PERFECT EDITING WORKSTATION!!!! Helppp!

[freedumb_youth]

Hey guys please help me out with this...
I just want to do some intermediate editing in Premiere Pro 2
...now I just want to know if this setup on a tight budget around $1200AUD is ok?
Maybe I dont need some things or maybe I need more.. like the 128video card if one is already intergrated.
The main apps ill be running are premiere, tmpeng, photoshop, dreameaver, virus software, etc.
Now does premiere pro 2 support dual core processing or should I keep everything and swap the CPU for an AMD 64 dual core?

Keep in mind Im not making a spielberg movie here just a small production DVD (will sell around 10,000 copies)

Here are the specs..


--OTC HR-H930 case (500W) (Black)
--OTC Black 500W 4 bay tower case

--INTEL Pentium D 805 2.6 GHZ 533MHz (775) Dual Core CPU

--Gigabyte GA-8I945GMF PCI-E P4 Motherboard Dual Core (775)

--TwinMos DDR2 512MB PC4200 (RAM)
--TwinMos DDR2 512MB PC4200 (RAM)

--Western Digital 200G 8M SATA II Hard disk drive
--Western Digital 120G 8M SATA II Hard disk drive

--Asus EAX300SE/TD 128Mb PCI-E video Card with DVI

--LG 16x DVD+/-R/RW D/L burner (Black OEM) (4167BB)
--New Model of LG Dual Layer DVD Burner

--ViewSonic VA702 17" 8ms LCD Monitor (500:1)(Silver)
Your shopping cart
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ATTENTION TO ALL CUSTOMERS:

Pictures are for illustration purposes only. Price and availability subject to change without notice.

Items

OTC HR-H930 case (500W) (Black)
OTC Black 500W 4 bay tower case

Normal Price $59.00 x 1 = $59.00
Member's Price $55.00 x = $55.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTEL Pentium D 805 2.6 GHZ 533MHz (775) Dual Core CPU
An Intel® Pentium® D processor-based PC delivers an extra powerful gear when you need it. Accomplish more while running multiple applications, such as editing video while downloading music.

Normal Price $206.00 x 1 = $206.00
Member's Price $194.00 x = $194.00
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Gigabyte GA-8I945GMF PCI-E P4 Motherboard Dual Core (775)
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Supports Dual Core Processors
64-bit Ready
Step on to high speed connectivity
Virus Free Protection
Xpress Recovery

Normal Price $172.00 x 1 = $172.00
Member's Price $162.00 x = $162.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TwinMos DDR2 512MB PC4200 (RAM)
TwinMos DDR2 512MB PC4200 (RAM)

Normal Price $74.00 x 2 = $148.00
Member's Price $69.00 x = $138.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Digital 200G 8M SATA II Hard disk drive
Cool-running, quiet operation, superior performance and industry-leading reliability make the WD Caviar SE drives the perfect hard drives for desktop and enterprise storage.

Normal Price $126.00 x 1 = $126.00
Member's Price $118.00 x = $118.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Digital 120G 8M SATA II Hard disk drive
Cool-running, quiet operation, superior performance and industry-leading reliability make the WD Caviar SE drives the perfect hard drives for desktop and enterprise storage.

Normal Price $103.00 x 1 = $103.00
Member's Price $97.00 x = $97.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asus EAX300SE/TD 128Mb PCI-E video Card with DVI
Powered by the world's powerful PCI-E VPU – ATI Radeon 300SE VPU

Normal Price $79.00 x 1 = $79.00
Member's Price $74.00 x = $74.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LG 16x DVD+/-R/RW D/L burner (Black OEM) (4167BB)
New Model of LG Dual Layer DVD Burner ,which support faster speed burning !!

