Good older P4 mobo to base a video machine on?

I want to put together a bit beefier system for doing video editing.

However, it doesn't have to be the latest screaming system. With an eye
toward budget mindedness, I'd be satisfied with something in the 2 gig
processor speed range, and I want to go with one that uses 168 pin PC-133
SDRAM since it can be had dirt cheap so I can fill it up (hopefully a gig or
more) without breaking the bank, and will recognize drives over 137 gig
without any add-on cards. Also 5 or 6 PCI slots would be great. I assume I'd
be looking at a mid-level P4 board. I'm sure I'll go with WinXP Home as an
O/S.

Any suggestions for boards that fit this criteria? Will most likely be
eBaying.

Thanks

 

For the price difference it doesn't make much sense to go with
technology that's so old. Video editing is one of a relative few
applications that greatly benefit from faster speeds. A used
2.4GHz P4 Northwood, Intel i875 or i865-based motherboard
(Abit IC7/IC7-G, Asus P4C800-E/P4P800 or similar) and
some basic DDR400 memory will run rings around any older
technology.

 

Okay thanks. This is exactly the kind of input I'm looking for.

 

Another word of warning - some newer applications (such as the later Adobe
Premier Elements) will not run AT ALL on certain older processors. This is
because these applications require somethng called the "SSE2 instruction
set". My collegue got caught out like this and is in the position where he
will have to replace his motherboard if he wants to use the older system for
editing using Elements.

Dave

 

Another word of warning - some newer applications (such as the later Adobe

Found this on the Adobe web site...I don't know if this affects other
vendors products.

http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/332238.html

 

I'd go with something newer. Dual core processors are becoming pretty much
the standard. The P4 is a lame duck. Clock-for-clock, the P3 is faster!
Intel's latest offerings confirm this - they have abandoned the P4 lineage
and have resurrected the P3 for processors such as the Pentium D 8xx
series - adding SSE2 support and other features. And they offer some
serious cost benefits. (For laptops, the Pentium M running at 1.5GHz
outperforms a P4 at 1.8GHz. The Pentium M is from the P3 lineage, too.)

You can buy a dual core processor for $130 or so and overclock it to 4GHz.
That's two fully-fledged 4GHz processors! See
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/ for more details.
(To get the same performance from other lines of processors, just the
processor could cost you more than the system described!)

 

The exact same thing is true for P4 Northwoods, which are clock
for clock faster than all of Intel's subsequent CPUs (including,
incidentally, Conroe).

P4's are perfectly SSE2 capable. Did you mean SSE3?

Yeah. All he'll need is a power supply that can provide anywhere
from 260W to 475W -- JUST FOR THE CPU -- high-end and
expensive DDR2 memory that can handle substantial overclocking,
and a watercooling rig that will just by itself cost hundreds of dollars:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/page14.html

 

No - I meant that the P3 architecture was enhanced to include SSE2.

The OP didn't really specify a price range. Tom's Hardware suggest you can
build the system mentioned for less than $800, including cooling.

The point I was trying to get across was that high performance can be had
for low cost. Even without overclocking, a dual core D805 would outshine
any secondhand single core P4.

Intel CPUs with NetBurst give a significant performance penalty for
intensive multimedia processing. Intel have finally dumped NetBurst and
provided the necessary L2 cache.

 

I am admittedly not an expert on PC compatibility but some of the most
recent versions of popular software may not work on XP Home once you
get past consumer-level stuff.

What is your price range? I can give you a much better idea on a
system if you can be more specific.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

I would agree with that. And to please my biggest fans I would also
recommend looking at a Core Duo Mac Mini. It will run XP if you want
to but it will also give you a chance to check out iMovie and possibly
later a more advanced program.

Regardless don't skimp too much. Video editing is very processor and
graphics card-intensive and getting older gear may handicap you on
working with current software and you can probably dig that up too but
good luck in getting any help with it.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

I would agree with you if he's prepared to spend time tweaking the
computer in addition to editing. For some that's desireable, others
not. Overclocking can have consequences as well and it's not for
everyone.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

To clarify: you can probably dig up older software

Too-late-for-typing....

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

Not recommended! A Mac running XP is not the same as a PC running XP that
carries the Designed for Windows XP logo and uses hardware that passes the
Windows Hardware Compatability Test.

And this is why Windows certification is so critical....

 

So how is an Intel chipset on a board that says "Apple" any different from
the same Intel chipset on a board that says "ASUS"?

If you believe the Microsoft party line.

 

So how is an Intel chipset on a board that says "Apple" any different from

Exactly what I've heard at this music store who was selling the new Macs. They will run all XP software. He said
the notebooks are a very good at music applications as they have separate video card which will significantly
minimize audio latency problems. But then again, if one choose a PC with a separate video card instead of having it
sharing memory, it will also accomplish the same.

Olushola

 

I see your point although many MANY systems are custom-built - in fact
that has always been a major strength of the PC market and a core
advantage that many PC users do not want to give up. None of these
systems, many of which will run better than some prefabricated budget
brand name, are necessarily put through the compatibility test and
besides, what's to say one of the new Macs would not pass the test?

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

That is an important distinction between the Mac Minis & Macbooks as
opposed to the Macbook Pro and towers Apple will ship, which of course
means more $.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

 

The towers are still G5 machines, and would be lousy choices for running
Windows applications--they do it with a soft emulator instead of running it
natively.