Build or Buy
- Thread starter Sherman
- Start date
its hard to imagine that an off the rack machine will have what you want for optimal video editing performance. a custom machine will be cheaper and will have exactly what you want (which might make it more expensive actually, but not compared to customizing a HP or Dell). a rack machine will typically have an undersized pwoersupply and you are unlikely to find one with an especially beefy GPU. i used www.cyberpowerpc.com for my last build and was very happy with the prices there.
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I second zaarc's comments. My CyberPower system has been solid as a rock for almost a year now and I heartily recommend them. In general you should find that a custom-build shop will provide you with a completely built and tested system for about the same cost as the individual parts from a place like NewEgg. I know building a PC from parts can be fun, but all it takes is one problem and you are way behind the cost/benefit curve of a pre-built/pre-tested system.
Just 3 more points to consider:
1. A commercial machine invariably comes pre-loaded with huge amounts of bloatware. It can literally take a day to get all this crap off the system.
2. Gamers stress their systems even more than rendering video, so a place like CyberPower has got to be able to provide robust systems or they would go out of business.\
3. No matter what you do, absolutely go with Win7-64. It's the only way to make use of all that RAM (I'd suggest 6GB at least.)
Just 3 more points to consider:
1. A commercial machine invariably comes pre-loaded with huge amounts of bloatware. It can literally take a day to get all this crap off the system.
2. Gamers stress their systems even more than rendering video, so a place like CyberPower has got to be able to provide robust systems or they would go out of business.\
3. No matter what you do, absolutely go with Win7-64. It's the only way to make use of all that RAM (I'd suggest 6GB at least.)
Justinec101
Active member
I bought a dell XPS 9000 a little over a year ago. I went back and forth between buying a stock machine or having something customized, but Dell had such a rediculous deal I couldn't find anything that could match it. Ended up spending $1250 shipped for: 8gb ram - expandable to 24gb, 750gb HDD, 2.66ghz quad core, dual dvd drive, built in card reader, keyboard, mouse, 23" monitor, and a 2 year warranty (which you lose out on by building a machine, meaning if you can't figure out what's wrong on your own you've got a problem). Granted that was a year ago, but even now it's a pretty good deal.
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Richter Video Equipment
Well-known member
I'm not sold on CyberPower. no i don't have one so I can't really judge, but there are no internal raids available. the only way you will get a computer exactly the way you want it is to build it yourself. as for warranty, all parts have a warranty that is generally better then warranty you buy. I'v been building computers since i was 10 years old and I will never buy another store bought.
Efexone
Well-known member
I deal with a lot of hardware. my take is to simply buy an off the shelf workstation, specifically dell's. building is great 'n all for customization and geekin out and is technically cheaper, but overall, a workstation is a workstation and the only thing a custom built one might have over an off the shelf machine is better expandability and might look cooler. you need to consider that after you spend the couple of hours putting together your custom spec, you'll need a couple more to get all the hardware dialed in terms of installing software, drivers, troubleshooting, ect - maybe one piece of hardware doesn't like the other... you gotta make em friends, lube the gears - essentially spend a lot more time on it then you should. you might get DOA parts that will really throw you off during the build.
considering the time spent building the machine, its well worth the extra 10% price diff getting a pre-built workstation rather then dealing with all the hassle. the only thing thats worth building on your own is your storage system. custom built raid arrays are a better route then off the shelf storage systems - more options, you pick the drives, you pick the controller. an 8 core or 12 core with mucho ram is the same no matter where it came from.
I personally use a 8-core dell workstation for the bulk of my video work (as good as the mac-pros I deal with at work) plus I got it hooked up with SSD's and of course, and all the goodie win software I wish I could mess with on the macs.
considering the time spent building the machine, its well worth the extra 10% price diff getting a pre-built workstation rather then dealing with all the hassle. the only thing thats worth building on your own is your storage system. custom built raid arrays are a better route then off the shelf storage systems - more options, you pick the drives, you pick the controller. an 8 core or 12 core with mucho ram is the same no matter where it came from.
I personally use a 8-core dell workstation for the bulk of my video work (as good as the mac-pros I deal with at work) plus I got it hooked up with SSD's and of course, and all the goodie win software I wish I could mess with on the macs.
Richter Video Equipment
Well-known member
For me the raid is a deal breaker for pre built systems. I want it built my way. I want to know if i take my computer with me, all the drives come with it. Also video card selection is limited on pre built. There are advantages and disadvantages to every card and i want to select the one i want, not a model up or down.