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Author
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Topic: Ideal computer setup
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I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-22-2000 09:59 PM
I'm in the process of building a computer for editing (My 300 mhz doesn't cut it anymore) what is an ideal setup for one?What kind of processor and how fast?
(I was thinking of getting the AMD Duron 800 and overclocking it to 1 Ghz)
How heavily does video rely on processor? Does choosing a certain motherboard really matter for video? Is 7200 RPM on a hard drive really necessary?
I mean, if it has ata/66 or ata/100, does it really make that big of a difference? What I would really like is someone with a computer that works really well for video to tell me the specs on it so I can model after it. What makes the imac DV's so go for editing? They dont have particularly fast processors or video cards. Thanks a whole lot!
J.D.
[This message has been edited by I'm Scared Sarge (edited 12-22-2000).] |
DigiteyeZ
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posted 12-22-2000 10:26 PM
800Mhz should be fine, but don't overclock it, you will wear it out fast and it's not worth it.what matters most is having a LOT of RAM. (256 to half a gig would be good) memory is what the computer needs to feed on to process video. you could have a really fast computer and it wouldn't perform well if it didn't have a good amount of RAM. get a 32 MB video card too (AGP slot type) that'll be important. i don't know if 7200 rpms is necessary or not, but how fast your hard drive reads and writes data will have an effect on how well it plays and records video, especially if you do a lot of rendering. the ideal hard drive to have is SCSI, but it's more expensive. and by the way, iMac's are NOT great at video, they suck badly. (sorry to Mac users; i'm not hating) get a G3 or G4 if you really want a Mac for video editing, but i personally reccommend a PC.
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Prism
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posted 12-22-2000 11:39 PM
SCSI drives are suprisingly affordable in large sizes. I'd recommend a SCSI drive over IDE (including ata/66 or ata/100) any day. They're built to last and they are DARN fast. Some go to 10,000rpm..maybe higher.Isaiah ------------------
Isaiah, "Sound Guy" Eyre
www.iEyre.com |
cpf
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posted 12-23-2000 12:06 AM
For a hard drive ide works perfectly fine for me. I have 2 ata66 7200rpm drives with no complaints. RPMs are very important for digital compositing. Higher RPM equals faster seek time which is very helpful in reducing render times when you are using several different source files for your composition. If you have the money, get a scsi 10,000 rpm or higher. |
I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-23-2000 01:11 AM
Ok, what video card would you suggest. Ive been looking at the ATi radon and the Nvidia Geforce. Suggestions on that? Thanks------------------
J.D. Morgan |
SlipperyGlue
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posted 12-23-2000 03:43 AM
RAM RAM RAM RAM RAM!!!!
With that out of the way, capture cards are a big deal and i havent got the slightest clue. I have tried three models of capture cards and my ATI All In Wonder Pro just bugged out on me. Stupid card! When it worked, it was a wonder but when it fails... you get REALLY PISSED! The support team at ATI dont really help either. They give you the same suggestions as on their web page and tell you to buy a new card. Whatever you do, dont buy an external capture device!!!! HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!! It cant communicate and transfer data as fast as internal. ATI is a good company its just that thier crap doesnt last long.Slippery Glue Productions
(tomorrows films, today) |
Eddie N
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posted 12-23-2000 06:38 AM
overclocking certain processors are not bad for the chip..i could get into it , buts its 330 am..as far as a processor and motherboard goes, make sure your hardware for video editing is compatible with whichever processor/mobo combo you purchase.. i would stick with a pentium.. i think the 800's are best bang for the buck right now... go for 256 megs of memory...heck , you might as well..its cheap enough..just dont buy the cheap stuff unless you feel like staring at memory errors mid render.. crucial.com has 256 meg chips of the good stuff for about 170 with free shipping.. scsi drives arent necessary and are an added expense.. a 40 gig 7200 rpm udma 66 drive can handle video with minimal issues..
but hey , if youve got the money to throw around , go for it.. if you wanted to build your own system i could spec and assemble a parts list with price information pretty accurately from the top of my head.. unfortunately i spend too much time online.. if your looking for something turnkey check out the sony digital studio vaio desktops.. the 260ds is nice and not a bad deal for 1300 bucks , and for 1400 you can get one with 256 megs from the sony site..(800 mhz , 40 gig dma 66 drive, dvd , cd burner, i link, etc).. it comes with sony dvgate for capturing which is a cool little program.. if you step up to the 270ds model for 1599 you get a dedicated 16 meg video card, an 866 mhz processor , and a 133 mhz front side bus.. but , it also comes with adobe premiere le for editing... which reminds me , do you have a digital camcorder?? - eddie - www.dvforums.com
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Scooby
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posted 12-23-2000 07:50 AM
What about dual processors?
