Here's the deal: Currently, I'm the only one in my house with a DVD burner. My dad wants to put all our old 8mm home movies onto DVD. The problem is it takes forever (getting film off of camera onto PC, then editing it, and burning it) and I'm not able to use my PC that whole time b/c it pretty much takes up full CPU load. So my dad wants to get a PC for dvd editing and burning purposes. We looked at Dell, but even though it seems like their machines are cheaper (2.6ghz P4 machine for $500), they're really crappy other than the CPU, which is decent) This is where I need some help: what components should I look at? It needs to be a pretty powerful machine because of all the video editing, but nothing overkill. I might get a cheap case w/ PSU or use and old one I have laying around (doesn't need to be a "good modding case" or anything like that ). Considering I'm not getting a monitor, this should be a sub $1000 machine. CPU: Intel (533 or 800?) or AMD? Which? MB: Probably Abit or Asus Video: Sapphire 9600 Pro or maybe and equivelant nVidia card? RAM: 512MB (whatever mobo supports) probably valueram HDD: Western Digital 120GB (1200JB), unless theres a deal on another 120gb hdd at a local store DVDRW: Pioneer DVR-107 8X DVD±RW (based on monkeyspanks recommendation and the firmware upgrade to 12X) DVDROM: Lite-On Black 16X XJ-HD166 existing 17" CRT, mouse, keyboard (and maybe case) Not counting the MB, CPU, or RAM current price at newegg is: $367.50
I use my PC for DVD editing and burning, and i can still multitask more than easily with a couple of word docs open, winamp, net, downloading etc 2.8 P4, 1gig mem, 9800pro (for games, you dont need all that power for video editing), DVDRW and DVD drive and a couple of big, fast harddisks. Faster cpu = better for sure, id probably go AMD A64 for best bang for the buck scenario. 3200+ A64 and a gig of mem would be good, youd loose out with the lack of mem bandwidth compared to the P4 but the extra cache and speed will help im sure. Then again, i love this rig; probably the most stable and best use ive ever had out of one but then again, ive not got an A64 to compare it to. Defo go for a gig of ram if you can mind although you've got to be insane to even consider non-branded memory. Get something decent, ie doesnt have to be corasir XMS-5-squillion-uber-led-uber-expensive, just some quality brand with good timing chips.
The thing is: this is going to be a PC that parents will use. The most extreme thing they'll do other than video editing and burning is web browsing . I may consider a 64-bit chip, but in the end, I'm not sure if its worth it. This doesn't have to be super-fast. They wouldn't need to do other stuff while burning. If that were the case for me, it would be fine, but I sit around, waiting for it to burn, because I have got other things I need to do. Also, is a gig really necessary? It's just got to be fast enough to run video editing software and burn stuff, but not too slow.
i would get a 2.8c or a A64 2800. I'd steer away from an AthlonXP becuase they are pretty poor at video editing/converting. (my 1800+ @ 2.1ghz(2600+) gets the crap eaten out by our P4 2.4B at converting video.., ther p4 even has slower mem (2100 vs pc3500 @ 2700 and low timings)) I'd also steer away from pioneer DVD burners. I've had nothing but problems with mine and they are very sensitive with what media you use. Mine (a 4x burner) won't even do 4x relyably on ANY disk, its ok at 2x tho. just my 2p
I think I'm going to go with the AMD64 2800, but as for the Pioneer drives, monkeyspank had this to say about the DVR-107: Kind of the opposite of what you said? I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with this drive b/c its 8X and a firmware upgrade can bring it up to 12X (and price isn't bad at $115), unless theres any big reason not to. Also, I was going to get the Abit KV8 mobo. Any objections here? The only thing I'm not sure on is the RAM? 512mb or 1gb? Again, I want to keep this on the less-expensive side, so nothing unecessary. Again, I will probably go with Valueram. I won't be needing to OC this RAM and don't need anything super speedy.
Don't waste your money on a 9600 Pro. If anything, you should go for something like a Radeon 9200. I mean, my parents rig is using a Geforce 2 MX that I won about 4 years back, and it's served them nicely. Consider going for a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive instead of just a DVD-ROM. They'll burn CDs at somewhere between 40x-52x, while the DVD±RW you listed only does 24x max. But for the love of god, AVOID LITE-ON! I have one, and it's not a bad drive, but when reading/writing at full speed, the thing is HORRENDOUSLY loud. Samsung, I hear, makes good quiet optical drives. Definitely go for the 800mhz P4. Memory bandwidth and video editing are definitely inclusive items. One last piece of advice: be slience-oriented. Remember that your parents are not PC enthusiasts. An enthusiast can deal with having a 150mm fan running 24/7 for the sake of a few extra MHz overclock, but they won't. With all that said, I put together a shopping list at Newegg (you earn cool points for looking for parts there first): CPU: Intel 2.8GHz OEM - 173 Motherboard: Asus P4P800-E Deluxe - 122 RAM: 2x Kingston 256MB PC3200 DDR-SDRAM - 116 Hard Drive: Western Digital 120GB 1200JB - 92.50 Video: Sapphire Radeon 9200SE OEM - 44.50 Optical 1: Pioneer DVR-107 8X DVD±RW - 115 Optical 2: Samsung Black 52X32X52X16 DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive OEM - 53 Case: Antec Sonata - 84 HSF: Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu - 41.30 Total w/out shipping - 840.78 Ok, so maybe that's kinda high for your price range, but it is a damn good deal. 2.8GHz P4 w/ Hyper-Threading, half gig PC3200, DVD±RW + CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo, Firewire, SATA RAID, Gigabit Ethernet, all wrapped in one incredibly quiet package (I can vouch for the case, I'm sitting 3 feet away from it right now, and the dishwasher about 15 ft. away is drowning out the case's sound).
