Question : Problem: Intel Xeon 5050 vs Xeon 5130

Hello. I am a video tech for a local church. We are in the process of upgrading our primary computer which will handle all live, and post video functions. I am currently looking into which processor I should get for this system and right now it is a toss up between the Xeon 5050 and the Xeon 5130 (we would be running this in a dual-processor configuration). I am wondering which of those two processors will be the fastest at rendering and encoding video files (not necessarily HD video). Another primary function of this computer is to host the Newtek VT4 (Video Toaster) system as well. My question is which processor would be a better overall contender to our situation, and if there would be any really big performance increase between the two, as we are on a tight budget and I would only want to go with the 5130 if it would be extremely better.

I know many people on this exchange network may not know much about hardware performance and video but any comments are welcome!

Brandon

Answer : Problem: Intel Xeon 5050 vs Xeon 5130

Hello Brandon:

I would recommend the 5130.  It has a significantly faster FSB (1333 vs 667 MHz) and uses the Core architecture while the 5050 is based on the older Pentium architecture.  Core processors generally perform much better than Pentium processors, even at much lower clock speeds.  They are also much more energy efficient.

Although the 5130 runs at a lower clock speed, clock speed is not the only determining factor in performance - architecture can trump clock as it does in the case of the Core units.

A couple of caveats: 1) the faster FSB is only useful if the motherboard and memory can accommodate it, and that will add cost.  2) the software that you use can have an effect on overall utilization of the architecture, but, all else being equal, the 51xx series is better than the 50xx series.

wb