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Building a Video Editing PC – Tips?
Hi Everyone,
I am fairly new to video editing and have completed my first project. The first thing I noticed was that my pc was severely lacking in power. I have a Sony Vaio RS310 with just under a GB of ram, an 80 GB HD, and I believe a 2.3 ghz processor. While I was able to finish the job, my system was having a hard time keeping up. It was hard to preview without intermittent freezes and my HD space was quickly consumed.
I use a Sony HC-1 camera, along with Vegas and DVD Architect.
Any advice on specs for a more suitable pc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Jeff
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2 Replies
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Hi Jeff
I would seriously consider searching the main Cow forum. There are many specific posts about PC specs.
Jeremy
MJ Productions
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Jeff,
Editing HDV requires a husky computer, for sure. If price is no object, look into dual core dual processor systems. However, you can build a very respectable system with a single dual core processor.
I recommend building the system around an Intel Core2 Duo processor, or an Athlon 64 fx dual core 4800+ or better. Use a motherboard designed for the processor, of course. Use 2GB or more of RAM, and follow your motherboard manufacturer’s recommendation on RAM brands and models. The RAM makers’ sites also have good info on compatibility; I like Samsug or Crucial. You can save a bit on the video display card…try getting an NVIDIA GeForce or ATI Radeon card, one or two models down from whatever the current top of the line is. I like the new PCI-E models. Get a good SATA or IDE system drive, and build a RAID 0 array from several identical drives for your video data storage. I have a 1.2TB array made of four 300 GB SATA drives; my motherboard has an onboard RAID controller and ports for them all. Make sure your power supply is man enough for the job…450 watts or better. I like the Seasonic models; they’re quiet and deliver clean reliable power. Get a good cooler for your processor.
Don’t install games, or anything else you don’t need for video editing on the computer. Don’t hook up to the internet, or a network. Or, if you must, set up a dual-boot system with one configuration optimized for best performance. Videoguys, https://www.videoguys.com, has some good suggestions for “tweaking” your PC.
If you’re intimidated by the idea of getting all these components to work together, or tweaking your computer’s registry and services for best performance, consider using a systems integrator. Find someone who has experience building computers for video editing. You won’t pay much more than for the individual components, and you’ll save a lot of time and agravation.
Regards,
Doug Graham
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