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What parts to use for a video/audio editing computer?

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J

JustinGB

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I am planning to build a computer for someone who is using it for video and audio editing... I was wondering where should I start? As far as speed, platform, etc... I'm not sure how fast i'll need it to be i'm guessing 3-4ghz, pentium... what accesories for pci slots/video cards, should i use? such as tv capturing cards.. not sure about most of them. How much memory... I know i'll need a huge capacity hdd such as a 500g. Any ideas will help, ty very much
 
Look into overclocking:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU
Scythe Infinity/Thermalright Ultra120/Tuniq Tower120 (any one of these three CPU coolers)
Asus P5B Deluxe Motherboard
2x1GB DDR2-800 RAM
3x Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA drives (Setup in RAID-0 for faster performance) [Or perhaps 4x 320GB drives]
Nvidia 7300GT/7600GT OR ATI x1300Pro/x1600Pro (Unless there will be gaming going on with this computer also, if so maybe Nvidia 7900GTO)
any DVD+-RW
any KB and mouse
Whatever size LCD he wants (Higher resolution the better)


I'm not sure what sort of video equipment he'll be using. I'd assume that the camera could just be hooked to the PC by USB or Firewire. If that isn't the case, then you'd have to look into some sort of capture card or something else like that.

On air, you should be able to overclock that E6600 to around 3.6Ghz (which will be nice and speedy for audio/video transcoding.


Perhaps if you could list your budget for this machine, that would really help too...plus if it will be used for gaming or any thing else.
 
TBH I think raided is the only way to go, alsoI think your better off getting far better Specs of the client, if you dont, I think it would be a hard thing to actually occumplish without knowing better then what you have posted.

Video, there are varous equipment that can do it, from a simple method is a simple TV card to some kick a** firewire kit, same with the sound cards.

I always have used the newest soundblasters for myself, and other people, but to be honest, I have foudn the soundblasters to be more then adequate, saying that $1000 AMP, and $1000 speakers will do that for you.
 
What kind of audio/video equipment will your friend be using? Not that the suggestions expressed already aren't good, there is a distinction to be made considering where the audio/video content is coming from. I do alot of video work (HD, miniDV, MPEG2, etc.), as well as audio encoding, and I'm on fairly generalized hardware.

Typically, all you need is firewire, alot of disk space (I have over 1.5 TB of storage and a small 100GB RAID0 with 3 Raptors for muxing), dual core (simultaneous audio and video encoding/decoding or for multithreaded encoding applications), and 2-4GB of memory (more always is better). A decent graphics card is all you need, but hardware MPEG playback is desirable. Good display is definately a plus. If doing capturing from TV or audio equipment, then you just need to look at capture cards to grab what you want - analog, digital, or HD. Most of these take care of audio also, but there are good standalone cards as well (the M-Audio line, as mentioned, is very good).

Good software to make use of all of it is where the real money is spent, but I'm assuming your friend can take care of that part (unless this is a new hobby for them or something).

I don't really support overclocking an audio/video system if it's for professional or family video archiving purposes - it can lead to frame dropping, corruption, sync problems, and other issues. If it's just for fun - go for it.
 
Jon said:
What kind of audio/video equipment will your friend be using? Not that the suggestions expressed already aren't good, there is a distinction to be made considering where the audio/video content is coming from. I do alot of video work (HD, miniDV, MPEG2, etc.), as well as audio encoding, and I'm on fairly generalized hardware.

Typically, all you need is firewire, alot of disk space (I have over 1.5 TB of storage and a small 100GB RAID0 with 3 Raptors for muxing), dual core (simultaneous audio and video encoding/decoding or for multithreaded encoding applications), and 2-4GB of memory (more always is better). A decent graphics card is all you need, but hardware MPEG playback is desirable. Good display is definately a plus. If doing capturing from TV or audio equipment, then you just need to look at capture cards to grab what you want - analog, digital, or HD. Most of these take care of audio also, but there are good standalone cards as well (the M-Audio line, as mentioned, is very good).

