This Computer Good For Video Editing?

[DozerMayne]

I will be getting a new computer for video editing.
I do gameplay recordings for various games on the PS4.
My other computer is geared for audio production mixing and mastering.

This one will be for editing the videos.
I do not use many effects, mainly some color corrections.
I will be using Premiere Pro CS6

I record using the Elgato Game Capture HD60(H.264 encoding)
This device connects the PS4 for passthrough your computer, which the software included that controls the device, is installed on the computer, and records the gameplay.
Specs and info: bottom of the bestbuy page
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/elgato-game-capture-hd-60/7634008.p?id=1219285525278
Also, the actual website: https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60

Here is the computer:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-X8700-3130BLK-XPS-Desktop/dp/B00K0HMX3A
I would also get the 4 year protection plan.


Intel Core i7 4790S (3.20GHz) EDIT: Actually has 3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 Haswell CPU)
16GB DDR3 2TB HDD
Windows 8.1 64-Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB

More indepth computer specs:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

Do these specs/available slots allow for adding a Solid State Drive?

I want to stay around $1000
So, if I can build a more powerful one for around that price..that could work too.

[newpball]

I will be getting a new computer for video editing.
I do gameplay recordings for various games on the PS4.
My other computer is geared for audio production mixing and mastering.

This one will be for editing the videos.
I do not use many effects, mainly some color corrections.
I will be using Premiere Pro CS6

I record using the Elgato Game Capture HD60(H.264 encoding)
This device connects the PS4 for passthrough your computer, which the software included that controls the device, is installed on the computer, and records the gameplay.
Specs and info: bottom of the bestbuy page
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/elgato-game-capture-hd-60/7634008.p?id=1219285525278
Also, the actual website: https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60

Here is the computer:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-X8700-3130BLK-XPS-Desktop/dp/B00K0HMX3A
I would also get the 4 year protection plan.


Intel Core i7 4790S (3.20GHz)
16GB DDR3 2TB HDD
Windows 8.1 64-Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB

More indepth computer specs:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

Do these specs/available slots allow for adding a Solid State Drive?

I want to stay around $1000
So, if I can build a more powerful one for around that price..that could work too.

Nice......

But, this:

Intel Core i7 4790S (3.20GHz)

Does not make any sense, please get an 4770K or a 4790K (for the latter make sure the motherboard supports it).

[sophisticles]

For 1000 dollars? I wouldn't even consider it.

Have you ever built a computer before? If so and are comfortable doing it, then you can build the exact same thing for way less.

[DozerMayne]

I will be getting a new computer for video editing.
I do gameplay recordings for various games on the PS4.
My other computer is geared for audio production mixing and mastering.

This one will be for editing the videos.
I do not use many effects, mainly some color corrections.
I will be using Premiere Pro CS6

I record using the Elgato Game Capture HD60(H.264 encoding)
This device connects the PS4 for passthrough your computer, which the software included that controls the device, is installed on the computer, and records the gameplay.
Specs and info: bottom of the bestbuy page
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/elgato-game-capture-hd-60/7634008.p?id=1219285525278
Also, the actual website: https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-hd60

Here is the computer:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-X8700-3130BLK-XPS-Desktop/dp/B00K0HMX3A
I would also get the 4 year protection plan.


Intel Core i7 4790S (3.20GHz)
16GB DDR3 2TB HDD
Windows 8.1 64-Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 4GB

More indepth computer specs:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

Do these specs/available slots allow for adding a Solid State Drive?

I want to stay around $1000
So, if I can build a more powerful one for around that price..that could work too.

Nice......

But, this:

Intel Core i7 4790S (3.20GHz)

Does not make any sense, please get an 4770K or a 4790K (for the latter make sure the motherboard supports it).

It actually has
3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 Haswell CPU
According to: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

As far as building a computer: I go to college for electronics engineering. Have built my own variable power supply, among other things.
Super nerdy, but I have not been up to date on everything computers..
So, of course, I would do alot of research, before undertaking the task of building a computer.

Currently I use a Dell - Inspiron Desktop I530-110B w/ Intel Core2 Quad Processor Q6600 and 6GB RAM
http://www.cowboom.com/product/531500
However, that is for audio production. Video editing is a pain as you would imagine.

I usually run the Program Monitor at 1/4 Quality with pause at full quality.
I could always upgrade the card in the future, as I start to do more video recording and editing.
Something like the Quadro K2200 or above.