Write
[DVD-R] ： SL - 2x, 4x CLV, 8x ZCLV, 16x PCAV. DL - 2x, 4x (CLV)
　 [DVD-RW] ： 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x CLV
　 [DVD-RAM] ： 2x, 3x ZCLV, 3x-5x PCAV (Ver.2.2)
　 [DVD+R] ： SL - 2.4x, 4x CLV, 8x, 12x, 16x PCAV, DL - 2.4x, 4x CLV, 6x ZCLV
　 [DVD+RW] ： 2.4x, 4x CLV, 8x ZCLV
　 [CD-R] ： 4x, 8x, 16x CLV, 24x, 32x, 40x, 48x ZCLV
　 [CD-RW] ： 4x, 10x, 16x CLV, 24x, 32x ZCLV

Read [DVD-R/RW/ROM] ： 10x/8x/16x Max.
[DVD-RAM(Ver.2.1)] ： 2x, 3x ZCLV, 3x-5x PCAV
[DVD+R/+RW] ： SL - 10x Max. DL - 8x Max. / 8x Max.
[CD-R/RW/ROM] ： 48x Max.

Normal Price $60.00 x 1 = $60.00
Member's Price $56.00 x = $56.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ViewSonic VA702 17" 8ms LCD Monitor (500:1)(Silver)
ViewSonic's RELIABLE PERFORMER DELIVERS ON A PROMISE OF QUALITY STANDARDS like 300 nits of brightness and 500:1 contrast ratio for stunning, bright images. The VA702 features a 8ms video response time that produces crystal-clear graphics and HD quality video for full brilliant, detailed color. SIMPLICITY IS EXECUTED THROUGH ITS CLEAN LINES, SLIM BEZEL AND MINIMALIST FOOTPRINT with a base designed to fold 90 degrees. The VESA® wall mount makes the VA702 an unobtrusive integration to any decor. Packed with a powerful OnView® control interface, precise performance is always a priority in this extremely affordable package. The stylish VA702 LCD display is an ideal choice for SOHO, education and government users.

Normal Price $296.00 x 1 = $296.00
Member's Price $279.00 x = $279.00
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Subtotal:
$1,173.00

TOTAL:
$1,173.00
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Please help me with this I just want to make sure Im making the right decsion.
1. What should be removed or added?
2. Will this handle what I want to do?
3. Would a P4 3.0+ be better?



Thanks guys,
Look foward to your replys.

-Josh

[BJ_M]

it will work fine -- though for serious editing -- you will need a crt monitor also

i would get more storage also ... at least a tB

you might want a better power supply - not bigger , but higher quality ...

[Abbadon]

Hi there,

I am not qualified to advise you regarding your decision, but if I were you, I would replace the Pentium D for an AMD Athlon 64 X2.

Good luck with your project.

[rallynavvie]

Premiere is and always has been SMP-aware so it will use both cores on the Pentium D or any dual-core processor on the market currently. What you've got is fine, although I do agree with BJ_M about using a better PSU. Find a good aluminum case without a PSU and then put a PC Power & Cooling Turbo 530 and you'll not have to worry about power at all with that system. Or if you want a little cheaper get an Antec TruePowerII of 480-550W. For storage you may not need more depending on what sorts of projects you're doing. I got away with an 80GB boot and a 200GB storage drive for the first year I did video. If you're working in HD you would certainly need that TB of space though. And use your smaller drive as your boot drive, not the larger one. You'll want less clutter on the volume that contains your OS.

[lenti_75]

get more space for video, 200gb it's not that much.

get a small drive for OS 50gb then at least a 300gb or bigger for video.

[ofbarea]

For video edition you need the fasted CPU you can afford, and do not really need any add on viceo card. Also get a sysem with 1 GB RAM, so you will not have slow downs from sawping and other windows activities.

Check Tom´s hardware Interactive CPU Charts for an idea on how your CPU will perform.

[Denvers Dawgs]

Is a CRT really better for editing?

[ofbarea]

If you plan to do color correction, a CRT will be better as it is easier to calibrate colors, saturation and contrast.

If you just doing cut and paste A flat pannel will do.

[rallynavvie]

If you have the space the CRT is going to be a better option both for the reasons ofbarea stated as well as the fact that you can get larger display sizes for your money with a CRT.

[BogieV]

I dare to disagree about the CRT.
You don't need the CRT for the purpose of editing and color calibration anyway is not going to be perfect no matter what type of PC monitor you use (and it might be costly).
For color corection you do nee external real monitor. For low budget TV will do - you are looking to be as close to the real end use (that is to watch your video on TV monitor). Search on the net for better answers I would suggest. And videoguys.com is nice place to visit - search for their tips on video editing machines and use but shop from other place.

