Advice for New Video Editing Build

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:40 am

Hi, I'm new to building PCs but I'm excited to get started on my first one. My goal with this build is to have a PC that will be acceptable for editing AVCHD footage (so quad core is a must) while being quiet as possible. I will not be gaming, and I am considering overclocking in the future. I also need dual DVI for video, and eSATA and FW on the MB.

Here is what I've put together so far:

CPU: Q6600
RAM: 2x KVR800D2N6/2G
HD: WD5000AAKS
GPU: HD4670 (R46702D512)
Case: P182
MB: GA-EP45-DS3R
Optical: LG GH22LP20
CPU cooler: CNPS9700LED
PS: Antec NEOHE 430
OS: Vista Ultimate

I'll be purchasing this in the next few days, so any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

zoatebix · Post by **zoatebix** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:07 am

Out of curiosity, what software will you be using?

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:17 am

Either Sony Vegas or Pinnacle Studio Ultimate. That will be purchased along with this as well.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:41 am

I should also add that I'm trying to decide whether to go 64 bit or not.

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:56 am

Some change i would make would be:
Get a 640GB WD blue HDD. Faster, quieter and only a small amount more. It should make the whole thing feel 'snappier' as HDD's are often a bottleneck.

The CPU cooler you listed looks pretty, and cools reasonably well, but there are better options. The HR-01 is a great choice for low airflow setups while being one of the best for overclockers if thats your thing.

Oh and you dont really need Vista ultimate, home premium will do 98% of the things ultimate does, and the ones it doesnt do theres hundreds of freeware alternatives available. Buy OEM whichever version you buy.

And yes, get 64 bit. Video editing is something that will probably benefit from more than the 3.xGB you will get with a 32bit version, and you dont want to limit yourself in the future.

Strid · Post by **Strid** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:02 pm

Seems like excellent choices there! You should really consider swapping the stock P182 TriCool fans with some decent fans. Nexus, Scythe Slipstreams or Noctua fans are great choices. Even Yate-Loons should do the trick if you don't want to break the bank.

If you want to edit video, I have two advices. Get 4 GBs of RAM. They don't cost very much these days - 4 GB is standard for workhorses nowadays. Also, consider a 45 nm quad core instead of the Q6600. They will get you the same speed (if not better) and they use less energy = less heat = better...

I will recommend you get a better cooler than the one you mention. ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme. As good as it gets with air cooling. Much better cooling than the Zalman there anyway.
Last recommendation is an Accelero S1 GPU cooler - no need to have a whiny fan on your GFX card when it's fine running passive with this cheap thingy!!!

Apart from that - it looks great. Can't go wrong with the P182 and Radeon 4670 I guess.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:03 pm

Thanks for the feedback, I'll check out the 640GB WD and the HR-01 Plus.

I happen to have a copy of Vista Ultimate that I won through my work, so I'm good to go there.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:12 pm

Question about going 45nm on the proc: Which one would be comparable for the price?

I'm not sure if I like the Q8200's less L2 cache, the Q9300 is $50 more, the Q9400 is $80 more, the Q9550 is $100 more...

ACook · Post by **ACook** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:25 pm

Unless you plan on burning alot of dvds, get a bigger HD.

2 x 1TB so you can write from one disk to another. You'll notice is when editing big files like those HD streams.

Here's some info:

copying 5.66GB .ts file:

TB2 -> TB2 = 3m20s ~30MB/s
TB1 part2 -> TB1 part2 = 2m14s
TB1 part2 -> TB1 part1 = 2m07s ~45MB/s
TB1 part2 -> TB2 = 1m47s
TB1 part1 -> TB2 = 1m42s ~55MB/s
TB2 -> 160GB ide = 1m42s
TB2 -> TB1 part2 = 1m11s ~80MB/s

TB2 is 75% full, TB1 part1 is system drive, 30G, TB1 part2 is 10% full.

so fastest copy was from full tb drive to empty other tb drive, and by far the slowest was from the full drive to the same full drive. And you will notice the difference.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:59 am

What hard drives are you using?

ACook · Post by **ACook** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:14 am

this test was done using 2 x 1TB samsung F1 sata drives, and an SP1614N 160GB samsung ide that was connected at the time.

MB used was Asus M3A-H/HDMI with AMD 4850E and 2GB ram.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:27 pm

OK, just ordered the build (without CPU or GPU cooler right now; I'll pick those up shortly) but added a WD 1TB Black. Thanks for all of your help!

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:48 am

Just ordered the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and some Arctic Silver! I chose the Xigmatek based on reviews here and the price savings from the HR-01 plus.

zoatebix · Post by **zoatebix** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:11 am

Great! I hope the Xigmatek works out great. It's interesting to see that the Q6600 is still the best value when it comes to an Intel quad-core.

I'd recommend Vegas over Pinnacle. When you get your rig up and running, download a trial of Vegas Pro 8.0c to see what you think.

If you don't need the disc authoring capabilities of DVD Architect Pro or 5.1 channel Dolby Digital AC-3*, it's hard to beat this deal: a legit OEM copy of Vegas 8 for about the same price as Pinnacle Studio Ultimate. Don't use the software on the disc, though; just input the serial-number-code-thing. Once you've got a code, you can experiment with the 64-bit Vegas Pro 8.1, too.

*You can still do stereo Dolby Digital with the OEM version.

If you're feeling particularly experimental, you get both Vegas Pro 8 and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12 and only spend about half the price of a retail box of Vegas Pro with DVD Architect and the 6 channel Dolby encoder.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:52 am

Excellent advice, I've been leaning towards Vegas.

Turns out that a friend of mine has a copy of Pinnacle that he may just give to me (he's a rep for a large electronics vendor) so that'll be nice.

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:15 pm

Another question; which hard drive should I use as my primary?

1TB WD Black
or
500GB WD Blue

Crackertron · Post by **Crackertron** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:27 am

Just a quick update; I finally got my system to post after I picked up a Corsair HX520 and RMA'd the Antec NEOHE 430.

For anyone who is doing their first build, make sure you get a motherboard speaker if your MB or case doesn't already have one.

Also, if you're doing an Intel CPU, buy a bolt through kit.

Cheers!