Building a computer for editing videos and need help

[Isaiah]

I need to build a computer for editing videos
This is for a friend, he was going to go buy a iMAC but I am hopping to talk him out of it

Here is what I am thinking, tell me what you think

IBM 30.7GB ULTRA-100/7200RPM HD -------$154.95(I whould go with SCSI but I do not have a lot of $$$ )
ENLIGHT 7237 ATX MED TOWER W/300W PS ---$69.95
AMD 800MHZ SOCKET t'bird----------$140.95
ACER 50X IDE CD ROM DRIVE -----------$44.95
CREATIVE LAB LIVE!(OEM) -------------------------------$54.95
DIAMOND SUPRA MAX 56K V.90 INT. PCI FAX MODEM ---------$29.95
MITSUMI 3.5 inch 1.44 MB FDD (WHITE) ------------------$18.25
MS WINDOWS 2000 PRO WORKSTATION (OEM) -----------------$169.95
CPU fan - CPU FAN --------------------------------------$15
K7T PRO2-a ---------------------------------------------$120
CORSAIR 32X64 PC133 256MB CAS3 SDRAM DIMM --------------$202.00(do I need more ram?)
Matrox Marvel 16Meg AGP video adapter w/ TV capture with Extensive software bundle included ----$300 (Is this card any good? What is the software that cames with it like?)

ViewSonic E790 -----------------------------------------$335.87

Totol = $1657.87 I do not what to spend more then $1,500 but I willHow do my prices look?

Thanks
Isaiah

 

[Isaiah]

what is fire-wire?

 

[ObsidianK]

I'd hate to say this but if you're friend is hardcore about video..he should probably get an IMAC..otherwise..

Here is what I am thinking, tell me what you think

IBM 30.7GB ULTRA-100/7200RPM HD --I'D GO WITH MAXTOR 40GB FOR $140
ENLIGHT 7237 ATX MED TOWER W/300W PS --I'D GO WITH ANTEC SX830 87.00 ONVIA
AMD 800MHZ SOCKET t'bird----------$140.95--FINE THOUGH THE 900 IS ONLY A LITTLE BIT MORE
ACER 50X IDE CD ROM DRIVE -----------$44.95 --SCREW IT, GET SOMETHING GENERIC FOR $20
CREATIVE LAB LIVE!(OEM) -------------------------------$54.95-FINE
DIAMOND SUPRA MAX 56K V.90 INT. PCI FAX MODEM ---------$29.95-FIND A DEAL FOR $5.00,
MITSUMI 3.5 inch 1.44 MB FDD (WHITE) ------------------$18.25-LOOK FOR AN OLD ONE. SAVE $20
MS WINDOWS 2000 PRO WORKSTATION (OEM) -----------------$169.95-I'D STICK WITH WIN98 FOR VIDEO
CPU fan - CPU FAN --------------------------------------$15
K7T PRO2-a ---------------------------------------------$120-I'D PAY $25 MORE FOR ABIT KT7-RAID
CORSAIR 32X64 PC133 256MB CAS3 SDRAM DIMM --------------$202.00-WHAT?? 128 CRUCIAL PC133=$92.00
Matrox Marvel 16Meg AGP video adapter w/ TV capture with Extensive software bundle included ----$300 (Is this card any good? What is the software that cames with it like?)-TRY PINNACLE DV500 -$500

ViewSonic E790 -----------------------------------------$335.87-YOU COULD FIND SOMETHING CHEAPER

Totol = $1657.87 I do not what to spend more then $1,500 but I willHow do my prices look?

Thanks
Isaiah

 

[deadlock]

Sounds good. If this is just your regular all round home video tape type editing then you won't have a problem.

But if you're thinking proffesional digital editing, I wouldn't even get a PC in the first place. You'd be better of with a Power PC, an Amiga or (if you're really rich) an SG Indy.

But I would recommend you consider SCSI, would be better in the long run. If you get an IDE 30GB drive now, you'll find that when you do want to upgrade to SCSI there's no point coz you already got a fat drive. 256MB is ok, though after a few months' usage a little bit more won't hurt.

 

[dcdomain]

Firewire is a competeing standard to USB. USB was developed by Intel and co.. and firewire, IEE1394, Sonylink (or whatever they calling it) are all the same thing, developed by Apple. Both can daisy chain devices, but firewire transfers information faster. USB 2 is coming out which should challenge Firewire, but in another year Firewire 2 will be out taking the throne again. If you are doing hardcore video editing and wish to connect a digital video camcorder to a computer, it is usually through firewire.

 

[urbantechie]

Looks good!!! Macs are better though

 

[Isaiah]

whould an IMAC be alot better?

No my friend is not a hardcore about video editing, this will be his frist computer!

He has a digital video camcorder and would like to edit videos, but still get on the internet and maybe play some games

He said his camcorder and a port for fire-wire will that work with USB?

Isaiah

 

[DaveJ]

Looks like a pretty decent system. I have the Marvel G400 you're looking at and it's a nice card. Win2K support is iffy though. I got the video tools working fine for playback, but I really haven't tried any capture yet. Will do that sometime this week. I like the Marvel because it has a hardware chip to do vid capture, versus the software MPEG2 you get with an ATI Radeon or V3 3500...

The rest of the system looks good. I wouldn't bother with SCSI, it's not worth the price. For analog video the Marvel maxes out at 6Meg/sec, which your 30GB can handle with no problem. From what I recall capturing with a firewire card is just like copying to a HD, so speed shouldn't be an issue there either. If you find you do need the extra speed, pick up a Promise card and set up a cheap RAID 0 array...

Dave

 

[Doggiedog]

I say screw the Corsair. I've got 3 sticks of 128MB PC133 CAS3 @ $109 (back a month ago)and they are no different than my 128MB PC133 CAS3 Kingston @$69 (as of last week). They are not worth the premium you pay.

 

[Electric Amish]

If your friend is really serious about video editing, you'd get this card...

Matrox RT2000

That system should be good for games as well. I have a regular G400 and it plays all my games perfectly...Q3, UT, Rogue Spear, Age of Kings, etc..

amish

 

[Isaiah]

The RT2000 looks really nice, but I do not have that much money to spend

What software is good for editing videos?

Doggiedog: Ok I will look at some other Ram

Are IMAC good for anything but editing videos? and would an IMAC be alot better then this system?

Isaiah

 

[Rigoletto]

You want to do a job for expensive gear but you don't want to pay for it.
How serious is this "friend" about video? What video type does he make?
Well, if you really are cheapo you can even edit video with Windows ME and the inputs and software on a TV card like Pinnacle's. I would recommend for the cheapskate ATi AIW which can encode MPEG2 in real time though you'd need other software to edit it. This card has masses of cables and in-out...
You need more HD Gb. The best price/capacity ratio now is falling in the 40-45Gb range and that's where you should be looking.
If your friend likes Videos so much I'm surprised he wouldn't like to rip some too... a CDRW would at least help there.

 

[Isaiah]

He was going to get a IMAC for $1500 and asked me if I could build one cheaper and/or better so I am trying to stay around $1500.

He has a digital video camcorder with a fire-wire port on and would like to take videos with his camcorder and upload them to his computer and then edit them.

He has not do any video editing so I would not call him a hardcore video editer.
He would like to do "other" stuff with this computer too

Should I get Windows 98se or W2K?

thanks
Isaiah

 

[Electric Amish]

With an IMac he won't be doing a lot of gaming, that's for sure!

amish