by callitquits76 17 Replies latest social entertainment
I kind of lost the plot where system spec is concerned back in 2005.
I am looking for a system that can display good graphics, has a fast processor, good RAM allocation for video editing.
Right now I only have 1gb memory and a 1.49 ghz Athlon processor.
Whats the ideal for what I want?
The best practice is to first check the system requirements of the software you're planning to use, remembering these are minimum requirements.
I'm running a dual quad core 2.8 Ghz mac pro with 12 GB ram. Video card has 512 MB ram. I use it for video editing and 3D design and animation. I'm dual booting Mac OS X and Windows 7 64 bit. While video editing is great on this box some of my 3D renders take a long time. I really wish I had 16 cores...
You will never kick yourself for buying too much RAM and a fast processor. Get the most you can afford.
W
Please be more specific about your "video editing" tasks. They're not equal. Thank you.
If you are going to use the computer for gaming, video editing or photoshop editing, then you will need a much more powerful (and expensive) computer.
Go to Google and search for something like "gaming computer".
thanks for the suggestions
It depends on your budget. Use Google > Shop and use the drop down box to
choose prices lowest to highest. Newegg is good.
Get a multicore CPU for video editing more than for gaming (although more of
the newer games, like GTA IV, play better with a good quad core). The best
right now is the 32nm Intel Core i7 980x, which has six cores, but it's about
$1,000. You might instead get the 45nm Intel Core i7 930, which has four cores
and is only about $290. The Core i7 960 is about $560.
(There's talk of graphene CPUs that run 100GHz, but how long till one of those
is commercially available, I have no idea.)
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/04/graphene-defects-could-lead-to-smaller-electronics/
The Samsung PX2370 is supposed to be a good monitor.
Recent buyers' guides
http://techreport.com/articles.x/18747
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/04/13/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-april-2010/1
You might use one of the better hard drives (Western Digital Caviar Black,
Spinpoint F3, 1TB, even the latest version of the Velociraptor?) till SSD prices
come down. Intel promises to make SSD prices half of what they are now when
they go to a smaller nm toward the end of the year, so you might wait till then
for an SSD.
I like the idea of a Silverstone Fortress FT02 for a case--Silent PC recom-
mends it for being especially good at being both quiet and cool for an air
cooled PC. The ProlimaTech Megahalems is recommended at the same site good for
quiet air cooling.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone-ft02
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Case_Basics_and_Recommendations
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
The Nvidia GTX 480 and ATI 4970 are the best, and expensive, GPUs right now.
The Nvidia is better but the ATI is generally preferred because it isn't as hot.
There should be an nm shrink near the end of the year for GPUs, so you might
wait till then to splurge.
Seasonic and Enermax make good power supplies although Corair may be preferred
because it's less expensive.
sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.3dgameman.com/index.php
http://www.anandtech.com/
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php
http://www.bit-tech.net/
http://www.dailytech.com/
http://www.extremetech.com/
http://www.firingsquad.com/
http://gear.ign.com/
http://www.guru3d.com/
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/
http://www.hexus.net/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.madshrimps.be/
http://www.motherboards.org/
http://www.neoseeker.com/
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/
http://www.pcmag.com/
http://www.pcper.com/
http://www.pcstats.com/
http://www.pcworld.com/
http://review.zdnet.com/
http://www.sharkyextreme.com/
http://www.silentpcreview.com/
http://www.softpedia.com/
http://techreport.com/
http://www.tomshardware.com/
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/
http://www.xbitlabs.com
Man I cannot keep up with all this stuff. used to be I had good working knowledge of all the latest technologies but it's moving way too fast for me.
hehehe. Your computer is OLD. If I bought a new computer it would have an i3 Intel CPU and a Seagate hard drive. It would be cheap but upgradable later on when the i7 becomes cheaper. All the Core2Duo chips are pretty much obselete now. Hope this helps...
Ideal is slippery. Ideal can include time and know-how to build vs. buy as a unit, cost, and very specific applications.
Speed is always a question of money. How fast do you want to go?
Are you religious - Mac vs. Windows?
Are you a casual user, a hobby fanatic, or using it professionally every day?
This isn't much of an answer, but it includes what questions you might consider.
Are you wanting to buy an off-the-shelf unit, or build your own to save a bit of money and have better customization?
Are you editing something like standard-def video to go on DVDs, or high-def video?
Do you know what apps you'll be using, and what OS you'll want to install?
