Build New Video Editing & Multi-Purpose Budget AMD (Help & Advice Please!)

[Total Ignorance]

Hi this is my first post, so big HELLO to the Hexus Crew. With that over, on with the issue...


I'm planning on building a new multi-purpose budget system, preferably AMD based. I need it equally for mid-level Adobe CS5 (PPro + AFX) Video Editing work, some now and then gaming (FPS & RPG), multi tasking (transcoding etc.).

I was kinda lost as I've not been paying attention for the last two years! So I checked reviews, left, right and centre, got very informed and thereafter, only got more confused! I'm trying to get the best price/performance but I can't decide. Here's the jumble in my head right now.

CPU: Athlon II x4 640 / Phenom II x4 955 BE / Phenom II x6 1055T (losing/gaining on each?)
RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS / Kingston HyperX @ 1333/1600 (any significant or noticeable difference?)
GFX: Nvidia GT 240 / GTS 450 (Min 1GB GDDR5 & 96 CUDA cores for unlocking MPE for PPro CS5)
MBD: MSI 870A-G54 / ASUS M4A87TD EVO / Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 (Prefer SB850 & eSATA)
Already have a decent 800W PSU / Case / HDDs / Drive.

As I said, I'm trying to build on a budget (tightest as possible!) but without compromising too much. Any experience with any of those parts would be helpful. Opinions? Alternatives? Please advise. Many thanks.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Budget??

Are you overclocking??

What model is your PSU??

[Total Ignorance]

Less than £400.

I may overclock, although depends on whether I am succesful, as I've not done it before, so I guess it depends on how much I get out of It and how easy it is to pull off.

Don't Have the PSU with Me, getting it from a friend who did some OCing with it, and I know Its a decent branded.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

AFAIK,Adobe software tends to run better on Intel CPUs.

In this review the Phenom II X6 1055T is ahead of the Core i5 750 though in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...g_8.html#sect0

In this comparison the Core i5 750 is also slightly slower than the Phenom II X6 1055T in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts...-CS5,2428.html

However,the Core i5 760 maybe around the same speed as the Phenom II X6 1055T.

OTH,the cheaper AMD motherboards mean you could fit a Phenom II X6 1075T which probably would be quicker than a Core i5 760.

For transcoding if the software can use six cores the Phenom II X6 1055T and 1075T should be faster IMHO than a Core i5 760.

For multi-tasking the Phenom II X6 should be faster in theory as you could dedicate individual cores to certain tasks.

The Core i5 760 would be faster for gaming when compared to a Phenom II X6 1055T or 1075T in most cases.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It would be a good idea to find out what PSU you are getting before buying any parts.

I would suggest looking at the following parts:

Phenom II X6 1055T ~ £135

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-p...he-125w-retail

Asus M4A87TD EVO ~ £74

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...-sata-raid-atx

8GB 1600MHZ DDR3 ~ £93

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

768MB Asus GTX 460 TOP ~ £106

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

The GTX460 768MB has 334 shaders as opposed to the 192 shaders of the GTS450 1GB. However,the GTS450 has more video RAM.

The total comes to around £407 excluding postage. With postage the total comes to around £417.

Here is an alternate build:

Phenom II X6 1055T ~ £135

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-p...he-125w-retail

Asus M4A87TD EVO ~ £74

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...-sata-raid-atx

4GB 1333MHZ DDR3 ~ £40

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

GTX460 1GB ~ £145

http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

The total comes to around £403 including postage.

However, you can get free postage after 20 posts:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...-delivery.html

The Today Only offers this weekend will end on Monday morning.

[Total Ignorance]

AFAIK,Adobe software tends to run better on Intel CPUs.

In this review the Phenom II X6 1055T is ahead of the Core i5 750 though in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5:

In this comparison the Core i5 750 is also slightly slower than the Phenom II X6 1055T in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5:

However,the Core i5 760 maybe around the same speed as the Phenom II X6 1055T.

