i7 processor question

[Sean Troy]

Which processor in your opinion is the better one, i7 2600 or i7 930? Thanks, Sean

[Dale Cruea]

What are you going to be using it for?
Games and/or graphics I would pick the i7 2600.
Spread sheets and regular computing i7 930.

Just my opinion Sean.

[curtis rosche]

i have the 930 and i have never had it about 25%cpu usage, though i also have 16g of ram

[Sean Troy]

I would use it for all the normal computing things plus some video editing, photo editing. Not big on gaming anymore. Is there a 2600K and a 2600? the one I was looking at just said 2600. thanks, Sean

[Myk Rian]

If you were doing something like transcoding HD movie files from a camcorder, (what I do with mine) the 2600 would be your best bet.
You would also need a HD video card. Lots of horsepower and RAM needed to work those files.

[Sean Troy]

If you were doing something like transcoding HD movie files from a camcorder, (what I do with mine) the 2600 would be your best bet.
You would also need a HD video card. Lots of horsepower and RAM needed to work those files.

If I'm getting an HD monitor with the system, can I assume the card would be HD also? thanks, Sean

[Myk Rian]

If I'm getting an HD monitor with the system, can I assume the card would be HD also? thanks, Sean
The specs would tell you that.
Be aware there is a difference between 760p and 1080p. 1080 being the real HiDef.
Here's a nice system with the right/optional video card.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=desktops&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&a2=Intel+processors&v2=Intel+other&series_name=h8xt_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/desktops/High_performance/h8xt_series

[Greg Peterson]

Myk - What software do you use for video editing? I put together a project using Power Director but I was fairly disappointed with the utilities/features/stability of the program.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

What is the price difference for the systems? The 2600 is the newer chip. Sure, it is faster and has some cool features, but, at the end of the day, my computer runs 24x7 and the power difference is 130W compared to 95W for the newer chip, which means that it is uses roughly 35W less power (under some circumstances). So, I lower my electric bill and I run faster as well.

If you have the 2600, you may be able to use the included GPU. The 2600K has a better GPU. Also, the 2600 supports DMI 2 on the I/O buss, which is fast and efficient.


Core i7-930
2.8 GHz
4 cores
L2 Cache 4 × 256 KB
L3 Cache 8 MB
I/O bus 1 × 4.8 GT/s QPI
Memory 3 × DDR3-1066
Voltage 0.8–1.375 V
TDP 130 W
Socket LGA 1366
Release Date February 28, 2010

Core i7-2600
3.4 GHz
4 cores
L2 Cache 4 × 256 KB
L3 Cache 8 MB
I/O bus DMI 2.0
Memory 3 × DDR3-1066/1333
Voltage ??
TDP 95 W
Socket LGA 1155
Release Date January 9, 2011

Are there other distinguishing characteristics in the system? For example, if one has USB 3.0 rather than just USB 2.0, then I would take the system with USB 3.0 because I expect more devices to support it in the future and it is much faster than 2.0. You can always add it later, but then you need to buy it, install it, etc.

Unless you put a large load on the system (video editing, image processing, running virtual machines, etc), either would likely serve you well.

I used to use Sony Vegas to edit video. My Linux box is much faster, so now I simply edit video there. Vegas was much nicer than what I use on Linux, however. Never updated the windows box, it is old / outdated.

[Myk Rian]

Myk - What software do you use for video editing? I put together a project using Power Director but I was fairly disappointed with the utilities/features/stability of the program.
I use AVS4YOU. It is a great suite of programs. The only one I found to be easy to use.
I record our senior center stage productions in HD. I then use AVS Video converter to make an AVI file, although it converts to many types. The video editor is used to trim/edit, and produce the final video. Menus, scene changes, text, etc. are added with it. Also burns the DVDs. Great programs. All their programs can be used for 1 price. About $60 I believe.
I bought the unlimited use suite that can only be installed on one machine, so make sure you won't be getting a new computer before installing it or you'll need to buy it again. www.avs4you.com (http://www.avs4you.com)
Here are some of the video clips I've made with it. www.youtube.com/user/axlmyk (http://www.youtube.com/user/axlmyk)
I just finished burning 125 DVDs of the last production (That's Entertainment") for sale at the center. Wish I had a duplicator for that job. Many hours spent burning, labeling, packaging. I found Avery #5697, 250 count labels at Amazon for the best price around. $44 and change shipped in 3-5 days. I use free Avery Design Pro 5 (search at www.avery.com (http://www.avery.com) for it) for the labels.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Andrew - nice summary.