I don't think noise will be too much of a problem. I won't be having tons of fans. Probably 2 case fans, one at front, one at back. CPU: Do you really think a P4 would be better than an AMD64? MB: No objections, other than the one for AMD I'm looking at is $104 RAM: 1x Kingston 512mb PC3200 is only $100 HDD: fine Video: Hmm...not too sure about that. I'm sure I'll be glad I got a 9600 later along the line. Opt1: fine Opt2: I really don't need a CDRW. My parents have never burned a CD and probably never will, 24x is fine (only dvd speed really matters) but, since i've never owned a lite-on, ill take your word for it; my brother has a samsung dvdrom, so ill listen to that later Case: $84 is a bit hefty. I was thinking of a GMONO case ($40) + an enermax 350W psu I have. But I might get a Sonata if the price doesn't end up too high. HSF: I don't think the stock HSF will be loud enough to bother anyone, and cooling doesn't matter much b/c no OCing (plus i might get an amd ) edit: so stupid! The PSU I have is a P4 PSU I have (and I just double checked and the PSU that came with an Enermax wasn't an Enermax, some brand called POWERUP . There are AMD > P4 power convertors, any for the opposite way? I may just go ahead and get a new PSU anyways now.
Heres a full list of things you can convince me not to get: CPU: AMD Athlon 64 2800+ - $187.0 MB: Abit KV8 - $104.00 RAM: Kingston 512MB DDR PC-3200 - $100.00 HDD: Western Digital 120GB 1200JB - $92.50 Video: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 Pro - $128.00 Optical 1: Pioneer DVR-107 Black 8X DVD+RW/-RW - $115.00 Optical 2: Samsung SD-616EEPB Black 16X DVD-ROM - $32.00 Case: AMS Gmono Black Case - $40.99 Total w/ shipping: $814.49
Since your doing video editing it would be worthwile dropping the 9600Pro to a 9200/9200SE if they are not going to game on there and spend the extra on more HDD space. HDD space is king when video editing.
on the P4 rig drop the 120gb drive for say dual 60gb or dual 80gb and take advantage of the onboard raid. put the drives in a striped raid array and bask in the beauty of speed.
I have a DV camera and have no troubles streaming off firewire straight to HDD then using Adobe Premier to edit vids up with my XP2800 (at 3200), 1GB ram system. HDD is a big bottle neck for most people on editing/streaming and I would probably say if you can go for SATA but 1GB of ram is really a good idea.
/hits head against brick wall. ITS NOT A 64bit CHIP! ARGH!! Its a 32bit chip with 64bit capability. If you use it, you use it, if they dont, they dont.. its just uber fast with a lot of cache at the most basic level. I assumed cause u said "video editing" i thought u meant a bit more than the odd DVD backup, hence the mountain of ram. Also, the Rad 9200 will be more than enough as mentioned above. Faster harddisks = better when re-writing vobs and large video files too.
I would suggest looking at an Apple Mac, especially if you can get some of the older models with a DVD burner. Perfect for video editing and surfing the internet.
Alright, you've convinced me to drop the 9600 and go with the 9200. What brand? I've gotten Sapphire cards before and have been happy with them, though Zap seems to like PowerColor. Again, this is for my parents, who don't know much about computers and speed isn't a huge concern (but it would be for me). I'll look at some SATA drives if they aren't too expensive. Also, it's not a ton of video editing going on. Probably just organizing the DVD into chapters, not much. Depending on the final price, I may increase it to 1GB ram. cpu121 -- If it were for me and I could afford it, I would go with a Mac, but thats way out of my price range and my parents have a hard enough time with Windows . sorry bindibadgi
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 2800+ - $187.00 MB: Abit KV8 - $104.00 RAM: (2x) Kingston 512MB DDR PC-3200 - $200.00 HDD: Western Digital 120GB 1200JD - $99.75 Video: Powercolor ATI Radeon 9200 128MB - $74.00 Optical 1: Pioneer DVR-107 Black 8X DVD+RW/-RW - $115.00 Optical 2: Samsung SD-616EEPB Black 16X DVD-ROM - $32.00 Case: Antec Sonata w/ 380W PSU - $84.00 Total w/ shipping: $910.75 The Powercolor card had a better rating than the Sapphire, so I just went with it. I got the SATA version of the same HDD for about $7 more. Doubled the RAM. Also decided to go with the Antec case because its cooler and came with a 380W PSU that works with AMD boards.
"Oh dear, i have so much money what shall i waste it on?" - Bindi: thinks Macs are overpriced and overrated unless you're a erganomic consultant or fashion designer.
Just a few notes on the Sonata: The PSU comes with two SATA connectors. They're not the true SATA connectors (i.e. no hot-swappability), but that shouldn't matter. The HD cage can be a real PITA. It's in the new-fangled perpendicular-to-the-case setup, which I think just plain sucks. Granted, in my dad's rig, there's 2 HDs using PATA (and rounded cables, which actually are worse than using ribbon cables in this case), so it'd be less cramped in your situation. The right side of the case is riveted in. For the 5.25" rails, use the top set of holes on the rails for the bottom set of holes on the optical drives. That should make installation a hell of a lot easier than it was for me.
Heh heh, I agree. But seeing as I do a lot of graphics editing and multimedia stuff, I like Macs (but don't own one ).
Yea, they are good for that cause all the software is made for them. Still, nothing you cant replicate on a good PC and proper ver of linux.
for a dvd burner i would recommend a sony DRU-530A, i have had extremely good luck with it, and so what if it burns at 8X, the fastest dvd-r's can only be burned at 4X. awesome dvd burner right out of the box.