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fxscooby
DreamFX
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I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-23-2000 12:10 PM
Yeah, I have a Sony digital 8. I don't want to buy a turnkey system (cant afford), also though, I have a lot of the parts already from my old computer so buying a turnkey would waste money. Also, I would like to go through the experience of building my own  Are the Duron processors any good? I've seen benchmarks that suggest they outperform PIII's  ------------------
J.D. Morgan |
Eddie N
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posted 12-23-2000 04:34 PM
scooby , dual processors are cool , but you need to be sure your running an operating system that supports 2 processors.. (nt4 , windows 2k do , 95 , 98 , and ME dont).. also , the programs your running need to be written to support dual processors to take FULL advantage.. photoshop can , premiere can , as most prosumer programs can.. the lower end video apps will see some benefit but nothing signifigant.. also be aware that ive read certain articles about how dual processors didnt help *that* much.. its up to you as to whether the added expense is worth it to you.. i know if i had the cash i would run duallys.. sarge , you can read 10 different set of benchmarks that will prove 15 different things.. it all depends on which side of the fence is doing the benchmarking... i myself prefer intel , only because most software titles are written to take advantage of the intel chips .. so basically the software is written around the chip... the amd's are built in reverse.. the chips are made to work with the software... ive also heard horror stories of people telling me that when they had issues with their system and called for tech support , they said "sorry , we dont support amd"... i know the amd's are cheaper and its hard to resist, but the choice is up to you..you can ask 15 different people and get 20 different opinions on the subject... what leftover parts do you have from your old computer? im guessing everything.. list what you need and your budget and ill put together a price list of what i would recomend... - eddie -
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I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-23-2000 05:16 PM
All I need is a motherboard with at least 5 pci slots, a cpu, a video card, and maybe a new hard drive. And what you said about benchmarks is true ------------------
J.D. Morgan [This message has been edited by I'm Scared Sarge (edited 12-23-2000).] |
Fastlou
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posted 12-24-2000 12:29 AM
Have any of you guys set up an IDE RAID? I am thinking of doing that, because all it takes is a case to hold the drives and a controller (bout $100). That way you wouldn't have to worry about the RPM's as much, because the stripping makes it run much faster than a single IDE drive.
My understanding is that it can be done with a pretty ismple setup and some software installation to make windows recognize it as a single drive. Is this true? has anyone done it? |
I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-24-2000 01:32 AM
Yeah, and what about those ADS Firewire Drive Kits where the hard drive is enclosed in a case that allows data to be transfered to it via firewire at 400 mb/s? That is a better and cheaper alternative to RAID and SCSI it seems. And it makes a portable hard drive.------------------
J.D. Morgan |
Prism
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posted 12-24-2000 02:37 AM
That bugs me that your OS has to support dual processors in order to take advantage of a dual processor system. That really sucks.If it's RAM you're looking for, go to www.pricewatch.com and see who has the best deal on 256MB PC133 SDRAM... I think the last time I checked it was around $80 or something. Isaiah ------------------
Isaiah, "Sound Guy" Eyre
www.iEyre.com |
DigiteyeZ
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posted 12-24-2000 04:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Eddie N:
go for 256 megs of memory...heck , you might as well..its cheap enough..just dont buy the cheap stuff unless you feel like staring at memory errors mid render.. crucial.com has 256 meg chips of the good stuff for about 170 with free shipping..
- eddie - www.dvforums.com
Eddie N: what exactly specifies "good RAM"? how do you know if it's good quality or not?
