A guide to a PC's specifcation

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col lamb
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A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

[Colin Lamb regularly updates the detailed specifications he recommends. Read this introduction then go to Colin's most recent update towards the end of this thread. - Editor]

UPDATED PC Specification posted in the mail dated 2nd July 2015.

INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL NOTES

CPU = computer processor, such as Intel i7 quad core (which means 4 CPU's inside one CPU)
GPU = Graphics card, like NVidia GTX 660 which has 960 CUDA cores
MOBO = motherboard, the electronic circuit board that all devices attach to
RAM = the memory used, 6Gb, 8Gb, 16Gb etc the more RAM the merrier
HD = hard drive, magnetic storage, typical 7200 revolution per minute with a capacity of 1Tb
SSD = solid state hard drive, blisteringly fast but more expensive per Gb than conventional HD's

With full HD AVCHD camcorders or HD video capable DSLRs you may find that the old PC is not up to scratch for editing, here is a guide to what to look for. Please note that the information is general, it all depends upon your choice of editing software as to the final configuration of the PC, to give an example Premiere now needs a serious CUDA graphics card and a slower CPU will work OK whereas Edius does not need the CUDA graphics card but as fast a CPU with as many cores as you can afford to get the best out of it.

Please do not ask or post wanting further information on a MAC, my knowledge of a MAC is none bordering on a little.

Lets talk about a system for AVCHD as there is not really much problem with editing SD or HDV. There have been a lot of posts on other forums recently about upgrading PC's and a lot of rubbish talked, especially by suppliers who want to sell PC's and software so tread wisely and spend cash well and with knowledge.

I have been building my own (and friends) editing PC's for fifteen years and so I am well used to the ins and outs of a PC. I built my editing PC just as the Sandy Bridge CPU was released and as such it was a mark one version and best avoided until systems are proven which they are now but I have no need to upgrade my PC, in fact as I am unlikely ever to get a 4k camcorder the only possible reason why I will upgrade in the future is if the Motherboard and/or CPU fails

My PC AVCHD video editing system was built with smooth native video playback with NO PRIOR RENDERING, but since I built my own times have changed and newer faster systems are now available and so it is with these current hardware configurations that I will concentrate upon.

The heart of the system and any system is the motherboard, not the CPU, not the RAM, not the graphics card but the motherboard. The one posted in the latest specification is the one favored one by system builders and is based upon Intel CPU's and chipsets. To handle AVCHD the correct motherboard is key, buying a £500 PC from PC World may not necessarily get the right PC for the task.

You do not necessarily need the hex core CPU I have, the i7 four core CPU's will do the job well enough. There are now a plethora of i7 processors, some may be OK others may not, so please seek advice if unsure.

RAM has to be compatible with the motherboard and Corsair have a system on their website called a configarator where you feed in the make and model of motherboard and they give you the part numbers for various speeds and sizes of RAM, go for the fastest speed. As a guide for each CPU core a minimum of 2Gb RAM is required

Choice of graphics card depends on you editing software, Premiere CS/CC uses its playback engine system to the full with top end graphics cards. it uses the CUDA cores with NVidia GPUs to full effect, the CC version of Premiere and other editing software make more use of the GPUs OpenGL features and these require the latest CPU and motherboard. The same as I have will give the great results but any nVideo GTX model from the 460 up will do. Premiere CS5+ uses the graphics card to process the timeline to give realtime playback therefore the more complex a timeline you generally use the better the graphics card should be, look for the number of CUDA cores, the more the better. For the enlightened ones among you who have Edius and Edius Neo a lesser card will do from the same nVidia family.

Premiere CS/CC users need Windows 7 installed via the 64 bit option/disc. Other software can manage on XP SP3. I have my system on Windows 7 64 bit which is overkill on Edius but it is rock stable, take care upgrading to Windows 8 if you are an Edius user as it may not install unless you have the version 7 release.

As most new motherboards CPC's and graphics cards have very high stable power requirements a new power supply may be needed, go for a well known brand of at least 750Watts.

