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186
 
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 17/11/2008 10:08:17
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| Ok, Here goes, One guy has the 8200 running at 3.6!! Its interesting to see the specs you have on your systems, I wont be doing games (to old) but would need a bit of grunt to use prem pro which cost me mega, so cost saving is usefull but have been advised that 3gig is the bottom line to handle the proceedures, Hence a 3gig stock and modest overclock, plus the fact that i`m damn interested.
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Pentium
Group: Forum Members
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If it's video processing you want to do, skimp on the Graphics, splash out on the Processor, Motherboard and Memory.
PC No. 1
C2D E8200@3.6ghz - Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 - SapphireHD3870- 2GB Crucial Ballistix PC6400 + 2Gb Patriot PC6400- SEAGATE BARRACUDA 320GB - SEAGATE BARRACUDA 500Gb - HIPER TYPE-R 580W - Antec 900 - Running Vista x64 SP1
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Pentium
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It's debatable as to whether the E8400 is really worth the money. If you're only planning on mildly overclocking one, then it definitely isn't as a CPU costing £54 less will reach the same level of performance. On the other hand, if you're happy to take the E8400 to 4GHz then it starts to become more worth it in terms of bang-per-buck although it still never reaches the same level of return.
Looking at the E4500 at £76 overclocked to 3GHz, that works out at just over £25 per GHz. The E8400 at £130 overclocked to 4GHz works out at just over £32 per GHz.
When it comes to encoding to MPEG-4 with XviD for example, there really isn't much difference between the two CPUs at the same core frequency, so it isn't automatically 'better' to go for the E8400 in terms of value for money even if you plan on overclocking it to, say, 5GHz. That would require phase-change cooling (which would increase the total cost of the rig dramatically) and would also require an expensive motherboard and expensive RAM. You'd still need to be very lucky to get to 5GHz even then. It's totally impossible to get the same value-for-money out of the E8400 due to the inflated cost of the necessary supporting hardware.
Most (if not all) motherboards limit you to a minimum memory divider of 1:1. This means that running an E8400 at 4GHz (which has a multiplier of x9) will require the RAM to be clocked at 444MHz (DDR888). This will either mean running DDR2-800 on possibly sloppy timings (losing you performance) or buying expensive DDR2-1066 to run on tightened or standard timings.
Realistically, you're not likely to be running the E8400 much past 4GHz 24/7 without buying fairly expensive supporting hardware anyway, and this would only give you roughly a 35% advantage over the E4500 running at 3GHz on a cheap motherboard with cheap RAM.
Running the E4500 (which has a multiplier of x11) at 3GHz means that you are only running the RAM at 273MHz (DDR545) at 1:1 which allows you to use relatively cheap DDR2-666 and run it on tightened timings which can give a significant boost to performance. A dual-core C2D running at 3GHz isn't capable of using any more bandwidth than DDR2-666 can provide anyway, so the memory isn't a bottleneck even at this speed. Some people choose to use DDR2-800 and run it on very tight timings to magnify this effect.
If video encoding is the primary purpose for this rig, then I'd recommend that you take a look at the MPEG-4 Encoding Race thread linked to below my sig. The FPS figures vary widely and aren't necessarily representative due to different core speeds and different processor architecture, but the column marked as "Efficiency" gives you a fairly good idea of how different CPUs perform if you limit your comparisons to dual-core processors from the C2D family.
Bear in mind that the results are based on encoding a fullscreen 4:3 720x576 source. Encoding for letterboxed non-anamorphic material will be significantly faster. For example, my E4300 running at 2.83GHz usually returns an encoding speed of around 100FPS (4x real-time) with 16:9 content. How much faster than that do you want to go?
In short, anybody who claims that the E8400 represents good value for money obviously hasn't done the necessary maths to support their argument. The E8400 only wins if performance takes priority over bang-per-buck in a major way. If it doesn't, then the E4500 makes a lot more sense. 
Cheers, Slipstreem. 
System specs: "Phoenix" - Intel C2D E4500 overclocked to 3GHz with ACF7Pro HSF on Volt-modded ASRock 775Dual-VSTA mobo (modded BIOS rev 3.10A and VNB=1.65, Vagp=1.8), 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM (3.0,3,3,8,1T @546MHz), Sapphire ATI HD3870 512MB GDDR4 PCIe graphics card overclocked to 850MHz GPU & 2.4GHz RAM. Powered by Hiper Type-M 580W PSU. Guess who likes overclocking on a budget. 
MP3 Encoding for Audiophiles
Fun MPEG-4 Encoding Race
MPEG-4 Playback Enhancement Using FFDShow
How good is the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro HSF really?
Boosting ATI Framerates with CCC (X700 on)
Optimise ATI Image Quality And Framerates With ATT (X1XXX Series under WinXP)
   
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486
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 16:21:39
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For an extra £5 - £8 you can get a E7200, which I now consider better than the E4500.
Comes with 3mb cache, and its based on the newer 45nm chip.
Yes its mutipiler is only 9.5, but its a very under rated chip the E7200, mine is cool running at 3.2ghz.
[size=1]DS3R: E8200:@3ghz :8800GTS-640mb.[/size]
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186
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 17/11/2008 10:08:17
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| A very comprehensive post(mush apreciated slipstream) Before I decide, What mobo would you reccomend to use with either the 4500 or the 7200.
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486
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 16:21:39
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At least a board with the P35 chipset, whats your budget.
[size=1]DS3R: E8200:@3ghz :8800GTS-640mb.[/size]
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186
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 17/11/2008 10:08:17
Posts: 70,
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| Lucky enough to be able(within reason) to buy what I want on this project, My existing rig does not have the cpu instruction needed for prem pro (athlon xp 3200). decided to upgrade to dual core and fulfill my ambition to get into overclocking, Had a look at the 7200 and like the idea of using it.
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Santa Pig
Group: Moderators
Last Login: Today @ 15:06:57
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I'd be looking at the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 (£65) and a HD3850 (£80).
If you don't want any serious gaming, a £25 HD3450 will do all you want.
Dave R
XP Pro + various VMs: Q6600 @ stock, Asus V3-P5G33, 2GB DDR2 800, 7600GT
XP Pro: E1200 @2.4Ghz, GA-G33M-DS2R/S2, 2GB DDR2 800, 3450 on HDMI
Mandriva S 2008: SOA Athlon 2200, 1GB DDR, 9550
Windows Home Server: S3000, ASUS V2-M2V890, 512mb DDR2 667, 1TB
4GB USB Pendrive: Mandriva 2009 - my portable PC 
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186
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 17/11/2008 10:08:17
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