PC for DVD making

[mr_tony]

Right. Finally aquired a proper Video Camera (Cannon thing ex BBC outside broadcast) and need to get myself a PC capable of chopping up the footage at a decent rate.

Already got 2x 19" flat panel monitors to use to the screens no jsut need a thumping powerful PC box to do the editing. Budget around 2k ish - any recommendations?

Is it worth going 'workstation' and getting Dual Processors? (Will be running PRemiere). Should I run XP or Win 2k?

Thanks for the advice.

(And yes this means that the VMAX IV DVD might actually get done now I don't have to edit it on someone elses system!).

[ErnestM]

Just get the fastest possible machine with one of Intel's HT processors. Premier looks at the HT processor as a dual processor and takes advantage of it. That being said, spend the rest of your dosh on terrabytes of storage and gigabytes of RAM...

ErnestM

Edited to add: XP as 2000 does not take advantage of HT technology...

>> Edited by ErnestM on Wednesday 22 December 13:23

[Podie]

Check the latency of the RAM... that;ll have a huge effect on the speed of the system. Also worth going for at LEAST 1GB...

[mr_tony]

Been out of the PC buying game for a while, as a coder at home last PC I 'bought' was rescued from a skip!

Will go and look up HT technology - cheers Ernest!
As you say RAM is the main thing after PRocessor and I'm aiming for aroun 4Gb. Then somewhere in the region of 400Gb storage on a 7200rpm drive. Shoudl be enough for starters!!

Is it worth investing in a specific Video Card or will a bog standard 256mb MAtrox/Nvidia etc be fine?

[ErnestM]

I always use the "best available" NVIDIA when I build a new system for myself. That's what I am using on my home PC now - no problems...

I think you may want to shoot for more than 400gb. I would use one hard drive for your system and dedicate a second for your video files (you don't want to accidentally "fill up" your system disk). External drives are also a good idea for storage. You will be SHOCKED and amazed how quickly a DV-AVI stream from your standard digital camcorder will fill up a disk. Currently I am running two internal 250GB SATA(150) drives and a 300GB internal 133 drive (temp storage). I also have two 400GB external (firewire) SeaGate drives to store AVI and WMV footage until I get around burning it..

BTW - SATA is GREAT technology for any kind of multimedia editing...


ErnestM

[Andy M]

There's always one, so I may as well be 'it'

Definitely consider an Apple Mac. For your budget you could have:

• Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• 256MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x128MB
• 160GB Serial ATA
• DVD-R/CD-RW
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL 256MB, 2xDVI (an absolute monster!!)
• 56k V.92 internal modem
• Apple Keyboard & Mouse
• Mac OS X
• One FireWire 800 port
• Two FireWire 400 ports
• Three USB 2.0 ports

Price: £1,615.32

VAT: £282.68

Subtotal: £1,898.00

Usually dispatched:
5 days
Free Shipping

Add 1GB of Crucial RAM and you'll have an excellent sustem on your hands


If you hold off for another few weeks (Jan 11th) there are 'supposedly' going to be updates to the PowerMac G5's so there may be a bargain to be had...

[parrot of doom]

mr_tony said:

Right. Finally aquired a proper Video Camera (Cannon thing ex BBC outside broadcast) and need to get myself a PC capable of chopping up the footage at a decent rate.

I'm a tv cameraman. What camera do you have? I may be able to help with its setup.

[_dobbo_]

You might want to think about going down the route of a very fast RAID 0 array of a not so big size (say 160GB) for doing your rendering, and a much bigger disk or two for storage. Then you get the best of both worlds, speed and capacity.

As for RAM - the fastest ram is up to PC4800 (DDR600) now, but you'll probably pay a fortune to be on the bleeding edge... Like £120 for 512MB.

Probably will pay dividends for your application though. You will need a good motherboard to support it however!

[murph7355]

Andy M - seconded (from another Andy M!)

[cliff123]

Third that! Go for the Mac. Will make your day to day running and using of the machine much easier and enjoyable, and provided you spec the machine correctly it will be tailored made for your requirements and do everything just that little bit better.

[mr_tony]

_dobbo_ said:

You might want to think about going down the route of a very fast RAID 0 array of a not so big size (say 160GB) for doing your rendering, and a much bigger disk or two for storage. Then you get the best of both worlds, speed and capacity.

decent sounding idea - I like it.

