Building your own editing suite

FREUDENBERG_FILMS

FREUDENBERG_FILMS

Well-known member
This is a question that myself and others have asked from time to time. What is a great setup for building your own editing suite.

Well working in HD is a real strain on a lot of systems. We need to edit in real time so we can feel when it's right to cut and slice footage. My old system was as follows:

Windows XP
P4 2.6 running HT
4 gigs of ram
512 graphics card.

It struggled real time. It made me hate editing and I stopped working on my short film.

The thing was the original computer was built only for SD video. When I bough the HVX I loved the camera but when trying to watch the footage it took the fun out of it. Anyhow I did some research and found out what parts make a decent computer. First of all here is the list. Its under $2000 AUD ($1500 US) for the parts.

Motherboard Asus P6T Deluxw V2
Intel Core i7 2.66 CPU
Kingston 12 Gigs of DDR3-1333 MHZ in 2 gig sticks
Gigabyte GTX285 PCI-E 2.0 1GB DDR3 Graphics card

P1040797-600x450.jpg


After running the computer it is super fast. It runs like it has 8 CPUs due to the i7 using HT. I have 12 gigs of DDR3 but the motherboard can take 24 gigs so I can upgrade later if needed.

The computer does not struggle at all. Plus when I apply effects the computer handles them well and doesnt show signs of slowing. I'm pretty happy with my setup. I thought id pass onto you guys and girls what I used to make my computer incase you wanted to build one yourself.

Enjoy ;0)
 
what OS are you running? If its windows you have to be runnong 64 bit right? 32 bit only recognizes up to 3.5 Gm of ram.
 
soarprod said:
Mac - Figure out how to pay for it
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Sounds like a sound bite from the latest MS ads. :)

There is more to a computer than its cost.

The OS and how well it's integrated are also factors.

Compare similarly equipped Macs against Dells, HP, etc. and the price is real close.

Against, cheap no names, yes -- they are cheaper.
 
Im still very interested in seeing what OS he's going to run. Not to sure about the 12 gigs of ram. I could throw huge amounts opf ram in my computer but it wont matter until I get an OS that utilizes it. And as far as Im concerned A mac will run 12 gigs of ram a HECK of a lot better than a PC will. Windows is a horrible OS to edit on. To much uneeded crap. And I have a windows machine. FOr my next comp, screw building one, Ill fork out the 6 grand and get an 8 core G5 Pwr Mac. PLEASE keep us updated---very interested.
 
LOL sorry

Im using the Windows 7 Beta version

Awsome OP SYSTEM. Running 64bit. Your right if it was XP is would only be 4 gigs (actuall more like 3.5 gigs DDR)

I dont know why people go Mac other then they dont like to upgrade. PC is like a hotrod. When you stop haven fun with it you can shave the heads and run it on laughing gas. ;0)

Im running Adobes Production Suite Priemium on it. No hickups.

8-cores.jpg
 
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Glad you are having fun with it! I work on both Mac and PC's for editing HD and I completely agree with you. Another great resource for those who want to build their own editing station I highly recommend the following LINK. If you follow their directions EXACTLY you will have a kickass system. I've built several over the years from their designs and they work a treat!

FREUDENBERG_FILMS said:
LOL sorry

Im using the Windows 7 Beta version

Awsome OP SYSTEM. Running 64bit. Your right if it was XP is would only be 4 gigs (actuall more like 3.5 gigs DDR)

I dont know why people go Mac other then they dont like to upgrade. PC is like a hotrod. When you stop haven fun with it you can shave the heads and run it on laughing gas. ;0)

Im running Adobes Production Suite Priemium on it. No hickups.

8-cores.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Get a Mac and Final Cut Studio if you are working professionally. You will not pay that much more for that than you would for a windows box comparatively equipped and you will have a system that will pay for itself in several ways.
1. Integrated software and hardware leads to fewer conflicts and simply works better. All the way from ingestion to distribution. Caveat: Does not directly do BluRay. Adobe Encore does but is REALLY buggy, both on the Mac OS and on the Windows platform. http://forums.adobe.com/community/encore
2. Macs are extremely reliable; much more so than comparative Windows boxes.
3. Very easy to add additional PCIe cards adding functionally. No driver conflicts in OS X
4. Intuitive operation saves time (and money).
5. Large user base and support. Apple has very many ways for users to gain knowledge and help. There are many user groups out there. http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutstudio/

Ultimately, the decision is yours but having been using Macs in the video business since 1990, and seeing others trying to make the Windows system work for video editing, I can honestly say if you wish to spend your time editing rather than working with the computer system, get a Mac. After all, it is a tool, only a tool. It should make your job easier, not be the job.
 
