davieG Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 OK here's the situation my £500+ laptop has just earned itself a place down the local tip with a knackered motherboard. I've pretty much decided to replace it with a desktop pc as I can get a better spec for the same money and replacement parts are cheaper. But what spec to go for. Most of my heavy work on it would be video editing so what are the key areas I need to ensure are highly specified and what should I be looking for them to be as a minimum. Recommendations for make and supplier welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavrentis Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 OK here's the situation my £500+ laptop has just earned itself a place down the local tip with a knackered motherboard.I've pretty much decided to replace it with a desktop pc as I can get a better spec for the same money and replacement parts are cheaper. But what spec to go for. Most of my heavy work on it would be video editing so what are the key areas I need to ensure are highly specified and what should I be looking for them to be as a minimum. Recommendations for make and supplier welcomed. Intel Duo core processer at least (Something like a 2.2ghz should be fine, obviously higher the better) 2GB ram + (800mhz is fast) Should be fine. If you are feeling adventurous, you should attempt to build your own computer. You end up saving money and you get the pleasure of knowing you have built it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 18 May 2009 Author Share Posted 18 May 2009 Intel Duo core processer at least (Something like a 2.2ghz should be fine, obviously higher the better)2GB ram + (800mhz is fast) Should be fine. If you are feeling adventurous, you should attempt to build your own computer. You end up saving money and you get the pleasure of knowing you have built it yourself. My laptop was an Intel Duo core (1.6 mhz) 2GB although I'd just upped it to 4GB. And this was very slow when editing videos. So would the 2.2ghz processor speed be what makes the 'key' difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavrentis Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 My laptop was an Intel Duo core (1.6 mhz)2GB although I'd just upped it to 4GB. And this was very slow when editing videos. So would the 2.2ghz processor speed be what makes the 'key' difference? Well, its not always necessarily the speed that makes the difference, although a good processor is vital. I had an old Pentium 4 processor at 3.2ghz and replaced it with a Core 2 duo 2.66ghz, although I don't know the physics behind it much, I know that my new Core 2 duo is faster, because of the better architecture and design. It keeps cool better too. If you want to splash the cash with your machine, opt for an i7 processer. For video editing, where alot data will be processed quickly, I certainly reccomend a good processer complemented by a good amount of RAM. With RAM, you can have 4GB of it, but It can be slow RAM . I recommend 2-4GB of RAM running at 667mhz or 800mhz (which I think is DDR2) in dual channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legend_in_blue Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 Get a geforce 9500gt graphics card with at least 512mb of side ram. Sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairy Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 Get a geforce 9500gt graphics card with at least 512mb of side ram. Sorted. +1 They are both right but you need a good graphics card to edit video. What bitrate are the videos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 18 May 2009 Share Posted 18 May 2009 A good mix of RAM, CPU and graphics are the best way forward, but you won't want to overdo it as its a waste of money. If you build yourself then try and make it future proof as possible without going overboard so the i7 processor would be great but only if you have the cash to spare, otherwise I would suggest the older Core 2 Quad-core, they are coming down in price quite quickly and will be just as good for what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 How important is harddisk speed when editing videos? Obviously make sure you're HD is quite big anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 19 May 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May 2009 Thanks for the suggestions although I'm still somewhat confused as to what are the key requisites +1They are both right but you need a good graphics card to edit video. What bitrate are the videos? This may vary but the one I've just imported into the video editing software which I'd captured from the TV is: Type: MPEG-2 Original duration: 00:03:08:14 Duration in Timeline: 00:03:08:15 Bitrate: 4.29 MB/sec Resolution: 640x480 Frame rate: 25.00 fps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairy Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 Thanks for the suggestions although I'm still somewhat confused as to what are the key requisitesThis may vary but the one I've just imported into the video editing software which I'd captured from the TV is: Type: MPEG-2 Original duration: 00:03:08:14 Duration in Timeline: 00:03:08:15 Bitrate: 4.29 MB/sec Resolution: 640x480 Frame rate: 25.00 fps Thats not too high a bit rate to need something stupid to handle like you would if you were editing HDTV which is 1920x800 The key to a good PC for you would be the processor, RAM and a good graphics card (video card not gaming card) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 19 May 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May 2009 Thats not too high a bit rate to need something stupid to handle like you would if you were editing HDTV which is 1920x800The key to a good PC for you would be the processor, RAM and a good graphics card (video card not gaming card) So what's the minimum they should be - the biggest problem I had was general speed of editing - I'd do a cut and have to wait for it to execute the action. Even loading the recording into the software would take forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairy Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 What lavrentis and legend_in_blue said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 19 May 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May 2009 What lavrentis and legend_in_blue said. So nearly there! Core 2 duo 2.66ghz or i7 processor or older Core 2 Quad-core 2-4GB of RAM running at 667mhz or 800mhz geforce 9500gt graphics card with at least 512mb of side ram - what's side ram? Hard drive 250Gb fast (what's fast?