Good software to make use of all of it is where the real money is spent, but I'm assuming your friend can take care of that part (unless this is a new hobby for them or something).

I don't really support overclocking an audio/video system if it's for professional or family video archiving purposes - it can lead to frame dropping, corruption, sync problems, and other issues. If it's just for fun - go for it.
Click to expand...

oh okay great, thanks. this advice sounds good... so i can basically get a way with an almost newer computer as long as i have the accesories to s upport it.. as far as software he should be able to provide it, and i belive he has about $1500-2000. He's just starting off, he is going to school for it. He said he'd do video editing and i'm sure he would also need audio. I'm just not sure which capture cards to get
 
Software is what's really gonna kill this. Unless he can get it from his school...even with student discounts it's pricey.
But for a system, E6600 and I'd say 4gb of RAM (2gb is alright, but upgrade to 4 when he gets the cash...so buy 2x1gb sticks), inexpensive mobo that has the features you need (DS3 is what I'd recommend as it has a lot of PCI slots).

Storage is probably the thing that's gonna take the most thought, and that's because of prices, options, and needs.
How much room will he need? Will the data be only stored on hard disk or will he keep old tapes with video/audio? Because if it's only on the hard disk he's going to want to run a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array so he won't lose data.

He can also run a small RAID 0 array to put files/clips that are going to be accessed a lot which will speed up load times for those files.

Also I highly recommend a dual/tri/quad monitor setup. It makes things much easier when video editing. You can run a 20" widescreen and 17" normal side by side which wouldn't cost more than 450, or 2 20" wides would be around 500-600...24" and 20 or 24x2 would takeup most of your budget though.
 
Sound card wise you should go with the SB X-Fi, iv heard many a good review on it and speaker wise you could probably do well with the Logitech X530 or X540s.
 
Soundblaster cards suck for music making, but if all he want's to do is basic eq or other small edits it should be fine (as would a digital output from the motherboard directly). I would advise on getting a real soundcard that is not just intended for gamers like the m-audio Audiophile (or similar).
 
JustinGB said:
I am planning to build a computer for someone who is using it for video and audio editing... I was wondering where should I start? As far as speed, platform, etc... I'm not sure how fast i'll need it to be i'm guessing 3-4ghz, pentium... what accesories for pci slots/video cards, should i use? such as tv capturing cards.. not sure about most of them. How much memory... I know i'll need a huge capacity hdd such as a 500g. Any ideas will help, ty very much
Click to expand...

All that is actually needed, is any decent P-4 or similar system @ around 3Ghz or better, 2gb Ram.
To input video into the compy from any outside source, I would recommend the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-350 or if not so concerned with recording tv but want to input video only the ImpactVCB (about $60.) or the DV-Wizard Pro for about $99.

Sound Card? yeah... anything will do, Even the onboard stuff... but to input at higher quality from ANALOG sources, use at the Very least the SoundBlaster 5.1. Personally, I would just use the Audigy SE for the 7.1 capability. (awww flame me, I like SB Cards..)
storage.. at least 500GB, Especially if you want to store it for any amount of time. Raid 0 works very well, I dont like it myself even though my HTPC is setup to run 1.5TB that way. :)

As mentioned a few posts ago, Actually your software for video/Audio editing is going to be the killer. And that is where all the difference is actually made.

Oh and Defrag like a mofo after every edit, you would be surprised how much Transcoding & editing trashes your drives :D
 
Last edited:
if your building this for someone else - do not overclock, leave it stock. unless you plan to provide support 24/7 if it goes down ot has some quirk in
it.
is this a buisness? or something they do for a hobby ?

Core 2 duo
fast harddrives
2g of ram

video card isnt really an issue.

fast I/O sub system - possibly a raid 0 working drives and a raid 1, or regualr HD for saving data too.
 
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