A boot disc with only the operating system and programes is the best option, have a separate store disk which you keep just for files, documents, images etc. For storing the video a RAID disc array is best, two discs 1Tb each is ideal. Within the disc manager utility in Windows 7 you can specify a RAID disc array very easily. With a RAID two disc array you have the data written altrenatively to one disk at a time, that way you have a very fast read and write data transfer speed which is just the job for AVCHD video files. Also set up the editing software to use the RAID array as the scratch and project disk. Remember to regularly back up all the data on the RAID to a separate single hard drive just in case the RAID throws a Windows wobbler, I'd suggest that you try a system without RAID and see how it goes, if your do not get the playback performance you require set up a RAID and try again

An alternative hard drive setup is as follows, on the boot disk, keep this only for programmes, on the store drive make your "My Documents" folder and the sub folders on this disc and point Windows to use these locations by default, the cache drive is where you point the editing software to use for its preview and scratch files (use it for nothing else), the video drive is where your AVCHD/MOV/1080p video files reside in their own folders per project and this is where the editing software should use as the location of its main project files. Then you really should have a backup drive, a huge capacity disk that you can use as the location for backups of all the other drives.

With these hard drive arrangements you are spreading the system load over a number of drives which will increase overall performance.

Give the specification and part numbers to your system builder and do not accept anything else no matter how hard they argue that xxxxx is better motherboard for if they are not specifically NLE system builders they are not as knowledgable as they should be in our specialist market.

RULES applicable to all NLE PC's and software
1. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
2. Do not assume “It should be OK”, assume the opposite until until you can be sure it is OK
3. Manufacturers and most Suppliers are in business to sell products
4. Mark 1 versions of software and hardware will have major bugs
5. Major upgrades of software will contain bugs
6. Compatible hardware might not be, when you buy a newer version
7. Generally with manufacturers, Technical Support does not.
8. Wait until a product is tested and de-bugged by others before buying
9. Avoid the “starter” editing software systems
10. Always have a current “Image file” of your boot disk
Bonus tip - You get what you pay for!

I produced the above Rules in the late 1990's after years of problems, guess what ............... they are still valid today

Please post a response if you have any queries.

Job done.

Happy editing for years to come.
Last edited by col lamb on Thu Jul 02, 2015 8:13 pm, edited 12 times in total.
Col Lamb
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Dave Watterson
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by Dave Watterson »

Wow! Possibly the most useful single posting I have ever seen here.
Baffling now and then - but fascinating and useful.

As our computers get older and the demands of HD in its various forms get greater we need to be armed with accurate information when we head off for computer shops or to eBay.

I don't want to ask you to do a lot of research, Col, but can you give an idea of the price for each piece of kit you mention - rough figures, not a market analysis?

-Dave
col lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

Many thanks for your kind words about the posting, here we go with details of parts and costs which I have got from http://www.scan.co.uk who are PC and componenet suppliers who just happen to be 15minutes drive away from my home. I have rounded the costs up to the nearest whole pound and for the GPU the prices are for one just below mid point in the cost range.

Motherboards
ASUS P6X58D-E £140.00
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UDR3R Rev 2 £143.00

If you choose another model or manufacturer then the motherboard should be fitted with the LGA 1366 socket and the X58 chipset.

CPU
Intel, core i 7 CPU's, all listed CPU's are quad core unless stated.
All the CPU's listed below will fit with the motherboards listed above.

930 2.8GHz £210.00
940 2.93GHz £387.00
950 3.06GHz £223.00
960 3.2GHz £444.00
970 3.2GHz Hex core £683.00
980X 3.3GHz Hex core £750.00

RAM
ASUS motherboard
6Gb Corsair CMX6GX3M3A2000C9 £145.00
12Gb Corsair CMP12GX3M3A1600C9 or CMT12GX3M3A2000C9 £290.00
Gigabyte motherboard
6Gb Corsair CMT6GX3M3A1866C9 £145.00
12 Gb Corsair CMT12GX3M3A2000C9 £290.00

GPU (graphics card)
nVidia GTX series only, the chosen card manufacturer should be such that the card has at least 1Gb of memory fitted to it.
460 £128.00
470 £195.00
480 £280.00
580 £400.00

Any of these cards will work very well with CS5, the more expensive the card the better it will work with the Mercury playback engine. There are ways of getting the best out of the card for CS5 by adjusting settings, a separate post will detail this if required (its technical). For Edius and other editing software the cheapest card will work more than adequately.

