Buying a new computer

[azizehp]

I'm a amature at this stuff. I was just wondering what is a good computer to have now when encoding movies?

[anonymez]

depends entirely on your price range, so you'll have to give us an idea

[jmet]

Welcome to the Digital Digest Video forum azizehp!

There is no definite answer to your questions as everyone has their own opinion on what computer specs would be ideal for what you are wanting to do.

Some basics I would recommend though is:

1. Minimum of 512MB of RAM
2. A CPU a at least 1Ghz
3. A DVD burner/writer, not a DVD-ROM
4. Minimum of 20GB hard drive, 40 GB preferably
5. A good video card
6. Good blank media such as Verbatim DataLife brand or Taiyo Yuden brand blank media.

That was just some information off the top of my head, I'm sure more people will be by to add to it or clarify.

[anonymez]

my guidelines:

1. CPU - an AMD athlon64 cpu, at least 3000+. go as high as you can, this will be the most important component when it comes to encoding speed
2. RAM - minimum 512mb ram, 1GB good, 2GB excellent
3. Hard disk - absolute minimum 80GB. get 2 of them. the larger the better. the faster the better.
4. Graphics card - any card with dxva (hardware acceleration), which includes the old geforce 5200 (very very cheap), but i recommend, if you don't do any gaming that is, you go with a geforce 6200, also very cheap.
5. Motherboard - one that fits all the above hardware, and has room for expansion/upgrade. go with a name brand, eg asus, msi, gigabyte, etc

[azizehp]

I have a motherboard and processor both from intel. An intel 820 pentium D processor. Would that work for a start?

[jmet]

Download this program, run it on that computer (if you can) and copy the report it gives you, then come back here and paste it in a reply.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

[anonymez]

a dual-core processor is a great choice if you wish to multitask while video editing. if you don't multitask, you can dedicate both cores to the job, and get a nice performance increase (this largely depends on the program though).

you say your motherboard and processor are both from intel. make sure you motherboard can take the pentium d.

[mill]

Any advice

Case NO PS - Antec Super LANBoy Aluminum Mid T Power Supply: PS 535W - Enermax EG565P-FMA REV.2.0 ATX Case Fan: None
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Audio/GB- Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core 512K Per Thermal Grease: Shin-Etsu G675 Thermal Grease (Cools CPU Heat Sink Fan: None - Fan REQUIRED - except with RETAIL
Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Patriot 2nd Memory: None
Hard Drive: - SATA3G - Western Digital Caviar SE 160 GB 2nd Hard Drive: SATA3G - Western Digital Caviar SE 160 GB RAID Setup: None
RAID Controller: None
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW: DVD±RW - BENQ DW1640 16X DVD±RW DL w/Soft CD-RW/DVD-RW: None
CD-RW Software: Ahead Nero 6.3 Suite DVD+-RW Software (OE DVD-ROM Software: Cyberlink PowerDVD 6.0 (OEM) Floppy Drive: Mitsumi 1.44 MB 3.5" Floppy Drive More Storage: None
Sound Card: None
Video Card: eVGA GeForce 6600 256MB DDR/PCI-E/HDTV-Ou Modem: None
Network Card: None
Wireless Network Card: None
Add-On Card: None
Case Function Add-On: None
Round Cables: None
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/SP2 Additional Software: None
Antivirus: None

Molex Connector: None
Video Capture: None
TV Tuner: None
I was thinkink about getting this built , has anyone have any opinions they like to share with me, ?

[anonymez]

nice

i'd think about getting a better graphics card though if you do any serious gaming (at least a 6600GT)

[Chewy]

better memory
are you gonna multitask that much?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103529

this cpu will actually outperform the x2 in most scenarios
the 3500 venus seems the sweet spot

[anonymez]

i would go for a dual-core myself, my pc encodes stuff daily, and i'd like to run other apps at the same time..

might get one in a couple of months

[Chewy]

I am gonna wait till the new windows OS comes out, I just keep
more computers to multitask, makes processing 3 movies very fast!
anony, I can see you with dual vid cards sooner or later


When I had to digitize 1000 karaoke disks, I used 4, over 200-250 hours of computer time,

[UncasMS]

anony, I can see you with dual vid cards sooner or later

or get the asus n7800gt dual

two nvidia chips on one card


though the performance of hardly any DUAL vga system is worth the money for the time being

[anonymez]

anony, I can see you with dual vid cards sooner or later

i'll be getting something like that as soon as i get a game that can't be brought up to max settings at 1280x1024 at 2XAA 4XAF!!

though the performance of hardly any DUAL vga system is worth the money for the time being

true, but nvidia's SLI (and ati's crossfire) will evolve soon, SLI currently is not exactly the most intelligent method of dividing load between cards. all it does is 'split the screen' into 2 parts, the top is taken care of by 1 card, the bottom by the other. hopefully in the near future it will be cost-effective. if i were to get a new pc now, i'd get an SLI board, and a 7800GTX, and a second one in the next few years

[mill]

Thanks, i dont do much gaming, but i do back ups alot and i am using shrink alot more these days, i was checking out the 4000 amd but the sales person recomended the dual, 3800. Im still thinking it over. Which one would be faster the 3800 dual or the 4000? Or maybe i wouldnt even see a difference between the two if i dont muti task.I was wandering what would also be a good burner