Hey guys,
Well I've begun video encoding and heavy use of my new TDK 8x DVD+-RW Drive...however I am finding out quickly, even with 768mb of DDR my 1800+ is slow as anything when it comes to video encoding, especially when its an hour and a half of basketball games..It takes many many hours to encode..So if you could all help me in choosing a new mobo and processor, I'd really appreciate it

I've heard P4's are better for video encoding...so AMD or Intel, I'm not biased...

I'd like to stay sub $300 if possible:grinthumb

Current Specs:
Athlon XP 1800+
K7S5A Mobo
786mb PC2700(running at PC2100 speeds)
100GB WD SE HDD
Ati AIW Radeon 9600
SB Audigy Gamer
400w Antec PSU
TDK 8x DVD-+RW
XP Home

I personally prefer the AMD 64 platform, however according to Anandtech, the P4's got the encoding crown.

And according to Pricewatch.com, to stay under your $300 limit would probably stick you with a P4 3.2 800mhz and any supporting mobo thats around $115, like the ASUS P4P800

If it were me, I would get something like a P4 2.8E with a P4P800-E Deluxe. Those together would drop you about $315 (on newegg), but I don't think you should go lower than that. I have a P4P800 (non -E) Deluxe and I can't say enough good things about it, very solid system board, and affordable too. The difference between my board and the -E is a different RAID controller (better, the VIA VT6410 on mine sucks), different onboard audio (better, again ), and a different onboard gigabit Ethernet chip (I dunno about better, the 3COM I have in mine is awesome).

Here's the link for the P4P800-E Deluxe and here's the Pentium 4 2.8E

If you wanted an alternative, I dunno how they would compare performance wise, then a Athlon XP Barton 3200+ and an ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe would do you good. That's about $15 more than the Intel solution, but you could always settle for a 3000+ and save like $55 :rolleyes: (it's the same way with the 2.8E and the 3.0E...you pay like $60 for one multiplier stepping)

This is probably one of the only cases where a P4EE would come in handy. All you need to do now is sell a kidney or two ( they don't even have to be yours *cough*MrG*cough* ) & get one of those rare-as-Loch-Ness-CPUs.

It's good to see another purist around here. :angel:

And no, you can't have my kidney either.....I've given one away and the other's reserved for my hops and barley.