Power supply
750Watt Coolermaster £65.00
850W Corsair £95.00

Do not go for the cheapest power supply, opt for a quality manufacturer.

You can cherry pick the parts above to suit, just make sure that the RAM is compatible with the motherboard.

Regards
Col Lamb
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Dave Watterson
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by Dave Watterson »

Thanks Col - working this out during Christmas is over and above the call of duty !

Just to be absolutely clear...

For graphics cards you are recommending (and showing prices for) nVidia GTX but adding that we COULD use graphics boards from other manufacturers provided they have at least 1Gb memory in them.
The "Mercury Playback Engine" is part of Adobe's suite.

And when you add "Do not go for the cheapest power supply, opt for a quality manufacturer." you are NOT referring to either of the two you mention.

Sorry if this sounds pernickety but most of us are not so well clued up about what goes on under the hood as you are.

NOW ... many people may have a computer which meets some of this spec but not all of it. How do you recommend we, non-experts, work out what our machines contain at present. There are several programs which claim to study a machine and report on what it contains ... are there any free ones you use and recommend? (I am thinking of programs like Everest.)

Appreciative Dave
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by Pqtrick »

This makes excellent reading and in so much detail! Oh! how I wish I was so up to speed. Although those of us who are on the limit of our knowlege, we sometimes feel we are in the Lap of the Gods.

I wonder whether Col Lamb picked up my post some months ago about my Graphics Card driver.
GRAPHICS CARD DRIVER Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:54 pm.

The NVIDA forum and elsewhere is awash with problems with the GT220 Graphics Card and it having 'time out' problems and the computer just freezes.

I note you mention other NVIDA Cards. Some suggestions I have had is replace the one I have with a higher one or to avoid them like the plague! My problem is know what bit goes with what? I have buzz words like update the chipset, change the BIOS, dunk in soapy water, is all Chinese to me! All I need mine for is to stick bit of video together, email and web browsing. I am not blasting aliens out of exisitence.

Oh my computer is almost 12 month old and I wish I had not spent to money on it!
Any new year ideas please?

Pqtrick
col lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

Dave
Editing SD and HDV video should not be a problem for most reasonable specification PC's. For editing AVCHD the rules change and a PC should have a mix of compatible components, that is why PC X works OK, PC Y stutters and PC Z just falls over even thought they have the same processor and similar RAM. Compatible components are the key to a stable system.

For CS5 Adobe recommends the nVidia Quadria graphics cars and the one they use in their demo video costs £2000, I want a full editing system for that. Adobes Mercury Playback Engine (I'll call it MPE) is their system of achieving realtime playback of projects on the timeline in Premiere, what the MPE does is use what is called the CUDA cores in the graphics card to process the information on the timeline, the more expensive the graphics card the more CUDA cores are installed in the graphics card and the more processing it can do. Now I hope that you can see that a cheap card will work OK for straight forward video and for basic effects, but for a timeline full of multi layered video and masses of effects and colour correction then this cheap card will struggle whereas an expensive card with masses of CUDA cores can eat the timeline with no problem.

As I use Edius as my editing software of choice it uses a different system which is more CPU orientated and so the faster and more cores the CPU has the better and also I can get away with a lesser graphics card. Whilst I have the top of the range GTX 580 I do not really need that one for Edius but I do for other software on my PC. What I am saying here is the graphics card you use should come from a compatibility list on the editing software manufacturers website or by recommendation of others who have successfully used a specific card in their PC, you should also find out the motherboard they are using then you have two compatible components.

For editing AVCHD video at present the best motherboards include an X58 chipset in their construction and that chipsets reference is included in the motherboard name such as my ASUS P6X58D-E, for which there are a number of models with each one starting P6X58.... then they have different letters and numbers as they are targetted of specific users. its the ....D-E model that is ours, confusing as **** it can be.

Power supplies, those listed and well established manufacturers, others are ASUS, LianLi, Silverstone, Gigabyte.

