davide445

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Just a update to inform interested readers, after reading some more specialized and real world benchmarks such as these one AMD FX-8350 review: is AMD back? - Performance averages and these AMD FX-8350, -8320, -6300 'Vishera' review: finally good enough? - PowerDirector 8 benchmark and user experiences on AudioVideo CPU performances, the conclusion is 2nd FX Vishera series can be equivalent to i7 for multimedia activities, costing much less, at a price of a increased power consumption. It's weak instead for gaming, but the GPU will help a lot on that for my planned CryEngine SDK usage. So I'm back on AMD architecture, looking for FX-8320 or 8350. Considering this is eGPU room I will not go further on that discussion, since summarizing all costs and benefits I think my better cost/effective choice will be only "Mini" PC (not so mini, in fact), this one CPU AMD FX-8320 Black Edition - 3,5 GHz - Socket AM3+ VGA SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGY Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition - 2 GB GDDR5 - PCI-Express 3.0 RAM CORSAIR Vengeance Red 2 x 4 Gb DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL8 HDD SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.14 ST1000DM003 3,5" - 1 TB MOBO ASROCK 970 Extreme3 - Socket AM3+ - Chipset 970 - ATX CASE CORSAIR Carbide Series 300R PSU CORSAIR CX600 80 PLUS Bronze - 600 W TOT: 824 USD

Unfortunately 2560/70P will cost me at least 1530 USD, that compared to 800 of the Mini PC conf are a lot more. Portability has always a value, but this is really too much for me. My goal is to find the conf that guarantee good performances for prosumer AV/realtime 3D design use at minimum cost.

Exactly, that's why I finally read real life applications benchmark such as this one AMD FX-8350, FX-8320, FX-6300 and FX-4300: All Vishera Processors in One Review: as I wrote before I can't think using a i3 equivalent for video editing, and going for AMD i5 equivalent cost me...the same as a real i5, that not only performed good in ALL conditions but also consume much less. The problem is that all of this cost me 400 USD more than a eGPU solution, but considering the av demand for real CPU speed and not only GPU I'm starting considering unavoidable such expense.

After reading comments on AMD FX architecture I informed myself better. The bottom line is that in real word app FX-6300 is equivalent to i3 and FX-8350 to i5, but with much more performance change among different applications and a greater power usage. Considering that and the relative pricing doesn't worth upgrading to 8350 (a i3 equivalent it's just not enough for AV) and I changed my conf on Intel based, now this CPU Intel Core i5-3470 3,2GHz Socket 1155 with GPU Ivy Bridge Boxed VGA Club 3D Ati AMD Radeon HD 7850 RoyalQueen 2GB Mobo AsRock B75M-GL R2.0 Socket 1155 Intel B75 DDR3 SATA3 USB3 VGA DVI MicroATX RAM DDR3 Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile CML8GX3M2A1600C9B 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) CL9 WLAN Pci-e Wireless TP-Link TL-WN781ND 150MBs Wireless N HDD 3.5" Western Digital Caviar Blu 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA3 Case Mini Cooler Master Elite 342 mATX with PSU 500W Black Keyboard Power X KB618B Multimedia USB Black MS Windows 8 Pro 64 bit TOT: 817 USD That's a respectable amount of money for me. Will be really pleased to find eGPU solution it's the perfect one, but I think need to find the extra 430 USD!

Need to say that your i7 3820QM it's better than many Xeon and Opteron processor as you can find here PassMark - CPU Mark High End CPUs and even better than 8 "core" FX-8320 that can be the next step of my setup. Better its always better, the fact is I will be happy to spend just 385 USD for eGPU if this will give me a strong push in performance also in AV. But I read many different experiences with PD, just now a guy want to return a 650Ti because it doesn't make any difference at all in his workflow speed. Many practitioners are using CPUs with speed around yours, but also some are using much worse solutions. So I will be happy to find a good benchmark to evaluate the real cost effectiveness of my future system. Otherwise sure I will go for the best I can afford, that's the above setup.

Ok thanks so (apologize for my bad English knowledge) was meaning not "comparable" with Intel parts. Reading a bit appear that AMD FX micro architecture it's an average between single and double core: a "core" does have two physical integer units and one shared floating point unit. Something similar to Intel HyperTrading but with phisical cores. Appear that your mobo need to have the right BIOS tho handle this efficiently, and also new version "Vishera" such as 6300 does improve the performance under regular conditions. CPU Mark state FX-6300 it's above a Intel Core i5-3450, but I don't know if that it's relevant for AV editing and rendering.

Really don't understood what you mean... Meaning FX-6300 its not a 6-core? And why I need to bother about Intel....Asrock 960GM/U3S3 FX Socket AM3+ it's a AM3+ socket...

