Move from Core 2 Duo to Quad for AVCHD?
 

I am looking to do some AVCHD 1080i/50 (1440x1080i) editing in Vegas Pro 9. My current setup is

Asus P5B Deluxe
Core 2 Duo e8400@ 3.7GHz
8GB RAM
2x RAID0 setups

Editing the AVCHD native is not too bad, but I was wondering if getting a Q9550/Q9650 would influence the editing or only the time it takes to output? I will be overclocking it to as much as possible, but I am just unsure if the extra cores will benefit the actual editing.

I do actually have Cineform NeoScene, but I would just aswell like to edit the AVCHD native.

I realize an i7 would be optimal, but then I would need new mobo and RAM, not to mention reinstalling Windows 7.

Other than going to a quad core processor your money will be wasted, IMO. The i7 processor is practically made for video editing, and it would be the wisest choice for you. The quad-core processor will benefit you with much better timeline performance and at least double the speed for rendering.

I agree with Jeff. The money that you would have spent on just a CPU upgrade would have been wasted. Your P5B Deluxe motherboard does not officially support FSB1333 processors (according to Intel, the manufacturer of the motherboard's P965 core-logic chipset); its maximum officially supported FSB speed is only FSB1066. However, FSB1333 support (via an overclock of the chipset components) is available through various beta BIOSes. It is amazing enough that you could get a dual-core FSB1333 processor to even run stably on that motherboard, especially at overclocked settings.

And even if you do get a quad-core, you might have to reinstall Windows 7 anyway. This is because on some systems an upgrade from a dual-core to a quad-core would still leave the Windows install to only recognize two threads instead of the proper four.

If you use the right BIOS there is no problem running a Q9650 on P5B. I run my e8400 at 425MHz bus speed, and the board handles that 100% stable.

And there is no need to reinstall Windows Upgrading from a dual core to a quad core! - Windows 7 Forums

Fair enough. But personally I would not spend $200+ just to upgrade a processor on a platform that's about to be EOPL'd (End-Of-Production-Lifed). Socket 775 has only a few months left in its viable production life (at most). And at current street prices the Q9550 costs as much as an i7-860 while the Q9650 costs more than an i7-930. To me, that's no bargain, especially now that LGA775 is quickly becoming "old tech." Thus, if you have to spend more than $200 just on a CPU upgrade, you might as well also upgrade the motherboard and memory -- in other words, upgrade to an entirely new platform.

I hear ya. I may just wait till I can afford an i7 with mobo, 12GB RAM and an SDD drive.

So i made the jump to Q9650 and got it running now at 3.8GHz wich is the same clock speed as my E8400. In Vegas I dont se any difference in general editing use, but outputting to WMV is about 35% faster.

I did try out Premiere CS5 and editing preview in this is much smoother than Vegas.

On a side note Lightroom performance did increase nicely. If you are a lightroom user this may interest you