Currently only working with 1080p 30 and 60fps.

[hech54]

All of this discussion for recording GAMES? The same exact identical game that millions of other people around the world have and play?
I don't get it.....never did......never will.

[DozerMayne]

I will also be editing real video shot with my HD Camcorder.
That is incorporated in my videos.
Either way, the video of the game, is video.

You don't have to get it, but you can get lost if you have nothing to add.
Though, my over 22K subscribers on youtube seem to like it..
Therefore you argument is invalid.

Now that I have more time on my hands, to reply to trolls and what not,
I will be able to put the over $6000 a month I make from youtube and other sales
of my brand name items, to make more videos and make more money, doing what I love.

Plan to grow my subs and be more engaged with my community with all this extra time.
No, I will not provide a link, enough trolls all ready.

[newpball]

It actually has
3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 Haswell CPU
According to: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

That is still not a K version.

So, of course, I would do alot of research, before undertaking the task of building a computer.

Then you would realize that not getting a K version is a waste of money and resources.

Something like the Quadro K2200 or above.

You must be joking, a Quadro K2200 is very low performance.

Get a recent GTX card instead,they will be much faster, you do absolutely not need a Quadro for the work you want to do.

Now that I have more time on my hands, to reply to trolls and what not,
I will be able to put the over $6000 a month I make from youtube and other sales
of my brand name items, to make more videos and make more money, doing what I love.

If you try to monetize on captured games on Youtube you may get yourself into serious copyright troubles.
Just saying.

[DozerMayne]

It actually has
3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 Haswell CPU
According to: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

That is still not a K version.

So, of course, I would do alot of research, before undertaking the task of building a computer.

Then you would realize that not getting a K version is a waste of money and resources.

Something like the Quadro K2200 or above.

You must be joking, a Quadro K2200 is very low performance.

Get a recent GTX card instead,they will be much faster, you do absolutely not need a Quadro for the work you want to do.

Currently researching...I am not claiming to be an expert on video cards.
Thanks for your info.

I have the video game footage that is recorded via the Elgato Game Capture HD60 @ 1080p 60fps
I also incorporate video of myself, and skits, other stuff. 1080p 30fps.

I do color correction where needed, that is about it. Nothing intensive.
I also need something that can take advantage of GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro CS6. (still need to research the card in the computer)
I was thinking the card that comes in that computer would be enough for what I do.
Currently not alot of time to build one, though I could possibly save.
So far I have gotten away with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 stock in my current computer. But, again, slow to work with sometimes.

I can actually down grade the model by 1TB on the hard drive and save $100. I already have a 5TB external storage for data.

Is there a site, or links to build lists/something, where you can put stuff together, to purchase for putting together your own computer?
For what I need to do, I do not see myself having to spend more than 1K.

[newpball]

I also need something that can take advantage of GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro CS6. (still need to research the card in the computer)

For Premiere Pro you are best off with an NVIDIA based card.

If you are only/mostly doing color correction GPU acceleration is not going to help much if anything at all.

Only scaling and some filters work with GPU the rest must be done through a CPU. Also rendering using GPU is very limited, especially since anything before Kepler is obsolete, and if you get a GPU based renderer the quality may not reach the level you get using the CPU only.

For a 4770k/4790k type processor a GTX 760 would be more than sufficient.

[DozerMayne]

thanks for the info.
This model comes with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti/specifications
However, never really heard of this company as far as computers are concerned.
CybertronPC Hellfire-X

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9166785
$880
Best buy does price match of Tigerdirect, so I could get it from them, because they have it too.
However, bestbuy protection plans are expensive.
My wife made me a penny pincher...used to buy the first thing I seen....lol

Goes for over 1K on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/CybertronPC-Hellfire-X-GMHLFRX34BL-Desktop-Blue/dp/B00NC06S3S/re...nPC+Hellfire-X

HOWEVER, it uses AMD, and from what I have read, not recommended for video editing.

[newpball]

However, bestbuy protection plans are expensive.

Protection plans are the retailer's way to cash cow heaven.

[usually_quiet]

Either AMD or Intel can work adequately for video editing. Intel is faster at some tasks and more energy efficient, but more expensive, so the choice often comes down to the budget available for building the PC.