For AV editing I already used PD 10 and worked (8GB RAM is useful for that) in editing, a bit slow for AVCHD rendering. Don't want to try for 3D video :-) I'm beginning to use CryEngine 3 SDK loading some maps and elements to create a wind turbine impact analysis simulation. But using complex elements I got 7-8 FPS, really not usable to create even a low res video. Now I know all of it your global laptop+eGPU specs are higher even respect my Mini PC conf, considering also Thunderbolt is faster than ExpressCard so the power of 660Ti will be not wasted by bandwidth bottleneck. Your conf its higher respect the average (asking for advice on PD and CE forum they suggest me 650Ti or higher and at least i7 - don't understood specific model) or just fine for real pro?.

I'm not a professional and AV it's not the core of my activity. But still I need to use it, and I value my time for learning and working. If you say your rMBP work fine with video rendering I receive the information in fact you are working with a conf much more similar to Mini PC than mine laptop+eGPU. rMBP use a CPU benchmarked better than FX-6300 and your 560 Ti (or you use an 660 Ti?) it's benchmarked at the same level of HD 7850. It also uses 1600mhz RAM and SSD drive. Sure that Mini PC it's not powerful as can be, but it's similar with your rMBP, so I hope can be productive. Do you have a DIY enclosure? Do you use Thunderbolt port?

Asking for specific advice about the best GPU for my specific needs (PowerDirector 3D editing and CryEngine 3 SDK development) I received the suggestion that, especially for video editing, CPU and other part of hw such as RAM and HDD are also important for the whole performance. The suggestion was also why you don't look for a complete cheap mini PC, it doesn't cost so much more. With a lot of optimization I finally need to compare these two eGPU vs MiniPC conf: eGPU solution with my own laptop as main PC (My laptop: CPU: Intel Core i5 2520M 2.5 Ghz iGPU: Intel HD 3000 650 Mhz RAM: 2x4GB Kingston 9905428-043.A01G DDR3 666Mhz HDD: HITACHI HTS723232A7A364 SATAII 7200 rpm Mobo Lenovo 429137G Chipset Intel QM67 (Cougar Point) [b3] Win 7 Pro 64bit) PE4L V2.1 XFX ProSeries 550W Core Edition eVGA Club 3D Ati AMD Radeon HD 7850 RoyalQueen 2GB TOT: 385 USD Mini PC solution CPU AMD FX-6300 6-Core Vishera 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 14MB 95W Boxed VGA Club 3D Ati AMD Radeon HD 7850 RoyalQueen 2GB RAM DDR3 Corsair Vengeance Blue Low Profile CML8GX3M2A1600C9B 1600MHz 8GB (2x4GB) CL9 WLAN Pci-e Wireless TP-Link TL-WN781ND 150MBs Wireless N HDD 3.5" Western Digital Caviar Blu 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA3 Mobo Asrock 960GM/U3S3 FX Socket AM3+ AMD 760G DDR3 SATA3 USB3 MicroATX Case Mini Cooler Master Elite 342 mATX with PSU 500W Black Keyboard Power X KB618B Multimedia USB Black MS Windows 8 Pro 64 bit TOT: 743 USD Where on the MiniPC solution I really stripped down to the minimum req and costs for all the components. I can maybe save some 30 USD using FX-6100 instead of 6300, and also other 20 USD without wlan card, but small things. The idea is to have exactly the same functionality of my laptop, so to compare costs, with a balanced (but cheap) architecture. The difference of 358 USD (retail price) reflect obviously the need to buy hw/sw I already have in my laptop such as CPU, RAM, HDD, keyboard, OS. I was never considering in detail how much a laptop is behind desktop in term of speed of the various components. Not only CPU, but also RAM, HDD, mobo everything its slower for power consumption and heat dissipation considerations I think. Considering all of that I wanted to know: - does anyone use eGPU solutions not only for gaming, but also for video editing, and what are your feeling about performance? - apart from 3DMark benchmark do you ever performed a more complete PCMark test, so to test the whole eGPU + laptop setup? - apart from cash availability, do you think a 358 USD premium worth the setup of such a MiniPC?

I can't say since I never done a eGPU myself, but check first here eGPU Implementations examples if you find someone

Hi padr3maronn0, I'm Italian too and just finished a loong thread to define my best config. About the adapter you can buy it there Hwtools or here ebay.com You need also a PSU (I can send you the list others have selected for me if you need one) and the GPU. For the case I decided to start with no one so to limit my expenses. I will start to create mine in a couple of weeks. That's all if no others - much more expert than me - have nothing else to add

Ps considering my "industrial" use of eGPU will make more sense to use Nvidia Quadro/ATI FirePro workstation video card. But there are any DIY eGPU experience on that cards? As I read in fact there are almost equivalent to GeForce/Radeon gaming-oriented cards with specific drivers, and the latter can be modded to enable into "gaming" brothers features reserved to "workstation" equivalent. Interesting, but I think the later solution even if cost efficient (cost of gaming card, feature of professional workstation oriented) can be tricky in the already delicate eGPU equilibrium, what do you think?

