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Advice Needed for New Computer
I need to by a new computer for PP2 and AE7. I will be doing strictly DV capture and editing via firewire in Premiere. I’m looking at 2 different off the shelf systems. The first is a Sony with an Intel Pentium D 920 (2.8 Ghz) and 2 160GB SATA Harddrives (Raid 0). The other is an HP with a faster processor – Pentium D 940 (3.2 GHz), but has a single SATA 500GB Harddrive. The question I have is this: All other things being equal, will I get better performance from the faster processor, or from the Raid 0 array?
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21 Replies
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And I am guessing the Sony is still more expensive than the HP 😉
I’ve had to fix quite a few computers over the past decade, and I can cut it down to this, I like Sony, I don’t like HP.
Now, HP has improved over the past few years, and you are also paying a premium for that little Sony logo. The overhaul system speed will involve many other factors.
Bus speed, amount of memory, memory speed, buffer sizes, mother board, and how many integrated devices it has. All of these together could make the fastest CPU in the world obsolete if they aren’t able to handle the load.
Avoid integrated audio and video cards at all costs.
It is almost impossible to compare systems, even after knowing all those little details, unless they were benchmarked at the same time.
Your best bet it to go through review websites like CNET and see what they say (And hope they actually turned on the machine :).
Hope that anwser wasn’t too crude.
Vince
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Would it be possible to be a little more specific? As Vincent mentioned above, there are various components that can affect the performance of the system.
Thanks!
Aanarav Sareen
premiere@asvideoproductions.com -
[Mochegod] “I need to by a new computer for PP2 and AE7. I will be doing strictly DV capture and editing via firewire in Premiere.”
[Mochegod] “The question I have is this: All other things being equal, will I get better performance from the faster processor, or from the Raid 0 array?”
If you are doing DV in Ppro 2, you need more than one drive or array, at least 2, 3 is even better, one for OS, APPs and housekeeping, another drive or array for source files, etc. the third for preview files, misc files, scratch disks for paint programs, etc, The faster processor speed is gravy when doing AFX projects, also aminimum of 2gigs memory
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Here are the specs for the 2 systems I am looking at:
1. Sony Model VCG-RB62G
– Processor: Intel -
Thanks for your response, Vincent. I have owned several HP’s and Compaq’s over the years and have had pretty good luck with them. I will say that the HP boxes are usually packed pretty tightly and leave little room for expansion, though.
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Your best bet would be to build your own system. With the savings from that you could by something like a Cool Gear outboard box, add several SATA II HD’s in a RAID 0 format array. This would give you a faster drives to work off of and plenty of storage. Plus, spend your money on memory, graphics (FX-1300 and/or FX-1400). I’m seen a D930 w/mobo for around 5-bills the other day at Fry’s. Check out Newegg for individual parts…all in all building a system yourself is much cheaper and sometimes more rewarding.
Alan
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The HP is obviously a superior machine in this case, and should be able to lead you into HD without any problems, although you may need to invest in a couple of additional HD’s to keep things separate and flowing nicely.
BTW, my prior comments about HP were especially directed at the Pavillion series, which in my view were some of the worst designs ever achieved. One thing I always advise people on any new PC purchase is a carefull look at the display.
Many LCD’s that ship in a bundle with pc’s are not good for video editing or motion graphics. Especially if you don’t have a separate broadcast monitor handy, but also for Future HD preview. A 16:9 is also prefered here, even if you still work in 4:3.
Just thought I’d throw that in…
Cheers,
Vince
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Hey Alan,
I would love the adventure of building my own system. Unfortunately, we are a small production company, and must replace a dying system by tomorrow at the latest, to be back up and running. Thanks for the info, though.
Dave
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Hmmm… I was starting to lean toward the Sony, based on Aanarav’s opinion that the raid 0 drives are more important than the faster processor. I would certainly upgrade the RAM on the Sony, but would you disagree with Aanarav’s assessment?
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[Mochegod] “based on Aanarav’s opinion that the raid 0 drives are more important than the faster processor”
It depends on the situation, in the past with a editing accelerator card I was able to do 3 realtime DV streams with a 2.8 processor, to get 5 DV RT streams I had to use a Raid 0 setup with the same processor, now I can do the same with a single SATA II drive, personally given a choice I would go with the HP because of more memory and faster processor, then add the extra drives needed for the OS/Apps and misc storage, if you get into HDV/HD later you can add a raid, (is the drive with the HP a SATA II?), in either case a more upscale Video card would be better, and replace the operating system with XP Pro($130 OEM) if its using MediaCenter Windows
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