Spec Suggestions / Advice on a Prosumer Level Workstation

[susantexas1]

Hello, new friends

I'm a new-to-posting Ulead customer with a good Dell credit account. I'm looking to purchase a desktop or workstation capable of handling prosumer level video editing and production. Essentially, I'm ready to begin small post production projects for friends and small businesses, for fee.

Based on my limited knowledge of hardware in general, I would greatly appreciate feedback that pretends money is no object, wink wink, primarily related to speed, then quality, then storage, then safety of data (in that order).

Like most folks, cost will in reality be a factor; however, just as an FYI and for comparison-sake, if I were to have Dell put together a dedicated Ulead video editing workstation that was THE FASTEST configuration they are capable of that would be the BEST/FASTEST as a dedicated Ulead Video Studio 9 post production machine, what would those general specs look like? (related to speed)

I've researched enough to understand that the combination of processing power, hard drive / storage space, available memory (RAM) and dedicated graphics are key when capturing, editing then rendering / authoring a DVD production, right?

So, ok. I could go out and get Dell's Precision 670 Workstation from their Small Business Dept. w/64-bit capable Xeon dual core processing; a single 500GB hard drive or double that or triple that, etc.; go with RAID or non-RAID (I would probably shy away from RAID configs. as overkill - not to mention data loss risks related to RAID 0); 4GB of memory or more; that hi-fallutin' (a good Texas term) 512MB nVidia force *800 dedicated graphics card - you get the picture.

Alternately, I could purchase a Dell XPS 600 Desktop which comes with a Pentium processor (though still dual core) rather than the Xeon dual core processor; same hard drive size(s), close on the graphics, same memory, etc.

My true question is this: IF money were no object, limited to a Dell machine, what would the specs look like that affect speed (first and foremost)?

Many thanks in advance for suggestions, and my apologies if I've posted incorrectly or have not been clear or anything else wrong.

Thanks!

[GuyL]

If I wanted a machine specific to video editing I would build my own to my spec, especially if money was no object. I wouldn't buy a prebuilt system.

[susantexas1]

Gosh, that was a fast reply - thank you!

I understand what you're saying, but I'm interested in knowing the "what if money were no object" specs for a blazing Ulead post production workstation limited to a purchase from Dell (for reasons I won't bore you with).

In that scenario, any recommendations?

Thanks!

[GuyL]

I don't know the Dell models that well but here is my suggestions if money were no object:

AMD FX60 (Intel equivalent because Dell doesn't sell AMD)
2 GB of DDR 400 RAM
1 Dedicated Drive for Windows XP Professional
1 Decidated Drive for the Windows Swap File
2 500 GB SATA-II Driver in a RAID configuration dedicated to video.
Top Quality DVD Drive - Dual Layer Support
Sound Blaster Audigy 4
ATI All-In-Wonder X1900
2 LCD Displays

You said money was no object.

[maddrummer3301]

Susan,
>>Essentially, I'm ready to begin small post production projects for friends and small businesses, for fee.

>>Based on my limited knowledge of hardware in general, I would greatly appreciate feedback that pretends money is no object, wink wink,
>>primarily related to speed, then quality, then storage, then safety of data (in that order).

You need to purchase a MacIntosh Machine if you want to make money, learn video editing and concentrate on the projects your working on.

If you use a windows based machine you will learn that you should have bought a MAC.

Read about "Final Cut Pro" software.
If you want to make money the question shouldn't be what computer to buy.
The question should be what software to buy.

MD

[susantexas1]

Thanks so much for your feedback, MD. I really appreciate it.

As an aside to my true question which is related soley to hardware spec recommendations LIMITED STRICTLY TO a purchase from Dell (for personal reasons), I'll tell you that I am headed to Dallas next month for Avid training (vs. Final Cut) as I wish to remain Windows based in my work, at least for today.

As a consumer I adore Ulead products and will initially continue doing small productions utilizing Video Studio 9 as I transition into the prosumer market and Avid products.

To this end, I'm attempting to get hardware spec recommendations (only), that are about speed while doing video editing on a dedicated desktop or workstation running Ulead products.

I feel fairly educated about baseline, low-end processing power after months of home use and study; what I'm hoping to get is feedback from fellow Ulead friends about the absolute FASTEST workstation configuration, pretending money is not a concern, that would support blazing capture, edit, render, authoring (obviously technology only goes so far and so fast as of this posting....). Then I could take those specs to Dell and make my purchase decision.

For reasons not applicable to this post, the specs will be applied to a Dell machine only. My question is not in any way related to discussion about non-Ulead software or other hardware manufacturers.