OTH,the cheaper AMD motherboards mean you could fit a Phenom II X6 1075T which probably would be quicker than a Core i5 760.

For transcoding if the software can use six cores the Phenom II X6 1055T and 1075T should be faster IMHO than a Core i5 760.

For multi-tasking the Phenom II X6 should be faster in theory as you could dedicate individual cores to certain tasks.

The Core i5 760 would be faster for gaming when compared to a Phenom II X6 1055T or 1075T in most cases.

Thanks for that, thats pretty much the conclusion I came to during my research into the 1055T vs Intel counteparts. However as I said earlier im not sure as to how well I will be able to overclock this cpu if any at all. If only it had an unlocked multiplier! And definately the overall cost of the platform is cheaper with futureproof benefits like Sata 3 6GB & USB 3.0 too!

As for gaming, Its quite close as far as I have seen, even if its slightly less, its still good enough for me. My priority is in the Adobe CS5 work 1st, then the gaming. I can probably still game with slightly lower game quality but I cant compromise work productivity!

The 1055T Seems like the perfect choice for me (except for the lack of an unlocked multiplier), but its emptying my pocket. So I was hoping someone with a bit of experience could compare the 1055T with other AMD Proccesors: Athlon x4 640 and the Phenom x4 955 BE and how they would fare in a similar environment. How much Performance would I lose compared to how much money I will save and if its worth it to "downgrade".

Thankss for the response Cat the 5th, really gave me reassurance about the 1055T. Is it easy to overclock? What do you say about the othe AMD CPUs?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I listed some builds in post 5. It seems with your budget you could either go with 8GB of RAM or a GTX460 1GB. The GTX460 1GB has 334 shaders whereas the GTS450 1GB has 192 shaders.

You will need to check which will be more important. Another compromise is to have 4GB of RAM and a GTS450 1GB. This should reduce the cost of the second build in post 5 to around the £350 mark.

The Phenom II X6 should be able to hit around 3.5GHZ to 3.7GHZ IIRC but you will need to get a decent heatsink though which is an additional cost.

Looking at the reviews I linked too a Phenom II X4 955BE is around 20% slower than a Phenom II X6 1055T and a Phenom II X4 965BE is around 10% slower than a Phenom II X6 1055T in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. The Phenom II X4 processors should be faster in gaming but slower in any transcoding software which uses more than four cores.

However,you are only going to be saving £10 to £25 by buying a Phenom II X4 955BE or 965BE.

The Athlon II X4 640 is around £60 cheaper than a Phenom II X6 1055T but according to one of the reviews will be around 25% slower in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. It will be slower in gaming and transcoding than the Phenom IIX4 955 and 965 and the Phenom II X4 1055T.

So,if you drop down to an Athlon II X4 640,4GB of RAM,the Asus M4A87TD EVO and a GTS450 1GB the cost should be around £300.

[Total Ignorance]

It would be a good idea to find out what PSU you are getting before buying any parts.

Here is an alternate build:

Phenom II X6 1055T ~ £135

Asus M4A87TD EVO ~ £74

4GB 1333MHZ DDR3 ~ £40

GTX460 1GB ~ £145

The total comes to around £403 including postage.


However, you can get free postage after 20 posts:


The Today Only offers this weekend will end on Monday morning.

*Wowzers! Those today only deals are Incredible! I cant believe I've been Totaly Ignorant of them all this time! Are they regular or are they only for this chrismas season as is the case for OCUK?
**Double Wowzers with the whole free delivery, is that actually legit? For anyone with 20 posts??
CAT THE FIFTH - Ur Da MAN! ...Err the Fifth Cat-Mat?
But seriously I owe you dude.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

As long as you make 20 constructive posts you get free postage. The Today Only Offers run for 24 hours every day of the week except at weeks where they run over Friday afternoon,Saturday,Sunday and Monday morning. Basically you get six different sets of offers over the week all year round.

There is also this offers page too:
http://www.scan.co.uk/ShopOffers/Index.aspx

You will need to check each page before you order to make sure you can get the best deal.

