Editing computer build

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

<p>Hi Guys,<br>

I have been a long time stills pro but have now retired due to illness and have taken up kayak fishing. I would like to make some videos on Kayak fishing so I have come up with the following computer build as my old trusty amd just doesn't cut it anymore.<br>

Here is the build spec if anyone who knows about this stuff would like to adjust it please let me know looking at ordering the stuff next week.<br>

CPU: I7 950 quad<br />Mobo: Asus Sabertooth X58<br />RAM: 12 gig corsair vengece 6x2gig sticks<br />Power: Antec 750 true power<br />CASE: Coolermaster 922HAF<br />Optical: Blueray combo (probably sony)<br />HDD: 120gig SSD primary and 2 x 1000gb wd cavier blacks in raid (i'll add more later if needed)<br />OP Sys: Ultimate 64 (but i can't really see any advantage over pro64 but for $20 there may be)<br>

GPU: Issue I'm lost here something around the $250-300 mark. I'll be using vegas 10 so mercury is not important but i guess cuda makes a differance. I must run twin monitor set up and have decent speed so suggestions here would be great. I can't see the value in going for a top end gaming card but I'm probably wrong.<br>

Footage will all be hd 3 cam set up but thats a discussion for another day I need to gett he editing system right first.</p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to read this looking forward to hearing any responses.</p>

<p>Regards<br>

Mark</p>

[mc2imaging]

Wow, that post makes me glad I'm a Mac user...

[aaron l]

<p>I'd get a macbook pro or tower. I've edited on mine for years without trouble. It's got an external SATA Sonnet array for the data files. Get Final Cut and you'll never look back.<br>

All the video samples here:<br>

<a href="http://www.tvlvideo.com/samples.php?location=1">http://www.tvlvideo.com/samples.php?location=1</a><br>

were edited on that Macbook Pro.</p>

 

[mc2imaging]

THAT'S what I'm talking about!

 

My specs: MBP 17" maxed out in RAM, FC Express

 

My wife's specs: MBP 15" maxed out in RAM, FCE

 

A stack of Seagate FreeAgents (USB 2.0, bus powered) for shuffling different projects between the two of us, and a

22" Samsung display on the desk at home gives the dual monitor support for the big projects.

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>The I7 Quad with 12 Gigs ram is excellent for video machine. I would hold off on the 120GB SSD drives and go with the new 3TB SATA 6GB/s drives you could mirror them for better performance and less cost than the new Intel 6GB/s SSD drives which are only 120GB. I am assuming Windows 7 64-bit. I use and like Vegas but would look for a 64-bit version to be able to use all that RAM. Also, get a video card with good HDMI outputs so you can use an 46" LCD TV as your second monitor. Gaming Video card is not as important as a card than can support playing BlueRay from a Bluray burner on your PC. Oh, can MAC's even play Bluray disks yet? Is ther Bluray burning software available for MAC's? Do they support the new 6GB/s ESATA external drives. USB 2.0 is only 480MB/s I have CF cards with higher transfer rates than that and they are too slow to render HD video on. IMOP you will save yourself LOTS of money and get better performance with the ESATA 600, Bluray, I7 Quad and ram you are configuring (Perfect setup).</p>

[mc2imaging]

Bull. USB 2.0 is plenty fast to capture, render, and playback video. I've been doing 2 and 3 camera videos ranging

from 20 minutes to over 2 hours for years. Dozens of videos, zero issues. Yeah, there are faster options, but they are

not required (at least not on my MBP).

 

And yes, there are blu-ray authoring options for Mac users, and exactly 0 of my clients have requested their videos on

blu-ray. Believe it or not, not everybody has a blu-ray player on their TV at home or their conference room at work.

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>yes, so sad. I know so many people who have HD capable TV's but have never actually seen anything in HD on their expensive 50" LCD's. If you are happy with USB then great glad to know your MAC is so state of the art :-). However, the system the OP is configuring will definitely handle HD 1080P video better than a computer using USB type storage system. It is very common to use 32 Gb and 64 GB UDMA 300X or faster CF cards for video. I often transfer multiple 64Gb cards to my external drive simultaneous using ESATA drives. When I start simultaneous copies from 2 or more USB card readers to a USB hard drive the drive slows down so slow it is ridiculous. Also, try editing your RAW images using Adobe Lightroom with your RAW files on an External USB drive. The rendering or batch processing to apply filters like Exposure 3 to each photo will be very slow when you browse through your photos. Assuming a high end Digital SLR in the 21MP plus range like the 5d Mark II.</p>

[mc2imaging]

<p>I never claimed that USB 2.0 was state of the art, or the be-all end-all, or that SATA is junk or a waste of money, but you claimed that, "USB 2.0 is ... too slow to render HD video on," and in my experience that is simply not true. Maybe it's just too slow on a PC? :o) </p>

<p>I'm not going to sit here and throw theoretical numbers around (that nobody ever sees 100% of anyway), or do homework for other people. My point is this: I can spend a bunch time fretting over internal system components and measurebaiting configurations, or I can just buy a package that works right out of the box, and that is exactly what I get with my Mac. I don't know who made all of my internal controllers, or what my actual bus throughput is, and I don't care. All I need to know is that I can plug in my devices, launch my software, get my work done, and go to bed in a timely fashion; and I do. 100% of the time. Unless I look at p.net or Facebook before closing the lid.</p>

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

<p>Hi Guys,<br>

Well the build is done and it's really is great super fast with heaps of grunt. This is what i ended up with:<br>

Corsair 600t case<br />I7 960 <br />Asus Sabertooth X58 mb<br />12gig hyper x ram <br />Noctuah cpu cooler<br />Cooler Master 700 mod psu<br />gti 560 hawk twin frozr gpu<br />Ocz SSD 120 for os<br />2 WD 6gb cav black storgage drives 1tb but will add more later<br />Pioneer burner<br />Pro 64 os<br>

and some other bits and pieces, this was my first ever full build and it couldn't have gone better running the chip at 4ghz and slight oc on the ram and gpu get me great frame rates and still runs nice and cool.<br>

Thanks heaps to everyone that replied, I was never looking at mac I think they are way overpriced and rated + the proprietry upgrades suck but each to there own.<br>

Thanks again<br>

Mark</p>

[model mayhem gallery]

good luck with your new system. Sounds like you did very well for your first build. I am cheap so I love building and

customizing my components as well. Out of curiosity what did all this run you? I am debating building a new machine

vs buying a gamer PC already assembled if I can't build cheaper.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

<p>Hi, it ran just under 2k probably closer to 1900 it always works out cheaper to build from what i can see plus you can add what you want like the gpu i picked because cuda cores work with some video editing progs.</p>

<p>Cheers<br>

Mark</p>