benchmarking MPs for compressor - any sites?

[Keebler]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to sell my G5 and buy another mac pro. Last one I had is from 2006 (great machine btw).

I transfer home videos etc.. and use Compressor and building DVDs in SP alot so i'm looking for speed gains. I know I'll get that over the G5 from any machine, but in trying to be economical, I can't decide between and older Octo-8 core or a newer Nehalem.

I've seen various benchmarking, but nothing specifically on using compressor.
I'd like to know how much time I could save on an mpeg2 compression between them.

ie. on my 2006 quad 2.66, a 1 hour dv transfer output to mpeg2 might run 1 hr 15 mins or more.

thanks in advance for any help. from what i've seen so far, it looks like the nehalem quad outperforms the 8-core nehalem, which i find interesting, but i guess having more cores means i'll be able to do more at once?

Cheers,
keebler

 

[CaptainChunk]

That really depends on which Nehalem model you're comparing the 2008 8-core to.

1. Benchmarks seem to support that the 8-core Nehalems outperform their predecessors by 10-30% in Compressor, depending on clock speed. Bear in mind, however, the new 8-cores demand pretty significant price premiums.

from what i've seen so far, it looks like the nehalem quad outperforms the 8-core nehalem, which i find interesting, but i guess having more cores means i'll be able to do more at once?

2. If you're looking at a 4-core Nehalem model, a 2008 8-core will be faster in Compressor without a doubt. You can set up a QMaster cluster for Compressor to utilize all 8 cores. In this scenario, more cores win.

With this in mind, I will still assert that the 2008 models are great alternatives to the 2009 models if your budget is limited. For example, the 2008 8-core 2.8 can be had for about the same money (and possibly for less) as a 2009 4-core 2.66 and will be faster at virtually any rendering task that can take advantage of all the cores (Compressor, After Effects, etc.).

 

[Keebler]

That really depends on which Nehalem model you're comparing the 2008 8-core to.

1. Benchmarks seem to support that the 8-core Nehalems outperform their predecessors by 10-30% in Compressor, depending on clock speed. Bear in mind, however, the new 8-cores demand pretty significant price premiums.



2. If you're looking at a 4-core Nehalem model, a 2008 8-core will be faster in Compressor without a doubt. You can set up a QMaster cluster for Compressor to utilize all 8 cores. In this scenario, more cores win.

With this in mind, I will still assert that the 2008 models are great alternatives to the 2009 models if your budget is limited. For example, the 2008 8-core 2.8 can be had for about the same money (and possibly for less) as a 2009 4-core 2.66 and will be faster at virtually any rendering task that can take advantage of all the cores (Compressor, After Effects, etc.).

Thanks Captain! I'm leaning towards the 08 8-core, but budget is a concern right now so I'm going to start a 'new mac pro' account and tuck away part of each sale to buy a new one.

Cheers,
Keebler