Haswell CPUs, like the i7-4770K, are difficult to overclock to any great extent because manufacturing changes make them more prone to overheating than previous models. People who have them sometimes resort to de-lidding the CPU and applying better thermal compound. The Haswell Refresh or "Devils Canyon" CPUs, like the i7-4790K, have been improved and are less prone to overheating, so you should get one of those if you plan to overclock. You would definitely want an aftermarket CPU cooler for gaming and heavy video work.

A Z97 or H97 motherboard is recommended for the the i7-4790K. [Edit] and the i7-4790 as well.

There are people here who can help with suggestions for cases, motherboards, etc. if you are contemplating building your own PC. I doubt you will save much money (if any) by building your own PC, but you will have the opportunity to choose better parts and get exactly what you want.

[Caple]

It actually has
3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-4790 Haswell CPU
According to: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059535-REG/dell_x8700_3130blk_xps_8700_7_i7_479...164_black.html

That is still not a K version.

So, of course, I would do alot of research, before undertaking the task of building a computer.

Then you would realize that not getting a K version is a waste of money and resources.

Something like the Quadro K2200 or above.

You must be joking, a Quadro K2200 is very low performance.

Get a recent GTX card instead,they will be much faster, you do absolutely not need a Quadro for the work you want to do.

Currently researching...I am not claiming to be an expert on video cards.
Thanks for your info.

I have the video game footage that is recorded via the Elgato Game Capture HD60 @ 1080p 60fps
I also incorporate video of myself, and skits, other stuff. 1080p 30fps.

I do color correction where needed, that is about it. Nothing intensive.
I also need something that can take advantage of GPU acceleration in Premiere Pro CS6. (still need to research the card in the computer)
I was thinking the card that comes in that computer would be enough for what I do.
Currently not alot of time to build one, though I could possibly save.
So far I have gotten away with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 stock in my current computer. But, again, slow to work with sometimes.

I can actually down grade the model by 1TB on the hard drive and save $100. I already have a 5TB external storage for data.

Is there a site, or links to build lists/something, where you can put stuff together, to purchase for putting together your own computer?
For what I need to do, I do not see myself having to spend more than 1K.

www.pcpartpicker.com

[newpball]

Haswell CPUs, like the i7-4770K, are difficult to overclock to any great extent because manufacturing changes make them more prone to overheating than previous models. People who have them sometimes resort to de-lidding the CPU and applying better thermal compound. The Haswell Refresh or "Devils Canyon" CPUs, like the i7-4790K, have been improved and are less prone to overheating, so you should get one of those if you plan to overclock. You would definitely want an aftermarket CPU cooler for gaming and heavy video work.

All true.

For video processing I think you do not want to overclock to the max. No point in saving a few % more speed in rendering and finding out your computer crashed after being 95% complete rending for three hours.

Overclocking is great and the K versions are much better price/performance wise, but the key is to overclock within reason. 4.2 - 4.5, depending on the chip, is reasonable, above is not IMHO. Stability suffers, the chances of odd crashes increase, the chip runs a lot hotter and sometimes it does not actually improve the overall throughput because of are other (new) bottlenecks.

[DozerMayne]

I probably should have added a long time ago, that I also shoot music videos, other video, with my Canon Rebel T3. I do work with Red Giant Magic Bullet Looks 2 software, and stack various internal effects in the editor. Some vignette, cosmo skin softner if needed, color correction, ect.
I also do some Dynamic Link with After Effects for title effects and such.
I also include PIP(picture in picture) that may have some effects as well, for correction/effect of that footage.
Then in some videos I have another thing(randomly rotating subscribe button) in the timeline that plays through out the video.
So, some projects have many things going on. I currently, as I said, have to work from a PAUSED viewpoint, when adding all of these effects.
And rendering in timeline takes longer than I need it too. I would rather work in realtime, without any issues.
I am really considering just building one that can fit my needs. I am thinking those computers may not be adequate as far as needed
graphics card for NLE work.

I would be doing this for about 8 hours a day, some days less, some days not at all.
Full time work putting together, shooting video, editing.

So I guess I am going to be looking into what processor,motherboard, cooling, graphics card, power supply, operating system,
RAM, Case, ect...needed to do this. I would like to spend less than $1000, but could go higher if I had to a little.
I would eventually be passing this one on to my 15 year old daughter, who works with me, so she could do her own stuff as well.
Then building a newer one at a higher price. Depends on what is happening in the future.

