Thread: Help selecting a system

I capture my footage from either the Flip HD or Contour HD helmet cam. I have been using powerdirector up til this point. I am looking for a new system that I can run a program like premiere or vegas pro. What should I be looking for in a new system to support what I do? i5 or i7? how much ram? anything else? Also, I want to keep it under $1000 but I'd prefer to be around $750.

If you can get the fastest chip, the i7 as this will help reduce rendering times. You need at least 2 Gb of RAM if you are keeping to 32bit or more if you are using a 64bit OS. Get good fast disks this is often over looked by people and can be an unthought of limiting factor in a PC. Have at least two separate drives one for the OS and one for the media.

If you have an editing program that can take advantage of CUDA then get a good nVidia CUDA graphics card.

If you want to burn Bluray disks you will need to get a Bluray burner.

I would advise you to look at the Hardware section in this forum.

Originally Posted by Midnight Blue

If you can get the fastest chip, the i7 as this will help reduce rendering times. You need at least 2 Gb of RAM if you are keeping to 32bit or more if you are using a 64bit OS. Get good fast disks this is often over looked by people and can be an unthought of limiting factor in a PC. Have at least two separate drives one for the OS and one for the media.

If you have an editing program that can take advantage of CUDA then get a good nVidia CUDA graphics card.

If you want to burn Bluray disks you will need to get a Bluray burner.

I would advise you to look at the Hardware section in this forum.

Thanks for the response. How much difference is the i5 to the i7 in reducing rendering times? I am currently looking at this dell: * Studio XPS 8100 Desktop * Processor: Intel Core i5-650M Processor (3.20GHz,4M cache) * Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium * 1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM) * 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (4 DIMMs) * 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability * 1024MB nVidia GeForce GT 220

I've really no idea what the rendering times for each chip is. There are several different i5 and i7 chips. The best thing to do is google a particular chip and see if they have been tested by a tech website. Some thing like THIS

One more question. Is there a particular video editing software that requires less cpu usage or needs less system requirements (that's not like awindows movie maker)?

I have found Canopus Edius to be more CPU efficient than Sony Vegas when I tested it. BUT I like Sony Vegas functionality. You can down load either of them for a 30 day trial. Both are very good NLEs. I've never tried the others so I can't say about them. I would recommend avoiding Pinnacle Studio.