I'm currently asking for advice on CryEngine and PowerDirector forum, will post the final results. So far the situation it's pretty clear from the eGPU pow

And what about 3D video editing, rendering and display? I want to use CryEngine and PowerDirector to create and edit 3D videos (coming also from other sources) and want also to connect my laptop to my 3D TV set for preview and display. I was reading about Nvidia 3DVision and ATI HD3D, scrolling supported hw appear that Nvidia directly support my 3D TV ATI not, but .... need I to care? There are any specific reason for preferring Nvidia/ATI with 3D in mind as used in a eGPU setup?

About these PSU all of them does have all the connections to power all the different things (GPU, adapter, etc?).

And 7870? It's still priced about $15 below 660 and appear to be more popular among CryEngine fans and also with better benchmarks. But, really, will I have better performance? And about compatibility? Also I found many brands such as (going up with price) Generique/VTX3D/Sapphire/XFX/Powercolor for 7870, VTX3D/XFX/HIS/Powercolor/Generique/Sapphire for 7850, Palit/PNY/MSI/Gigabyte/Gainward for 660. Need I to care for one of these?

Being in Italy I'm checking many aggregators, for single site I look mostly here E-Key About the GPU I was considering also Radeon HD 7850 that is priced $40 below GTX 660, but I fear for compatibility, and configuration mess... I don't know if are equivalent in term of feature, on Radeon I found a nice multimedia specs with video encoding and decoding that are not listed in Nvidia specs (but maybe I can't read the right things). I really can't say exactly what kind of power I need, I simply find the 660 the cheapest with all latest a nvidia technologies...so that will be enough for many future uses. Asking also on CryTech forum they suggested me GTX 650 or above.

Yes now it's absolutely clear. If you haven't other suggestion for cheap but good commercial PSU I now know exactly what to buy, thanks your all!

I will use eGPU to speed my landscape design under CryEngine SDK for environment impact analysis such as this one VisAsim with a radical new kind of wind turbine generator. I will also probably do 3d video (BD 3D quality) editing and rendering, and it's possible I will do CUDA calc for option pricing in the future. The main aim to eGPU it's now to speed my learning time on CryEngine and the needed tools such as Google Sketchup and maybe 3dmax: I will do simple things but with my HD 3000 everything will be painfully slow, and I prefer to learn doing things instead of learning only. I also think will be a good investment for the future: I want to learn and experiment more on 3D and also my present GPU will really limit the opportunity to learn. But if you think eGPU it's still a money waste for me and there are better solutions, as you know I'm not an expert, please give me a hint! About Nvidia/AMD no bias: I simply read many times Nvidia it's easier to setup, and will pay $25 more for that. Will use a external 17" display I already have so to have more space respect my 12.5" and optimize performance. - - - Updated - - - I have a long time unused Xbox 1.6, but I just checked today and mount a 130w PSU, too small for my needs. Anyway as you said I will go directly to the objective: have the eGPU working with no hw setup (not my best skill I think) and start the real fun using it . I so hope reading all your posts that PE4L also doesn't need soldering iron and dremel . I can deal to live without enclosure to have the best cost/result, but want not to deal with soldering at al!

Ok that's the response I want. Only another question: both of them come with all the cabling I need for? To connect with ExpressCard I'm sure (all the game is on that) but also to connect with PSU and SWEX if needed?

Apart costs and apart case, my final concern its if there are more sense for a PE4L or PE4H. I read infinite debate but still I don't understood if it make for me any difference. About customs: I really don't understood. I simply use the dutycalculator and accept the results: I need to pay VAT, not customs.

Need to be honest: this morning I was thinking to giving up, after discovering I need also to pay VAT and customs tariff for a extra-EU adapter purchase. But after receiving your new info and reading again about ExpressCard, PCIe, my laptop and so on I think I have put together the most important things. I won't consider GPU costs (will be GTX 660 if I can find one for less than 200 USD), that's invariant in my choice, I want only to know which of the following options can be the good one. Starting from my laptop: checked I have a PCIe 2.0 1x 5GBs max Intel 6 series Sandy Bridge ExpressCard interface. These are the options (rounding costs, but including shipment, VAT and duties from dutycalculator.com, I consider apart the GPU, assume I don't need any other part if not listed): PE4L V2.1: 110 USD Case SilverStone SG05 with 300w PSU: 147 USD Tot: 257 USD PE4H V3.2 (with his case): 234 USD PSU XFX ProSeries 450W: 62 USD TOT: 296 USD ViDock 4 overdrive 200w: 318 USD Tot: 318 USD

Thanks but I sure does not have the skills to do something similar.