Will the Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8ghz edit and playback .m2t HDV files smoothly?

[Jon McGuffin]

Originally Posted by Alastair Brown

OK, why not splash a little more and get a Core 2 Duo laptop for the moment. That way you win win. Next month you get your Quad Core AND you have the beneifit of having a Laptop to work on as and when you feel the need. I sometimes like to edit using an external drive whilst in the garden or on the bed or in a variety of intersting and unusual poses!

This is a funky post.... Keep your private editing practices to yourself! :) :)

[Jon McGuffin]

Originally Posted by Alex Thames

That doesn't really make sense. Laptop are hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. The cheap CPU is around $100-$135. I'm already getting all the other computer parts now...the only part I'd swap out in the end is the CPU - the $100 one for the quad core chip.

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably order the CPU tonight.

Yeah, when you do end up getting your QuadCore, try to get the X-Fi too. I do believe this could make a discernable difference in performance.

[Andrew Bower]

Originally Posted by Jon McGuffin

I completely agree with the post above. Why spend a needless $125 on the E4300 now so that in 30 days you can save how much on the Quad Core? If you dont save at least $125 you're behind the game. And I agree that I do not think you are going to see a 20-25% price drop in the Quad's within a month.

Either go for the Quad now, wait 30 days and buy your computer then, or if money is too tight, go for an E6600 and live with it until some Quad Core in a year from now is $150-$200 bucks.

Jon

I am positive that Quad-core pricing (especially the Q6700) will drop in the next few days!
How can I be so sure?
Because I just bought one for the new PC I built...
My personal technology law: "Nothing new comes out until you buy something"
The same is true for pricing drops!

On a related note: my new PC is a dream so far...Q6700 processor, Nvidia 8800 GTX graphics card with 768MB, 2 500GB drives in Raid 0 config for fast access, and 4GB of PC6400 memory (the 2GB sticks are too expensive right now), Antex 900 case (with fans set to low - nice and quiet), and 850w power supply. Got it all from NewEgg.
I have not tried to directly edit and preview HDV files just yet, but I am sure it will work better than my old PC. (Duh)

I will let you know how it performs over the next few days...

update:
OK, I downloaded a bunch of m2t files from the VASST.COM site and laid them on my timeline. I put three tracks of video in place and set the top 2 to 50% transparency. I hit play and at the 'BEST:Full' setting and the preview window as large as I can get it (1263x710) I get just the slightest amount of hesitation. I will try this again once I hook up to me SGI monitors and can preview at full rez...
I must say this is a HUGE improvement over my old P4 system. With that one, I would have to wait up to 10 seconds for the preview window to even show me where I was at on my timeline with playback PAUSED!! There was no way to do any kind of preview in motion.
Andrew

[Jon McGuffin]

Fabulous Alex! So glad to hear you are moving along. Quad-Core looks to be a REAL benefit to us Video Guys and I too have been very happy with my modest E6600 w/2Gb RAM, 2-320Gb RAID 0, NVidia 7900GS graphics. Very doable machine and solid performance.

Jon