Help with video editing PC purchase at DVinfo.net

Brett Daly · January 19th, 2010, 01:09 PM

I'm just about to buy a new PC, custom built, for editing purposes with my Canon XH-A1 mainly to be used with Sony Vegas, but also the Newtek Speededit program on occasion. Here's what I'm considering, and I'd just like to know if I'm spending my money wisely ($2,000 Canadian) on the following components.

Intel i7 920 CPU with heatsink in case I decide to overclock it at some point.
Asus P6T X58 ATX motherboard
Corsair 6GB DDR3 1333 memory
Corsair HX750 power supply
Geforce GTX-260 core 216 video card
3 Western Digital Hard drives - 2x 1TB Sata 2 7200rpm, and 1 640mb Sata 2 7200 drive. 2 will be configured in Raid using the motherboard, and the hard drives all have a 32mb buffer.
Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit edition
Samsung 23" monitor - I can't afford an IPS panel
Basic keyboard/mouse, and an Antec 300 computer case.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, as I just want to make sure I'm doing the best I can considering my budget, and if I should consider changing anything.

Thanks.

Perrone Ford · January 19th, 2010, 01:15 PM

The only thing I'd change in there is to something other than the home edition of Win7. Other than that, looks like you've got it pretty well sewn up.

Brian Luce · January 19th, 2010, 06:49 PM

If you can live with 32 bit, I'd consider XP Pro. XP has a habit of just working. I wouldn't get near W7 with a 10' pole.

Perrone Ford · January 19th, 2010, 06:55 PM

You don't have to live with 32 bit just to run XP. You can run it at 64bit if you like. However, I much prefer Win7 to anything else on the desktop at this point.

Brett Daly · January 19th, 2010, 07:16 PM

Thanks for the replies, and it looks like I'll be going with the components I listed. I appreciate the feedback and hopefully I'll be satisfied with my purchase.

Jason Robinson · January 19th, 2010, 11:36 PM

My only input regards the system drive. a >500GB system drive is probably overkill. I'd put the money into a faster 10k RPM but smaller capacity system drive. I haven't done this on any of my systems, but if I were to build a custom editing machine again, that is what I would use. Budget permitting of course.

Hopefully all video sources will not be on the system drive, and hopefully you can have a separate render drive.

If you put video on a raid (I do this as well), then still consider rendering to a different physical drive (not just a different partition).

Brett Daly · January 20th, 2010, 12:35 AM

Thanks for the input Jason, but even a 300GB WD Velociraptor is more expensive than the 3 drives combined. But your suggestion made me think about going with 4 of the 640GB drives, running 2 of them in Raid0, and then having one for my system and program files, and the other one for backup and other uses. I've read many customer reviews on the 640GB, saying that it's faster than the 500GB version, and also works great in a Raid setup.

John Woo · January 20th, 2010, 01:28 AM

Get a 150GB 10k RPM Velociraptor for the OS and 3x 1TB drive for Raid 5.

I recently DIY a core i7 920 PC overclock to 4GHZ and able to achieve almost real time rendering of 5DM2 clips. I only overclock during render, don't want to kill the CPU too fast.

January 19th, 2010, 01:09 PM	#1
Brett Daly Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 28	Help with video editing PC purchase I'm just about to buy a new PC, custom built, for editing purposes with my Canon XH-A1 mainly to be used with Sony Vegas, but also the Newtek Speededit program on occasion. Here's what I'm considering, and I'd just like to know if I'm spending my money wisely ($2,000 Canadian) on the following components. Intel i7 920 CPU with heatsink in case I decide to overclock it at some point. Asus P6T X58 ATX motherboard Corsair 6GB DDR3 1333 memory Corsair HX750 power supply Geforce GTX-260 core 216 video card 3 Western Digital Hard drives - 2x 1TB Sata 2 7200rpm, and 1 640mb Sata 2 7200 drive. 2 will be configured in Raid using the motherboard, and the hard drives all have a 32mb buffer. Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit edition Samsung 23" monitor - I can't afford an IPS panel Basic keyboard/mouse, and an Antec 300 computer case. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, as I just want to make sure I'm doing the best I can considering my budget, and if I should consider changing anything. Thanks.

January 19th, 2010, 01:15 PM	#2
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	The only thing I'd change in there is to something other than the home edition of Win7. Other than that, looks like you've got it pretty well sewn up. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

January 19th, 2010, 06:55 PM	#4
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	You don't have to live with 32 bit just to run XP. You can run it at 64bit if you like. However, I much prefer Win7 to anything else on the desktop at this point. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

January 19th, 2010, 06:49 PM	#3
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	If you can live with 32 bit, I'd consider XP Pro. XP has a habit of just working. I wouldn't get near W7 with a 10' pole.

January 19th, 2010, 07:16 PM	#5
Brett Daly Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 28	Thanks for the replies, and it looks like I'll be going with the components I listed. I appreciate the feedback and hopefully I'll be satisfied with my purchase.

January 19th, 2010, 11:36 PM	#6
Jason Robinson Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 1,997	My only input regards the system drive. a >500GB system drive is probably overkill. I'd put the money into a faster 10k RPM but smaller capacity system drive. I haven't done this on any of my systems, but if I were to build a custom editing machine again, that is what I would use. Budget permitting of course. Hopefully all video sources will not be on the system drive, and hopefully you can have a separate render drive. If you put video on a raid (I do this as well), then still consider rendering to a different physical drive (not just a different partition).

January 20th, 2010, 12:35 AM	#7
Brett Daly Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 28	Thanks for the input Jason, but even a 300GB WD Velociraptor is more expensive than the 3 drives combined. But your suggestion made me think about going with 4 of the 640GB drives, running 2 of them in Raid0, and then having one for my system and program files, and the other one for backup and other uses. I've read many customer reviews on the 640GB, saying that it's faster than the 500GB version, and also works great in a Raid setup.

January 20th, 2010, 01:28 AM	#8
John Woo Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 160	Get a 150GB 10k RPM Velociraptor for the OS and 3x 1TB drive for Raid 5. I recently DIY a core i7 920 PC overclock to 4GHZ and able to achieve almost real time rendering of 5DM2 clips. I only overclock during render, don't want to kill the CPU too fast.