Secondary Budget Minded Editing Computer for Vegas?
 

I have a rather pricey customized computer for editing, but am thinking of a backup editing computer--without the deluxe costs. I would want though a large hard drive (250 GB), memory (1 GB). If you were putting together a "value priced" but reliable editing computer, what specs would you say are acceptable to run Vegas without sacrificing significant quality? I'm only thinking of a computer unit, not monitor (I have enough of those). Can something decent be had for $1,000 or less in parts?

Thanks!

If it is only being used when your main pc goes down, which would not be often? and not for very long? then just get a basic box with a decent processor and enough memory.
Even onboard graphics and sound would do.
You could even network them for rendering too.

I think the answer is a resounding yes. You might want to get one of them Shuttlepro thingies, too.

Barry-
Checkout "videoguys.com"
They have a DIY under 1K, and they have tested it for editing so you can be assured (if there is such a thing....lol) that components are compatible. Good luck!!

Excellent feedback! Thanks!

Yes, it so happens my main editing pc is in repair and I'm really at loose ends. A kind of no-frills quality backup pc makes sense, along with the external drives I have on hand. I figured beyond the core components everything else can be easily of moderate cost. I know Vegas can be pretty good with often limited resources, and this would be strictly a "B" unit to keep the flow going. I'll check on what's been suggested.

:D

My two Canadian cents...

There are reasons to dislike Dell, but they might be your best bet for value.

They have some really nice deals on base systems. Buy one of them and throw in your own upgrades (don't buy Dell's upgrades, a lot of them are overpriced). Dell deliberately prices their units low, hoping they can upsell you on overpriced upgrades.

Support may be weak (most of it is in India because it's cheaper), some parts are proprietary (case, motherboad) and hard to replace because of that.

However, for its price, it's like a discardable computer. Last time I checked, a comparable computer would cost $100 more than a Dell (and your labour would have to be free).

A Pentium D will be pretty comparable to the fastest systems available.

2- The videoguys system would cost about $200-$300 more than the Dell solution. In my opinion, their suggestions don't make the most efficient use of money. There are better choices in parts you can make.

Also, some of their advice is erroneous... i.e. in overclocking the DIY2 without actually testing the machine for stability (I would use prime95). But even programs like prime95 will not catch all problems... sometimes a computer will just freeze or reboot and prime95 won't catch this.
It's not really worth your time.

an alternate approach is to get a "mini"-clone of your main system. This way you can swap parts in case something breaks.

Thanks; I definitely can get by with a scaled down version of what I have, especially with peripherals that don't have to be as "fancy." As long as the core components are strong, everything else is almost incidental.

Yeah, I like the idea of the "mini clone"!

Actually I did exactly this when my "sweet" cube MoBo failed in a midle of the only project for the year.
So I just got new case and motherboard and when the repaired board came back I've got second hand lower processor and new RAM and AGP video for it.

Now I have the cube PC as home theater system that can be back up for editing if needed. I can swap CPUs, video cards, drives - you name it and never be left waiting for part to come...
I think this is good even if you are not going to get newer technology to match your existing machine.

Hey Barry-
Glenn Elliott just listed on classifieds a $500 desktop. Great Bargain. Hurry up before its gone. You can't get a better deal.

Okay, here's what I did and it has a bit of a twist, thanks to this forum! I did check on the computer Glenn was selling, but then the thread over there turned to the Sony VAIO RC line, which I was unfamiliar with. It was a system that Glenn was upgrading to. The more I studied this system online the more impressed I got, so I ordered it this evening. It's a bit higher than my planned budget, but still waaaay less costly then my regular editing computer.

:D