Thing is, air flow, and the setup for cooling is a science and art(among other things)..so, I will probably look at other peoples builds, that know what they are doing. If only there was a ready build system that did not have too much bloat, and cost add on.

[usually_quiet]

I'm willing to make up a parts list for a non-over-clocked build for you to look at. What hardware can you re-use from your existing build? Optical drives, add-on cards, hard drives, SSDs? Then there is the question of the OS. Do you want to transfer your existing Windows 7 64-bit license to the new PC? (If your license came with a pre-built PC, that is not an option.) If you need a new OS license, will it be Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8.1? Will it be Pro or Standard/Home?

[DozerMayne]

First off, I assure you no one is wasting there time commenting on this thread.
This computer is happening one way or another, and fast.

I would be starting all new.

My new budget is around $1400

I built this from here:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1GPE1B
$1864 their cost...above my amount to spend, though I
could spend that and go the easy route, saving is winning, sooooo.

They are overcharging for alot of things.
This is also evident by seeing the price of their add ons.
I have a Logitec C920 HD webcam, and got it for $75, yet they want to charge as an add on for accessories $103 LOL, GTFO!

However, that price includes them doing the labor, overclocking and protection plan, 3 year warranty, sound reduction gaskets for powersupply and fans, Neon Lights with 8 speeds(because looking cool is awesome), installed noise reduction on the case.

Slimmed down parts list:
Case: NZXT Source 530 w/ USB 3.0, 10-port fan hub, Side-Panel Window
Extra Case Fans: Enermax TB Silence UCTB14 140mm Performance Cooling with Low Noise Profile Fan
Power Supply: 750 Watts - Corsair CSM Series CS750M 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-K ATX w/ Intel GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PCI, 1 x M.2, 6x SATA 6Gb/s HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
CPU: Intel® Core i7-4790K 4.0 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150 (All Venom OC Certified)
RAM / System Memory: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)
Video Card: EVGA FTW Edition NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)
CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: NZXT Kraken X41 140mm Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ Copper Cold Plate
Extreme Cooling Performance (Dual Enermax TB SILENCE UCTB14 140mm Performance cooling with a low-noise profile Fans (Push-Pull)

Intel Smart Response Technology: 64GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 505 MB/s Write (Single Drive)
Hard Drive: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)
Secondary Hard Drive(edit:not getting, added on accident): 120GB Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 180MB/s Read & 133MB/s Write (Single Drive)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Operating System: Windows 7 64bit

Concerns:
Never tried overclocking, would have to learn that.
Is it easy to intergrate the Intel Smart Response Technology SSD Drive? Plug and play, or more indepth?
Daul Enermax Push Pull configuration and setup for the NZXT Kraken X41 Cooling System(is it simply just an add on/screw on, given the case is NZXT as well)
Fan Controller/Temperature Display: Need one?
Depending on noise level, may have to do some "Noise Reduction" Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels, and more.

I also checked out Digital Storm, but still feel I can get the parts cheaper..
I was also checking out some builds on pcpartpicker..
Put this together..Still need an optical drive, that function was blank
And, mobo choice?
Fan control monitoring?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WwssWZ

[smrpix]

You may want to look at Videoguys.com DIY systems. They give good parts lists and alternatives.

[lacywest]

For 1000 dollars? I wouldn't even consider it.

Have you ever built a computer before? If so and are comfortable doing it, then you can build the exact same thing for way less.

Yep ... I agree ... build it ...

hmmm ... I guess I need to change my PC specs ... I have a quad core CPU now and a new graphics card.

[newpball]

Couple of comments, see below:

Video Card: EVGA FTW Edition NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)

A total waste of money unless you are a gamer. Anything over a GTX 770, and that is already stretching it, is not going to improve things one single second. Please note that most people have totally unrealistic expectations as to what a good GPU card can contribute to the overall throughput both live and at rendering time. In short: almost everybody will be disappointed.

Intel Smart Response Technology: 64GB ADATA SP900 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 505 MB/s Write (Single Drive)

Unless you get a great deal Intel is usually way overpriced when it comes to SDDs. Also, what on Earth are you going to do with 64GB? Don't even think of getting an SSD under 250GB.

If you really want to have fun then buy a Samsung XP941 you can get sequential read speeds up to 1080 MB/s however only a select number of Z97 boards support this as you need M.2 PCIe x4, and if you wait till March Samsung will start selling one with double that read speed. Wait a few months longer and you get solutions overcoming the AHCI bottleneck as well.

