optimising my existing computer for video capture

[Peter H]

Hi all

I was hopeing to upgrade my computer however due to financial consstraints that aint going to happen.

Instead i would like to optimise my existing rig for video capture. the specs are as follows

P4 1.5ghz
256mb ram
20gig HDD
geforce 4 video card
leadtek tv2000 xp
DVD Rom drive
Liteon DL DVD burner

The components i am thinking of upgrading are the ram and the HDD. I am thinking of putting another 256mb of ram in it so it will have 512mb.

I am also looking at upgrade the HDD. At first i will look at a secondary drive probably 120gig. if i can get it cheap enough i will look at a new primary HDD as well probably 60-80gig.

The question I have is, will this improve my rig and enable me relativly hassel free analogue video capture and authoring? Is there anything else i should look at adding or upgrading?

your suggestions are appreciated

Thanks
Peter H

[yoda313]

Hello,

First of all your signature line is about three lines too long - it's limited to 3 lines (and besides that's what the computer profile in your personal profile setting is for ).

I'd say spend more on ram then harddrive space. You'll love the performance boost. You can always save your temporary projects to rewritables if you run out of space but ram is very important.

Kevin

[Soopafresh]

Buy 512MB of RAM. And good luck. I don't think your system will be fast enough

Check http://www.newegg.com/ for great prices and also check Http://www.salescircular.com for PC hardware sales in your area.

[yoda313]

Buy 512MB of RAM. Regardless, your system is not really fast enough to capture

Hello,

Actually his is twice as fast as my old hp amd 850mhz. I used my hauppauge wintv pvr250 on it for mpeg 2 captures. Worked perfectly

Kevin

(though yes - buy as much ram as you can afford - you will not regret it )

[Soopafresh]

I hope I'm wrong on this. Obviously, it would be great if it works.

[Capmaster]

Buy 512MB of RAM. And good luck. I don't think your system will be fast enough

Check http://www.newegg.com/ for great prices and also check Http://www.salescircular.com for PC hardware sales in your area.

1.5 GHz is plenty fast for MPEG capturing. Most capture cards require 450 MHz P3 or better.

[stiltman]

Buy 512MB of RAM. And good luck. I don't think your system will be fast enough

Check http://www.newegg.com/ for great prices and also check Http://www.salescircular.com for PC hardware sales in your area.

1.5 GHz is plenty fast for MPEG capturing. Most capture cards require 450 MHz P3 or better.

Had no problems at all with 1.6ghz and 256mb pc133 ram

[Capmaster]

I captured plenty (over 2,000) of MPEG2 DVD using a 1.13 GHz P3M laptop w/256MB P133 RAM

[Peter H]

From your responses im feeling pretty confident at the moment.

Is it still suggested that I put some extra ram in it? will it help me when captureing and encoding?

[jimmalenko]

Hi Peter,

As a fellow aussie, I whole-heartedly recommend that you check out www.centrecom.com.au for any parts you're going to purchase.

Your CPU and RAM should be plenty big/fast enough as is, but IMO you will not go wrong with putting in more RAM and getting a bigger HD. I'd look at a minimum of 256MB RAM, preferably bump it up to 1GB if finances allow. With the hard drives, you should be able to pick up an 80GB hard drive for about $90, a 120GB for about $120, a 160GB for $140, or a 200GB for $170.

CPU, RAM and Hard Drive are the three items (in that order) that contribute the most to speed when encoding.

[neomaine]

Got to disagree with a few people here. His CPU and RAM are more than adequate for capturing. More RAM would be the quickest cheaper way to help with the encoding IF he doesn't have a quiet system.

However, the glaring hole here is the SINGLE hard drive. Keep that 20gb for the OS and programs. I'd easily recommend at least two more HDs. One for capturing to and one for encoding to. I've seen HDs at Staples or OM at $65-70 for 120gb.

In my recommended order of preference:

1 - A couple HDs will keep you satisfied for a long time and are easily your overall best bang for the buck. Total $150
2 - Bring your RAM up to 256mb for overall system smoothness. Not alot of bang but very little buck. Total >$40
3 - CPU. Most costly because of what follows with it. Upgrading the CPU in your case would mean CPU/Mobo/RAM. Total $400

I know these are US prices, but I'd hope you guys have similar options available.

[Peter H]

Thanks for all your help.

I will probably get some more ram and bring it up to 512mb.

i will also look at a new HDD.

thanks again

[808smokey]

Bestbuy has a 250gig HD (Maxtor) right now on sale for $109 (I think) after rebates. It's 8mb cache 7,200RPM's.

Your processor is plenty fast enough. YOu could use more RAM but what you have will suffice. It might take the computer a little longer but it will work just fine.

Bestbuy also has 512mb PC2700 DDR for $29 (after Instant rebate, normailly $59.99)

Just my .02¢