Mohtalim

Referencing this thread: software vs. hardware

Grrr... I might need to upgrade soon after all.

Some of my 300+ MB ~25 minute h264 videos at 712x480 (AR 853:480) with 23.98 fps frequently drop frames at full screen (heck, even when windowed at times).

Checking task manager, while windowed, my CPU utilization is jumping from ~60% to 100%, so I'm definitely CPU limited (Athlon64 3000+ Venice).

Guess I should start researching a new PC >_> Quietness and portability are key (read as Shuttle), but I don't want to go the laptop route. Core2 Duo is pretty much the "best" price/performance ratio right now?

Realistically, this won't occur for a few months though...

Gah, still a bit ticked I can't play these videos perfectly.

Any thoughts on the SD37P2?

SD37P2 motherboard:
Intel® Core™2 series processors
Intel® 975X Express Chipset
Dual PCI Express x8 interface
ATI CrossFire technology support
7.1 High Definition audio
Intel® Memory Pipeline Technology
Intel® Matrix Storage
DDR2 667 support up to 8GB capacity
Advanced I/O

Silent X Technology:
Integrated Cooling Engine (ICE)
Smart Fan
XPC Tools

Case:
Shuttle P2 Chassis
Stealth Drive Doors
Media Connectivity
Integrated Cable Management

Power:
High efficiecy 400W PSU

VLSmooth wrote:SD37P2 motherboard:
Intel® Core™2 series processors
Intel® 975X Express Chipset
Dual PCI Express x8 interface
ATI CrossFire technology support
7.1 High Definition audio
Intel® Memory Pipeline Technology
Intel® Matrix Storage
DDR2 667 support up to 8GB capacity
Advanced I/O

I thought that was strange, it's true...

ExtremeTech wrote:Summary:
Shuttle's first attempt at an XPC cube for Core 2 Duo falls short, offering only a pair of PCIe X8 expansion slots and USB ports that don't connect correctly. We expect more for out of Shuttle at this price. If you want a great gaming XPC, the AMD-based SN27P2 is the way to go.

Full ExtremeTech SD37P2 Review

Bah, who needs SLI anyway. At least this helps curb any chance of an impulse buy!
(granted, I also noticed there were extremely small (<5%) differences between a 16x system and the SD37P2)

Actually, just upgrading my processor would be the smart decision.

Newegg Athlon64 socket939 processors

Thanks to the price slashing, this would be a dirt cheap way to be able to play all my videos. Win!

Alternatively, I could try overclocking, since that's one of the reasons I got the Athlon64 3000+ Venice in the first place.

I really should sleep...

Random: If I was buying a Core 2 Duo soon:
Newegg Core 2 Duo Conroe (LGA 775)

At the time the Model, Core Frequency, Price, and Ratios are: Hypothetically speaking, it seems the E6400 is the best bang for the buck, unless I'm missing something.

The E6400 about the same price/GHz as the E6300, but with a ~14.5% advantage in clock speed.

You are missing something, the super secret special sauce! E6400 has a 2MB cache. E6600 has a 4MB cache. The nonlinear perf gain is supposed to be explained by the missing 6500. Isn't the new naming scheme wonderful? Expect an average 4% boost due solely to the cache on top of the 14.5% clock speed advantage, with outliers of 25% or more over the E6400. I say go for the E6600 if that's what you want, but I think that's debatable.

Two threads:
http://jonathan.pearce.name/mohtalim/vi ... php?t=1378
http://jonathan.pearce.name/mohtalim/vi ... php?t=1629

Maybe you wish to wait for Robson flash technology for HD caching goodness. Maybe not.

I wouldn't count on seeing any new CPUs released from AMD or Intel for the next 6 months. If you want to wait, AMD's new 65nm quad-core part should be fairly competitive with C2Q, though expensive. Intel's 45nm 6MB parts are also coming up in 9-12 months, both dual and quad core.