Those 2 chips are from different Intel architectures - the 930 is based on the Nehalem, and the 2600 is based on Sandy Bridge (newer architecture). There is a 2600K - not sure what the difference is. This comes down to a price decision - the newer processor gives better power/performance/feature, but at a cost.

[Bryan Morgan]

Andrew - nice summary.

Those 2 chips are from different Intel architectures - the 930 is based on the Nehalem, and the 2600 is based on Sandy Bridge (newer architecture). There is a 2600K - not sure what the difference is. This comes down to a price decision - the newer processor gives better power/performance/feature, but at a cost.

Correct. 2600 = Sandy Bridge.... latest greatest. The K designation usually means its unlocked so it can be overclocked.

[Greg Peterson]

Thanks Myk. I'll check it out. Nice work on the videos too.

[Myk Rian]

Thanks Myk. I'll check it out. Nice work on the videos too.
Thanks. Those were shot from about 80 feet away, in the tech booth. I do the lighting for the shows.

The first videos aren't as great as the ones from this year. I bought a shotgun mic for the Canon Vixia HD camcorder. What a difference that made. I was also freed from the duty of using a spotlight. Had another fellow volunteer for that job. A big help that was, by giving me freedom for the camcorder.
I'm also getting a bit better at using AVS4YOU. Easy to use, but there are features that I'm always finding.

[Bryan Morgan]

If you want to wait a little bit the Ivy Bridge is coming out soon... 20% faster, supposedly

[Sean Troy]

If you want to wait a little bit the Ivy Bridge is coming out soon... 20% faster, supposedly
Is that the i7? I would assume cost will go up also somewhat. Thanks, Sean

[Greg Peterson]

Myk - how do you like that Vixia? I almost bought the Panasonic TM900K, but then the price jumped up a couple hundred bucks and that was pretty much the end of that idea.

I looked at Sony's Vegas video editing program. Really liked it. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Apples video editing program, but that entails a fairly high end Mac plus the software. Frankly, that kind of money would get me near a SawStop.

[Myk Rian]

I hope we aren't hijacking this thread. If so, I'll move to another.
Looking at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQg1opWNko you can see how the zoom works. I'm impressed with the clarity. You should see it when the cam is plugged into a HDMI port on a TV. You can see pimples on a face. :D And that's from 80 feet, without using the digital zoom. The cam is a Vixia HG20 w/60gig hard drive. Vids go to the HD, pics to the SD card.

I tried Sony's Vegas. Not as intuitive as AVS4YOU, at least I didn't think so.

[Greg Portland]

The integrated graphics in these CPUs can be used for transcoding of video & other non-game uses. The 2600 has a much better graphics engine & is more power efficient. As mentioned, Ivy Bridge will be a significant improvement, especially in the graphics department. As for cost, the performance-equivalent part will be cheaper i.e. 3rd tier Ivy Bridge may equal top tier Sandy Bridge performance but would be cheaper. The top tier Ivy Bridge will be more expensive than the current parts when it first hits the market.

Any video card or integrated graphics solution will easily handle 1080p (1920x1080) graphics. However, note that only within the last few years has the hardware been fully HDCP compliant which is something you want.

By the way, hard drives and many electronics are -crazy- expensive right now due to Thailand flooding. Intel isn't affected but the peripheral parts may be. It may be worth it to hold out on the upgrade (more so than usual).