There is no need to install programs that look at what the PC contains as it is nearly all there in Windows, to find out more about your PC go into the Control Panel and click on System and there you will find the CPU, and RAM information for example this PC is shown as "AMD Athlon (tm) 64 x2 Dual core processor 6000+ 3GHz" and "4Gb RAM". Now if I go into Device Manager then Display Adaptors I find that I have an "nVidia Geforce 7600 GS" graphics card. To find out what the motherboard is requires opening up the side of the PC and there on the Motherboard (its the large electronic circuit board you see when looking inside) you will find the manufacturers name and model number.

Generally to get the best out of upgrading your PC requires a new motherboard, new RAM and a new CPU and it is these three components that should be the first to change as long as your case, optical drives and power supply is up to the task, there is no definitive answer to these remaining components. My suggestion of changing the motherboard and RAM and getting the cheapest CPU will give a cost effective solution and then change the CPU as the present top of the range ones become cheaper. The big problem in years gone by is that you get a certain CPU and then it is replaced by a much faster version with more cores and unfortunately the likes of Intel also change the type of socket that the CPU requires thus requiring a change of motherboard and RAM, its a vicious circle. To get around this you have to keep an eye on the CPU you want and get it when the price is right and whilst it is still available. A couple of years ago I upgraded this PC (now my general internet PC and ex Editing PC) to a 3GHz CPU from a 2.2GHz, I could fit a 3.3GHz into this motherboard but this particular CPU ceased to be available and even then I had difficulty finding a 3Ghz one that would fit the type of socket on the motherboard.

Pqtrick
I have 15 years of PC building PC's and 23 years experience of using them more or less know them today, Oh how I loved DOS and GEM and Frameworks.

I did not see the graphics card driver posting but graphics card drivers are a pain. Manufacturers only support them for a certain period of time then drop them or at least provide what is termed "Legacy Drivers" which in real terms is a "one size fits all" sort of solution. Your GT card falls into this solution as I am unsure of your current status I cannot be specific, but it may be that your original card driver was automatically updated. If the system worked OK when you first got it and if you have not done so already then try going into Control Panel then into Device Manager and in the Display Adaptor section, select "roll back driver" which is in the Drivers tab.

That is all for now.
Col Lamb
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Geoff Addis
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by Geoff Addis »

I have both Edius 6 and Premiere Pro CS5 running on the same PC. The graphics board used is a GTX460 and there is 12GB of RAM. Looking at the performance of my system on the PPBM5 benchmark site (via the Adobe PP CS5 forum) it is well up with the rest of the others that use more expensive graphics cards and even more memory. Increasing the RAM from 6 to 12GB made a big impact on the performance and I'm in no doubt that having 24GB would do the same. PP CS5 seems to be very stable and is now a real contender to E5, but E5 still has a slightly better real time performance and requires a lot less costly PC. PP CS5 does have the advantage that it integrates well with AE, Encore and Soundbooth (although I prefer to use Nuendo for my audio work).

Geoff
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

I thought that it was time that I updated this post since there is a new chip on the block.

Intel now have their Sandy Bridge range available which from our editing requirements give us 4 processors in one CPU that is cheaper.

It is expected that even better ones will be released later this year/early next which have six and eight cores.

8 cores is mouthwatering!!!!!!!!!!!

The cost is very favourable when compared to an i7 9xx CPU, £200 against £700.

Sandy Bridge CPU's are very good at overclocking, now this is increasing the set speed of the CPU from for example 3.4GHz to 4.5GHz. Now if you do not understand overclocking then do not even consider trying to DIY, buy a ready made system already overclocked. It is when overclocked that they are proving to be blazingly fast.

Now the downside, Sandy Bridge CPU's have not yet proved themselves when used for editing so they are very much a mark 1 version.

I would expect that within a couple of months they will have been extensively used and shown their worth.

Initially there has been an issue not with the CPU itself but with another chip on the motherboard.

If you are considering a new PC or upgrading your own then do start a new thread asking for advice before parting with your cash.

Keep watching this post and I'll update it in weeks to come.
Col Lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

Time to update this thread.

More and more SandBridge based systems are being built however there is still a but which stops me recommending them as first option systems.

