Need Help on DIY PC

[Kevin]

Would appreciate if someone can give me some suggestion what parts to get in order to build a DIY PC for Video editing purpose. I have lost touch with the PC market for a year so don't know what is the latest. My current P4 1.7Ghz Pc take 7 hours to convert 1 hour avi home video to Mpeg2 and it is very noisy.

Please give me suggestion of motherboard, CPU, HDD, graphic card, casing and power supply that are quiet and etc. I think someone mentioned B4 don't the P4E since it give out a lot of heat right? So I will probably go for a P4G 3.0Ghz(is this right?) that give out less heat.

Thanks--

 

[blurblock]

Would appreciate if someone can give me some suggestion what parts to get in order to build a DIY PC for Video editing purpose. I have lost touch with the PC market for a year so don't know what is the latest. My current P4 1.7Ghz Pc take 7 hours to convert 1 hour avi home video to Mpeg2 and it is very noisy.

Please give me suggestion of motherboard, CPU, HDD, graphic card, casing and power supply that are quiet and etc. I think someone mentioned B4 don't the P4E since it give out a lot of heat right? So I will probably go for a P4G 3.0Ghz(is this right?) that give out less heat.

Thanks--

a. Video conversion to Mpeg2 is defintely noisy as the harddisk is working overdrive.

b. I think you will get better performance when you up the RAM rather than changing the CPU only.

 

[Kevin]

a. Video conversion to Mpeg2 is defintely noisy as the harddisk is working overdrive.

b. I think you will get better performance when you up the RAM rather than changing the CPU only.

a. agree, so thinking of trying out WD new HDD that is silent type one. dunno out yet or not.

b. agree, but I was such an smart idiot that go for RDRAM last time so very ex to upgrade RAM so decided to change PC. Also want to try the P4 Hyper-threading so hopfully can half the time. ;p

 

[Drudkh]

Hyper Threading is useful only if the software utilises it. Other than that, it is good for real multitasking.

 

[singscott]

One word, One letter, One Number = Apple G5. Won't go wrong Ops DIY then Hyper threading 3.2 gb P4 processors, 2 gb DDR400 RAM, 2x SATA 240gb Hard drive and nivdia 256mb Geforce5 graphic card

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

One word, One letter, One Number = Apple G5. Won't go wrong Ops DIY then Hyper threading 3.2 gb P4 processors, 2 gb DDR400 RAM, 2x SATA 240gb Hard drive and nivdia 256mb Geforce5 graphic card

1 fruit, 1 expression, 1 hand = Apple G5... ;p

btw if DIY i'd rather make a 64bit system now.

 

[StreetShooter]

Would suggest getting a DVD recorder with hard disk for burning videos. I gave up halfway through my collection of baby home videos converting to AVI then VCD format. Lousy quality and audio sync was way off, even with a fairly good video capture card.

I'm waiting for prices to fall a bit more, and hard disk capacity to increase. Right now, recorder with 80GB HD is about $900. When it hits 200GB for about $700 I'll buy, and convert all those Hi8 tapes to DVD.

 

[Drudkh]

Apple products are good, no doubt. But it is boring and nothing much you can do with Apple products. Unless you're only using it to surf web, photo/video editing & office work. There's nothing much I can think of. Maybe someone can help me with this? ;p

 

[Hommie]

1 fruit, 1 expression, 1 hand = Apple G5... ;p

btw if DIY i'd rather make a 64bit system now.

There are few software to get for converting avi to mpg2 in mac version. The ones you can get is pretty expensive. Somemore there's no such thing as a DIY Mac, granted you could customise one but never from the ground up.

 

[linse]

a. Video conversion to Mpeg2 is defintely noisy as the harddisk is working overdrive.

b. I think you will get better performance when you up the RAM rather than changing the CPU only.

The amount of RAM should not make a difference to the encoding speed. However, the actual editing could be faster.

 

[Firefox]

What software are you using to convert the file from AVI to MPEG II?
I'd recommend TMPGEnc Plus. It's pretty fast on my computer and fairly idiot proof as well..
If you're using Premiere to do it, that's a very big mistake.

For a DiY'ed PC, just a simple Intel P4-3.2E, 1GB or 2GB DDR-DRAM and fast HDDs will do. No need for special/ super video cards because they don't reduce rendering time.
I'd recommend WD Raptors for OS and apps. For storage, get any of the Hitachi or Seagate large capacity drives with 8MB cache.

Edit:
You can consider getting the CoolerMaster Hyper 48 heatsink & fan set. It's dead silent and cools well. Usable on Socket-478, AMD K8 and LGA-775 so no worries about compatibility.

For the casing, if you don't mind ah-beng lights, get an Antec Super Lanboy. The 2 12cm fans are silent as well. It doesn't come with a PSU but the Targan series is quiet too.
I do own the Super Lanboy but modified the fan to remove the LED's coz I hate the ah-beng lights.
Configured a PC using the Super Lanboy, Targan 380W PSU, 200GB Seagate 7200.7 HDD and Hyper 48 on his LGA-775 3.0E. It's dead silent. Which was one of the requirements because our audio setups are beside our computers.

 

[shawnlim]

Would appreciate if someone can give me some suggestion what parts to get in order to build a DIY PC for Video editing purpose. I have lost touch with the PC market for a year so don't know what is the latest. My current P4 1.7Ghz Pc take 7 hours to convert 1 hour avi home video to Mpeg2 and it is very noisy.

Please give me suggestion of motherboard, CPU, HDD, graphic card, casing and power supply that are quiet and etc. I think someone mentioned B4 don't the P4E since it give out a lot of heat right? So I will probably go for a P4G 3.0Ghz(is this right?) that give out less heat.