However, for your encoding and decoding needs, perhaps you want a quad-core? The Q6600 is available now and would tear through media workloads faster than anything available except its ridiculously overpriced quad-core brother.

http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho ... ture=en-US

I haven't seen a big difference perf-wise between 975 and other boards, and pretty much all the vendors are showing equivalent perf to the reference design. Buy a board based on price and the RAID/ethernet/etc features you require.

from http://www.techspot.com/review/36-intel ... uad-q6600/

Update (01/08): Intel has now confirmed that initial pricing for the Core 2 Quad Q6600 will be $851 in 1,000 quantities. This means they will be keeping their original pricing strategy that sets the Q6600 just below the QX6800, making for a less impressive introduction. According to this plan Intel will be reducing the Q6600 price later this year to $530 (in the coming 3-4 months), when it will probably give more life to it as a more affordable quad-core solution.

Thanks for the processor heads up. I completely missed the cache sizes.

Also... I might think about laptops again <gasp>

Reasons I don't like laptops

• Massive price premium
• Poor upgrade path
  • also costs an arm and a leg to upgrade RAM / hard drive?
• Limited output ports
  • video out, DVI (I want to use my 2405fpw!), usb, etc
  • can pay even more for a docking station
• Crappy graphics
  • current shuttle has a 7800gt, I don't want to dip below that
• Crappy audio
  • I currently have
    • Source: VIA Envy 24PT eight-channel sound chip
    • Speakers: Klipsch Promedia's
    • Headphones: Sennheiser HD-595s
• Battery Life
  • can always just leave it plugged in

Shuttle's newest cases cost $400+ dollars. That significantly cuts into a laptop's price premium.

On the other hand, laptops are

• portable
• quiet (I hope?)

From what I can tell, the portable Core 2 Duo is Merom? The only difference seems to be clock speed from a glance?

You need like at least 5 terabytes of space?

Yes, the Merom codename is a Core 2 Duo. I believe it's marketed as Core 2 Duo in notebooks. Clock speeds are lower in notebooks for RAM, FSB, and CPU. So are voltages and power. I haven't seen any external numbers, but I don't think our current generation of laptop chipsets are as good perf-wise as the 965/975 chipsets.

Mobile graphics are not great. If you are worried about 3D performance on this box, I'd go with desktop.

The deal breaker for me laptop-wise is the pairing of display and system. Paying for an extra LCD makes it expensive and provides another point of failure.

You know, I am disappointed that the Taiwanese whitebox case & motherboard companies have't picked up and run with picoBTX yet to give Shuttle more competition.

The Inquirer has the scoop on Nvidia's roadmap for the year, complete with pricing:

http://theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36963

I don't anticipate going 64 bit when I upgrade my computer, but I do think I will hold out for boards capable of 8 GB of memory in case I feel like installing 64bit Debian.

So what are new super-powerful computers supposed to be used for other than playing games? Will MS Vista really displace XP and require uber systems? I havent even seen vista at all.

Dave wrote:So what are new super-powerful computers supposed to be used for other than playing games?

Playing high-quality encoded anime, of course!

Yeah, media is the big one. Responsiveness while you've got virus scanning and ripping, etc. going on in the background is something they're selling. There's really not a killer app for multicores yet.

I am heartened to see games like Alan Wake require hyperthreading at a minimum and recommend dual core. That's something, at least. A few big name engines like that and we're rolling in money hats, I guess.

Dwindlehop wrote:I am heartened to see games like Alan Wake require hyperthreading at a minimum and recommend dual core. That's something, at least. A few big name engines like that and we're rolling in money hats, I guess.

Unless AMD takes enough of marketshare, or at the very least, keeps prices down while trying...

My guess is as soon as the TV and computer finally merge into one and then into the wall/floor! yes!

http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/cpus/index.x?pg=1

Good price/perf comparison.

Also worth noting are the "Crazy Hector" deals at newegg for those of you with existing AMD platforms. Might be a cheap upgrade.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/05 ... es_robson/

Robson flash memory technology has the brand name of Intel Turbo Memory.

Apparently our marketing department believes very strongly that slapping Turbo and Pro on everything will make us realize mid-90's profit margins again.

Anyway, one should see some actual observable improvement using a system with ITM, as opposed to the USB flash drive feature in Vista which I have read is generally a bust.

This will be very very interesting when PCM is available next year-ish to 2009.