I listed some more ideas in post 7.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I just checked the CPU compatibility list for your motherboard:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...aspx?pid=2554#

It can run Athlon II X4,Phenom II X4 and Phenom II X6 processors with a BIOS update.. The current AMD processors can run in both DDR2 and DDR3 motherboards. However,your existing motherboard cannot run the HT at full speed so there will be a performance loss over running these processors in an AM3 motheboard.

[Total Ignorance]

I think for now I will go for the Asus Mobo you mentioned with 4GB RAM (2x2GB) with 2 slots free, as the 8GB are in sets of 2GB sticks (4x2) with no slots for upgrade. I can spend elswhere for now upgrade later.

The GFX Card is a different issue all together, something which I'll have to stick with for a while. I wont be able to go for the 768MB ver GTX 460 as I need at least 1GB GDDR5 for CS5. So its really between the 450 & 460 1GB versions. PP CS5 will not benefit from the extra cores and power of the 460 over the 450. So the only reason to go with the 460 is purely for gaming and it will cost roughly 50% more than the 450. Will I generally gain at least 40-50% better performance at least in games, because that is the only way to justify the upgrade.

I suppose a similar scenario is there with the CPUs; The 1055T or the Athlon x4 640. I say this because the Athlon II cost about 50% less but compromises only 25% performance. Isnt that better bang for the buck? (Though I'm personally leaning towards the 1055T)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You can get 8GB of DDR3 RAM as 2X4GB DIMMs:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...-9-9-9-27-165v

If you do intend to overclock the CPU at some point then 1600MHZ DDR3 would be a better choice IMHO although it is around £10 to £15 more than 1333MHZ DDR3 IIRC.

The GTX460 1GB appears to be around 40% faster than a GTS450 1GB at 1680X1050:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...450_OC/28.html

[Total Ignorance]

I just checked the CPU compatibility list for your motherboard:


It can run Athlon II X4,Phenom II X4 and Phenom II X6 processors with a BIOS update.. The current AMD processors can run in both DDR2 and DDR3 motherboards. However,your existing motherboard cannot run the HT at full speed so there will be a performance loss over running these processors in an AM3 motheboard.

Thanks for looking it up, I got into researching the latest AMD Cpus in 1st place coz I wanted to upgrade, but I lost interest after seeing how much everything has changed over the last couple of years. I was all geared up for an affordable Hex core CPU and the last thing I wanted was to bottleneck it from the get go Lolz!

But no, Im planning a fresh build with a little bit of future proofing in terms of connections and pheripherals and Ram, all of which I plan on upgrading over the course of a year.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Looks like you can get a GTX460 1GB for around £128:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-SONIC-...2044602&sr=1-1

The Palit GTX460 1GB is supposed to be noisy IIRC.

Also,production samples lack VRM heatsinks so I would not overclock it either unless you attach some heatsinks to the VRMs.

However,for the price it is a fast card.

[Total Ignorance]

As long as you make 20 constructive posts you get free postage. The Today Only Offers run for 24 hours every day of the week except at weeks where they run over Friday afternoon,Saturday,Sunday and Monday morning. Basically you get six different sets of offers over the week all year round.

There is also this offers page too:
http://www.scan.co.uk/ShopOffers/Index.aspx

You will need to check each page before you order to make sure you can get the best deal.

I listed some more ideas in post 7.

6 Offers a week x 52 weeks! Thats over 300 different quotations per year for any given category of components and peripherals, and thats not including the "normals prices" and its flutuations and price drops. I think I'm getting discount fever!

[Total Ignorance]

Looks like you can get a GTX460 1GB for around £128:

The only thing with the Palit GTX460 1GB is that it is supposed to be noisy IIRC.

Also,production samples lack VRM cooling so I would go and overclock it either unless you attach some heatsinks to the VRMs.

However,for the price it is a fast card.

Thats a bloody good price for the card! Forgive my ignorance but what does "IIRC" "VRM" refer to or mean?