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What am I gonna need for a good DV editing machine?

Nutdotnet

Diamond Member
Am just curious as to what I should look at when I build a new comp for digital audio and video editing.

What I have right now is-
XP 1500+
MSI KT266 Pro 2
30gig Maxtor 7200 rpm HD
512mb DDR Ram
Firewire card (of course)
Santa Cruz Soundcard
Delta 44 Soundcard
Lite-on 24x CD-RW

So what do I need to upgrade? I am noticing that my computer is a bit sluggish when editing video. I am thinking I need to get a larger HD (like a WD Special Edition), and maybe more up to a gig of RAM? Do y'all think that my proc and mobo are speedy enough or should I upgrade those as well? I am also thinking about getting a DVD-RW drive (eventually)

Any advice would be great!
 
well i would say the processor is decent but this is what i would do with the current rig u have instead of buying a new setup

i would get somewhere between a 60 to a 120gig 7200 rpm drive and put nothing on there but video or audio when u have more stuff on a drive the seek time slows down and so does the writing process i would up the ram to 1gig or maybe 1.5 just to have as a comfort level i would invest in a HP DVD +R/+RW drive and i think u would be set

i do most of my editing on a P4 1.8 with a 60gig 7200 rpm and i get good clear streams of video no artificting
 
Mostly just more of everything - I know I do a lot of sound editing with sound forge, usually involving files that are about 380 to 650 megs, and having a fast HD is a lifesaver. I'd go with either a WD1200BB (you can get the JB, but for video editing you would use sequential transfer rates and the extra 8 meg cache wouldn't do you a lot of good) or the IBM 120GXP. Since IBM is ditching HD's, I'd stick to the WD.

A faster processor helps a lot - some of the edits I do on large files take five or ten minutes and the bottle-neck is the CPU. If you have the money, I'd go as fast as you can.

Lastly, lots of RAM is nice, especially when working with large files (500 meg+) - but not all that great since it's really, really easy to use all of it up and start swapping to disk. If you have the money, I'd go for it - but even with 512 megs, I go to virtual memory and write to disk constantly. I doubt the scenario would be a lot different if I had a gig, given the size of the files and the amount of work done.



Basically, you want a screamer. 😀
 
Yeah, that is what I thought. Cool, just will need to save up a few extra bones more than what I already have right now.

On a side note, any recommendations of what a good 15" TFT Monitor and a good DVD-RW (or R+W or whatever, I can't remember what one is the more popular) that won't break the bank?

 
Hmm, would a dualie setup be worth that much added cost? I am really trying to just get the best bang for the money. Including a 15" TFT Monitor and MAYBE a DVD Recorder I want to spend MAX $1000.
 
Another way to go is to get a real time board for under $500. Then keep the rest of your system as is.
 
Can you say Seagate Cheetah X-15? I can't kill this drive but I have managed to egt dropped frames streaming it to an IDE drive in the same system.
 
Nah, no SCSI. For the amount of actual video editing that I will be doing it wouldn't really be worth it. My main thing is doing audio stuff. Since I am making a room in my house the "studio" instead of my room, I am going to be building a new comp for my studio. I don't need a powerhouse, just something that will suti my needs well.
 
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