Video Editing/3D Animation/DVD Authoring Frequently Asked Questions Page

  Home     MS Pro 7 Test/Results    MS Pro 6.0/6.5 Results
MS Pro 7 Review    Stagetools Moving Picture Review   FAQ
Firepod Review

Does more memory speed up video related operations?

This is one of the most often asked forum questions and the answer with qualifications is no.  As long as the operating system isn't starved for memory, that is constantly going to the hard drive (page swapping), then additional memory will not increase performance.  Windows XP/2000 systems should have a minimum of 512MB of memory, 1GB if you will be doing a lot of multitasking (running more than one program at once).

How do front side bus (fsb) and memory speed effect video performance?

Video applications in general require enormous amounts of memory bandwidth, this means that not only does the memory have to operate at a high frequency, but the fsb speed must match that frequency or either the fsb will be "waiting" on the memory or vice-versa.  Ideally, the memory bandwidth and fsb are matched.  For example, the Intel 865/875 chipset runs dual PC3200 memory (400MHz) and an 800MHz fsb speed.  Both the memory and fsb can support 6.4GB/sec data transfer. 

How do AMD and Intel CPUs compare when running video application?

The performance of AMD and Intel processors varies depending on the application and and chipset each is using.  In general both can provide good performance.  Check the test results for specific information on a specific application.

Is Hyperthreading any good?

Although MSP7 will show 80% cpu usage (logical and physical cpus) while rendering an MPEG or DV project, the actual performance gain due to HT is only between 1.5 to 5% from the tests results.  HT is more effective with dual channel (875/865) systems so I suspect a bandwidth limitation problem for full utilization in MSP7.  I have noticed that HT does seem to noticably increase real time performace in MSP7.  I also notice "snappier" overall performance on my system with no drawbacks so I leave it turned on.  There is some hype in hyperthreading but overall it is a worthwhile feature and holds promise for the future as system bandwidth increases and programmers learn how to better code for it.