Also about CPU - again you don't need powerful CPU for the editing itself but for the renderring the final project (efects, transitions) and transfer to MPEG2 later. If you have more time to wait you can start with less budget again.

[edDV]

I dare to disagree about the CRT.
You don't need the CRT for the purpose of editing and color calibration anyway is not going to be perfect no matter what type of PC monitor you use (and it might be costly).
For color corection you do nee external real monitor. ...

I was just going to say the same thing.

Serious DV Premiere Pro color correction work demands a serious video monitor off a DV transcoder or camcorder acting as a transcoder. Normal standards are the Sony BVM or Ikegami broadcast monitors or the closest you can afford. Broadcast standard LCD panels are available but currently cost far more and have less reputation for accuracy.

If you do work for an ad agency, this becomes very important unless you are willing to do it over a half dozen times gratis. This is also why serious work is done at uncompressed SMPTE-259M (SDI) bumping up the cost of your hardware at least 2x from where you are.

In the real (low budget) world, try a calibrated consumer HDTV monitor (all auto correction off) to monitor S-Video .... Plus a cheap (non-comb filter) composite TV to see what it looks like for K-Mart Blue Light Special buyers. You will find that making it look good on the cheap TV is the challange*. You will back off chroma saturation first.


* Similar to Phil Spector audio mixing Motown music to a representative car radio.

[CrayonEater]

Your use of a CPU with a 533 Mhz FSB concerns me. Video work requires a lot of intense memory activity, so an 800 Mhz bus would make a big difference - well worth the $70 price difference between the Pentium D 805 you listed and an an 820. Of course, try looking at AMD if you haven't already as well.

[rallynavvie]

Your use of a CPU with a 533 Mhz FSB concerns me.

My 3.06s are 533 FSB and they were much quicker than even the 3.2s I had which were 800 FSB, even with editing. I think the chipset and memory quality come into play too but when you get to that point you're getting into some really fine tuning.

[freedumb_youth]

Thanks guys been very helpful..
Just need to know why AMD may be better.. everyone I seem to speak to says the same thing. And should I spend the extra money on a seperate video card or just use on board.
Does the AMD have 800mhz FSB?

[BogieV]

You better get separate graphics card. The onboard one is sharing memory and stilling from your RAM bandwith - you'll be better of to prevent that. You don't need anything fancy if you are not a gamer - I'm using still very succesfully Radeon 9200 and Gforce 5200.
The front side bus (FSB) staing 800 is actually 400 - so less compared to 533. Don't be fooled by the play of the retailers and manifacturers with the numbers.
To say it simple - RAM usually is specified as DDR400 but the FSB and the CPU are clocked at 800 MHz. Depending how the multiplier is set for your CPU you might be not able to use the fuul bandwith of the RAM though. Again - go in PC hardware sites to research for the particuler (newer) models of CPUs and hardware.

[CrayonEater]

I'll second that advice with the separate card. Built-in video cards usually share a portion of the system memory, while cards overlay a portion of the system memory with their own. The built-in card must compete with normal memory accesses whereas the videocard, once it has video data in memory, is free to process the data independent of the main system. Plus, I'm not too impressed with the quality of built-in cards anyway. Once, I (tried) to build a system based on an Asus 9100 IGP, which was fairly high-end as far as built-in video cards go. When it worked, it sucked compared even to a cheapo FX5200. When it worked, that is...

As far as AMD, the short answer is that AMD processors do more per clock cycle. It doesn't have anything to do with the 64-bit buses (you aren't planning on running Linux or XP 64, right? )I also like the fact that there is an excellent, reasonably priced selection of CPUs and motherboards, all w/ PCI-Express. Of course, Intel has made major inroads in all these areas since I last put together a machine around one of their chips, so there is nothing wrong with going Intel if you want.

[disturbed1]

In dual core CPUs, AMD is king. In single core, both have their pros and cons and can be wildly debated upon.

Get a graphics card with good OpenGL. A good edit system will have 3D software that will take a boost from OpenGL rendering. I'd perfer an NVidia card here, though ATI is OK, depends on what editing software you're using, and your personal taste.

Not nearly even close to enough hard drive space. For entry level I'd opt for no fewer than 3 hard drives. OS, data, and scratch, beyond entry level step up to multi raid with a dedicated controler.