thanks
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Eddie N
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posted 12-24-2000 06:32 AM
sarge , look into the abit be-6 II rev 2.. it has pretty much all you described , plus an on board udma 100 ide raid controller.. i think its selling for $130... its a slot one board , and supports all pIIIs and celerons , as long as your using a slotket for the celerons.. once again , the 800 mhz cpu's are pretty much the best bang for the buck right now.. video cards are up to you..just make sure you check compatibility with your video hardware and software before making the purchase.. look for 40 gig hard drives...7200 rpm.. you can get pretty good deals for them on the net for about $150 , or around 170 retail..ive heard that with drives bigger that 40 gigs the deframentation on them from video editing can become so bad over a short time that the drive almost grinds to a hault.. (unless of course its an ide raid situation , making one big drive out of a few 40 gig ones) fastlou , i tried the ide raid setup with the promise fast trak ide raid controller not to long ago...it worked pretty well.. just remember that the more drives you connect in raid 0 configuration the less life your going to get out of the drive.. they say if you have 2 drives hooked up in raid 0 config that it cuts the life of the drives in half... also , i had a video card at the time that was surpressing the bios for the promise card..it wasnt too big of a deal , but for the life of me i couldnt figure out what was wrong..i ended up having to get a new video card...just check compatibility issues first... it really is a breeze to set up.. install the card , configure the bios , and your done..windows sees it as one big drive.. srage again , ive actually used the maxtor 40 and 80 gig firewire hard drives and i was really pleased with the performance.. i was capturing video with a sony f590 laptop and a sony trv-820 directly to one of those drives with out dropping any frames.. even playback was smooth.. whats great about them is you can actually daisy chain alot of them together to have a massive amount of storage space for editing on a laptop , and still have your camera connected at the same time... digital , the trick with ram is to stay with a name brand.. zues , micron , kingston are all name brands...watch out for the super cheap stuff on pricewatch.com .. i wholeheartedly recomend getting all your memory through crucial.com ..firstly , your getting high quality micron memory... secondly , they dont charge you an outrageous shipping charge.. its actually free for ups second day.. and for number 3 , they guarantee compatibility with your system.. you put in the make and model of your computer or motherboard into a text box, and it actually tells you exactly what memory it has availible for you.. im sorry for the typos..its late and im typing fast... - eddie - www.dvforums.com |
Prism
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posted 12-24-2000 09:49 AM
Eddie N is right... although I can't say your computer will not work well if you wanna use cheap RAM (I have cheap RAM and it works great), it's a good idea to get a brand that's well known. And also, get 256 DIMM(s) because if you wanted 512MB, it'd be better to get two 256 DIMMs instead of one 512, because the 512's cost about 4 times as much!Isaiah ------------------
Isaiah, "Sound Guy" Eyre
www.iEyre.com |
I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-24-2000 12:47 PM
I've heard that the pentiums are better than AMD for multimedia type things. Is that true? Is there a substantial enough difference to justify me shelling out twice as much for a pentium III thats the same speed processor?Another question  , whats the better firewire card? Pyro (the $100 one) or Studio DV? The Studio DV has a feature that captures at bad quality, but when rendering the final product, it captures only the parts used in full quality. Is that a good feature? ------------------
J.D. Morgan [This message has been edited by I'm Scared Sarge (edited 12-26-2000).] |
I'm Scared Sarge
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posted 12-28-2000 10:54 PM
Well, I got an 800 mhz AMD Thunderbird, 256 mb ram, 15 gb main hd, 40 gb video hd, Voodoo3 3000 video card, CD burner, and a studio dc10+ (for now).Down with Pentiums!
AMD Rules!! ------------------
J.D. Morgan |
schwar
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posted 12-30-2000 06:46 AM
The iMac is good at editing as long as you want to do dv using Apple's software. iMovie isn't very powerful but you could pay for FinalCut which is one of the best editing programs there is - only problem is it is very expensive. You then get stuck with the limitations of the iMacs display. As if any video editor could be confined by 1024x768!
As a programmer I use PC's and Macs to make software (http://www.alamdv.com) and do video editing. I use a couple of 1GHz Athlon TB and a 500Mhz G4 and G3. The G4 thrashes the Athlon in every respect and the G3 can also beat it in many ways.
That may not be a popular choice, but it is what I would consider the ideal editing platform. The megahertz don't represent the speed of the computer, only the amount of clock cycles a computer does! Macs use different chips (PowerPC) that can do more calculations per clock cycle than Pentiums or Athlons. If you do want to get a PC then go for an Athlon as I've been using a Pentium 4 recently and its really slow - not impressed as we were expecting so much.But if you want to go for a professional editing platform then try... Macintosh G4 500 (Dual is better)
21" Screen - a real must! (minimum 19")
or two smaller screens and an extra video card!
512MB Ram (minimum 256)
Ultra SCSI hard drives are the only way to go.
Final Cut Pro. If you wait a month or so the 800mhz G4e should be out which can out perform a 2GHz P4! |
That Guy
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posted 12-30-2000 02:05 PM
I now have access to a similar system:
Macintosh G4
Dual 21" monitor setup
256 MB RAM
41 Gig, 10,000 RPM firewire drive
Media Converter (to change analog video into digital to be captured via firewire)
Final Cut Pro
Photoshop 6.0I'm beginning to like college. | |