Secondary Hard Drive: 120GB Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 180MB/s Read & 133MB/s Write (Single Drive)

180MB/s Read & 133MB/s is a total joke, avoid this!

Personally I think you cannot go wrong with the Samsung 850 EVOs.

Never tried overclocking, would have to learn that.

No issue here, the motherboard you mention has default and sane overclocking options. You should be able to run your CPU at 4.3 - 4.5 without any big issues.

[DozerMayne]

The smaller SSD will not be configured for storage.
* Intel Smart Response Technology combines SSD and Standard HDDs into a single volume for fast performance while maintaining large storage capacities. Intel Smart Response Technology utilizes a portion of your SSD drive for caching frequently used applications to improve your overall system performance and responsiveness. A minimum of 20GB of SSD storage space will be used and dedicated to caching but allocated cache size is adjustable. By utilizing the Intel Smart Response Technology, your system response will outperform HDD-only systems by up to 60%!
Almost like a hybrid drive, but seperated into single units.
Not sure how that is configured/setup,but I get the concept of improved response.

Agreed on the Samsung 850 Evo

[usually_quiet]

Before I found out about the new budget, I was going to suggest a Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H ATX motherboard. It would still work fine for an overclocked system and is a little less expensive than the ASUS board under consideration. There are fewer complaints about it at newegg.com than there are regarding the ASUS Z97-K.

[DozerMayne]

[QUOTE=newpball;2369016]

If you try to monetize on captured games on Youtube you may get yourself into serious copyright troubles.
Just saying.

Not true. Been doing it for years.
As have many others.
Mainly Call of Duty, but you can for any game on console.

Simply check out Whiteboy7thSt, Ali-A, others with millions of subscribers.

One of the main reasons the PS4 has onboard video capture card now, and allows you to use their
editor, and upload directly to youtube.
However, its low quality 4mbps @ 720p.

Anyway, again, no expert in video cards..
Why would Nvidia recommend Quadro cards for Premiere Pro CS6, for video editing, yet the specs seem low for the price
compared to a GeForce GTX card meant for gaming?

I do not intend to game on this PC. Strictly editing video. I sometimes have multiple camera angles running, that I switch between(music video editing). Each video and clips may have their own effects, correction, ect.
I do not want choppy playback, and want to be able to scrub with no problems.
I want something that can take advantage of H.264 acceleration/processing.
Some video I have is in .mts format. I also have a Replay XD1080 head cam that does another format, .mov I believe.

[newpball]

Why would Nvidia recommend Quadro cards for Premiere Pro CS6, for video editing, yet the specs seem low for the price
compared to a GeForce GTX card meant for gaming?

Well, sorry for stating the obvious, but it is because they want to make money. Go to a car dealer and ask him if you should buy the top model they have ready for sale at their showroom.

Quadro cards are more reliable, not only in terms of durability but GPU processors do on average make more errors than CPUs, basically the best of the best chip batches go into the Quadro cards. Also NVIDIA intentionally cripples the GTX cards with respect to high bit depth calculations.

At any rate unless you render high bit videos and send your hardware bills to Pixar or the likes I would not buy a Quadro card.

[DozerMayne]

Why would Nvidia recommend Quadro cards for Premiere Pro CS6, for video editing, yet the specs seem low for the price
compared to a GeForce GTX card meant for gaming?

Well, sorry for stating the obvious, but it is because they want to make money. Go to a car dealer and ask him if you should buy the top model they have ready for sale at their showroom.

Quadro cards are more reliable, not only in terms of durability but GPU processors do on average make more errors than CPUs, basically the best of the best chip batches go into the Quadro cards. Also NVIDIA intentionally cripples the GTX cards with respect to high bit depth calculations.

At any rate unless you render high bit videos and send your hardware bills to Pixar or the likes I would not buy a Quadro card.

Thanks for the response, was obvious about the marketing part of course, figured that.
Going to do some research on everything video cards so I can be up to speed on some things.

[newpball]

Going to do some research on everything video cards so I can be up to speed on some things.

I think the sweet spot is a GTX 760/770 (4GB instead of 2GB would be nice as some effects may not work with 2GB if the video resolution is too high but that is more an issue in case of 4K).

