building new video pc

[grbenny]

Howdy,

After several months of frustration trying to use the Canopus ACEDVio card on my current PC - won't go into all the gory details - I've decided to build a new system dedicated to video. I've done a bit of research and queried several video people, but I'd like some input on what I'm doing. Here's a list of potential components that I'm considering. Opinions and advice is welcomed!

ASUS P4C800e Deluxe mobo
Prescott 3.0 Ghz cpu
1 GB PC3200 Infineon memory
Jaton GeForce MX4000 128 MB w/dual monitor
Pioneer A07 DVD burner
80 GB WD Caviar system drive
160 Gb WS Caviar video drive
430 watt Thermaltake PS
Win XP Home

My biggest concern is with the video card. I don't want to blow it when I fork over the $$!

What do you think?
Gary

[avih]

the video card is a mid-low range. it should be more than enough for any video application you'll throw at it. if you're into gaming too (and the other system spec would make a nice gaming machine ;) ), then perhaps a better video card would fit nicely.

also, if you want to capture video, i don't think this card has a video-in input. there's an MSI FX5600-VTDR128 (http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030714/vga_card_guide-70.html) card that has vivo and is an excellent value for it's price. it has vivo too.

cheers.

[grbenny]

Originally posted by avih
the video card is a mid-low range. it should be more than enough for any video application you'll throw at it. if you're into gaming too (and the other system spec would make a nice gaming machine ;) ), then perhaps a better video card would fit nicely.

also, if you want to capture video, i don't think this card has a video-in input. there's an MSI FX5600-VTDR128 (http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20030714/vga_card_guide-70.html) card that has vivo and is an excellent value for it's price. it has vivo too.

cheers.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not into gaming. I plan to use this PC for video applications only. In your opinion, would a higher end card be of benifit? I don't what anything to be lacking in this system! As far as capture, the ACEDVio is a capture card. It's basically a firewire card with analog i/o as well. When you capture with it, the PC sees it as DV i/o. I don't plan to install any other PCI cards.

This card was recommended but I'm not familiar with the brand. Do you have experience or knowledge about Jaton?

Thanks a lot!
Gary

[avih]

i don't have any experience with Jaton. if the video card is going to be used for display only, that you should be fine with your choice.

cheers.

[grbenny]

Originally posted by avih
i don't have any experience with Jaton. if the video card is going to be used for display only, that you should be fine with your choice.

cheers.

OK, thanks a lot! I appreciate the help.

Take care,
Gary

[Soulhunter]

Originally posted by grbenny
Prescott 3.0 Ghz cpuCare about good cooling then... ;)


Bye

[twist3d]

your system looks good.
i'd go for sata-raid 0 for hd's, 80+80gb or 120+120gb (fast write/read for video processing) + maybe one additional 7200rpm ide/sata drive for output/input jobs (from raid>ide, ide>raid).

[grbenny]

Originally posted by Soulhunter
Care about good cooling then... ;)


Bye

What a coincidence! I was just reading the thread about the "preshot" cpu, and that's exactly what I was caring about! Too many decisions to make: a beefed up cooling system to accommodate the Prescott, bag the Prescott and go Northwoods, forget Intel and go AMD. If I chose the AMD route, what mobo would you recommend?

Thanks,
Gary

[Soulhunter]

Originally posted by grbenny
If I chose the AMD route, what mobo would you recommend?IIRC, the boards with VIA KT880 Chipset are nice but the nForce2 Ultra ones are even better... :rolleyes:


Bye

[nFury8]

Originally posted by Soulhunter
IIRC, the boards with VIA KT880 Chipset are nice but the nForce2 Ultra ones are even better... :rolleyes:


Bye
@Gary:
Agreed. For the Athlon XP platform, mobos based on nForce 2 Ultra is as sweet as they can get.
You might want to compare Abit's and Asus' offerings for the XP.
Should you decide to go the Athlon64 route, its pretty much on a level field chipset-wise, considering there's no more northbridge in the traditional sense. Just go for the mobo that's feature-rich and sweeter on the pocket.
As for Prescott, its a very hot issue. Northwoods are still a good choice if you go Intel.

[grbenny]

Originally posted by twist3d
your system looks good.
i'd go for sata-raid 0 for hd's, 80+80gb or 120+120gb (fast write/read for video processing) + maybe one additional 7200rpm ide/sata drive for output/input jobs (from raid>ide, ide>raid).

The reason I'm using the WD IDE's is because I already own them! As $$$ permint, I plan to add more.
Thanks,
Gary

[grbenny]

Originally posted by nFury8
@Gary:
Agreed. For the Athlon XP platform, mobos based on nForce 2 Ultra is as sweet as they can get.
You might want to compare Abit's and Asus' offerings for the XP.
Should you decide to go the Athlon64 route, its pretty much on a level field chipset-wise, considering there's no more northbridge in the traditional sense. Just go for the mobo that's feature-rich and sweeter on the pocket.
As for Prescott, its a very hot issue. Northwoods are still a good choice if you go Intel.

For future upgrades, do you think the Intel or the AMD would be better. Some of the reading I have been doing seems to indicate that future releases of Prescott will have addressed the heat issue. Others have also said that future releases of editing software will be optimized for Prescott - don't recall which apps though.

Thoughts on this?

Gary

[avih]

i wouldn't think of upgrades. the future is very unclear. many socket types, PCI express, 64/32 bit, etc etc etc.

if u need a new comp now, buy what best fits you NOW. you're going to buy new components anyway in 2-3 years. imho don't bother yourself with such issues, you'll never buy a computer this way ;)

my $0.02
avi

[avih]

from the inquierer (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15937)

[grbenny]

Originally posted by avih
from the inquierer (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15937)

Thanks for the link. Waiting a couple of months isn't an option for me. Looks like the best buys are P4 3.0 and AMD 64 2800. The PCI Express angle is real interesting buy guess I'll have to just build a new PC when the time comes. Interesting artice about PCI Express:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1087

Not being the most technical guy around, I wonder what is most important to me, running Premier Pro native without any special editing card: 64 bit, hyperthreading, 800 Mhz FSB, 1 gb cache, something else?

Take care,
Gary

[nFury8]

Originally posted by avih

if u need a new comp now, buy what best fits you NOW.

Amen, brotha.

Originally posted by grbenny
Not being the most technical guy around, I wonder what is most important to me, running Premier Pro native without any special editing card: 64 bit, hyperthreading, 800 Mhz FSB, 1 gb cache, something else?

Although the Athlon64 supports SSE2 now (Athlon XP supports only SSE), its obvious that Premiere Pro has specific code optimizations for the P4 since its already known that this version of Premiere was completely rewritten to take advantage of the P4's architecture, specially its much-hyped hyperthreading. But bear in mind that the Athlon64's main strength now architecture-wise is its integrated memory controller, not the 64-bit hype, well not yet anyway, along with the internal improvements to its core design. So with A64, your mem controller runs at the core clock speed of your processor. Now this has an impact on your specific app since video editing is mostly memory bandwidth intensive, then there is the added benefit of 64-bit capability when the time comes, added future-proofing in that sense. Hyperthreading on the other hand is only beneficial to the P4, to compensate for its unused clock cycles due to its very long pipeline, in effect its just a latency-hiding trick but still it works. So you have to balance the features of both platforms: A64's 1Mb cache against the P4's 512Kb (Northwood), Hyperthreading against integrated memory controller, and of course price-performance ratio.

[grbenny]

Yep, that nails it! Thanks a lot for the help!

Take care,
Gary