Desktops: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome
General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome
by medgen1 - 10/11/06 6:30 AMThe following machine is going to be the general-purpose ‘family’ machine. This means that it will mostly be used for web surfing, office utilities, etc. No one in the family is a gamer (yet), so it does not need to be optimized for gaming. I might hook it up to the entertainment system for the ‘digital home’ experience, but I’m not dead-set on that.
The one thing I do want it optimized for is video editing. For the past three years I have been using Pinnacle Studio (versions 8 and 9) on my dell x300 to do video editing. I will keep using this for a while on the new machine, but ultimately want to jump to something more high-end.
Since I haven’t decided which editor to go with when I do upgrade (Adobe, Avid, Vegas), I am getting a cheapish video card right now. So, I need a decent, stable system that is capable of low-end video editing right now and can be upgraded in the near future. Oh yeah, and I probably will not be doing much tweaking, although overclocking still remains a possibility.
The following set-up is just about the limit of what I can spend. As far as the alternate options go, I can probably add up to $100, but that is it (i.e All of the alternate options are not a possibility). Any and all feedback is more than welcome!
Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6300
[alternate option: upgrade to 6400 – add $50]
MOBO:
Asus PW5 DH*
[alternate option: P5B Deluxe – save $20]
Memory: OCZ 2 X 512MB DDR2, 800MHz, PC2-6400
[alternate: Corsair 2X1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 533MHz Value Select 240-pin Unbuffered DIMM – add $80]**
HD:
Western Digital Caviar SATAII (WD2500KS) X 2 – one system drive, other dedicated to video editing
Video card***:
BFG /3D fuzion GeForce 7300 GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI-Express
[Alternate 1: XFX nVidia GeForce 7300GS Supporting 512MB DVI, TV-Out PCI E Video card – save $5]
[Alternate 2: Asus Extreme EAX550TD/128 Radeon X550 128MB DDR PCI-Express TV-Out – save $20]
Case:
Antec Sonata II (with 450W power supply)
[alternate: Antec P180 with Thermaltake W0009RUC PurePower 420-Watt Power Supply – add $80]
DVD burner:
LG dual layer with lightscribe
*Note #1: I have decided to go with top-of-the line Asus boards so that I have maximum stability, compatibility and options.
** Note #2: I have to decide whether to go with 1Gig of high quality memory or 2 Gigs of ‘value’ memory
*** Note #3: This will be upgraded when I decide which higher-end video editor I will go with.
comments
by ramarc - 10/11/06 9:23 AM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1choose the e6400 but a 'plain' p5b instead. here's a feature comparison.
http://www.asus.com/products_compare_show.aspx?array_model=1178,1198
unless you *need* dual gigabit lan, dolby audio, dual x16 graphics slots (crossfire), firewire, ecc ram, or matrix raid, the p5b should be sufficient. (if you're not going to use the features, why pay for them?) the 965 chipset actually overclocks better than the 975 chipset and its just as stable (if not more stable).
for video editting use, most modern gpus perform the same. still, i'd get at least a 7300gt so vista's aero interface won't be sluggish.
go with 2x1gb of fast memory. i prefer ddr2-667 with agressive timings to ddr2-800 for better stability, but ddr2-533 value ram is needlessly slow.
the sonata ii is a very quiet case. consider the p180 only if you want its looks, need an even quieter case, or plan on serious overclocking.
General Purpose & Video Editing
by MJM - 10/13/06 8:43 AM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1You've strung out a lot of tech specs...why don't you just buy a Mac?
Don't overclock no need
by uzra22 - 10/16/06 1:41 PM In reply to: General Purpose & Video Editing by MJMYou need to things for video editing machine.
The more ram the better minimum 1gb.
Cpu with good amount of CPu cache.
decide on edit first
by harpoongill - 10/13/06 2:19 PM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1hey, some advice from an editor here.
Decide on which edit system you want to go with first, if you want to go more high-end then you should know that the edit suites are picky with video cards and the like. Especially Avid, if you have an ATI and want to go AVID you're s.o.l.
...The main 'pro' edit applications these days are Avid and Final Cut Pro for the Mac, with Premiere Pro at second. Even then you'll want to check Premiere's specs.
Even for low-end editing I'd get an NVidia Quadro card of some sort.
High-end edit machines tend to work best when you use them as edit suites alone and lose the MSN-ish junk on there as well. AVID doesn't even like it when I have wallpaper on my PC.
Ensure full compatibility of video and audio cards
by harrismarkc - 10/13/06 6:42 PM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1Three years ago I assembled a system I thought would be more than adequate for hobbyist video production. One erroneous idea that led to problems was my naieve assumption that one of the (then) highest rated video+PVR solutions (ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro) and one of the (then) most recommended audio solutions (Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 EX) would make a superior combination. The two devices never worked well together. After my purchases, I discovered that the big PC vendors, including Dell's, online PC configuration tools (the ones you use to choose all the options before placing a purchase), would not permit the buyer selecting those two components for the same PC. Since then, I have used Dell's (and other companies') online PC selection tools as a first-pass method for research compatibility issues. Each manufacturer should also provide compatibility info on its web site. I managed to get my system to hobble along, but--in retrospect--should have either done more research or purchased a pre-assembled PC from a mainline vendor. Incidentally, though it is possible to put together a PC that will suffice for hobbiest multimedia production, my next multimedia computer will be a Mac (as another writer suggested).
Mark H, Albuquerque
If you're not planning to overclock, there's no point .
by VAPCMD - 10/14/06 10:31 AM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1buying RAM that's faster than the system components design speed. All things considered ...I'd go with 2GBs vice 1GB. That way your RAM needs will be covered for this system and OS and perhaps one OS upgrade (Vista ?). Also check ASUS QVL for RAM compatability ... and also see the ASUS forum on the MB you've chosen. You can avoid lots of hassles by doing some advance research. Believe most users are reporting better compatibility with Corsair RAM.
The other thing is how are you planning to backup your data files ?
Let us know how it turns out.
VAPCMD
General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome
by harley2ride - 10/20/06 2:46 PM In reply to: General purpose and Video Editing machine - comments welcome by medgen1I was able to do video editing with my Medion 2.8ghz pc with 1gb memory, a ti4200 video card, used the onboard sound card, and had two seperate HD's. One for software, and one for data. It handled any game I put on it, and did the video editing just fine using Adobe Premiere 6.5 and Sony Vegas 5. To be realistic and keep you in the current ballpark, I would suggest a 3.2gh p4 with 1gb of memory, any decent video card, two seperate HD's (not a partition), and a dedicated firewire card. Do some reading at www.videohelp.com, and you will see what I'm talking about. You could also use an Athlon 3800 range pc. The 2.8ghz will do real time video editing, but the 3.2ghz p4 is quite a bit faster. Speed costs money. If it isn't important, than go with anything bigger than the 2.8ghz.
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