I would not recommend using them for self builders as other actions have to be taken to get them running efficiently.

There has been motherboard issues, and a new generation of "Z" chipsets have just been released.

These have the potential but I'd still stay clear of SandyBridge systems for another 6 months or so.

My recommendation is still to go for i7 9xx based CPU systems similar to my own PC's specifcation below
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TimStannard
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by TimStannard »

FWIW I've been editing on a Sandy Bridge i7 2600K running at 4.7GHz since February and have had no issues - aside from the fact Intel announced the problems with the chipset two days after I'd bought it :roll:
The system is self built to some extent but I bought a CPU/Motherboard/RAM re-overclocked bundle from Scan. The premium wasn't that significant and it means that they have the hassle of tweaking the system and burn testing it rather than it taking up my time. Of course this was a hassle when it came to returning it for a replacement motherboard, but that's the price I paid for being an eary adopter of SB.
Incidentally the systm only has 8GB RAM - stability is a trade off between how much RAM you can have and how much you can o/c the processor. After pestering the boards asking specifically about video editing (it is the slickness of the editing/previewing that matters to me - shaving a few minutes off the render times matters little, though I'm sure it would if I made a living out of this) the answer was I was better off with the vastly increased clock speed than the extra RAM. If RAM becomes an issue in the future, I can always add some and reduce the clock speed.
My previous system had RAID 0 for the capture drive, but I used to live in permanent fear of not just a disk dying (and losing data from ALL disks in the array) but also the RAID controller dying and me not having the wherewithall to reconstruct the array on another controller - it just introduces another potential point of failure.
So this time I decided not to and I've noticed no difference at all. Admitedly I've not captured any HDV or any of the pro formats (and am not likely to) but it copes with AVCHD (1440 1080i) footage perfectly happily.
Now I'm hardly pushing its capabilities it as I mostly work in SD using Vegas Pro, but it does feel silky smooth :D
Tim
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col lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

Tim

Glad you have a stable system, Scan are a good firm to deal with I have used them for years and only just called in there this afternoon to pick up a 2TB hard drive for my backup (i live 15 minutes away from them). If you go into the shop it is about the size of a High Steet Dixons and packed with demo kit and a driving games setup to die for with tripple monitors, motion seat, controls etc

The initial problem with Sandy Bridge CPU's was not with the CPU itself but with the MOBO chipset, the new "Z" chip is looked on as the one to go for but it is still very early days for it.

From time to time I overclock my hex 980X 3.3GHz CPU to 4.5GHz and you can almost feel the AVCHD files being fried, it is so fast at encoding.

Did you know that in Windows 7 you can use Disc Manager to set up and configure a RAID system, that is what I have done twice in my PC. A striped RAID for the AVCHD files and as an edit scratch disc and anothe mirror RAID for backup. I frequently backup the striped RAID to the mirror RAID because I am neurotic about losing data, I also have a winstars plug in system attached to the PC and backup again to a seperate 2Tb drive which is now full hence buying yet another.

Back to your system........can you please post the specification........Motherboard, Graphics card etc.
Col Lamb
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TimStannard
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by TimStannard »

col lamb wrote: The initial problem with Sandy Bridge CPU's was not with the CPU itself but with the MOBO chipset,
Indeed. "aside from the fact Intel announced the problems with the chipset two days after I'd bought it "
col lamb wrote: the new "Z" chip is looked on as the one to go for but it is still very early days for it.
My board was simply replaced with one with the revised P67 chipset (couldn't really expect a different chipset family)
col lamb wrote: Did you know that in Windows 7 you can use Disc Manager to set up and configure a RAID system, that is what I have done twice in my PC.
Now you mention it, I do recall that. But i haven't trusted RAID in software since a bad experience with system drives mirrored in software on a NT4 server a few (OK, aboyt 14) years back.
col lamb wrote: Back to your system........can you please post the specification........Motherboard, Graphics card etc.
Sure:

Intel i7 2600K o/c to 4.7GHz
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 (revision - B3)
2 x 4GB Corsair Memory Vengeance DDR3 clocked at 1600 MHz
Alpen Matterhorn CPU cooler

(Above all overclocked and soak tested by Scan)

Nvidea GeForce GTS 450 (1GB) - not that this makes any difference with Sony Vegas although it does have CUDA this is only utilised if encoding using the Sony AVC codec. Whisch (a) I dont and (b) tests on the Sony forums suggest on a fast CPU system you're better off using the CPU anyway!

