Forum Archive Home -> Computer -> Best Systen Configuration: New Computer Sales
| Best Systen Configuration: New Computer Sales | ||
| SirScrub124 posted 2008 Oct 01 18:00 | ||
| I am looking to purchase a new computer but as i am not technical by nature i request the advice of this forum to help me find the best configuration.
I am not a professional movie developer, i encode, i transfer and create my own DVD projects for simple production. I wish to do this as a higher quality then my current CPU ( 8 years old, Pentium 4 1.70 Ghz 1.60 Ghz and 512 of Ram) What configuration would best suit my needs, what speeds, system would be best for simple to advanced movie making. What would advance the effects and quality of Premier and others. I am interested in an HP primarily because of Lightscribe technology for DVD labeling. HP has a section for desktops dedicated to Entertainment . The link is http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do?storeNam ... powerhouse From these where should i be looking and what customized options should i be making. What do you guys suggest i look at? The Dells are attractive to me because i have has a Dell for 8 years, also There packages include a monitor. http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/desktops_great ... &s=dhs From this what should i be interested in. From my readings, graphics card and Ram make the biggest impact on quality. I want to upgrade my capabilities and produce quality film Thank You Forum. | ||
| Nelson37 posted 2008 Oct 01 20:03 | ||
| You are greatly mistaken in your assumption.
The speed of the PC will have ABSOLUTLEY NO effect on quality whatsoever. All that will happen is that your encoding times will be reduced. Graphics card affects display only. HDCP for Blu-Ray playback is about the only consideration in play here. Personally, I would get a good, well-ventilated tower case, but don't spend much there. Two large hard drives at least, Though the OS drive can be a bit smaller. Raptors are nice. Dual or quad-core on an Asus, Abit, or Gigabit motherboard, possibly an Intel board. Lightscribe drives are dirt cheap, any brand EXCEPT an HP. 2 to 4 GB of RAM, 800Mhz or better. 450W Power supply, or higher. 4 RAM slots on the mobo. Digital sound is optional, motherboard HDMI might be a good choice if you're not a gamer. Go to Newegg.com and price out some parts. Set your budget and put most of the extra into the CPU. Ram can be added, you can start with one or two GB and add more later. If you can put together your kids tricycle for Christmas, you can handle building your own PC. Gives you more options for later. Do some price checking, you will see where the best values are. You can put $200 or over a grand into the CPU alone, there's a point of diminishing returns. | ||
| Soopafresh posted 2008 Oct 02 00:45 | ||
| Anything is going to be better than your current system. | ||
| stiltman posted 2008 Oct 02 01:20 | ||
| HP xw8600 Workstation | ||
| Soopafresh posted 2008 Oct 02 03:23 | ||
| Get a Q6600 Intel CPU
Get at least 2GB RAM Get 2 Hard Drives An expensive video card is NOT needed. An Nvidia 9600 for $250 is even overkill. Get 2 flat screen wide monitors if you can afford it. This will let you move your video editing application controls to 1 monitor and you can preview on the other one. | ||
| stiltman posted 2008 Oct 02 10:09 | ||
Not always true. It depends on what your software requirements. With my software, I have to use Quadro FX cards, and they aren't cheap. This is because the software was optimized to run on Nvidia's OpenGL standard. Through in a ATI or other common cards, heck even a good gaming card and the software will choke on them | ||
| SirScrub124 posted 2008 Oct 03 08:54 | ||
| Thanks for the help. I looked at a Dell,, im looking at this configuration
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q9450 (12MB Cache,2.66GHz,1333FSB) OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium w/ Digital Cable Support SP1 MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs HARD DRIVE 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 32MB Cache OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability MONITORS 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB GDDR4 SOUND CARD Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition SPEAKERS No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse FLOPPY & MEDIA READER No Floppy Drive or Media Reader Included MODEM No Modem Requested WIRELESS Dell 1505 Wireless-N PCIe Card My Software & Accessories ANTI-VIRUS & SECURITY McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM Labels Windows Vista™ Premium Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language Optional Support Services Dimension XPS, Specialized Support System Details 375 W Power Supply my worries are the 375W Power Supply Before i purchase it , i need to make sure it has Firewire Ports because my camcorder is a firewire... Also If i can add another HD if i need to and add a Lightscribe DVD burner... any suggestions/comments. Thanks again for the help | ||
| stiltman posted 2008 Oct 03 10:23 | ||
| All XPS versions come with Firewire
Also Dell power supplies may seem small, but they usually can handle much more than what original comes in the case. My 300w has no problems with 2 extra HDDs and 1 extra DVD I added. | ||
| Soopafresh posted 2008 Oct 03 14:33 | ||
| I'd get an Nvidia card because of the newer CUBA technology, where certain video apps will utilize the video card for faster decoding/encoding. It's not a deal breaker, however. |
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