Jim_Behl said:
Get a Mac and Final Cut Studio if you are working professionally. You will not pay that much more for that than you would for a windows box comparatively equipped and you will have a system that will pay for itself in several ways.
1. Integrated software and hardware leads to fewer conflicts and simply works better. All the way from ingestion to distribution. Caveat: Does not directly do BluRay. Adobe Encore does but is REALLY buggy, both on the Mac OS and on the Windows platform. http://forums.adobe.com/community/encore
2. Macs are extremely reliable; much more so than comparative Windows boxes.
3. Very easy to add additional PCIe cards adding functionally. No driver conflicts in OS X
4. Intuitive operation saves time (and money).
5. Large user base and support. Apple has very many ways for users to gain knowledge and help. There are many user groups out there. http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutstudio/

Ultimately, the decision is yours but having been using Macs in the video business since 1990, and seeing others trying to make the Windows system work for video editing, I can honestly say if you wish to spend your time editing rather than working with the computer system, get a Mac. After all, it is a tool, only a tool. It should make your job easier, not be the job.
Click to expand...

Interesting ... My experience has been the exact opposite (In since 1994 started on Macs before PC's could even think about video). But these days I'll take my PC! To each his own I guess. :beer:
 
"Motherboard Asus P6T Deluxw V2
Intel Core i7 2.66 CPU
Kingston 12 Gigs of DDR3-1333 MHZ in 2 gig sticks"

I am upgrading my primary system to this setup also!

It currently has a core 2 duo with 3 gigs of ram on an azus motherboard. (picked the parts a couple years ago after reading a diy guide from the same website that was linked in a previous post) It has always worked great with no issues, contrary to what some may believe.

I've actually been using the same pc for over six years! Every other year or so I just keep upgrading the motherboard, processor, and ram to keep it screamin fast and also upgrade graphics cards and other hardware whenever it is needed. It has also been very economical and reliable for me to do this.

I really get a sense of pride using a computer that I built and know how to work on to make a living with professionally.

I hear this all the time... "It doesnt matter what computer and nle you use since they are just tools, but what matters is the skill of the person using the tools." And right after that they say "you're using MAC and FCS... right?" LOL!

I actually use both pc and mac depending on where I'm working and to me they are basically same. (although the macs have been buggy at times)
The difference in NLE's interface and workflow has more of an impact on me than what platform it's on since i use different NLE's on different jobs.
 
I use Premiere 6.5 to edit P21080p footages (recorded directly in quicktime on FS100 firestore)

I ve just installed calibrated software dvchdpro codec (80$) on my Win XP workstation (Quad 6800 & 3 gigs of Ram + nvidia 8800 GTS )

I also torture these footages directly in after effects 6.5, just as fast as SD dv footages,

so for HVX200 users, top notch hardware is probably not even necessary,

and Mac even less

the faster PC you could get 2-3 years ago with not even HD focused softwares will do
 
awesome times we live in.
While many gripe about how hard it is to get 175/hr out of a suite today when we had folks standing in line to pay 400/hr in the very limiting linear days, man it doesn't cost 7 figures to build a suite anymore. Today, a capable edit suit doesn't have to cost more than 10 grand.
Look at it that way and we really don't make less per hour than we use to.
 
Agreed

Agreed

Agreed with the Mac comments. My friend Sean - not in the film industry - has been a DIEHARD PC user for his entire life, haha. I was from the time I was maybe 8 or 9 and we got our first computer until I was 22 and I graduated college, got my first Mac. I was always a huge PC fan and made fun of Macs, just to tick off my friend Erik, a die-hard Mac user, but also I had used earlier Macs and hated them. As soon as OS X came out, though, there was no longer any competition. The OS is so far superior to anything Micros**t has to offer that I can't see any reason you'd be using a PC. Sean gave me crap still about using a Mac, when I got it, and called me a traitor, etc. Then about a year ago he got Vista, hated it, uninstalled it, and put XP back on his computer, haha. Ever since he had become increasingly frustrated with what awful computers PCs are and what a bad company Microsoft is, and finally got his first Mac, a MacBook Pro, just about a week ago and called it the best computer he has ever used.

I think once you use a Mac, there's no chance you'd ever even touch a PC. If someone I know has a PC and says I can use it if I want, I'm just like uhh no thanks, but now I have my iPhone so really no need for that.

I got my new desktop about a year ago, 10 gigs of RAM, 8-core processor setup, four internal hard drives, an AJA KONA 3 card, CalDigit HDOne 2 TB RAID unit attached, and two monitors, 27" (off-brand) and 20" (Apple). Then loaded with software like Final Cut Studio 2, Adobe CS3, Final Draft, Storyboard Artist, every Digital Juice stock sound effect library, stock footage library, and music library, etc.
 
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