An hour of DV = 12.66 GB per hour
That hour of DV edited 12.66 GB
Your DV encoded to MPEG2 = 4.35 GB
your mpeg2 authored to a DVD = 4.35 GB
Authored DVD to ISO = 4.35 GB
-------------------------------------------------------
Total = around 40 GB per project
(1)200 GB drive = 5 projects
(1)200 GB data, (1)200 GB scratch = 10 projects

That's just for SD editing, forget HD.

[CrayonEater]

Just found this review of the Intel Pentium D 805 which the OP was contemplating:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/

Maybe I shortchanged the 805 a little. I still think the AMD or an 800 Mhz bus is probably better, but if cost is a major issue, the 805 isn't a bad choice.

As for drives, two is a minimum because the PC architecture allows you to use drives on the SATA/IDE primary and secondary buses simultaneously e.g. you can read from C: and write to D:. That's why one of the most-recommended performance optimizations for Windows systems is to put your Windows memory swap file on your D: drive. My system has a refurb'd Seagate SATA-I on the SATA (primary master) bus and a DiamondMax on the SATA (secondary slave) and the thing is a solid performer. The next step would be to set up RAID 0+1 with some SATA-IIs, but that'll be a few hundred bucks more.

[disturbed1]

That 805 was highly overclocked from 2.66 to 4.1

[jagabo]

Of course, they showed both overclocked and non-overclocked results. If you're looking for a budget system the 805 is a good deal at ~US$135.

If you can, wait a few months. Both AMD and Intel are going to release new chips soon. AMD probably won't gain much from the switch to a new socket and DDR2 memory. Intel looks like it's going to gain quite a lot from it's switch to the new (for the desktop) Core 2 Duo architecture.

[freedumb_youth]

So its half the FSB? AMD's claimed 800mhz is actually 400mhz??
In saying that would be the equivelent in AMD to Intels 805 D 2.6ghz

http://www.pcshopper.com.au/home.php?cat=287

Most of those are well over intels price for the close equivelent.

In regards to the Hard drives. I have decided to go much bigger.

With the Video Card Im not going to use onboard but go for that Asus EAX300SE 128m PCI-E... should do the trick right?

..also the INTEL Pentium D Dual Core 930 3.0GHZ 800MHz (775) is worth a little more then the Pent. D 805 2.6ghz 533mhz (775) but is that 800mhz in FSB halved as you said AMD's is.

All in all Ive been told 800mhz in fsb is the only way to go.

[jagabo]

AMD chips don't really even have a FSB. They have a dedicated memory bus and HyperTransport links. There's no real point in comparing HT speed to Intel's FSB speed -- the architectures are just too different.

Just look at where the rubber hits the road: benchmarks of the software you'll be using, and the cost of the systems.

[BJ_M]

IMO - it is FAR more important to have a highly stable, trouble free system that you could leave on for 24/7 if you wanted to ... than having the "fastest" , "latest" , super system .....

using a tried and proved motherboard from a VERY short list of manufacturers and using a tried and proved chipset is the first step --

second is to have ultra stable power and cooling and rock solid hard drives ...

third is to use good , PROVEN add on hardware - and stable driver versions (which may be or not - the latest versions)


you will find in these categories = a fairly short list , see what is being used in such machines as servers and what is being sold in such boxes as BOXX or alienware or DELL Workstations (not home)

[INFRATOM]

I would pick the fastest Intel CPU and ASUS mother board and get more RAM 2GB minimum. The future is 64bit but there are not many programs and drivers to be an advantage so far. Also you need fastest possible Hard drive. If you are not planning for Raid get a 10,000 RPM Raptor for your OS or c drive. You are going to end up around $2500 but it worth it.

[BJ_M]

hmmmm - i posted to deaf ears ...

most programs can not take advantage of 2GB of ram - also

[rallynavvie]

Not a lot of people are going to listen to common sense here, BJ_M

However I'd have to agree with 2GB of memory if you're using the Adobe video suite. AE will use any free memory you have to pre-render your previews, Premiere likes to do the same (without your permission) when doing edited previews, and Photoshop will take its chunk for each image you have open regardless of your scratch disk settings. I can't speak for Vegas.

