Cinebench CPU results...Relevant for Video Rendering?

SouperComputer

Happy new year!

I'm in the market for a new(er) laptop and trying to compare processors. My question is more of a processor question rather than a laptop one however.
This laptop will be used a lot for video rendering/processing/transcoding. Sony Vegas and Adobe Aftereffects. Initially I was looking at a quad core AMD A8 that I came across on slickdeals, but it seems that that may well be buried by an a lowly i5 dual core by 25%, before quick sync even comes into play. Thats around the same price point too! I figured AMD would come a bit behind in video rendering core-for-core maybe, but still the difference was surprising.

Wondering if anyone can shed some light on whether the results of the CPU test in Cinebench are comparable to video rendering processes. I would imagine so, but wondering if anybody knows a bit more.

_AVALANCHE_

Handy laptop processor comparison table site.

AMD have a pretty shi*te range compared to i5-i7

What's your budget?

ScumLord

I know I say this a lot but a laptop is in my opinion a complete waste of money for the line of work your planning. You could get twice as much desktop for the same price and be able to actually upgrade it in a few years rather than throw the whole thing in the bin.

I really don't understand this laptop craze, everyone buys one and it just sits in the same spot as a desktop would be in unmoved for years.

SouperComputer

Avalanche, thanks. I've been looking on that site (Actually this is how cinebench came about today), but I'm not sure what to go by when looking at video rendering. Cinebench seemed like a good way to go, but it doesnt always seem to match up with the real world rendering comparisons I've seen. Example:



In this real world rendering test (multithreaded) The quad core A8 beats the dual core i5 540m here by a small amount, however in Cinebench the i5 540m scores 2.2 vs 1.8 for the A8. Rough conclusion I have come to is that I should be looking at Intel CPUs that Cinebench at 2.5 or better (My OC'd Q6600 scores 3.1) to be safe.

Budgetwise I'm looking at used and refurbs <$600 (Yes dollars). I will probably grab something with an Nvidia chip so I can utilize CUDA as well.
In any case, I think its going to have to be Intel and I'm glad I took the time to look into it. I'm thinking I can use CUDA to help the render from Vegas then transcode to other formats as needed using quck sync. Sounds rather spiffy! Like I say, I figured AMD would be a little behind in raw peformance but thought they might be better per $, especially after overclocking. Thats not the case however. Shame.

Not sure what craze you are talking about ScumLord, all I can say is that I would have a hard job shoehorning a desktop into the back of a car so I can edit video for the 8-12hrs I am often stuck there coming back from races.

SouperComputer

Here's one laptop I'm considering:
http://www.cheetahdeals.com/ASUS-N82JQ-X1-Refurbished-Laptop-p/ac-n82jq-x1.htm
It has a 740QM which comes in with a Cinebench of 3.1. Scratch and dent is perfect for this application, this thing won't be getting treated very nicely at times.

Missed out on one equipped with a 2630QM for $550: http://www.cheetahdeals.com/ASUS-A53SV-XT2-Refurbished-Laptop-p/a-a53sv-xt2.htm
4.7 Cinebench score for that CPU!
Might hold off and see if any more pop up with that CPU at that price.

beno619

You should check out the dell uk outlet for an XPS, you could pick up one with an i7 for less than €600

SouperComputer

beno619 wrote: »

You should check out the dell uk outlet for an XPS, you could pick up one with an i7 for less than €600

Good call, thanks for reminding me. I'm in the US so I checked out the US refurb/outlet. Mostly 17" (Looking <16 for me). Price point is about right though at around $619. Look like if I'm going with quicksync I need to forget the first gen i7s', such as the 740QM. Looking to see what kinda deal I can get on a laptop equipped with a 2630QM & GT520 or thereabouts.

_AVALANCHE_

SouperComputer wrote: »

In this real world rendering test (multithreaded) The quad core A8 beats the dual core i5 540m here by a small amount, however in Cinebench the i5 540m scores 2.2 vs 1.8 for the A8. Rough conclusion I have come to is that I should be looking at Intel CPUs that Cinebench at 2.5 or better (My OC'd Q6600 scores 3.1) to be safe.

The A8 has a much better integrated GPU which is probably adding abit of acceleration to the above cyberlink example and throwing your comparisons off abit.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2 is usually good for comparisons but is missing some of the AMD range. Unless I'm blind.

As you said, a 2nd generation Intel is what your're after, preferably an i7, for the added hyperthreading, as much RAM as you can get (at least 4GB though) and a half decent GPU, Sony Vegas, adobe effects, your choice of 520 looks ok.

Overheal knows his stuff and leaves stateside, definitely worth asking for pointers on where to look/buy.

SouperComputer

To update the thread, sniped a Samsung RC512 on eBay for $550.
15.6" LED (768 vertical res though, bit crap in that regard), i7-2630QM, 6GB, 500GB, NVidia GT585M, Blu-Ray, USB 3 blah blah.

Should do the trick nicely.