DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

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Cathy Poole
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:32 pm

DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by Cathy Poole »

Could someone on this forum please help me, and let me know what make of desktop computer I can buy,
off the shelf, in a shop, that will edit HD footage smoothly. It must be a PC and not an Apple.

If it helps, I use Adobe Premiere Elements.

I am very happy with it and do not intend changing that software,
but my computer is now struggling with HD.

Cathy Poole
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John Roberts
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Re: DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by John Roberts »

Hi Cathy,

Computer brands are a little like editors; they are very much down to personal choice (do you like the look of it, how many sockets does it have, do you have a good/bad experience of a particular make etc) but if you take the specification that Col listed in his other thread and pop along to a reputable shop, such as PC World, they should be able to advise you.

My last 2 PC's have come from PC World, but no-one please laugh - I have a local store with knowledgeable staff. I used a Fujitsu Siemens PC for 7 years (and could edit Full HD on Windows XP, 2GB RAM with a single core 3GHz processor) but for the last 2 or 3 years I have used an HP Pavilion with i7-2600 quad core @ 3.40GHz, 8GB RAM and Windows 7. Works a treat. I paid extra for the 5 year warranty (which I've never needed) but that also gives free labour on upgrades: If you want to upgrade RAM or add an extra drive, buy it from their shop and they will install it and set it up for free.

I've only ever used 2 hard drives (can't afford the luxury of 3 or 4) one is the system drive and the other contains all my work. I regularly back up the entire 'work' drive onto a pair of external hard drives as it's the original drive from the Fujitsu Siemens so it's about 10 years old. Still working fine.

Col's specification is for a high grade system and if you can justify the expense of a PC of that spec then you're good to go. But you don't need a Ferrari to go to the supermarket, and you might find that you can get away with a slightly lower spec. Don't skimp on the processor though (get at least an i7 not an i5) because that's the hardest component to upgrade. You can always add extra RAM, a bigger or more hard drives, graphics boards etc. You will need at least 8GB RAM (Windows takes about half of that just to sit there and do nothing) but you might not need an expensive graphics card. I don't have one fitted, and never have had, although I concede the system might work faster with one fitted (I did actually install a mid-priced graphics card at one time but the system and graphics rendering ran slower than it did with the on-board graphics so I ditched it!)

I use the Sony Vegas Movie Studio series, which are renowned for using very little resources when running. Adobe products on the other had are renowned for using a great deal more, so it's entirely feasible that if I were to run Premier Elements on my system, it would run a little slower than Movie Studio does. You mentioned in your other post about rendering times of an hour for a 12 minute film, but that's a bit like 'how long is a piece of string?' Rendering time varies dramatically depending on the complexity of the timeline, special effects, added colour grading plug-ins, how many video and audio tracks you have stacked up etc, and my rendering times are nowhere near yours (mine are slower). But, that doesn't bother me at all - if I want to check out the look of a particular edit or section, I'll just render that section on its own for review. And to set off the PC for an hour or two to render the final edit whilst I go and mow the lawn after spending three months working on a film, is no great hardship for me :D

Hope this helps, and good luck!

PS: I am not a computer expert! :)
ned c
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Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:39 pm
Location: Dammeron Valley USA

Re: DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by ned c »

I use an Asus M51 AC, Intel i7 4770 processor, 16GB RAM, 2 TB internal drive, 250 GB Optical Drive, NVIDIA Graphic card 4 GB, 2 External hard drives, LaCie 3 TB and GTEch 1 TB. Windows 8.1, Software: Vegas Pro 12; Sound Forge Studio, DVD Architect, Roxio Media Creator. A single 27 inch BenQ monitor. Works extremely well and gets heavy usage. I paid about US$1750 for the whole set up.

ned c
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TimStannard
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Location: Surrey

Re: DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by TimStannard »

Hi Cathy,
I understand why you want "off the shelf" but the main brands don't build PCs specifically for video editing. Professionals might buy something like HP Workstations - with Xeon processors and spec them with particular graphics cards etc. but I'm guessing you don't want to go that up market.
If you want purpose built, I'd get something from DVC (http://www.dvc.uk.com/) or this, from Scan ( http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/ ... ed/default )
DVC is regularly recommended among clubs in my area and they specialise in video editing. Phone them up and discuss your requirements with Dick. I build my own systems, last time built around an overclocked motherboard/processor/ram bundle from Scan, but this time I'm likely to buy the model I've just linked to (although with an upgraded video card and I'll a couple of internal hard drives).
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
A.K. Williams
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:03 pm

Re: DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by A.K. Williams »

Hi Cathy, I use Adobe Premiere Elements and when I upgraded to HD went to the same 'builder' as put my first outfit together and told them simply that I wanted a suitable specification designed purely for video editing purposes and left it to them. It came in at just over £900 and that was without speakers/keyboard/mouse/monitors and anything else you might need to complete, I used all that which came with my first set. I did not consider buying 'off the shelf' given the horror stories some people told me they found themselves experiencing as a consequence and have had no problems with this equipment after just over 3yrs. use. Your real problem (apart from cost perhaps) is probably going to be in finding someone competent (and whom you feel you can trust) in order to put everything together for you. Details of the firm I used are as follows:-

Computer Plus Ltd.,
Unit 36, Wellington Employment Park South,
Dunes Way,
Liverpool L5 9RJ

Tel.: (sales) 0151 298 3131

e-mail: sales@computerplus.uk.com

Web: http://www.computerplus.uk.com/

I realise that this might not be much good for you if you live nowhere near Liverpool, but they may have a 'sister' company nearer to you, or may be able to advise you and at least point you in the right direction, in any case good luck with it.

Tony Williams.
Cathy Poole
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:32 pm

Re: DESKTOP COMPUTERS FOR HD EDITING

Post by Cathy Poole »

Many thanks for all the replies and advice on buying a desktop computer for HD editing.

It seems to me that I should buy something like an HP desktop computer, and as long as it has an i7 chip starting with 4XXX, I should be all right.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Just to say that computerplus is no longer trading.

Cathy
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