best SYSTEM for video editing... yeah, one of these posts!

K

KuriousJorj

Active member
Yes, I've done my research, but wanted to touch base with folks here, before I finally lay down $$$ for my new system...

Besides, it's been 5 years, my RAID 0 finally failed (burnt PCB chip), and I'm going to redo my whole system...

I'm going to use a SATA drive for my video storage (maybe 2 SATA's, RAID 0 again, Ghost once a week to a large storage drive for backup).


So really, "all" I need is a motherboard, CPU, RAM, and also a new video card... I'd like the motherboard to have SATA ports, so I don't need to buy a seperate SATA RAID card...

I'd like to spend under $400, if possible...

Any suggestions?


thanks, folks!
 
i guess its kind of doable. you can get an athlon 64 3400+ for $144 + a $55 athlon 64 MB from newegg. Then get a cheapy video card for around $100, and look for deals on 1gb RAM for around $70-100.
 
An athlon 64 3400+ for $144?? i just checked newegg and it's $219, slightly less for OEM. Unless you're referring to the package deal, but that might be a little uneccessary.

I'm in a similar situation KuriousJorj; I'm building a new editing system and trying to keep the budget as close to $500 as possible. Not an easy task. Here's what I've come up with thus far:

Athlon 64 3400+ ($219), 256mb Sapphire 9800Pro ($209), and a gig of corsair ($93). I haven't decided on a motherboard yet, but overall I'd say this is pretty solid for $521, and you can easily keep it under $600 with a decent board. I will mention though that most proc technology is at the end of its cycle right now, and prices will likely drop measurably in the next couple months as dual core becomes available. I recommend holding out until then if you can. Also, a nice aspect of this is that AMD's dual-core chips won't require new motherboards and chipsets, just updating the bios (Intel on the other hand will require a full upgrade). Well, hope that helps.
 
Thanks for the feedback...

Yes, I was hoping to get all of those components for $400... though this was more of an idealized number than a concrete limit... I realize $500 is more realistic.

Also, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with SATA drives; will they be sufficient for video storage; ie, fast enough, enough data throughput?

My old storage drive was two 10,000rpm Cheetahs, RAID 0 striped, 150GB total... very expensive, but very powerful.

I already purchased a 250GB SATA drive, but not confident it will get the job done (I'll not accept lag in regards to video editing...) At the very least, I'll get another and stripe them like I did the Cheetahs...
 
How about this; comes in around $480 (and wouldn't need quite a pricey video card, either):


Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-241&depa=1

AMD Athlon 64 3000
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-486&depa=1

Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-125-156&depa=1

DDR PC-3200
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-161-615&depa=1


Like I said, the video card probably doesn't have to be this model; could probably get one for $50 cheaper...

what do you think?
 
KuriousJorj said:
Also, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with SATA drives; will they be sufficient for video storage; ie, fast enough, enough data throughput?
Click to expand...

Yes, I run two SATA Western Digitals (8mb buffer) in a Raid O. They work great!

Are you using After Effects? If so, you might consider getting at least 1 meg RAM..


I've purchased my last 2 systems from http://www.monarchcomputer.com No tax, they burn it in for you, you get the goods, put in your case, and off you go!

Also take a look at www.TomsHardware.com for the latest in PCware.
.
 
KuriousJorj said:
Thanks for the feedback...

Yes, I was hoping to get all of those components for $400... though this was more of an idealized number than a concrete limit... I realize $500 is more realistic.

Also, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with SATA drives; will they be sufficient for video storage; ie, fast enough, enough data throughput?

My old storage drive was two 10,000rpm Cheetahs, RAID 0 striped, 150GB total... very expensive, but very powerful.

I already purchased a 250GB SATA drive, but not confident it will get the job done (I'll not accept lag in regards to video editing...) At the very least, I'll get another and stripe them like I did the Cheetahs...
Click to expand...

I'm running a pair of SATA drives (120GB x 2) at 7200rpm RAID 0. They work great for video (AE, Flash, PPro, etc.) just make sure your drives have plenty of built-in buffer memory 8MB min, 16 MB or more desired, and all the system RAM you can get. I also have a large cap. ext. drive that I back-up too, or depending on the project I burn to DVD. I shoot almost everything to hard drive so making a Master copy is key. For me DVD seems to work well.

I like the ASUS MB's and you can't go wrong with NEWEGG. I'd budget a bit more than $400, but not much more. If I were to rebuild my editing box, I'd go about $700 and make it really nice. It's BS that you need to spend thousands to get a nice editing/graphics PC. I recycle what I can from old boxes, but hardware for the PC is CHEAP!

-w

PS: DCERVENKA what great web site you guys have & fun subject matter too! Can I come out & shoot with you guys?
 
Okay... So SATA does work well, at least when striped RAID 0...

Perhaps I'll see if the 1 SATA works without lag... If not, I'll get 2 smaller, stripe them, and use the 250GB drive as a backup drive...

And yes, I need to get a gig of RAM...

thanks guys
 
I personally use a seagate sata raid setup works perfectly...friend of mine is scared of the whole raid idea so he just runs two seperate sata drives, one to run aee / ap and one to write to and i've seen it run myself, runs like a dream...I think alot of people over-do it with their hdd setups for vid editing. But a good place to throw your cash at as far as an editing machine goes is a capture card that'll allow for real time editing of the effects...pinnacle seems to be the best brand for that.
 
Stay away from raid 0 unless you are backing your video up daily. You loose a drive and you loose it all. But yes it is very fast!
 
MutePrint said:
I'm in a similar situation KuriousJorj; I'm building a new editing system and trying to keep the budget as close to $500 as possible. Not an easy task. Here's what I've come up with thus far:

Athlon 64 3400+ ($219), 256mb Sapphire 9800Pro ($209), and a gig of corsair ($93). I haven't decided on a motherboard yet, but overall I'd say this is pretty solid for $521, and you can easily keep it under $600 with a decent board.
Click to expand...

Assuming you already have your OS, Case, Power Supply and harddrives....... maybe you can keep it in the $500 range....
My only problem with trying to build a "cheap" system is this - "Cheap "USUALLY" equals problems."
Please not I capitalized the word "usually".
Video editing is extremely taxing on even the best systems much less one built on a shoestring budget.
 
Well, I upgraded the "innerds" for $465... Gigagyte board, 1Gb DDR, Athlon 64 3000, and Radeon 9600XT...

I also recently got a 250GB SATA... ($130)

However, my system (OS and even the BIOS) will not detect the SATA drive! (this is really wierd, and a long story, but it did detect it initially...)

I flash updated the BIOS, and have service pack 4 for Win2K...

Any of you SATA users guess what might be the problem?!?
 
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 939
64 bit, 512k cache, Socket 939, Retail Boxed
Architecture operates at 1.8Ghz.
$149


Or

Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0Ghz
2 MB cache, 64 Bit Capable, 800mhz FSB, LGA775
Retail Boxed.
$249

-System Specs--------------------------------------

With appropriate motherboard

1 gb memory

ATI 9600 pro 256mb

Liteon dvd writer

Maxtor 300 gb hard drive

Vegas 5.0 for video editing

Which one in your opinion is a better cpu for video editing? I've heard that AMD's are mostly for gaming graphics and P4's are better for video capturing and rendering is this true. I also am told that AMD's for the money are just as good, are they.

The price difference of $100, will the AMD's performance be comparable to the P4's or will there be a noticeable difference in the speed of completing tasks?


Than you,

ebola
 
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