CPU: Dual Xeon vs i7

I fully support your question regarding dual zeon vs i7 systems!  I have been weighing this for some time.

I am only editing DSLR (5dm2) footage at the moment on this:

Very Old Dell XPS 410 with a few upgrades

Core2 Quad core Q6600

8gb Corsair Ram

Corsair HX650 PSU

Nvidia Quadro 4000 GPU

Samsung 830 256gb SSD (for OS and Apps)

Raid 0 Barracudas 7200rpm XT's w/64mb cache (2tb x2-sata2)

Raid 0 Barracudas 7200rpm w/16mb cache (2x500gb-sata2)

Various external storage drives in USB 2.0, eSata

I have been looking at purchasing a new editing machine to get with the times, but really want to buy something that will be 4k RAW ready.  From several other sources online, the dual Xeon platforms seem like the way to go.  I have been looking at the ASUS Z9PE-D8 and Xeon E5 2620's.  However, I would prefer a motherboard that offers more than 64GB of ram space.  Also eyeing the new Corsair Obsidian 900d full tower case and AX1200 PSU.

I would like to take my current Samsung 830 256gb SSD, 2 Barracuda Xt's (sata III capable), Nvidia Quadro 4000 to the new system.  I  may or may not have a use for the Barracuda 500gb's (possibly storage). 

I also want to add an Nvidia tesla C2075 6GB to my Quadro 4000, but the price is astronomical at the moment. This would get my GPU into the "Maximus" realm. (http://www.nvidia.com/object/maximus.html)

I am waiting to see how things evolve before sinking the big money into all of this.  In the mean time, I will be chugging along with my old, old system.  Pity me!

The 10-15k for a workstation is the very last priorty/consequence of your professional video/multimedia setup. If you are already in 4K business with Red/Arri/etc. this could be mandatory, in 2K/AVCHD you can survive with the i7 platform (at least till the point where you have earned from customer paid projects the respective amount )

Good luck

I bought my HP Z820 dual Xeon system  because it was able to allow me to get better performance from Red and other large format media. It also has 32 hyperthreads which is an asset for many other functions in the software I use which include Adobe CS6 (the entire suite), Syntheyes, Mocha and 3D apps (Blender). As we see the development of more 2K and 4K cameras, folks using the Mercury Playback Engine will be requiring this kind of power to work with their clients media.

It is a mistake to assume that  people using Adobe apps are just using the functions that are evaluated in the PPBM. Its is valid for a certain group, but especially these days, folks that JUST use Premiere is being eclipsed by people like me that use it in tandem with many other apps that demand and thrive on systems like mine.

Yes, my system did cost about $10,000 just for the computer. But over my career I have worked in edit bays (years ago) that cost $1.5 million. And the system I have now is more powerful and can do way more than the expensive one did. If you are an amateur or just dabbling of course that seems like a lot of money. But as someone making a living for 30 years as an editor, its really not that much in the scheme of things.

http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/lasvideo

If you were to compare a Dual Xeon setup that costs the same as an i7 setup, which would be better for the above and why?

That is impossible.  Even dual Xeon i5-2620 CPU's cost way more than an i7-3930K (€ 720 versus € 515), dual Xeon motherboards are almost twice as expensive as single CPU 2011 boards, the memory for Xeon boards can be more expensive, etc. Dual E5-5620 systems are around 2.5 to 2.8 times slower than the fastest i7-3930K despite the higher cost, mainly because they can not be reasonably overclocked and their very low clock speed holds them back. If you spend around 20K on a dual Xeon system, it may come close to the fastest single i7-3930K system that costs only a fraction.

I can't answer that, but I can say to go to the CS5 Benchmark http://ppbm5.com/ to review the results to see what people are using