# Video Editing PC For Under $700 With Rebates



## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

So I'm in need of help making a video editing computer for a friend (with light gaming capabilities) for under $700 with rebates. He doesn't want to overclock it and the only thing that is worth reusing from what he has is a terabyte seagate drive. Here's what i was thinking and what questions i have.

CPU:From what I've seen quad core is a must for a good video editing pc and intel is probably the way to go. I was thinking between the q6600 and q8200; leaning towards the q8200 because it seems to be a few percent faster but also $10 cheaper form newegg (where i plan on buying all my parts).

RAM: At least 4gb seems to be the way to go--with upgrading to more an option later if needed (would it be needed)? I was thinking 2 2gb modules running at 800mhz but was wondering if it's worth the extra money to go with 1066 (i know, i know there are probably a million posts on this but I'm still looking for bar graph-here's the answer results for video editing)

GPU: Not sure what to do here since the best answer seems for this project seems to be cut the gpu to the bare minimum and upgrade later (but needs to be able to run UT2004 at 1280*1024). I've been going between using on board graphics (is it fast enough yet for ut2004?) or an 8600gts ($40 with rebate).

Mobo: Again thinking about spending  less here since he doesn't have much interest in overclocking, esata, hdmi out, optical out, or any of those advanced features. Looking at ECS P45T-A because RAID is a possibility for this system. 

Case + PSU: Obviously a good quality psu and decent case. No need for flash here, although it's not frowned upon, but needs to be a atx case for storage. Rubber grommets for hard drives is a plus-but not necessary so i was looking at Rosewill R5601 or a Cooler Mast Centurion. PSU wise, it needs to be fast enough to have around 5 hard drives, 3 dvd/cd drives, 1 or 2 6-pin gpu power cords, and probably under $60 with rebate. Looking at OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500watt. 

OS: Pretty much has to be 64-bit for upgrading ram purposes and i've heard xp 64-bit it atrocious so vista is ok with him. Probably going to go with home premium oem.

HDDs: Thinking we'll use his terabyte drive and install vista on that then upgrade him to a raid 0 array with some cheap 250's later down the road-or is it more important to get raid 0 now(because i know photo editing loves raid 0, so it would make since video editing does). As for redundancy it would be nice but he's pretty good at backing up stuff, but raid 5 is a great possibility for him.  

Optical Drives: Although a blu-ray burner may be sweet it's gotta be thrown out for the moment due to cost so I'm thinking a basic sata dvd/cd read and burn everything drive with lightscribe-whatever shows up on sale and is good quality. 

Last minute ideas/problems:
Will 1066 ram work ok with the 1333fsb of the mobo/cpu?\

There is an hdtv in the next room from this computer (about 25 feet) and we where thinking about eventually getting a blu-ray player, netflix renting w/ blu-ray, a ati 3 series or 4 series with hdmi via converter or built in, and a long hdmi cable with powered extender to save him money from getting a blu-ray player and give him the ability to put movies on his hard drives on send them right to the pc. Is this a good idea or would wireless be a better option (we're worried about the signal of an hdmi cable over 25-30 feet).

Lastly, i know that gpu's are starting to do some video encoding, photo editing, and possibly video editing. Can anyone recommend a good quad core supported, gpu accelerated video editor (cost not a factor here..don't ask why). Pinnacle liquid maybe? 

OK, so if you got through reading all of this is appreciate your time and would love to hear tips, ideas, or anything else helpful you can share.


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## pepsi71ocean (Dec 31, 2008)

I would recommend a Xeon X3220 over a Q6600, it might be a little more expensive but my X3220 clocks up better and does it on a better voltage.  I replaced my dieing Q6600 with a X3220, and ive been happy, especially since ive heard the newer Q6600's don't clock up like the older ones did.

And trust me clocking that CPU up will help in editing times by alot.


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## kenkickr (Dec 31, 2008)

I would honestly recommend a Biostar board over ECS.  You'll pay about the same but biostar is just a much better company and he'll probably get more for his money.


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## Disparia (Dec 31, 2008)

Whatever you get him, don't forget that consumer video editing started to get big during the Pentium II era. Any speed quad-core today laughs at SD video and works HD level video fairly well.

If he had to edit/encode hours of HD footage everyday then I'd start to get nit picky about the parts. Though if he did that, I'd expect that he's getting paid enough to get a monster video editor 

With the numerous variables involved (video res, codecs used, software used to edit, output format/medium) all I can say right now is that a good all-around gamer box makes for a good all-around video box as well.


