[TheMurph16]

Hey all, need some advice.


I'm looking at purchasing a custom built computer and I have two options presented to me. I'm needing it for editing HD footage using Cineform Neoscene, Sony Vegas Pro 9, Adobe After Effects CS4, and maybe Magic Bullet Suite 2009.

I need a computer upgrade that can handle this, but I have no idea what would be better between the two options I have.

Option A:

3.0 Ghz Intel P4 Dual Core procssor and fan

Asus P5Q Motherboard capable of upgrading to Quad Core and 16 GB of DDR II Ram, with built in LAN and Surround sound

Asus EAH4650 1 Gig DDR II HDMI/DVI Video card

4 GB DDR 800 Mhz RAM

CD/DVD Burner

500 GB Seagate Pipeline 7200 RPM Hard Drive

Mid-ATX Case w/ 500W Thermaltake power supply


Option B:

Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/HDMI Motherboard. Capable of 3 Way SLI w/ Nvidia discrete graphics,

capacity of 16 Gigs DDR2 RAM, AM3 CPU w/ built in 7.1 Stereo surround sound,

10/100/1000 LAN

2.6 Ghz AMD Phenom Tri Core processor.

Katana III radiator style heatsink and fan

4 gigs of RAM: 2x2gigs DDR2 800Mhz Corsair XMS2 Memory

Western Digital 500 GB 7200 RPM Sata Hard drive

LG 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD Burner

Azza Mid tower with Thermaltake 500W power supply

---
So thoughts, opinions, help?
Is a tri-core processor with a lower cpu better than a dual core with a higher cpu?

Option B doesn't come with a video card, so I would be spending a $100 more for a video card for it.

It's for an indie film, so budgets are important to us, and these two are the best we could find in our budget.


I would appreciate any and all help you can provide.

Thanks

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Realistically for video editing you should be looking at two hard drives absolutely minimum. Regardless of the rest of the machine, things will get very slow if you only use one drive to do everything on.

These are not the only two options; you can build anything you want if you spend enough money.

For HD video get the biggest hard drive(s) you can get your hands on. HD video eats hard drive space like there is no tomorrow. Raw footage will take up gigabytes and gigabytes. Compressed video less so but obviously the more you compress it the more it looks mushy.

You'll also need a decent graphics card and I wouldn't personally go for less than a triple core, preferably quad, the clock speed isn't important but preferably above the 2.5Ghz mark if possible. Also chuck as much memory as you can at it and if more than 4Gb, a 64-bit operating system is essential. Do verify your editing software works in a 64-bit environment first.

[Neil Jones]

Realistically for video editing you should be looking at two hard drives absolutely minimum. Regardless of the rest of the machine, things will get very slow if you only use one drive to do everything on.

These are not the only two options; you can build anything you want if you spend enough money.

For HD video get the biggest hard drive(s) you can get your hands on. HD video eats hard drive space like there is no tomorrow. Raw footage will take up gigabytes and gigabytes. Compressed video less so but obviously the more you compress it the more it looks mushy.

You'll also need a decent graphics card and I wouldn't personally go for less than a triple core, preferably quad, the clock speed isn't important but preferably above the 2.5Ghz mark if possible. Also chuck as much memory as you can at it and if more than 4Gb, a 64-bit operating system is essential. Do verify your editing software works in a 64-bit environment first.

[TheMurph16]

Well I've got a 1Tb hard drive to put in to whichever machine I buy in addition to the 500gig on them both.

So a tri-core 2.6Ghz is probably a better option than a dual core 3.0Ghz? I know a quad core would be the best to go with and that an Intel i7 (I think that is what they're called) would be the best thing to go with, but until I get more money this is what I've got to choose from.

The OS will be a a home premium Windows 7 64bit.

[mike4]

you should really consider getting a better graphics card and processor. How much do you have to spend?

[TheMurph16]

I have about $400 to spend.

Both are $300, Option B with a one gig ddr3 card will be $400.

[mike4]

Sorry for the extremely slow reply. Im not sure which one to pick. Both seem out of date sadly.