Building a new Quad-Core Editing Machine...

G

GL2guy

Active member
Hey guys... I recently upgraded my Canon GL2 camcorder to Canon's new XH A1 and now have a new host of problems with my current (and outdated) PC editing workstation.. so it's time for a big upgrade and thought I would run by my system configuration I have put together and get some suggestions from you guys:

I am working with a custom PC builder and have come up with the following:

- Intel Core 2 Quadro QX6700 2.66ghz (Quad-Core) Processor
- 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800 RAM
- GeForce 7600GT 256MB Video Card
- Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card

Hard Drive Configuration:
- 150 GB SATA II Raptor 10,000 RPM (Primary OS drive)
- 74 GB SATA II Raptor 10,000 RPM (Scratch Drive)
- 500 GB SATA II Seagate 7,200 RPM (1st Video Storage)
- 500 GB SATA II Seagate 7,200 RPM (2nd Video Storage)

- Antec P180 Case with WinXP Pro x32 and so on...

From what I have learned, it seems that I don't need that powerful of a video card to run Adobe Production Studio when editting HDV. However, I do use After Effects a lot, but have not used it yet for HDV so have no clue what kind of video card demands will be needed for that. And in the future, I may get into 3ds Max/Maya.. so I want to be prepared for that as well. I'm certainly not worried about my processor selection, but am wondering if I have pegged the right graphics card (should I get a beefier one?) and also if I did a good job putting together a hard drive configuration (seperate scratch disk HD?). Would love to hear any opinions on my hard drive setup.

I understand XP Pro x64 has some crappy driver support so I am bit scared to go that route and think I will just wait for Vista x64 (wait even more for SP1?). Thought I would get your opinions. Thanks for any advice and suggestions you can share. Look forward to hearing from you.
 
don't get the sound blaster. go with something from m-audio (cheep and rock solid).

other then that I think i am turning a little green...
 
BennisHahn said:
don't get the sound blaster. go with something from m-audio (cheep and rock solid).

other then that I think i am turning a little green...
Click to expand...

Hey... how do those M-Audio devices work? I see some of them have XLR inputs on them. Exactly how does that work for doing things live voice overs? Do you just plug your mic's into the M-Audio interface, hit record in Adobe Audition/Premiere and start recording your Voice Over to the video track?
 
For the hard drive, I would buy two 150gig raptor and do a raid 0. These are fast hard drive but very noisy!
 
I wouldn't do the raid with the raptors. You don't want RAID for your system drive - very bad idea IMO. Besides doubling the possibility of your system dying it will actually be slower for the sort of access a system drive needs.
 
Woah indeed. :) I like a lot of your components. I have two systems built in the Antec p180 case and really like it. However, it's unconventional design can cause problems with power cables to the mother board. If you stick with the recommended Antec power supplies you should be OK. I use the SmartPower 2.0 units (450 or 500watts, can't remember) and they work well; especially for the lower 'wind tunnel'.

I think you're right that the 7600GT will be adequate for PPro. I have a 7600GS which is totally fanless (huge heatsink) and it runs great. It seems to run well with After Effects but most of what I do in AE would probably be considered lightweight. If you're planning on going 3D, you will probably want something with more muscle but that could wait until you need it.

I would second the opinion to reconsider the audigy card. Personally I really like the versatility of the external sound units that are connected via firewire or USB. I use a Presonus Firebox on my editing station and it works great. So far I have not run into problems with applications. It works just like a traditional soundcard but provides quality preamps and balanced I/O. There's lots of other good choices.

-Dan
 
I'm not sure about the GeForce graphics cards for HDV.

I have the Quadra FX540 which drives my 24" Dell and a 42" plasma with fairly good OpenGL perfromance for 3D applications and AE.
 
I'm guessing you'll be running Adobe Premiere?

Instead of getting the GeForce card I would get a card that is on the supported list. it'll save you a lot of headaches. the Matrox cards are excellent (but expensive).

other than that I agree with the suggestions to get a proper audio card (sound blaster is NOT a proper card but a cheapo consumer card with lots of bling to make it look cool). M-Audio, Edirol, the list is endless. just look for "pro audio" in any music store and you'll find what you're looking for. unfortunately most of these things are not carried by computer stores because they are too specialized.

dare I ask what this system will end up costing?

mor10
 
I want to know the price as well. I'm going to updating my Premiere Pro editing computer and am trying to figure out what I need
 
Well, just the quad processor itself will set you back 1100-1300 USD or so depending on whether you buy retail or OEM. So...

1100-1300 Quad core CPU
650 4GB Corsair XMS 800mhz
135 nVidia 7600 GT
50 Sound Card (a bit low)
400 Seagate 1TB (2x500)
250 Raptor 10K 150GB
150 Raptor 10K 74GB
100+/- Favorite case

Rough Total: 2835 USD
 
Nice. I run prem pro studio and avid, sound card isn't all that of an issue , but M-audio over sounnblaster. My system as follows.

Dual Xeons 3.60ghz 2mb cache
4 md DDR II ram
174gb seagate scsi
640gb sata 7200rpm raid barracudas
Quadro FX 4400 512mb PCI X
AJA Xena LH
2tb ext raid

Happy days!!!

Good luck with the build.
 
Maybe add a studly sine-wave UPS unit too.

I bet your utility bill jumps after you fire this bad-boy up! :crybaby:.

JohnG
 
If you really want to go the whole hog, ditch a raptor and replace it with a Gigabyte i-RAM with 4G. That's the ultimate scratch disc.

Still not sure how well Adobe's multicore coding works, I hate to introduce the possibility but you may end up using less than the four cores.

Sweet spec list, though.
 
Hi There.

Please don’t forget to add-on "cooling system" especially for Quad core CPU - because they are damn too hot!!

4 Processors into 1 chipset

:huh: :beer:
Best Regards
FiReDuCk
 
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