_dobbo_ said:

As for RAM - the fastest ram is up to PC4800 (DDR600) now, but you'll probably pay a fortune to be on the bleeding edge... Like £120 for 512MB.

Um I remember paying around 250 quid for 4Mb not so long ago! so not worried there!

_dobbo_ said:

Probably will pay dividends for your application though. You will need a good motherboard to support it however!

dang and blast - I thought we'd got over Motherboard issues, AT,ATX etc etc

Not going anywhere near a Mac. Filthy things, one button mouse - think I'm a simpleton

Sorry - MAcs just seem to lack the hosepower - I can get a twin xeon system from Dell with raid 0 and 4gb of RAM for less than the cost of the G5 with only 256Mb... It just doesn't compuyte to go the mac way even if they do look kind of nice.

[Andy M]

"Sorry - MAcs just seem to lack the hosepower - I can get a twin xeon system from Dell with raid 0 and 4gb of RAM for less than the cost of the G5 with only 256Mb... It just doesn't compuyte to go the mac way even if they do look kind of nice"


If you get a chance to have a play with a properly set up Mac you should definitely take the opportunity. For what you want to do there is no better computer than a properly set up G5 IMHO.

My dual 2.5GHz G5 with 6800 Ultra card and 2GB Crucial RAM blows the doors off our pc (AMD 64 3700, Corsair XMS3200 2GB, Sapphire 9800 Pro 128mb (needs updating), Liteon 12x DVD/RW, WD 200Gb SATA).

Apple's RAM is stupidly priced, buy from Crucial of Kingston and you'll be sorted

Anyway, good luck!

[Bacardi]

cliff123 said:

Third that! Go for the Mac.

Fourth that! Get Final Cut Express (or Final Cut Pro if your serious), runs rings round old hat Premiere. Regarding Horse power, I wouldn't compare Apples to Oranges. FYI Cold Mountain was cut on Final Cut on G4 so I don't think horsepower is an issue. The mac works with my XL1 straight out of the box, simple plug and play, even with iMovie.

mr_tony said:

dang and blast - I thought we'd got over Motherboard issues, AT,ATX etc etc

Good luck with getting all to work nicely on PC. The Mac may cost more to buy but costs less in frustration and time configuring the system .

Edited because I can't spell Premiere with a festive hangover and to suggest you buy the production suite , every thing you need, for a bargain price of £900,.

>> Edited by Bacardi on Thursday 23 December 12:09

[mr_tony]

Hmmm, maybe I could turn to the dark side and Go Mac here... My old Music buddies are now all Macced up so I could get back into doing soundtracks etc easily, and all I use the home PC for these days is email and a bit of light coding / MS Project - nothing the P£ won't continue to handle for the forseeable.

I can use my 20" flat panels with the G5 so no expensive Mac panels to buy, and Final Cut does look the business it has to be said...

Hmmm, maybe I'll hang on until the 11th and get me down to the apple shop on Regents St for a bargain unless anyone can point me at another reseller / cheapest place to buy a G5?

Cheers all!

[murph7355]

Would you buy a Ford P100 for track days?

Ignore the marketing bs and try a Mac out. You won't be disappointed.

The software that comes free with the Mac is better than most PC based editing software.

If you're in London, nip down to Regents street with your camera and have a play in the Apple Store.

Also, pretty much everything you'll need software wise is available for the Mac too with a bit of searching and lateral thinking.

Except a decent H264 encoder! But that'll be sorted with the next Quicktime.

[ErnestM]

mr_tony said:

Hmmm, maybe I could turn to the dark side and Go Mac here...

[YodaMode]If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will...Not Stronger, easier, quicker (editing included), more seductive[/YodaMode]


ErnestM

[Bacardi]

You won't really find cheaper resellers the prices are fixed. www.cwonline.co.uk may be able to save you a tenner here or there. I was in town yesterday and popped into the Apple store in Regent street. I noticed they have a section for video upstairs, didn't look too close, the place was heaving. Be warned though, you may be tempted by the 30" displays .

[Bacardi]

ErnestM said:

Not Stronger, easier, quicker...

:Pantomimemodeon: "Oh yes it is!" :Pantomimemodeoff:

Well, 'tis the season...