BlackMagic Intensity Pro hooked up to a Toshiba 19" HD TV for monitoring (not sure that I've set this up right though as this has not given me the sort of high quality monitoring I was expecting)

ViewSonic VP2365wb 23" Widescreen Monitor (lovely!)
Viewsonic VP930 19" 4:3 monitor (used to be lovely but seems jaded beside the new one)

A variety of 7200 rpm SATA 2 hard drives (mostly Samsung Spinpoint F1s of varying sizes), three permanently attached as system, capture and data drives with the others in a caddy.
Run of the mill Optiarc DVD re-writer

Antec Sonata Case with just one 120mm fan.

Would be super silent quiet apart from the fan on the graphics card. i couldn't find a card with 2 x DVI which had passive cooling (my previous card a GT7600 which did this nicely thank you and would have been perfectly adeqyuate had given up the ghost)

Win 7 Pro 64 bit. Sony Vegas Pro (64 bit)
Tim
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation Oct 2011

Post by col lamb »

Times have moved on an its update time.

I can now recommend Sandbridge processors and associated compatible equipment. The new CPU has been out now for a few months and systems have been built and proved to be stable. There are some technical limitations of systems based on these CPU's but there are many more advantages, speed and cost being the two most important to us.

It is important that the unlocked version of the CPU is used as systems based on these have successfully been what is called overclocked from the base 3.4 to well over 4GHz, so you can imagine what this speed increase will do to your rendering and output times.

So here is a specification for a basic AVCHD full HD video-edit PC: -

Sandybridge Sandy Bridge i7 2600K 3.4Ghz CPU it must be the unlocked version

8G RAM which must be compatible with the motherboard I recommend Corsair Memory part no CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8
or
16Gb RAM CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard

WIN7 64 premium or ultimate

Boot Hard disc for programmes only (not used for storage or as a scratch disk) c500Gb

Video hard drive 1Tb

Hard drive for storage/backup 2Tb

Blu-ray recorder drive

Graphics card , nVideo GTX family, actual model depends upon your editing software.

The processor has 4 cores and so far has been proved to be very fast in editing and especially encoding

If you vary the above spec make sure that the motherboard has the "Z" chipset and compatible memory is used.

Do not use Western Digital "Green" drives they are to slow, always use 7200rpm drives

IMPORTANT NOTE
This system is for editing native AVCHD video, editing lower resolution video does not require such a high spec PC.
Be advised in early 2012 the next generation of CPU is to be released, this will be the IvyBridge CPU range and it should be more advantageous to use this once the systems based on this processor has been proven. So if you can wait I'd advise you to do so.
Col Lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by col lamb »

It is nearly Christmas and Santa may be thinking about a new PC for you.

Since my last update thnigs have moved on again.

Hard disk prices have doubled due to floods in the far east leading to a shortage and probably a considerable amount of profiteering

A lot of Sandy Bridge systems have been produced based on the quad core CPU and Motherboards with the Z68 chipset, if you are considering one of these then do ensure you follow the system guides and get one from ASUS or Gigabyte

The latest 6 core Sandy Bridge CPU's are now available but cost between £500 and £850 so are very expensive.

New motherboards are now available with the X79 chipset but as yet these are not fully proven but offer great performance.

My original specification is still available and it is what is in my PC, it has functioned flawlessly for over a year now and it does every thing I want an editing system to do

All the best for the festive season
Col Lamb
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Re: A guide to a PC's specifcation

Post by billyfromConsett »

I've been asked to plan an editing rig for HDV and Adobe CS4. I'm thinking of going for a value Intel I5/I7 quad core rig, with Asus mobo, 8gb of Corsair ram and three 7200rpm hard drives. An Nvidia graphics GTX card, LG blu-ray writer with Win 7 64bit should complete the rig.

I edit AVCHD and don't use a raid - I've found no real need for a raid, just more risks with them, so have left them alone.
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