Newbie Spec

tribute · #1 (**permalink**) 06-10-2004, 02:25 PM

Hye guys,

Im planning to build a new system for video editing.Its must cos be around USD1000 maybe?(im in malaysia actually).Im a newbie and interested to do some editing work as a hobby.So this is my spec :

AMD Barton 2500+
Abit NF7-S
Corsair Twinx 2CPT 1024 PC3200
120GB WD 7200rpm SATA
80GB WD 7200rpm SATA
Power Color Radeon 9800XT 128MB
Benq DVD-RW
I-Cute ATX Casing with 4 fans.

Is it good enaough? I want to change the GC to more cheapest one? Can u suggest me another GC is suitable?, the price must be lower than Radeon 9600XT :lol: .Im also still looking for the video capture card.Maybe the cheaper one.

Alan Mills · #2 (**permalink**) 06-10-2004, 03:05 PM

Don't forget to budget for your software as well. What do you intend to use?

As for capture card. What do you intend to capture from? If it's from a MiniDV camcorder then all you'll need is a firewire port on the PC somewhere. You should only need further h/w if you are capturing analogue.

A2D convertors for capturing from your VCR or similar will likely range from about £50 (UKPounds) upwards. I've found Dazzle to be cheap and cheerful in this regard. I have one myself and not had any issues with it.

MoJoe · #3 (**permalink**) 06-10-2004, 10:47 PM

okokokokok:

1. get an intel Pentium 4 with hyper threading. the video encoding is much faster and hyperthreading can improve render times. AMD sucks when it comes to DV unless you're talking about 64-bit here

2. Are you getting a 9800XT or a 9600XT? Don't get an expensive graphics card unless you're going to do gaming. if you're doing some gaming, then get a Radeon X800 or X800 Pro. These will be much better than the 9800XT

3. Get RAID. Get two hard drives that are the same size so you can use the Serial ATA RAID that's integrated in to your motherboard (nice choice, is this for overclocking?) This will not be any more expensive but will improve general system speed dramatically.

and for software, sometimes that doesn't need a budget

tribute · #4 (**permalink**) 06-11-2004, 02:29 PM

Thanks guys

1. get an intel Pentium 4 with hyper threading. the video encoding is much faster and hyperthreading can improve render times. AMD sucks when it comes to DV unless you're talking about 64-bit here

Its must cost me more :lol: .Okay if im planning to get one Intel processor,can u suggest me the cheapest one? The mobo also?

2. Are you getting a 9800XT or a 9600XT? Don't get an expensive graphics card unless you're going to do gaming. if you're doing some gaming, then get a Radeon X800 or X800 Pro. These will be much better than the 9800XT

Is it GC is not very important in video editing?

3. Get RAID. Get two hard drives that are the same size so you can use the Serial ATA RAID that's integrated in to your motherboard (nice choice, is this for overclocking?) This will not be any more expensive but will improve general system speed dramatically.

Yeah i want raid my 120GB and 80GB.

MoJoe · #5 (**permalink**) 06-11-2004, 10:27 PM

Ok, yes, I know that an Intel processor would be slightly more expensive but it's worth it. I havn't checked the prices recently but I would check out the 2.4C and the 2.8E. Both of those would be excellent

As for graphics card, no, a graphics card really doen't matter unless you're going to be doing some 3D rendering in an advanced program like maya. for your basic premiere, vegas, and after effects stuff it really doesn't make a difference. Those high end graphics cards are mainly for gaming anyways. just go with the cheapest one you can find.

For RAID, it is possible to RAID together two hard drives of a different size but it's not a good idea if you can avoid it. What will happen is the 120GB hard drive will kind of pretend to be an 80GB hard drive in order to get the RAID to work. Basically you would only have have 160GB of hard drive space in the end. It'd be much better to save your money and just get 2 80GB hard drives or go with 2 120GB hard drives because then you'd have 160GB and 240GB of storage respectively.

Marc Peters · #6 (**permalink**) 06-11-2004, 10:55 PM

Just bought myself some bits for a new editing rig. Went for a P4 3.4 Northwood in the end - benchmarks proved best for video editing for my budget. Actually surpassed the extreme editions and Prescott for some codecs.

Seen a review of the Athon FXs on Windows 64bit (the pre-release test version). Put the Athlons into the mix with the P4s for encoding. Thing is, didn't want to pay £600 for so that i can use its full potential in 6 month's time (at the earliest). So I saved the money!

Also decided to go for dual raptors (37GB) for the boot and application drive - yep, in RAID :lol: . Don't worry. Gonna import the other two SATA HDDs from my existing system. You gotta love those mobos with 4 SATA ports (went for a Asus P4C800-E Deluxe "Canterwood").

Ram was GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC4000 Ultra Series CAS2.5. Couldn't be arsed to search for the best mobo/ram combo, so went for a mobo/RAM combo recommended by the vendor (and the RAM seemed to impress a lot of reviewers).

Gonna stuff it all into my existing case (fingers crossed) and donate my old rig to my parents (stuffed into a cheapy centurian case).

MoJoe · #7 (**permalink**) 06-12-2004, 12:34 AM

that's pretty cool marc. one question though:
why'd you get PC4000 ram? Do you plan on overclocking your system?

Marc Peters · #8 (**permalink**) 06-12-2004, 09:06 AM

No big plans to overclock, but the potential is there. Would have to sort out the cooling first though as it's coming with a retail fan. I did however remember to get some better thermal compound this build (Arctic Silver 5). Any specific CPU cooler u would reccomend? (I'm not touching water cooling!)

tongachutt · #9 (**permalink**) 06-12-2004, 12:41 PM

Hi marc,

Chech out thermalright coolers, they are considered by many to be the best air cooling money can buy. They dont usually come with a fan and are pricey (£25-30), you may also need mounting holes thru the mobo -but they cant be beat.

If your after super quiet have a look at the Aerocool deep impact / HT series.

Oh...and nice system by the way, I'll have to burgle your house it must be chock full of goodies by now....maybe I should wait utill you upgrade.

cheers

tonga

Marc Peters · #10 (**permalink**) 06-12-2004, 01:08 PM

Actually, the new spec turned out much cheaper than aticipated. Got my fingers well and truly burnt with the 3.06 of my last build (the c£500 I paid quickly went down to £150!), so I didn't go for top of the range. Whatever you buy will be outdated in 6 months anyway! If I keep this for a year, it'll effectively cost me around £60 per month after selling it on. Even less if you discount present costs in the future. So all I have to do is set aside £60 per month and I'll be buying a 64bit system next year

Oh and also put £600 away for a house. New there was something else...