Suggestions "converting" my rig...

T

thewhiteboy

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Joined
Jun 9, 2006
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Hi guys. I joined the forums just to ask all the experts for their advice. The setup I'm building now, I have to build lots and lots of them, and with all the new technology everything is being phased out. I'm looking to keep specs mainly the same, within the same price range if possible, I'm a little flexible. I have no idea about the differences among Intel's chipsets, do I need to move beyond 865PE or is that still decent? Anyway, here's what I work with right now:

1.) mobo: ASUS P4P800SE
2.) CPU: P4 3.2GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB (s478)
3.) video: PNY GeForce 6600GT 128MB
4.) memory: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB (2x512MB) DDR400 (PC3200)

Now I've been out of the enthusiast loop for about 3 years, and with trying to keep up with everything since, I'm at a loss, but I was able to try and piece together a "coverted" system...

1.) mobo: ASUS P5WD2 or ASUS P5LD2
2.) CPU: P4 640 (3.2GHz, 1MB cache, 800MHz FSB, s775)
3.) video: AOpen Aeolus PCX6600GT-DV128
4.) memory: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2-667

In case you can't tell, I'm sticking with Intel (not by my choice). The video is the one I'm having trouble with... these pc's aren't built for hard-core gaming, in fact no games at all. Mostly for image (some video) capture, but I use Euresys cards for that. I don't know if I should bump it up to the GeForce 7xxx GT (luv that DDR3), I only picked AOpen cuz it was the only one I could find on NewEgg that was closest to the old one.
Feel free to rant, rave, criticize, I welcome all comments and suggestions good or bad. :)
 
Couple suggestions:

Mobo: Intel D975XBX rev. 304 reason: this motherboard will be compatible with Intel's Core 2 products which is where the desktop line is going, gives you an easy upgrade path.

Processor: Pentium D 930 reason: dual core will speed up by a very high degree any image editing or video editing/encoding you do on the box, even though the clock per core is lower

Graphics: ATI x1600xt reason: ATI's Avivo technology looks like it is going to offer some serious benefits in the video encoding/editing arena.
 
Bump the graphics card to one of the 7xxx series. About the same price as the 6xxx series but better quality graphics.
 
After looking for a new video card I've come up with this... but is this a good choice? Can anyone plz explain the difference between DDR2 vs DDR3 as it deals with the GPU? :confused: Either the one linked above, or this one... can't decide which one would be better.
Thx to Nullo, I just checked out ATI's x1600.. it sounds ideal. Do you think it'll work better than GeForce 7xxx? Remember, no games will ever be installed on these systems... just a bunch of video capture and image capture stuff will be going on. My main concern is the quality of the video, (I don't even know) does DDR/DDR2/DDR3 have an advantage in that area???

For the mobo & CPU... dual core sounds nice. Board looks like a good option as well. I see it supports DDR2. I recall reading some stuff about 800 vs 667, which one would you guys recommend (there will also be no OC'ing, sadly) for the applications I need to use it for??
 
thewhiteboy said:
After looking for a new video card I've come up with this... but is this a good choice? Can anyone plz explain the difference between DDR2 vs DDR3 as it deals with the GPU? :confused: Either the one linked above, or this one... can't decide which one would be better.
Thx to Nullo, I just checked out ATI's x1600.. it sounds ideal. Do you think it'll work better than GeForce 7xxx? Remember, no games will ever be installed on these systems... just a bunch of video capture and image capture stuff will be going on. My main concern is the quality of the video, (I don't even know) does DDR/DDR2/DDR3 have an advantage in that area???

For the mobo & CPU... dual core sounds nice. Board looks like a good option as well. I see it supports DDR2. I recall reading some stuff about 800 vs 667, which one would you guys recommend (there will also be no OC'ing, sadly) for the applications I need to use it for??
Click to expand...

For video capture purposes, DDR2 vs. DDR3 makes no difference at all. And, I am not a pro at this, but I assume memory bandwidth isn't going to be a major issue either.

From what I remember from when I did this, the big issues for video capture was a high quality capture card (though, if you are doing digital via firewire that isn't so much an issue as there is no conversion to deal with), and having enough HD space and fast enough drives to take it.

What kind of video transfer are we talking here, home movies, analog via S-video or component, DV, HD, HD at studio quality?

EDIT:

As to the x1600 is isn't a gamer card, I mean, you can play new games at mid settings pretty easy with it, but it won't make the PC gamers drool or anything, but since you aren't gaming, that isn't an issue. ATI has more of a history with video capture than nVidia does, and their cards tend to give better overall image quality. The Avivo thing is mainly for encoding, and it isn't quite ready for prime-time yet, but it is ridiculously fast. Give them a couple software upgrades and I have a feeling it will be identical to the quality you get from pure CPU encoding/transcoding though. (Are you using this box to only capture video, or are you going to actually edit/change formats/etc with it afterwards?)
 
sitheris said:
Obligatory "Wait for Conroe" suggestion.
Click to expand...

But if you need it now, you need it now. However, with the soon to be price-drops across the board on the Netburst P4 chips, you can just pick up a Conroe compatible board, a Pentium D, and hold over the time till Conroe releases (or, if you are happy with the performance wait for Tigerton/Kentsfield even).

I mean, mid $100 range for a dual core P4 at 3+ Ghz is practically pocket change, you can always e-bay the chip after you replace it and lose at most $50 in the process.
 
Actually the video card doesn't interface with the video capture itself, I use a Euresys capture card to hook up to the camera. As far as the video, it's just for capturing, there is no editing/changing anything afterwards. The HD is Western Digital WD2500KS (16MB cache, 7200rpm, SATA, 250GB). I haven't had time to really look at ATI cards now that you say DDR2 vs DDR3 makes no difference but I will definitely be looking into it.
 
thewhiteboy said:
Actually the video card doesn't interface with the video capture itself, I use a Euresys capture card to hook up to the camera. As far as the video, it's just for capturing, there is no editing/changing anything afterwards. The HD is Western Digital WD2500KS (16MB cache, 7200rpm, SATA, 250GB). I haven't had time to really look at ATI cards now that you say DDR2 vs DDR3 makes no difference but I will definitely be looking into it.
Click to expand...

I meant what type of video are you capturing, what is your source, is it from a standard def. capture card (i.e. VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, or Super8) camcorder or tapes of the same idea (or analog TV), is it digital (MiniDV, MicroMV), or high definition (1080i, 720p, 1080p) ?
 
NulloModo said:
I meant what type of video are you capturing, what is your source, is it from a standard def. capture card (i.e. VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, or Super8) camcorder or tapes of the same idea (or analog TV), is it digital (MiniDV, MicroMV), or high definition (1080i, 720p, 1080p) ?
Click to expand...

I throw in a Euresys GRABLINK Expert2, hook it up to a Toshiba CS6910CL, and use it for taking images. Completely unrelated to the computer, the camera lens controller has zoom in/out, focus in/out, iris +/-.

Need any more info and I'll try to get it.
 
OK, this is the final setup I decided on. Let me know what you guys think...

1.) board: Intel D945PSN
2.) CPU: Pentium D 930
3.) video: Sapphire Radeon x1600xt
4.) memory: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2-667

Any known compatibility issues with this setup?
 
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