The ultimate burning computer setup...render opinions here..

[stanross]

Let me get to the point...

While I've been converting, capturing, and burning
for almost a year, I haven't really committed myself
in my hardware and software because I just didn't think
it was there yet. I am ready to take a critical look
at my system and help myself into advancing the art.

This is my system as it stands:

Athlon 2000xp
512 ddr ram
80 gig western digital anniv. with 8 mg buffer
16x10x40 burner
onboard graphics sis 740
firewire, router, laser, belkin surge, 19in tube, etc.

The areas I wish to focus on are:
Capturing tv video and other video -and-
dvd, svcd, & vcd authoring and processing.

ONE, which tv capture (mpeg hardware) and dvd writer
do I chose ?

[I tried a low-cost tv card - tv wonder ve and it is useless
for vcd/svcd production. It only captures mpeg1 in formats
which are non-compliant. Poor quality. Its graphic overlay
(software shortcut) plays havoc with operations.]

[Dvd writers are everywhere. Is it better to get 2 drives for
dvd-2-dvd on-the-fly (if possible) ? Is it better to get a pair
of drives by the same manufacturer to eliminate conflicts ? Is 8x worth the extra $50 bucks ?]

-and-

TWO, what can I do to my system to increase its ability
to complete processing and authoring tasks ?

[Is ram king, processor king, graphics card do anything for me, does the motherboard rule in conjunction with specialized components ?]

[I seem to spend the most time with the red light on the hard drive, they haven't made any large gains in the last 18 months. Is SCSI a big time saver, firewire hookup, single isolated wire lead a big deal ?]

[Does the Operating System make a difference ? I'm still using W98se because the new platforms seem to have more problems, place more demands on hardware, and doesn't really save any time. Only drawback I can find is that newer authoring software has started to require w2000 minimum. I've run it before, but went back to 98 when I encountered conflicts with tv card in w2000.]

I pose these questions because I know there a those of you who excel in authoring and know what demands it places on the system. Unfortunately, you can only get sales people to guess at facts as they tout their next possible commission.

Thanks,

Stan

[Solarjetman]

IMO, when it comes to video editing, CPU speed is king. encoding takes forever.

If you are willing to shell out the really big bucks, look for dual processor motherboards.

[rallynavvie]

I can help with suggestions on the duallies, not so good with the single CPUs anymore. All I know is the Athlon 64 FX series is probably the best single on the market and that's about it. Xeons rule the dual market for workstations.

I agree that CPU is indeed the most important factor when you're using a software encoder. Hardware encoder cards are actually starting to become useless as processors these days are so powerful that they can encode via software much faster than realtime. Memory isn't all too important. I'd say 512MB is a good number for running XP. If you're doing RAM previews in AfterEffects then the more RAM the better, but otherwise it isn't terribly necessary. The video card can vary greatly depending on what you need it to do for you.