Need help on specs for a Digital Video Editing Machine, for around $2250[US].

[Scope]

Here's what I'm thinking.
1200 mhz Athlon
512megs pc133 ram
20gig 7200rpm hd[programs]
80gig 7200rpm hd[storage]
Case and 350w power supply
Matrox Rt2500
Asus A7v133 Motherborad
A nice 17" or 19" monitor
Sb live value
Network card
12x8x32 Lg Burner

This is just where I'm startig from. Can anyone give me some imput on this system or any advice. Thanks a lot.
Scope!

 

[Scope]

^bump^
Scope!

 

[Ryan]

Dude, if you have that much money, why not go scsi? It would be A LOT faster than IDE, and better for video

 

[Caiwyn]

I've got a very similar setup that I use for audio editing, so maybe I can help.

That looks to be a very good setup, but I would make a few suggestions:
First of all, I don't want to knock the Athlon and get people riled up here, but the Athlon currently doesn't support SSE, and won't until the Palomino-based chips are out. I know the Athlon is faster clock-for-clock, but the one area where the P3 and P4 really shine is in multimedia editing and content creation. Plus, if you go with a P3 or P4, you can get a mobo based on one of Intel's chipsets, which in my experience tend to be more stable than VIA's, and make no mistake, stability is a HUGE factor when it comes to audio and video work. So if you're looking to buy now, you might consider a P3 with an i815 chipset-based motherboard, or even a P4, which supports not only SSE but SSE2.

Second, you may want to consider going SCSI and getting some 10,000 RPM hard drives. It's not absolutely necessary these days, especially if you're using 7200 RPM IDE drives - I use IDE drives myself, in fact - but you're doing video, not just audio, so you may want to consider it. If you decide to stick with IDE drives, I would recommend using IBM Deskstar 60GXP drives - they're the fastest on the market, especially designed for audio and video storage, and they're dead quiet, to boot. Unfortunately, they only go up to 60GB, so you'd have to knock a little space off your storage drive, but I think it'd be worth it.

Aside from that, the system looks a-ok. Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

 

[Ryan]

And what's up w/ that burner? Get a plexor

 

[Ryan]

Hey, he doesn't have to get a via based board. When did Via become the only option?

 

[TunaBoo]

<< I've got a very similar setup that I use for audio editing, so maybe I can help.

That looks to be a very good setup, but I would make a few suggestions:
First of all, I don't want to knock the Athlon and get people riled up here, but the Athlon currently doesn't support SSE, and won't until the Palomino-based chips are out. I know the Athlon is faster clock-for-clock, but the one area where the P3 and P4 really shine is in multimedia editing and content creation. Plus, if you go with a P3 or P4, you can get a mobo based on one of Intel's chipsets, which in my experience tend to be more stable than VIA's, and make no mistake, stability is a HUGE factor when it comes to audio and video work. So if you're looking to buy now, you might consider a P3 with an i815 chipset-based motherboard, or even a P4, which supports not only SSE but SSE2.

Second, you may want to consider going SCSI and getting some 10,000 RPM hard drives. It's not absolutely necessary these days, especially if you're using 7200 RPM IDE drives - I use IDE drives myself, in fact - but you're doing video, not just audio, so you may want to consider it. If you decide to stick with IDE drives, I would recommend using IBM Deskstar 60GXP drives - they're the fastest on the market, especially designed for audio and video storage, and they're dead quiet, to boot. Unfortunately, they only go up to 60GB, so you'd have to knock a little space off your storage drive, but I think it'd be worth it.

Aside from that, the system looks a-ok. Let us know what you decide and how it goes! >>



Ummm how many programs support SSE? High end athlon will beat a p3 in video editing. Not sure of a p4, but an athlon with SCSI sicks would be the best bet.

 

[Odoacer]

I don't know if OEM manufacturers is an option for you, but Alienwareoffers customized DV systems. It can run a little expensive, but you might want to give them a shot, they have a really good reputation in the industry.

 

[Caiwyn]

Actually, TunaBoo, multimedia editing apps are usually the first programs to utilize Intel's instruction sets, so SSE and SSE2 do in fact make a difference in this area. That's why the developers of most of those programs recommend using an Intel chip. If he wants to go AMD, it's not going to hurt, really, but he'd almost certainly be better off with an Intel chip. If he were doing anything else, it'd be exactly the opposite.

 

[Scope]

I live in Canada and stuff is much more expensive up here. That system goes over the budget for my buddy. Also being able to do video in real-time is a huge requirement for my buddy. Remeber that the US dollar is worth $1.58[Can] and that really hurts me in the pricing area. Also i have 15% tax on top of it.
Scope!

 

[TunaBoo]

Still. A p3 1 GHz will not beat a athlon 1.33 or 1.4

A pentium4 with SSE may very well whup up a athlon 1.33 or 1.4 in video apps. But when he wants to play da games

 

[Scope]

^Bump^
Scope!

 

[TripperJoe]

If you have that much $$$ why not go smp/scsi?

Tyan K7 Thunder ~500
2x 1.2athlonMP ~400
Cheetah X15 ~$300
512mb registered DDR ~$100

otherwise, what u got looks good

 

[Apex]

Folks, $850-900 of it is the Matrox RT2500 card.

 

[DiamondFire13]

That sounds good.

A friend and I both do some NLVE, he has a P!!! 866 and I have a tbird 1.2. I know about all of the sse stuff, but I can encode and generate previews in permiere about 2.5 times faster. That video card rocks!!!!!

If you can afford it, go for SCSI, but I use IDE and it is fine.

I am not a pro though.

Paul

 

[Scope]

The Matrox RT2500 is $999[US], $1580[Can]. Plus I have to buy a a regular vid card to plug into the comp as well.
Scope!