[kr580]

My computer is going downhill so I'm gettin a new one....

On my computer I will be doing ALOT of Photoshop stuff and a bunch of video editing. Also (hopefully... see bottom of post) video capturing, gaming and TV watching. I just want to know if this computer seems ok for that... I'm guessing it's fine but I want to be safe. I don't know what all this really means except for the RAM and the harddrive.

Here's the deal, customized how I want. Does it seem fit? Is there anything you recommend changing or something that HAS to be changed?



And the real reason for my post:

I want to get an ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT video card. Is this compatible with the above computer from what you can tell? It does have a free AGP slot but I would hate to buy it and figure out something doesn't go together.

Sorry for being dumb.

Thank you! - Kevin

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my opinion, no. Not enough.

Before I get into that, the ATI aiw 9600xt is compatible. Without knowing the motherboard, it is difficult to say if the onboard video can be disabled, so you may lose some of your ram to it. Cheaper motherboards with integrated video and shared ram will take up some ram, and it is not always recoverable.

Now my rationale--and I take you at your word for what you are planning this for.

A LOT of Photoshop stuff and a bunch of video editing, means a huge need for ram...if you were just doing casual photsop and video, I would say you can get by, but with A LOT, you want tons of ram, at least 1gb.

Video editing also takes up tons of disk space. That 80gb is inadequate, and in truth, if you are really doing videoediting you probably want a dedicated drive just for working the video, and a fast drive. A video workstation will typically have a fast raid config for the work in process (if not storing), maybe scsi drives spinning at 10,000rpm.

Again, this is what you say you are going to be doing A LOT of.

The PC is ok for games and tv watching, but again more ram is better and a better videocard would be better, still.

the xt9600 aiw is a good card, but not a great card....if you want to play the latest games in all thier glory (meaning high detail), it is not going to to cut it. the 9600xt will give adequate performace on low detail. But it will be adequate, meaning playable.

[gerryf]

my opinion, no. Not enough.

Before I get into that, the ATI aiw 9600xt is compatible. Without knowing the motherboard, it is difficult to say if the onboard video can be disabled, so you may lose some of your ram to it. Cheaper motherboards with integrated video and shared ram will take up some ram, and it is not always recoverable.

Now my rationale--and I take you at your word for what you are planning this for.

A LOT of Photoshop stuff and a bunch of video editing, means a huge need for ram...if you were just doing casual photsop and video, I would say you can get by, but with A LOT, you want tons of ram, at least 1gb.

Video editing also takes up tons of disk space. That 80gb is inadequate, and in truth, if you are really doing videoediting you probably want a dedicated drive just for working the video, and a fast drive. A video workstation will typically have a fast raid config for the work in process (if not storing), maybe scsi drives spinning at 10,000rpm.

Again, this is what you say you are going to be doing A LOT of.

The PC is ok for games and tv watching, but again more ram is better and a better videocard would be better, still.

the xt9600 aiw is a good card, but not a great card....if you want to play the latest games in all thier glory (meaning high detail), it is not going to to cut it. the 9600xt will give adequate performace on low detail. But it will be adequate, meaning playable.

[Lane Rendell]

And also if your editing video alot that takes a lot of space I advise getting at least 120 GB HD.

[warriorscot]

You would be better building it isnt hard and you can saver alot of money and get exactly what you need.

[warriorscot]

You would be better building it isnt hard and you can saver alot of money and get exactly what you need.

[kr580]

gerryf -
I'm not really worried about RAM. I know it uses alot and if I need to I could always buy another 512 stick... that's an easy fix. And the video editing won't be like full-scale productions. I just do it as a hobby, nothing serious. Also, I have an external 80GB harddrive with 75GB of free space so I'm not worried about the lack of space. Lastly, I only play a couple of 2D games that arn't the best quality as it is so I shouldn't have a problem with the lower quality of the video card.

Lane Rendell -
Like I said above I have an 80GB external so that's a bunch of space. And my video editing won't be serious so I doubt it will be to the scale you imagined.

warriorscot -
I wouldn't know the first thing about how to make a computer. Knowing me I would probably buy a bunch of parts that arn't compatible with eachother and waste $500


Thanks to the 3 of you... you helped alot.

Thanks - Kevin

[warriorscot]

No bother, but building a pc is really really easy, no bother at all and you get the great feeling of actually having built something yourself. You are nervous about doing it but once its done its great. If you can put in ram and a gfx card you can certainly build it with a little advice and research. There are lots of people here who are builders on this site and most of us are willing to give out as much help and advice as people need.
With a little research though you wont need it, check out the pinned toipice on the system building section there is a link to a good building tutorial.

[gerryf]

one point you should be clear on, you cannot "work" well on a video image on the external drive...the usb or firewire port just will not be fast enough. So, you will be working on the 80gb drive and storing on the external...and working on the same drive as your system may prove undesirable.

[kr580]

The deal on this computer fell through...something came up. I'm now looking to make my own computer. It seems easy enough and I know alot of computer experts so they'll help.

Thanks for the replies anyway - Kevin