Thanks--

Do you have another HDD for your video files? Its highly recommended that you have two HDD. One for OS the other for Video. Ram is quite important i must say but no need to get 2 gig, 1 is enough. If your editing is purely base on software basis, i would recommend that you check what is the max CPU speed iyour existing motherboard support. Maybe you can just upgrade your processor, ram and another HDD. That could save you alot rather than building a new one.Graphics dont have to be high end just a entry level is good enough to process video imaging. Another thing to bear in mind is........ never mind i will send your a PM, if not war is going to happen when i discuss this.

Just my 2 cents

 

[BBTM]

Compare the prices of each CPU. If 2nd highest is not much from the 3rd, can consider. RAM, take more than 1G and more is better. HDD wise, get a fast one for C drive (RPM 10k). The other, get one for storing the video and so, a 200GB is recommended. If possible, get another one for other application. Unless you play games, go for a high end graphic card else a normal one will do. Most important is to get a Video editing card. Do some research on it, it will help on the render/convert time. Other things like fans, casing, you decide yourself lor. If get spare cash, go for those Server casing. Sorry for my poor english.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the replies. Keep it coming.

I have used both AMD and Intel platform before. Find Intel more compatible with old Video capture/editing card so will go for Intel. Any suggestion on Motherboard? 915 or 925. Asus or Abit?

Thanks-- :thumbsup:

 

[Darren]

For Video Editing, the most important elements are :-

1. Hard Disk space - two or more hard disks recommended; one disk for your startup/programs, another for file storage and scratch.

2. Memory - the more the merrier. Nothing less than 1GB

3. Processor - obviously, the faster the processor, the faster the rendering, although this will be mitigated by your choice of disks/memory. High CPU + low memory/HD = slow.

My own video editing PC is
3Ghz Pentium 4 HT-enabled
1.5GB memory
2 x 160GB SATA HD
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Sony DVD writer
Creative SB Audigy (doubles as FireWire input for miniDV vidcams)

Made quite a few home-brewed DVDs using this setup. Can't really give an accurate or objective indication of render times as I have been experimenting with different MPEG2 transcoding schemes (4MB VBR 1-pass; 7MB CBR 1-pass; 4MB CBR 2-pass etc etc) and it has been as short as 30 minutes and as long as 3 hours.

 

[Kevin]

Would suggest getting a DVD recorder with hard disk for burning videos. I gave up halfway through my collection of baby home videos converting to AVI then VCD format. Lousy quality and audio sync was way off, even with a fairly good video capture card.

I'm waiting for prices to fall a bit more, and hard disk capacity to increase. Right now, recorder with 80GB HD is about $900. When it hits 200GB for about $700 I'll buy, and convert all those Hi8 tapes to DVD.

Mine capture into PC directly at AVI so just one conversion to Mpeg2 to cut DVD.

For Hi8, I think is analog so I agree that DVD Recoreder is easier except the price ;(

 

[blurblock]

a. agree, so thinking of trying out WD new HDD that is silent type one. dunno out yet or not.

b. agree, but I was such an smart idiot that go for RDRAM last time so very ex to upgrade RAM so decided to change PC. Also want to try the P4 Hyper-threading so hopfully can half the time. ;p

Hyperthreading wouldn't do much help.

Suggest you change to Althon 64 .....

 

[germ_boi]

actually i wont advise for the amd's 64bit system.

cuz it seems like its very susceptible to over-heating.

my frens who are using it had to invest a bomb on the cooling system to ensure their althons do not overheat... some did even with the bomb cooling system (they were all using it for intense ps[20plus mp of info] work or video editting work)

granted althons are really ok for normal use and fast too... but if you r looking to intensive use over a short period, it is better to stick with intel, more stable and wont overheat as quickly...

intel. good. get the P800E - Deluxe motherboard. deluxe means there's firewire included, which u prolly need for ur work hope its enuff.

 

[Kevin]

What software are you using to convert the file from AVI to MPEG II?
I'd recommend TMPGEnc Plus. It's pretty fast on my computer and fairly idiot proof as well..
If you're using Premiere to do it, that's a very big mistake.

For a DiY'ed PC, just a simple Intel P4-3.2E, 1GB or 2GB DDR-DRAM and fast HDDs will do. No need for special/ super video cards because they don't reduce rendering time.
I'd recommend WD Raptors for OS and apps. For storage, get any of the Hitachi or Seagate large capacity drives with 8MB cache.

Yah, I am using TMPGEnc Plus, does it support Hyper-threading? I am using 2 separate HDD currently. IS WD Raptor the very quiet one? Will try out the cooling and quiet stuff you recomend also.

Thanks--

 

[Kevin]

For Video Editing, the most important elements are :-

1. Hard Disk space - two or more hard disks recommended; one disk for your startup/programs, another for file storage and scratch.

2. Memory - the more the merrier. Nothing less than 1GB

3. Processor - obviously, the faster the processor, the faster the rendering, although this will be mitigated by your choice of disks/memory. High CPU + low memory/HD = slow.

My own video editing PC is
3Ghz Pentium 4 HT-enabled
1.5GB memory
2 x 160GB SATA HD
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Sony DVD writer
Creative SB Audigy (doubles as FireWire input for miniDV vidcams)

Made quite a few home-brewed DVDs using this setup. Can't really give an accurate or objective indication of render times as I have been experimenting with different MPEG2 transcoding schemes (4MB VBR 1-pass; 7MB CBR 1-pass; 4MB CBR 2-pass etc etc) and it has been as short as 30 minutes and as long as 3 hours.

Thanks Darren.

Do you find VBR is better or CBR???