OT: duo core extreme vs dual Xeon dual cores

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I'm finally getting a new workstation here at the office. My decision is now down to getting a box with a single Duo 2 Extreme chip, or two 3.2Ghz dual core Xeons.

Mostly we'll be using this machine for photoshop and after effects work with file sizes ranging from 4096x3112 all the way up to 8192x6144.

Thoughts? I need to make this decision pronto while their checkbook is still open!

Don't get either of them. The best processor for your needs is the "Woodcrest" Intel Xeon chip, which currently maxes out at 3Ghz and is often found in a dual processor (quad-core) configuration. These are the latest-greatest from Intel and are significantly better than either of the chips you're looking at, even though the clock speed is lower.

EDIT: I was tempted to tell you to buy a Mac Pro from Apple and just run Windows on it, since it's the cheapest way (in the ballpark of $1k cheaper) to get quad-core Xeons under your desk. Your graphics card needs might rule that out, though.

cool. Thanks for the tip. I wasn't aware of those chips.

I just got done spending about $9000. That's quite a thrill when it's not your own money!

Here's what we ended up getting:

Xeon 3.0Ghz 5160 Chips (x2)
4GB 667Mhz buffered RAM
Geforce 7950GX2 1GB Vidya card
160Gb 10K SATA boot drive
320Gb SATA storage drives (x2)
QLogic QLA200 fiber channel card
Adobe Production Studo Premium
Tinderbox 1-4 v2 plug-in bundle
Digital Film Tools "55mm" plug-in bundle
Gridiron Nucleo render plug-in for AE7

I can't wait for this to arrive!

Too bad that's not your home gaming rig, eh?

Luckily I kinda enjoy working with Adobe products, so it'll be fun just to be able to play with it at work.

Quote:

I just got done spending about $9000. That's quite a thrill when it's not your own money!

Here's what we ended up getting:

Xeon 3.0Ghz 5160 Chips (x2)
4GB 667Mhz buffered RAM
Geforce 7950GX2 1GB Vidya card
160Gb 10K SATA boot drive
320Gb SATA storage drives (x2)
QLogic QLA200 fiber channel card
Adobe Production Studo Premium
Tinderbox 1-4 v2 plug-in bundle
Digital Film Tools "55mm" plug-in bundle
Gridiron Nucleo render plug-in for AE7

I missed alot of this conversation but DAMN SPIFF!!

That is just incredible.

That is insane. Normally I could care less about benchmarks but...

I can't wait to run a test between our old box and this new one. I'll render out series of fifty frames on each box. Once at 4K, 5.6K and 8K. Should be fun to see what kind of speed differences I get.

Now that you have a faster computer, they can give you more work, right?

Got the machine today. I can't believe I placed the order on Friday and received it on Monday.

Haven't had a chance to test much at all yet, but it's certainly impressive to look at! Two MASSIVE HSF's! Three HUGE fans. At idle, it's as quiet as a mouse.

If I get a chance I'll take and post some pics.

I missed the boat on this but you did right. The 51xx series is the one to get (AKA "Woodcrest"). The quads are coming soon but won't give you a price/performance edge until apps are altered to utilize 4 plus threads. I just got a server in running quad 5160s and it flies. It will replace a database server we had running 2 P3-era Xeon 550s. I'm getting a tad better performance, you might say.