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

He wishes to not overclock at all? Not even in the future? If that's the case go with maybe a Phenom 9850 setup. At stock clocks it's really not much slower performance wise against a q6600/q8200. Also you will have more of a budget for a nice board cause they tend to be a little bit cheaper for the features you get.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

pepsi71ocean said:


> I would recommend a Xeon X3220 over a Q6600, it might be a little more expensive but my X3220 clocks up better and does it on a better voltage.  I replaced my dieing Q6600 with a X3220, and ive been happy, especially since I've heard the newer Q6600's don't clock up like the older ones did.
> 
> And trust me clocking that CPU up will help in editing times by alot.



I've thought about using a server cpu before but it was at least $20 more for the same clock speed-and unless video editing programs are more optimized for server cpu's rather than desktops then it would be the same performance without overclocking right? I'm trying to convince him to overclock, we'll see how it goes but i don't think i'll be able to suede him to the OC club.  

As for getting a biostar motherboard i have never built a pc with their motherboards, but i know that they make some good overclocking mobos. If he doesn't plan on overclocking i can skimp on the motherboard-right? I mean other than getting a good stable motherboard with just same basic features, what else would i need? 

By the way, even though the budget is $700 with rebate i'd like it to be low as possible (i currently have a config through newegg that's slightly under $600 with rebate). 

Thanks for your replies and keep em coming!


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## SystemViper (Dec 31, 2008)

Go with the i7....


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=9360751

Comes out to $636 after shipping. Could probably up the video card in that bundle, has an HD3850 in it.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Well he was gong on about how it would need to edit some kind of avsomethinghd files that his 2ghz Pentium 4 craps out on. I think he wants a quad core dream editing system for under 6 or 7 hundred dollars with some slight gaming capabilities.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=9360751
> 
> Comes out to $636 after shipping. Could probably up the video card in that bundle, has an HD3850 in it.



Our plan is to reuse a terabyte drive he has laying around and get vista premium 64 oem, but a phenom might save him some money for other parts...


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

Oh ok! Well ditch teh 500GB drive in there and up it to a Phenom 9950 if needed.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Hmm on tomshardware it shows the e8400 outperforming the phenom 9950 in recode (which it quad core supported-right)?


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

Link please if you dont mind.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Then again it's the same price as  a q6600...I'm not going to get this topic closed by replying too much too fast am i?


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

http://tinyurl.com/8dngbp


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

Not at all, we are here to help. What's same price as a q66?


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Oops, the e8400 is $20 cheaper than the q6600.


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

With the board in the wish list you also have the ability to up to a Phenom 2 if wanted/needed. Just a little something to add in.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Oh yeah that's right-are there any "leaks" on phenom 2's performance?


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## omiknight52 (Dec 31, 2008)

Ut2004 or do you mean ut2008-Unreal tournament 3.


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

Well he doesn't play anything at the moment faster than unreal 2004, not unreal 3. He'll want at least maxed out graphics at 1280*1024 (i know not very high requirements) so most dx10 gpu's with gddr3 ram should work.


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## omiknight52 (Dec 31, 2008)

Price $50-$75http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+4026+1068409614&Configurator=&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

Price $75-$100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+4027+1068409614&Configurator=&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=


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## Disparia (Dec 31, 2008)

Thrall said:


> Well he was gong on about how it would need to edit some kind of avsomethinghd files that his 2ghz Pentium 4 craps out on. I think he wants a quad core dream editing system for under 6 or 7 hundred dollars with some slight gaming capabilities.



AVCHD perhaps?

I edit AVCHD (1440x1080, 1920x1080) with Premiere Pro CS4 (previous versions do not support it without plug-in). Does a good job on my Q6600. Makes me want dual-quad Xeons, but I have to stick to a budget as well


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## Thrall (Dec 31, 2008)

AVCHD sounds right-thanks! Now I heard there are some video editors that use gpu acceleration, anyone ever used any of these (i.e. pinnacle liquid I think).


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 31, 2008)

Thrall said:


> AVCHD sounds right-thanks! Now I heard there are some video editors that use gpu acceleration, anyone ever used any of these (i.e. pinnacle liquid I think).



Speaking of which HD4k's have that new AMD stream technology.


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## lollerskater69 (Dec 31, 2008)

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?BundleExist=N&ID=8390765&ChangeQty=0

675 after mail in rebates.

Used stock cooling since he isn't overclocking.


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## Disparia (Dec 31, 2008)

Thrall said:


> AVCHD sounds right-thanks! Now I heard there are some video editors that use gpu acceleration, anyone ever used any of these (i.e. pinnacle liquid I think).



Yes - most of the bigger ones (Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Liquid, etc) have been doing OpenGL and D3D acceleration for quite some time.