[DozerMayne]

Thanks,
What is up with GTX being made by various companies? Hard to choose a 760 with so many..
Example:
EVGA FTW Edition and regular EVGA
Some by ASUS, Gigabyte,MSI(people keep saying they returned their EVGA for this one), ect. ect..

I am guessing they are all just taking there hand at incorporating nvidia technology or something.

As far as reviews go, I can tell some are from competitors, and some are from the company themselves, praising their product. Even though it may
say Verified Purchaser, you can tell instantly by the description and depth, it is someone who works for the company.

[Yanta]

I will be getting a new computer for video editing....

I would just like to add my 2 cents worth. I mean no disrespect. Indeed, I respect your opinions and choices. I offer this information purely from my experience over 30 years in IT.

I have worked for large and small IT departments. I have always been a IT hobbiest and enthusiast since the first PCs were released way back in 1981 (I had been in IT 5 years by then). I have worked with HP, Compaq, Dell, IBM (Lenovo) and others.

From my experience, these name brands are overpriced and underspec'd. Always have been always will be. They try to make them sound like they are nice, bit when you dig into depth they are generally average at best.

I have built thousands of PCs in my time, and it is my belief that building your own is the best way to go. If you are not sure of the best options find a friend or someone you can trust. With all due respect to the stores, they want to sell you as much as they can with the biggest profit margins they can and they may not always have your best interests at heart.

Again, with all due respect.

Tanya

[usually_quiet]

Thanks,
What is up with GTX being made by various companies? Hard to choose a 760 with so many..
Example:
EVGA FTW Edition and regular EVGA
Some by ASUS, Gigabyte,MSI(people keep saying they returned their EVGA for this one), ect. ect..

I am guessing they are all just taking there hand at incorporating nvidia technology or something.

The most important components on a video card come from NVIDIA or AMD, but yes the company that builds the video card is responsible for putting them on a circuit board, adding fans, heat sinks, etc. Some companies may tend to use better fans, or design better heat sinks than others, or tend to have better Q.C. for their manufacturing process. However, it is true that a company with a good reputation will sometimes make a bad product, or suffer an overall decline and fall out of favor. ...or the reverse can happen and a company with a mediocre reputation might make one really good design.

I read reviews at respectable websites like Tom's Hardware and AnandTech if I am researching video cards, as well as customer reviews.

As far as reviews go, I can tell some are from competitors, and some are from the company themselves, praising their product. Even though it may
say Verified Purchaser, you can tell instantly by the description and depth, it is someone who works for the company.

I don't think that you can really say that with much certainty. Yes, there definitely are big-name PC parts makers that have employees monitoring reviews of their products at places like newegg.com, who try to work with dissatisfied customers by posting an official reply. However, some products/companies seem to attract obsessive fans and there are some knowledgeable customers who enjoy writing detailed reviews.

[lacywest]

[/QUOTE]
If you try to monetize on captured games on Youtube you may get yourself into serious copyright troubles.
Just saying.[/QUOTE]

I have posted a lot of videos on youtube ... and over a year ago I posted a video and I had some nasty warnings from Youtube ... relating to closing my YouTube account ... but I did behave and I currently don't have any strikes against me. Might have been Bryan Adams ... I posted a video of him doing a outside concert performing ... Everything I do ... I do for you ... he he he ... I definitely changed it and geez ... it got yanked ... real quick. I cannot find no version of this performance on YouTube ... it was a VH-1 broadcast.

I do post videos still ... and I recently had one ... that lasted a few hours and poof ... Youtube told me it has been blocked ... World Wide ...

I'm surprised that this video has not been blocked ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mNFjUyHek .... this came from the pilot of ... The Flash ... months before it actually aired on TV. It has over 40 Thousand views ...

I had a video of Cher singing on TV [I recorded it with my outside antenna] it was in HD with no flash flood ticker tape warning on it [someone else had the same video and it had a storm warning on it]. And a few days later ... it got blocked.

I have about 3 videos of my wife ... Margie and I ... getting married and because "Unchained Melody" plays in the wedding right after we kissed ... and I did enhance / edit the video so that the song continues to play while showing photos of Margie and I ... these videos are blocked in some countries ... one of them being ... Germany ... it's like ... WTF ...

Here is a video of a performance with Martina McBride with Tim McGraw ... on Youtube ... I am the only one on YouTube that has this performance looking and sounding this nice. It came from a VHS Tape I recorded back in October 2001. It has ... 210,802 views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga5vElu3qFo