I post here today because this workstation will initially be a dedicated Ulead Video Studio 9 machine, purchased from Dell (non-negotiable). Within that scenario (only) in mind, I'm hoping for feedback about which hardware factors affect, say, speed in rendering. And if money were not a factor, what is the MOST / FASTEST / BEST / GREATEST, etc., etc. I can buy from Dell to do post production with Ulead products?

Thanks again for the input. It is sincerely appreciated!

[erock1]

Susan,
if I had an open pocket or pocketbook and was ordering a Dell (I think Dell is a fab commercial machine, workhorse) this is my choice:

1:Pentium® Extreme Edition Dual Core w/ HT Tech (3.20GHz, 800FSB)
2:Genuine Windows® XP Professional
3:Dual 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX with SLI Technology (you could go to 512MB card costing an additional $1,000! A good Gaming card is a big help for ease of playback before burning. IMHO)
4:2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
5:500GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 250GB SATA HDDs) (you could get crazy and go with 500GB Data Security RAID 1 (2 x 500GB SATA II HDDs) or even crazier and go to a TB!
6:Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
7: Speakers are your choice. I also have not included a monitor choice as that's up to you too.

I hope this helps. Make sure you DO NOT get XP media center as an OS. Don't let Dell push you!

[DVDDoug]

I don't have any specific suggestions, but...

Once you have a digital file, the computer's processing power has no effect on the finished video quality. ...So, don't worry about making a bad choice. A slow computer can be a problem for analog capture... If your computer can't keep-up during real-time analog capture, you can have problems.

A really good monitor, and a reasonably good video card will help. (You don't need a "gaming" video card.) Of course, they have no direct affect on finished video quality either, but you need to know what the final video is going to look like on a TV. I read somewhere that pro's use a calibrated NTSC (or PAL) video card and monitor, because the NTSC color generation methods cannot be accurately duplicated on a VGA/SVGA system.

Don't get an MPEG-only capture card/device. I have a Hauppauge capture card with a hardware MPEG encoder. The hardware encoder is quite good, but there are too many problems editing MPEG. (MPEG is not supposed to be edited... it's an output format.) You might consider a device like this as a 2nd capture device for use when you're not planning any "real" editing. It can save a ship-load of time!

...this workstation will initially be a dedicated Ulead Video Studio 9 machine...

That's a great idea. I have a dedicated A/V machine, and it's nice to have a "clean" system. Also, after experimenting with lots of different A/V programs I've had to start-over and re-format the hard drive a couple of times. No big deal on a new-dedicated system. ...This would have been a major pain if I had to reinstall all of my other programs and restore all of my other documents & email & stuff!

I know you don't want to talk about software, but Video Studio is not "prosumer". You might be getting closer with Media Studio Pro together with the full $500 version of DVD Workshop. I have the feeling that you're not really prosumer unless you have Adobe, Sony, or Final Cut.

[tyamada]

If you want the fastest processer available in the Intel Pentium then this is the one to order, Intel® Pentium® D Processor 955 3.46GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Socket 775, 2x2MB Cache. I would imagine that Dell has a package that includes this processer.

Here is a review: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/sh ... spx?i=2658

[2Dogs]

A dedicated A/v machine is a good idea - but if you have a Dell or HP or any of those "Tier One" pc's, they'll come larded up with all manner of "helpful" resource-hungry software. The best way to have a clean system is to load Windows from it's own install disks - which you don't get with a tier one pc.

Another annoyance with tier one pc's is that they almost invariably come with an o.e.m motherboard, with most of the useful "advanced" features of BIOS disabled. If you really were hoping to get the absolute max from your pc, a custom system might easily extract another 25% of performance thru overclocking.

If you are using Video Studio on it's own, and not multitasking, the amount of installed RAM is the least significant factor, only showing sizeable performance gains when smart rendering.

RAID arrays, although clearly speeding up disk access times, are hard on disk drives. For the slight performance improvement you may see in Video Studio (as opposed to gaming) from using RAID, you might prefer to enjoy the greater longevity of your hard drive lives without it.

Removeable drive bays are a great way to expand a system. Many tier one pc's don't have full size tower cases, however, making it difficult to use removeable bays - although you can of course use USB or Firewire external drives. Those are not quite so convenient, and result in more cable clutter, which may be a concern.

It would be worth trying to get a pc with the faster new Firewire800 - 800Mb/s compared with 400. Also, many motherboards have fairly dismal USB performance - more recent ones using the ULI chipset perform well.

For price to performance ratio, AMD machines are better, but all the Dual Core Intel cpu's mentioned will run VS very well.

As DVDDoug wrote, however, there won't be any bad choices, and I am reminded anyway of driving faster whilst lost - it doesn't get me to my destination any quicker! The only time that you really need a super fast machine is when you apply many filters and overlays, and even then you can run a batch file and render overnight.

You must post details of your luxury Dell system when you get it, though!

Happy shopping!