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 So nearly there!Core 2 duo 2.66ghz or i7 processor or older Core 2 Quad-core 2-4GB of RAM running at 667mhz or 800mhz geforce 9500gt graphics card with at least 512mb of side ram - what's side ram? Hard drive 250Gb fast (what's fast?) It's how fast you can access the data on the hard drive. Its measured in MB with them ranging from 8MB to 32MB+. I think most HD come with about 16MB which should be sufficient to what you are trying to do but I believe that a lot of the larger HD are coming with 32MB. These are the cache to which it can use to read/write hence making it faster for access. With the graphics card, the RAM will be independent for the card so it won't use up the 2-4GB of ram that your main motherboard has, therefore leaving the graphics independent to do its own rendering/algorithms etc. If necessary though, it will use some of the main RAM. Not sure what the side ram part is about - I think its to do with the actual chips and how the RAM is read from the motherboard, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 I've just made up these specs on ebuyer to give you a rough idea on costs but you can remove/change components if they are not what you are looking for. Also, I am not an expert at all on graphics so you probalby want to change that and I also added the 1TB Samsung because its a good deal IMO. With an i7 processor you need a different type of motherboard to the Core 2 (which use a 775 Socket) and you also want to take advantage of the DDR3 RAM as opposed to DDR2 so I've included them. The i7 processors are the newer processors which are replacing the Core 2 processors as they use a new type of design which are more green and power efficient amongst other things! The first one is the high end stuff: This is a spec built around a Core 2 Quad processor... Again, these are just rough specs and will need to be checked for compatibility (altho, I reckon its OK) etc when you actually buy! This can be done by checking the motherboard specification...but you can come back here with a spec and I can check it through for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavrentis Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 So nearly there!Core 2 duo 2.66ghz or i7 processor or older Core 2 Quad-core 2-4GB of RAM running at 667mhz or 800mhz geforce 9500gt graphics card with at least 512mb of side ram - what's side ram? Hard drive 250Gb fast (what's fast?) By the way I forgot to mention, if you are going to get 4GB of RAM and you want to see the 4GB, you have to have a 64bit OS which your processer has to be compatible with, otherwise it comes up as 3.5GB on a 32bit OS. It's not really that much of a pain tbh though. BTW, they are both very good systems above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairy Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 Dont go with a 64bit OS. Hardly any software works with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flynny Posted 19 May 2009 Share Posted 19 May 2009 Dont go with a 64bit OS. Hardly any software works with them If you don't go with a 64-bit OS, don't buy more than 3 gigs of RAM otherwise you'll paying for no discernible benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 19 May 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May 2009 I've just made up these specs on ebuyer to give you a rough idea on costs but you can remove/change components if they are not what you are looking for. Also, I am not an expert at all on graphics so you probalby want to change that and I also added the 1TB Samsung because its a good deal IMO.With an i7 processor you need a different type of motherboard to the Core 2 (which use a 775 Socket) and you also want to take advantage of the DDR3 RAM as opposed to DDR2 so I've included them. The i7 processors are the newer processors which are replacing the Core 2 processors as they use a new type of design which are more green and power efficient amongst other things! The first one is the high end stuff: This is a spec built around a Core 2 Quad processor... Again, these are just rough specs and will need to be checked for compatibility (altho, I reckon its OK) etc when you actually buy! This can be done by checking the motherboard specification...but you can come back here with a spec and I can check it through for you. Thanks for that. By the way I forgot to mention, if you are going to get 4GB of RAM and you want to see the 4GB, you have to have a 64bit OS which your processer has to be compatible with, otherwise it comes up as 3.5GB on a 32bit OS. It's not really that much of a pain tbh though.BTW, they are both very good systems above. Dont go with a 64bit OS. Hardly any software works with them If you don't go with a 64-bit OS, don't buy more than 3 gigs of RAM otherwise you'll paying for no discernible benefit. Yes I found that out when bought extra ram a month ago for my now kaput laptop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coale39 Posted 20 May 2009 Share Posted 20 May 2009 http://www.arbico.co.uk/Arbico-i7-920A-Cus...er-p-18315.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 20 May 2009 Author Share Posted 20 May 2009 http://www.arbico.co.uk/Arbico-i7-920A-Cus...er-p-18315.html £900 - a bit rich for my means Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavrentis Posted 20 May 2009 Share Posted 20 May 2009 £900 - a bit rich for my means Maplin is a good website. I'll try and dig out a decent computer for you using deals. Computer Case £29.99 750W PSU £39.99 Socket 775 Motherboard £69.99 Socket 775 Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 £53.75 750GB Hard Drive £69.99 This is cheap. (Down the right hand side) DVD Drive £24.45 2x2GB (4GB) RAM £29.99 This may be eBay, but I have bought of these before and they are fine. It is 667Mhz. 512MB XFX Geforce 9500 £40.25 Heatsink and Fan £19.99 Thermal Paste £7.99 Total: £366.38 Some extras... Case Fan £6.99 As far as Operating Systems are concerned you can either buy one, or use/download a CD with your old laptops exact Operating system and use the same CD key as your laptop. It will activate fine in theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_bowman Posted 21 May 2009 Share Posted 21 May 2009 Dont go with a 64bit OS. Hardly any software works with them Vista Ultimate 64 bit. I've had no compatibility issues so far, and it runs so much faster than 32 bit. Well worth it in my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coale39 Posted 21 May 2009 Share Posted 21 May 2009 £900 - a bit rich for my means But you could do your videos well fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 21 May 2009 Author Share Posted 21 May 2009 But you could do your videos well fast! I'm sure I could Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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