Looking for advises on upgrading hardware for NLE
 

Hi,

I'm looking for advises from you folks :)

I'm planning to upgrade my PC hardware. I'm quite happy with my actual setup because I'm able to edit in real-time (without effects) 720p DVCPRO HD in Premiere CS3 from a HVX200. But I want to upgrade to a quicker setup.

Right now I have an old Medion PC with these specs:

Intel P4 3.2Ghz - 2MB Cache - 800 Mhz FSB - 64 bit Technology.
320GB Hard Disk Capacity
1024MB DDR 400 Mhz - 64 bit dual channel memory
ATI Radeon X740 XL - PCI-Express 128MB DDR3 memory @ 900Mhz
1 x DVI, 1 x D-Sub, 1 x Scart
Pioneer Dual Layer 16x DVD/CD Writer.
Multi Format
DVD-ROM 16x
DVB-T Digital TV Tuner
Analogue Stereo TV & FM Radio
Bluetooth
WLAN 54Mbit/s
9 in 1 Card Reader
6 x USB2
2 x FireWire
8 - Channel Intel High Definition Audio
LAN Controller
56k PCI Data/Fax Modem
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
RF Remote
PSU 350v
Motherboard Micro-ATX 7091 (OEM)
Intel 915P / Intel ICH6R chipset
Intel Pentium Prescott LGA775 processor

I plan to upgrade the processor (looking for a Quad core, Intel i7 is too expensive...), RAM and get bigger HDD. I'm forced to get a new motherboard, so I'm looking for some mobo with integrated sound and if possible a good graphic card, or I'll get a dedicated GPU not too expensive. I'm on a tight budget, so I'll get a better graphic card in the future.

I'll appreciate a lot your advices about motherboards and processors choices. I'm looking for a Quad Core (that can be overclocked). Almost everywhere I see that Intel is better for editing and enconding and multi threating than AMD.

Budget: +- 400 €

Thanks a lot!

I don't build computers so I cannot comment on bits and pieces, but since you're doing a mobo upgrade, you can do it in pieces. Staying in the Quad Core realm, get the fastest processor and most memory that you can. Those are the two main items that contribute to speed for video.

Also, drive are obviously important. I've had quite good luck with the WD Black drives. Whilst they specs on the Black and Blue drives look similar, in the real world, the Blacks are noticeably faster.

Thanks a lot for the tip about the HDD, I'll definitely take a look at these, they look quite good and have very good reviews:
Discos duros WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA ( WD1001FALS )

Intel quads may outperform AMD quads (at a given clock rate), but the considerably lower prices on the AMD quads can make them good bargains, and I like the motherboard options for the AMD quads better (for building a video editing system).

If I were building up a new system today, I'd start with Core i7/Nehalem. The speedup on those can be hard to believe (30%-50% for some tasks). If it isn't urgent, you could wait and save up and let the prices come down. Mobos now have typically have very decent audio & video built in.
And, I wouldn't recommend overclocking at all. It is okay for gamers who don't mind the occasional crash every so often. But for video production, you are just asking for trouble, for little gain.
Vista 64 rocks, but you might also want to wait for Windows 7, which is even better so I've heard.

Here's a combo deal from Newegg that could be very cost effective for building a pretty mainstream performance quad core video editing machine:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Quad CPU and motherboard (with onboard graphics) for under $200.

Phenom 9950 performance is about on par with an Intel Q6600. The onboard grapics with a 780G chipset motherboard are adequate for general editing purposes. Using a motherboard with DDR2 memory is also good for keeping costs down. (DDR3 memory is much more expensive than DDR2 memory, with a very minimal real world performance difference for editing.)

That look great, thanks for the link. This is definitely a good deal, having the ATI video graphic card integrated is really nice and it seems like a decent one for general editing. I don't see an Intel mobo with such great deals with integrated video cards. I have to think about getting an AMD. Apparently the phenom II (like the 920 2.8GHz) are quicker than original phenom like the HD9950, but there's a price rise than makes Intel Quad core more attractive.

@Hank: I'm not in a hurry, I'm just thinking about it but it seems like the i7 is just too much for me right now as the mobo + processor + ram ddr3 price is quite high, and even if it drops in a few months, as always there'll be something new better to wait for :) Last time I wanted to upgrade, there was the Dual Core times, and Quad core were just out, and I waited for the prices to go down ;)