Video Transcoder build CPU? Which is better for my use case?

[EnVy_28]

Hi again,

 

So cut to the chase, which is better for video transcoding/converting, dual Intel x5660 or single 2700k?

 

So I have an old gaming rig with a 2700k in it and using it right now as a video transcoding machine mainly from raw video footage to mp4.

Right now, my 2700k is doing just fine, but he's kinda slow, we're talking like transcoding a 100GB worth of RAW footage to mp4, and that's going to increase more in the future.

 

So I tried to look for old multi-core server CPUs on ebay and I found a 2 Intel X5660 for $50! 50$$$$$$!!!!!

So I'm just wondering if its faster than single 2700k...

 

I'm also thinking about going GPU transcoding, but in my experience 5 years ago LUL, GPU encoding quality suffers in exchange for speed, I don't know if that changed now.

 

This rig I'm building will only be use as a video transcoder/converter. And nothing more.

 

Is Video transcoding/converting just really about Core count and not clockspeed?

 

Thanks in advance....

[GDRRiley]

a dual x5660 will smoke the i7

[Jurrunio]

31 minutes ago, EnVy_28 said:

Is Video transcoding/converting just really about Core count and not clockspeed?

it cares about 3 things, core count, clock speed and instruction per clock.

 

thought I saw "2700x" at first and I'm like "You need threadripper, not old Xeons" lol

[EnVy_28]

15 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

a dual x5660 will smoke the i7

Also base on my "research" LUL, x5660 is discontinued, so I'm betting finding a motherboard will be hard, but I think it's going to be worth it.

 

2 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

it cares about 3 things, core count, clock speed and instruction per clock.

 

thought I saw "2700x" at first and I'm like "You need threadripper, not old Xeons" lol

I'm actually wondering if buying a newer AMD CPU instead will be better for long run? Like Ryzen 2700x? I can only afford one though, and thats for CPU only, LUL.

[GDRRiley]

33 minutes ago, EnVy_28 said:

Also base on my "research" LUL, x5660 is discontinued, so I'm betting finding a motherboard will be hard, but I think it's going to be worth it.

an old dell or supermicro unit on that platform would be a good base, I would avoid HP for this generation. 

[AskTJ]

Buy an old server with dual CPU's. They are normally cheaper than buying the parts separate. 

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dell-R710-Server-2-X-X5650-2-67GHz-Six-Core-CPU-16G-Ram/273239174270?epid=1760229863&hash=item3f9e52ec7e:g:S-sAAOSwVWFaz2Y4

 

This is $200 and has dual X5650's, a motherboard and 16GB of ram. No drives for obvious reasons. 

 

Take the motherboard out of the server rack and install air coolers, and get a case that can hold the motherboard, or keep it how it is. You can resell the server rack for around $40 - $50 so you can get some ROI pretty quickly.

[EnVy_28]

32 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

an old dell or supermicro unit on that platform would be a good base, I would avoid HP for this generation. 

Could you explain why? I guessing because of the BIOS but I might be wrong...

[EnVy_28]

30 minutes ago, AskTJ said:

Buy an old server with dual CPU's. They are normally cheaper than buying the parts separate. 

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dell-R710-Server-2-X-X5650-2-67GHz-Six-Core-CPU-16G-Ram/273239174270?epid=1760229863&hash=item3f9e52ec7e:g:S-sAAOSwVWFaz2Y4

 

This is $200 and has dual X5650's, a motherboard and 16GB of ram. No drives for obvious reasons. 

 

Take the motherboard out of the server rack and install air coolers, and get a case that can hold the motherboard, or keep it how it is. You can resell the server rack for around $40 - $50 so you can get some ROI pretty quickly.

Oh! Thats actually a very very good advice, I did not think about that.

[Jurrunio]

2 hours ago, EnVy_28 said:

I'm actually wondering if buying a newer AMD CPU instead will be better for long run? Like Ryzen 2700x? I can only afford one though, and thats for CPU only, LUL.

2700x does score more than twice the marks in synthetics comparing to X5650 and will save money with much lower power draw, but whether it's worth it depends on how expensive electricity is.

 

IF you consider Ryzen, use the cheapest 8 core instead. I mean, in the US The 1700 cost $200 only.

[EnVy_28]

29 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

2700x does score more than twice the marks in synthetics comparing to X5650 and will save money with much lower power draw, but whether it's worth it depends on how expensive electricity is.

 

IF you consider Ryzen, use the cheapest 8 core instead. I mean, in the US The 1700 cost $200 only.

But is it better than dual x5660? I think I might go with @AskTJ suggestion instead and buy a used server with everything in it... That looks cheaper and easier...

[MMKing]

You're looking at 12 cores 24 threads at 2.66GHZ stock / 3.06GHZ boost with a max memory speed of 1333mhz ddr3. It will certainly perform much better than you current 2700k.

 

Not knowing budget or which software you use. Make sure the relatively low memory speed, and the fact that you are using a dual CPU setup has no adverse effects on the software being used. 8 core Ryzen options with much faster DDR4 memory will certainly perform better at significantly lower power draws, but buying new is easy 3-4 times the price.

 

Edit: Look into getting more ram if the software sees any benefit from it. The X5550 can support up to 144GB ECC DDR3 memory.

[AskTJ]

On 18/06/2018 at 7:09 PM, MMKing said:

You're looking at 12 cores 24 threads at 2.66GHZ stock / 3.06GHZ boost with a max memory speed of 1333mhz ddr3. It will certainly perform much better than you current 2700k.

 

Not knowing budget or which software you use. Make sure the relatively low memory speed, and the fact that you are using a dual CPU setup has no adverse effects on the software being used. 8 core Ryzen options with much faster DDR4 memory will certainly perform better at significantly lower power draws, but buying new is easy 3-4 times the price.

 

Edit: Look into getting more ram if the software sees any benefit from it. The X5550 can support up to 144GB ECC DDR3 memory.

ECC ram is a lot cheaper than DDR4, and he can upgrade, as you said, to 144GB, which is a huge amount.

[Jurrunio]

37 minutes ago, EnVy_28 said:

But is it better than dual x5660? I think I might go with @AskTJ suggestion instead and buy a used server with everything in it... That looks cheaper and easier...

performance is between equal to favouring Ryzen. That's why I said it depends on how much electricity cost. If it's expensive, buy Ryzen. If it's cheap, get the old server.