However a lot of the entry-level and consumer editing apps (even Premiere Elements) are made to run on lesser systems and probably wouldn't benefit much from that amount of memory. The days of "more RAM = greater performance" are mostly gone with the latest hardware and OS. Now it's no longer an issue getting the memory but rather being able to address it all quickly and efficiently.

As for the three drive setup mentioned earlier I really agree with that. I do the same thing to an extent, having a third (or more) drive as a scratch drive. I mostly do it to isolate the boot drive entirely from project data, thus keeping a lot of clutter from ever reaching it. Plus it's better to have more drives for scratch disk setups within the applications themselves. Photoshop is always griping whenever it has to use the boot volume for scratch space.

[freedumb_youth]

Hey guys thanks for that previous help.
Here is what I have purchased I pick it up tommorow arvo then put it together with no problems I hope... I really hope.

!!!!!!SPECS!!!!!!


DDR2 512M PC4200 DDR2 RAM Kingmax/Kingston x 2

LG DVD16X+- Super Multi DVD Rewriter with Software(DUAL LAYER)

Thermaltake Soprano Silver with 430W PSU

Western Digital 160G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD

Samsung/Alps 1.44 FDD

LG L1915SS 19 inch TFT LCD Monitor Silver 12ms

Logitech Deluxe Desktop KB & PS2 mouse(OEM) Black

Intel Socket 775 Pentium D930 3.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB 2x2MB Cache Dual Core

Gigabyte GA-8I945G-Pro PC-Ex16 DDRII SATAII Raid VGA Glan 1394b P4 Motherboard

Western Digital 320G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD

...now in saying all that some quick questions, for video editing will I honestly notice a big difference between 12ms and 8ms in the LCD?
..and
Is the motherboard and CPU ok for intermediate editing?
..and
The board Ive picked is it ok with the southbridge it has? Ive heard they can bottleneck when NLE.

....please let me know ASAP before I pick it up so I can make some adjustments if need be.

Oh and please note I know the HD space is not enough Ill upgrade in the near future.

Look foward to your replys!

[CrayonEater]

Nice. All in all I think it will serve you well. I hope you got a PCI-E video card with that. The on-board video (if it has that; I looked up your mobo. Couldn't find it and there were some 945Gs that didn't say if there was on-board video) is usually something of an afterthought. Frankly, I would consider spending $35-$100 on a nice video card above that nice CPU. Maybe an nVidia 6200 or 7300.

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/productdetails.aspx?item=14-130-006
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1839&

If that case has a front door which it looks like it does, that'll get old fast; doors suck when you gotta pop DVDs and CDs in and out all the time. I have a RaidMAX (junk) and I took that door off after about a month. Your case looks spacious and like it has a reasonable PS, though I'd go for 500W if I were to build today.

Also, in place of the plain floppy drive, if you need to be able to read media cards, take a look at this many-in-one floppy/card reader:

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product/productdetails.aspx?item=21-104-104

I have an earlier version and it was $20 very well spent. Figured I'd let you know now before you start the build.

As far as 12ms v. 8ms, the faster response time would probably mean more to a gamer than a video editor, and that's a big fat maybe. I'm not a big LCD person so someone else may offer their 2 cents, but a 12ms is probably more than adequate.

CPU & mobo is okay, see above comments. I haven't been able to find your mobo you mentioned. Check Gigabyte's site.

http://us.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-8I945P%20Pro.htm

Note that this is a "P" not a "G" i.e. no graphics.

Finally I have not heard anything bad about the ICH7R Southbridge, assuming that's the one on your mobo.

Enjoy.

[DarrellS]

A cheap 40 or 80 GB WD IDE Drive for the operating system. Might as well spend a little more and get a Video capture card. You can get the ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 Edition 256MB DDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card at newegg for $133.99. IMO, if you're gonna buy a video card, you might as well get one that will do something besides play games and at that price, you can't go wrong.

[freedumb_youth]

So your suggesting getting a cheap but reliable IDE hard drive just for the op system.
Then getting a vid capture card? ...but I have a cheap firewire card wont that do exactly the same job as a vid cap card? Whats the difference.
It has on board video but I may get something else if needed, I wont be gaming at all just editing.