Server processor - what to choose
 

I am taking on new server and have the following two processor options:

Dual Core Intel E5200
Six Core AMD Phenom II X6 Thuban

Obviously AMD has 6 cores and it's faster, but it's almost twice the price. I need the server for video streaming, will the 6 core AMD be worth the almost double price over the Inter processor?

What is your opinion?

Thanks

In your case , put your money in memory and hard drive speed :2 cents:

both are stupid

good point

even for continuous (TV like) streaming?

As long as its a live stream, memory is the biggest part of it not drive speed. max your memory then work on cpu speed.

If your pulling from storage/video then go for faster/more spindles and memory, cpu is of little importance

yea, it will be tv like streaming, not on demand, from videos on the server

It depends mostly on your streaming application.
Mine takes 30% of one core on an low end atom processor while saturating 100 mbit/sec line. Also the RAM is not a big deal in my case because the system is designed to run really low on RAM.

Edit, didn't see its for live streaming.

If you're budget allows, 15k RPM SAS drives would probably be the drives of choice (my opinion) -- though these can get expensive and more especially in larger volumes.

From there I'd be looking at RAM and then CPU.

The key is to identify where your biggest bottlenecks occur on your existing infrastructure and then create a server spec that not only addresses that bottleneck, but allows for scalability as you grow.

If you only get something that covers your existing needs, you may need something again sooner rather than later. A little planning now will ensure you are ready for your next expansion level.

thanks for great responses!

Ask not what your processor can do for you but what your software can do for your processor....

64 bit software compatible software is a must. As is a 64-bit OS. And not just that, one that is adapted for your CPU.... I went from a 32 bit kernel (steady load 2.1), to steady load 0.8 just by making the kernel 64bit-enabled. Then to add to that, I dropped from 0.8 to load 0.06 steady with the same kernel but one that was 1000Hz-enabled.

All centos. EXACT same architecture, machine, everything.

I shit you not.