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Non-Linear Editing on the PC
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Old October 3rd, 2008, 10:14 PM   #1
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My New 64bit Mid-High End Editing PC

Thanks to a great wealth of information I gleaned from this forum, I recently put together my first ever PC. I'm not interested at all in bragging rights, but perhaps my build list below would assist others in selecting components. A few notes:

1. This is my serious hobby-- it does NOT pay for itself. My day job does. Thus, while I do have some luxury items below, I pretty much went for a rock solid, stable, and nimble system that wasn't going to break the bank. I tend to hang onto electronics until they crumble or REALLY cramp my creativity or productivity. I just reached that point. So, this is my ultimate rig for awhile.

2. I edit on Vegas 8.0c and 8.1. I shoot on a Canon XH-A1. So I selected hardware and software that could easily handle HDV on native 64 bit hardware and software.

3. I'm running Vista Ultimate 64 bit.

4. My previous PC was a Pentium IV 2.4GHz bargain basement refurb from Dell. Great for e-mail, Web, etc. I'm just blown away by the new PC in contrast.

5. I read how people could throw together a PC in just a few hours. I decided to take my sweet time, knowing that I would be learning a lot along the way. Yes, I did my homework before I assembled my parts list, mainly to ensure compatibility of components and suitability for my intended purpose. Surprisingly, the ONLY build glitches -- and I encountered just a few minor ones -- were attributed solely to my ignorance or mistakes. I was just amazed at how all the hardware fit together very nicely.

6. "Luxury" items listed below, IMO:
a. I have plenty of space in my home office, and I didn't want my first build to challenge my ability to route cabling and cramp my hands. So I chose the Lian-Li case below. It is VERY nice, roomy, and extremely well ventilated. Not the quietest (was never a priority for me).

b. The monitor was a suggestion from another thread. It is absolutely stunning. Yes, I've run dual monitor setups before. I just couldn't pass this one up, however. This is plenty of eye-popping real estate for my needs right now.

c. Choice of speakers, I know, is like choice of motor oil: everyone has an opinion, and their brand is best. I've never been disappointed with Bose, I have no need for surround sound, and these just blow me away. Incredibly clean sound.
7. To be honest, I had jitters about building a 64 bit system with Vista 64 bit Ultimate to run Vegas' 64 bit 8.1. This was my small, if not altogether naive, attempt to 'future proof' my ultimate rig. I never had issues with 64 bit device drivers, and Vista pretty much scavenged the 'net for any necessary device drivers all by itself. The correct wireless card driver, for instance, was a PITA to find by myself on the Web, but Vista found it instantly on its own. It was kind of freaky -- in a good way -- at how straightforward and automated my initial OS install was.

8. Performance is scorching fast, considering the sloth I upgraded from. My new PC snacks on SD footage, and I get full frame rate previewing the Canon XH-A1's native m2t clips on the timeline. Nice. Renders, especially in Vegas 8.1, max out all four cores, and my CPU never goes above 40*C.

9. Because I'm a hardware dunce, I relied heavily on Web-based tutorials or forums and my device manuals. Further, I had an epiphany during my build after consulting various online forums: many people who post to forums do so because they (1) want to grind an axe or (2) have legitimate problems with their hardware. I don't find posts saying,"Hey this works great, you should get one, too!" So I took all the negativity in context. Here's what I learned: using Vista 64 is really OK; in fact, it works great. Further, I had no hardware or software problems that weren't my own fault. Stuff worked as advertised. I was very pleased with my project, and I now have no qualms about digging into the guts of my PC.

10. OK, here is my list of parts. Out of respect for forum sponsors, I don't provide outside links to the vendor (Newegg).
  • Case: LIAN LI PC-A70B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
  • Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
  • Graphics: EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR GeForce 9600GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
  • Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
  • CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550
  • Memory (8 GB total): G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
  • HDD for OS/Programs: Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
  • HDDs for Storage (5 total): Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM. Two (2) are RAID 0 for media, and three (3) are RAID 5 for rendered projects.
  • Keyboard: Saitek PK02 2-Tone USB Standard Eclipse II Keyboard
  • Monitor: SAMSUNG SyncMaster 305T Black 30" 6ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor.
  • Mouse: Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse
  • Optical Drive: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04 - OEM
  • Sound Card: Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
  • CPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
  • Speakers: Bose® 40279 2.1 Companion® 3 Series II multimedia speaker system
  • Wireless: LINKSYS WMP54G 32bit PCI2.2 Wireless-G Adapter
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Old October 4th, 2008, 03:11 AM   #2
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May I ask..

How much? It appears you built it yourself or did Newegg build and test software?

Tx
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Old October 4th, 2008, 07:33 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Lee View Post
May I ask..

How much? It appears you built it yourself or did Newegg build and test software?

Tx
I built the PC myself, and I installed all software myself, as I stated above. Cost of hardware alone was about $4,200.

Steve
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Old October 4th, 2008, 01:55 PM   #4
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Steve,

Thanks for the info.

Keep us posted on what you think of your new system. 64bit running your software o.k?

Tx

Rog Lee
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Old October 4th, 2008, 02:47 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Lee View Post
Steve,

Thanks for the info.

Keep us posted on what you think of your new system. 64bit running your software o.k?

Tx

Rog Lee
No issues that weren't my fault. I had to run a few printers using Vista drivers that *looked* like they wouldn't work; no problems, however. Also, I just installed Adobe PS Elements 4. Got the usual warning that it isn't compatible with Vista; I installed anyway and it works like a champ. So far, therefore, no problems at all.

Some Vegas 32 bit plugins aren't available for Vegas 8.1, in which case I run the 32 bit 8.0c version. Not a big deal.

Steve
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Old October 4th, 2008, 03:14 PM   #6
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Steve,

Tx.

Good info. I'm still thinking I'll go Vista Premium 64 Bit.

By the way, for what it's worth, my camera is an XH A-1 as well.

Rog Lee
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