Question about Video Editing

[Vaio]

I edit video at school using the Mac computers. Final Cut Pro 3 seems to be the best video editing software to date even better than anything offered by windows. When I slow video down to say 5% its as smooth as possible on the mac but when I slow it down to say 5% on premiere on my pc its jerky. I have a Sony Vaio 1.3ghz, 128mbram, Windows Me. Do you think it would be smoother if I had a faster processor? Or do you think its because of my ram?

Thanks

[Paul_W]

My guess would be that your RAM is limiting. Premier runs smooth as silk on my machine that is similar to yours except that it has 512Mb Ram and Win XP.

[Trust_No_1]

Video editing requires a lot of processing and memory. Your configuration is probably below the manufacturer minimum recommendation for memory. A rule of thumb is to get as fast a processor as possible, as much memory and as much disc space as possible.

It depends on what you are doing. If you are doing hobbyist stuff, then your setup is certainly usable, anything else you will need a better machine. You should have at least 256mb memory. I would recommend 512mb. Get as much memory as you can afford. I would say a minimum low double figures for disc space e.g. 10gb plus. Also Windows Me is not the OS of choice for serious video editing.

By the way, the Mac computers you use at school probably have a better specification than the PC you are comparing them to. So the comparision is not entirely scientific.

Good luck!

[Vaio]

Do you think my processor is fast enough though? I just didn't think the processor would have anything to do with how smooth the video played, just how fast everything would render and create.