COMPUTER SPEC - how will this hold up editing film?

G

GRIMWORX

Well-known member
Hey guys... not sure if this is in right section so please move if needed!


I was wondering how this spec will hold up versus film editing... basically if you could let me know what kinda stuff I would be able to do comfortably with the following spec, would be much appreciated!

General
Platform Technology
Intel Centrino 2 System Type Notebook Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial, Bluetooth aerial Width 38.4 cm Depth 26.1 cm Height 3.7 cm Weight 3.1 kg Colour Silver Localisation English / United Kingdom Processor
Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 / 2.26 GHz Multi-Core Technology Dual-Core 64-bit Computing Yes Data Bus Speed 1066 MHz Features Enhanced SpeedStep technology Chipset Type Mobile Intel PM45 Express Cache Memory
Type
L2 Cache Installed Size 3 MB RAM
Installed Size
4 GB / 4 GB (max) Technology DDR2 SDRAM - 800 MHz Configuration Features 2 x 2 GB Storage Controller
Type
Serial ATA Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-150 Storage
Hard Drive
320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm Optical Storage
Type
DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM - integrated Read Speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) / 2x (BD) Write Speed 16x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD±R DL) CD / DVD Rewrite Speed 10x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) Card Reader
Type
Card reader Supported Flash Memory Cards SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo Display
Display Type
16.4" TFT Max Resolution 1600 x 900 ( WXGA++ ) Widescreen Display Yes Features X-black Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 Video Memory 256 MB Total Available Graphics Memory 1400 MB Audio
Audio Output
Sound card Compliant Standards Microsoft WSS 1.0/2.0, DirectSound3D, High Definition Audio Audio Input Microphone Notebook Camera
Camera Type
Integrated Sensor Resolution 1.3 Megapixel Capture Resolutions 1280 x 1024 Input Device(s)
Type
Keyboard, touchpad Telecom
Modem
Fax / modem Protocols & Specifications ITU V.90, ITU V.92 Networking
Networking
Network adapter Wireless LAN Supported Yes Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 EDR Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion Slots Total (Free)
2 ( 0 ) x memory ¦ 1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/34 Interfaces

1 x headphones - output - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 4 PIN FireWire ¦ 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A ¦ 1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ¦ 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 ¦ 1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11 ¦ 1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5mm ¦ 1 x audio / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A

CHeers!
 
CPU is slow, Hard drive is too slow, RAM is decent. Might get away with cutting SD, but HD would probably kill it.
 
How would this spec hold up? Im thinking of picking it up as an upgrade.

  • AMD Phenom™ II X4 965 Black Quad Core Processor AM3 (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache)
  • Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Edition - 64bit English
  • Midi Tower XGS Gaming Chassis - Black / Black Mesh + 550W PSU
  • ASUS M4A79XTD EVO Mainboard - AMD 790X CrossFireX- AM3 Phenom™ II, DDR3 - ATX
  • 8GB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM - ( 4x2GB )
  • 1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive with 32MB Buffer
  • 22x Dual Layer DVD Writer Super Format +R/-R/RW/RAM
  • 1GB ATI Radeon 5770 Graphics Accelerator GDDR5- ***DirectX 11***
  • 7.1 High Definition onboard sound card - for 8 Channel Cinema sound
 
That is basically the end end of the spectrum completely except its not 8 core or has an Quadro graphics card.

That will cut HD not problems, might struggle with AVCHD as AMD processors are not the best
 
I would caution against the AMD Processors and direct you towards the new intel i5s or i7s
If you know how to build a pc (it is not too hard and I am sure that you could figure it out if you don't know).

ASRock x58 Motherboard - $170 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163

Intel Core i7 - 920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz Quad Core - $279 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB Sticks) DDR3 - $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227477

LG DVD Burner - $32 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177

XFX GeForce 9500 GT Video Card - $55 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150392

Seagate 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive - $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

Corsair 650W Powersupply - $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Antec 300 Computer Case - $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

This comes to $916 for a quad core rig with 6gb of ram and 1TB of hard drive space. The only thing that I don't know about is how the videocard plays into video editing performance. If someone knows more please post here and let us know.
 
So just to clarify...the original spec I posted (which is what I have currently) on paper should struggle with editing film sd/hd.

'tech guys' have told me this spec should be perfectly good. However in practice, its been far from it. Im wondering if theres a fault on my pc, or wether the spec simply isnt good enough.

So, should the spec do the job or is it time for an upgrade?
 
Film or video? They're two very different mediums.

You probably mean Video.

It might edit SD but it will struggle to edit HD. The bottle necks on that laptop is, a) it's a laptop :), b) it has a slow hard drive and c) The processor isn't that powerful .

Since you already have it, why don't you try and edit something first and see how it copes.

@ david: For most people, a $50 video card will work fine but it depends on how many monitors, what res etc. I'm using a £30 Nvidia 9600gt and i can run dual monitors while edit AVCHD. Not very many NLE's use the graphics card very much.
 
@Smifis that is what thought but I wasn't sure, I can't wait for the CUDA enabled NLEs to come out

@GRIM the original spec is a little low powered to do any serious editing. The specs look like a laptop is that right? For editing on a laptop you defiantly want a core 2 duo with a good amount of power, at least 4gb of ram (if you are running a 32bit OS then more would be useless), a hard drive that is at least 7,200RPM. The rest of the stuff is not as important but if you can get discrete graphics (not onboard or integrated) then the computer will run faster because it will have dedicated video memory.

As a general rule of thumb it is much cheaper to do your serious editing on a desktop becuase the components are faster and cheaper as well as more upgradeable.
 
Thats the stuff!

I was think Banana for some reason and that's not right so i thought i should keep quiet and not make a fool of myself :)
 
How do we feel about this one then guys?


  • Intel® Core™ i7 860 Quad Core Processor (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) - LGA1156
  • Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Edition - 64bit English
  • Midi Tower XGS Gaming Chassis - Black / Black Mesh + 550W PSU
  • ASUS P7P55D LE Mainboard - Intel Core™ i5 / i7 - LGA 1156 / ATX
  • 8GB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM - ( 4x2GB )
  • 1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive with 32MB Buffer
  • 22x Dual Layer DVD Writer Super Format +R/-R/RW/RAM
  • 1GB ATI Radeon 5750 Graphics Accelerator GDDR5- ***DirectX 11***
  • 7.1 High Definition onboard sound card - for 8 Channel Cinema sound
 
You should get an Intel i7 720 instead as the performance gain from upgrading to 860 is not that apparent. It may shave a min of your render time.

Also the ram will be a lot faster in Triple Channel so get a Triple channel kit.
 
how about this all in one PC. will this handle AVCHD editing? i'll be running vegas. cheers.

ACER ASPIRE Z5610 http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/pr...ppc_google_long_tail_new_desktops_Acer_ Z5600

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 processor <LI class=indentFeature>(2.93GHz, 3MB Cache)
Genuine Windows(R) 7 Home Premium 64-bit
4GB DDR3 memory
1TB hard drive
512MB ATI Radeon HD4530 graphics
Digital TV Tuner & remote control
Built-in wireless (802.11b/g/n)
Cordless keyboard & mouse
23" Full HD 1080p touchscreen monitor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top