good enough for the video editing?
 
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wr6133

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well best advice i would give there is wait on 600 series. They may dazzle us all and even if they dont they should make the 500's price drop. I know on some sites over here you can get 570's for pennies more than 560ti 448 cores and this is before we have seen a single 600 series on a shelf.

CS 5.5 performance i jsut scoured the adobe forums for you and the only chart i could find that showed 500 series cards showed a 580 about 1/3rd faster than a 550ti while encoding

*edit* The monitors I have no idea I would trade my wife for either lol
 
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devBunny

devBunny

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Opinions vary. Some say yes, others say no. Best do some U2412m vs U2410 googling.

My suggestion, if the budget and his desk space permit, is to get two U2412Ms. They can pivot so he can have one portrait and one landscape. If you give him that then he will curse you ..... whenever he's forced to use another machine with just one monitor! ;-)
 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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Grrrrrr, I should have thought about that. I am meeting him tomorrow so I can check what config he would want.
 
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alegomaster

alegomaster

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What do you think about this setup:

CPU: 3930k @ 4ghz+
Cooler:Corsair H100, or Noctua DH-14 (Might go 212 evo to save moolah)
Motherboard: Probably the pro version of the asus z79 motherboard (non ROG, or Sabertooth)
GPU: Best Nvidia gpu for around 300$ (probably 660 when it is released)
Case: Whatever he likes; probably in 100 to 200$ range
PSU: Corsair AX series or Seasonic X series
DVD drive: Random 20$ one nuff said
Storage: WD Green Drives for Mass storage, a WD Black or Blue for programs, and a 60gb ssd for caching (May need help with my storage options)
Ram: 16gb or 32gb of corsair veagence ram (with the 4gb modules)
Monitors: Probablt one or two (or three!) dell u2412m
 
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laircouk

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1.] If he is doing a lot of video editing and working on large - scale project in University, then fill it with 32GB.

2.] If you are getting him SSD 2.5" drive, please stay clear from Sand-Force chipset. They are not stable if he is studying in University for long terms. For best performance, just look at Kingston V100 / V200 or Cruicial M4.

3.] If you are going to overclock, better warn him in - advance and tell him to back-up often! If his system crash, b.s.o.d or unstable for whatever reason, then there will always be a backup on his external hdd.

Finally, good luck with everything in University!
 
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