Dual Core Pentium D, 820 or 840?
 

I'm about to buy a new PC system for editing HDV and DV. I'm taking notes of the specs mentioned at Cineforms webbpage for using AspectHD. When it comes to the recommended Dual Core Pentium D I wonder how big a difference in performance it is between 820 and 840?(Both are mentioned on Cineforms webbsite)

cheers,
Arthur Franck
Independent documentary filmmaker
Helsinki, FINLAND

I wouldn't waste your money on a 840. Buy an 820 and overclock the bugger. I have just rebuilt my system and this is what I done. Also check out

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=461

Robert

The 830 is currently the best "bang for the buck." Dont mess with over-clocking unless you're seriously committed to that sort of experimentation and have the time and knowledge to deal with it.

Thanks for the replies. Conserning the 830, Cineforms webbsite recommends 820 or 840. I guess this means you can use the 830 aswell? Just checking to be sure! And what graphics card are you guys using?

Kevin has a good point - you do need to spend the time and have the knowledge to do it properly otherwise you could end up a complete lemon. I have been building my computers since I was 8 so it comes as second nature, and I sometimes forget there is quite a bit of time and knowledge required.

Regarding graphics cards I would recommend the NVidia 7800GT series of cards. We are starting to see effects plugin's e.g Magic Bullet 2 take advantage of the GPU directly giving you 30fps rendering with effects, where previously it was using the CPU giving you less than 1fps. Also the 7800GT has dual DVI outputs as standard and VIVO.

I'm buying the setup in order to to be able to edit HDV, however most of my work is done in DV. I assume the Dual core system will make DV editing a walk in the park, is this true..??

Also, can you give some tips on what kind of motherboard to get?

thanks,

A

Hi Frank,

I am using a dual core 820 overclocked upto 4.1Ghz depending on what I need to get done. The performance for SD (DV) is silky smooth, but for HDV you need to use an intermediate codec to get good performance. Don't forget it's just not the CPU and speed that matters - you need to compliment all your components so they work together ie. a good video card, appropriate RAM, HD speeds etc.. etc..

I am using the Asus P5LD2 Deluxe motherboard which is based on the Intel 945P chipset. If you decide on what chipset you want then you can look at the various manufacturers to see what they have to offer. I would recommend having a look at Asus, Gigabyte, Abit. You will see once the chipset has been selected the manufacturers will have a couple of models to choose from with varying degrees of features.

For me I would look for :

i) onboard Raid
ii) Firewire / Sata / Network (RJ45) / usb2 / pci-e
iii) supports good overclocking features
iv) supports pentium D (945 or 955 chipsets)

Hope that helps

Robert

I don't know why people are scared of over clocking for "serious work".

It is not black and white. You don't have to overclock so agressively.

I have a Pentium D 820, which I run at 3.7GHz. It is rock solid stable and it is cooled by air.

The same chip could run at 3.9GHz on air, but then it would crash now and then. So by running it at 3.7GHz I get 100% stability.

Of course some extreme overclockers use extoic cooling and can hit 4.5GHz or higher.

Anyway in a very short time the 820 will be replaced by the 920 which will double the cache to 2MBx2 and allow even faster overclocks due to lower heat output. I think the 920 would easily run at 4GHz on air and rock solid stability...