As for CUDA, nVidia bundles some plug-ins with the Quadro CX for Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effect. Past that I haven't heard much.


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## Thrall (Jan 1, 2009)

loller-that's a sweet computer! It's not really that he has a set budget-he wants to spend the least amount possible for a editing pc with slight gaming capabilities. In addition he doesn't have any 64-bit os's lying around so vista 64 or like should be thrown in the price.

Quick addition, he has and old 939 mobo lying around-would it be a good idea to throw a fx-50 from ebay in there and toss in 4gb of ddr ram or would the ram be too slow and dual core not enough?


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 1, 2009)

Thrall said:


> I've thought about using a server cpu before but it was at least $20 more for the same clock speed-and unless video editing programs are more optimized for server cpu's rather than desktops then it would be the same performance without overclocking right? I'm trying to convince him to overclock, we'll see how it goes but i don't think i'll be able to suede him to the OC club.
> 
> By the way, even though the budget is $700 with rebate i'd like it to be low as possible (i currently have a config through newegg that's slightly under $600 with rebate).
> 
> Thanks for your replies and keep em coming!



I video edit, and i haven't noticed any issue with the Server CPU when it comes to rendering. The extra $20 or so spent for the Server will prove invaluable when it comes to overclocking. Even though im testing ive managed to hit about 3.15Ghz without a voltage increase, and when compared to the newer Q6600's the X3220's clock better for their voltage.




Thrall said:


> Then again it's the same price as  a q6600...I'm not going to get this topic closed by replying too much too fast am i?





Thrall said:


> Oops, the e8400 is $20 cheaper than the q6600.



a Quad core running at 3.2GHz will outperform a E8400 at 4.0Ghz during a video rendering, just because it has 2 more cores for rendering. Assuming that the program used supports multi-threading between cores. Thats how it was explained to me anyways, ive never had a dullie for a CPU so i can't back upthe facts, but i have rendered movies at 2.4 and 3.2GHz, and the sweet spot for a Q6600 or a X3220 is about 3.2-3.4GHz, that's when its combined with a power gfx card.



Thrall said:


> loller-that's a sweet computer! It's not really that he has a set budget-he wants to spend the least amount possible for a editing pc with slight gaming capabilities. In addition he doesn't have any 64-bit os's lying around so vista 64 or like should be thrown in the price.
> 
> Quick addition, he has and old 939 mobo lying around-would it be a good idea to throw a fx-50 from ebay in there and toss in 4gb of ddr ram or would the ram be too slow and dual core not enough?



If he doesn't have a set budget, then tell himk he shouldn't really cut corners, ide go with a 9xxx card for a GFX card then, or wait till the new GTX 295 cards come out, and then buy a GTX 280 1GB edition, the prices will certainly drop by then.

the OS matters about using 2 or 4GB's of ram. a 32-bit OS like windows XP with PAE enabled will show about 3.2GB's of RAM, if you had 4GB installed.  Unless that 939 mobo can't handle more then 2GB's of ram. Eitherway ide recommend a quad core over that of a dullie.


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## Thrall (Jan 1, 2009)

After reading maximum pc's newest mag that came out I'm leaning towards a 3 series or 4 series ati gpu. See, he has an hdtv in the next room but no blu-ray player so i thought it would save him money to get a blu-ray drive, and hdmi cable, possibly an extender, then run that all through an newer ati card that can put surround through an hdmi cable (nvidia's card only do 2 channel over hdmi-right?). 

As for getting him a gtx 295 i think that would be overkill in his mind, unless he gpu accelerates alot of the video editing process-making that a good addition. Her runs games on a 17" crt and hasn't played anything newer than unreal 2004, but i guess i couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't play a newer game if he had the power to do so. 

It's not so much that he doesn't have a budget-it's just that in this economy he's trying to get the best band for his buck for a video editing pc (which kinda contradicts his overclocking beliefs...o well). I just gave a quick quote before but now I've deducted that he would probably spend around $600 with rebate or wait for prices to decrease (with core i7's costing $500+ with a mobo i don't see the prices of last gen quad cores dropping any time soon). 

Ok, a quick last question-would it be advisable try and throw a raid 0 array in the computer at first keeping in mind a new $600 budget with rebates by throwing another terabyte drive in there (heard having an os and editing video on the same drive lowers performance by a lot), spending that money on the other parts then upgrading down the road, or use the terabyte drive for the os and create a separate array with whatever drives are cheapest at the time (320-500gb seems to be the sweet spot right now).


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## Wozzer (Jan 1, 2009)

I built my machine for video editing and it does it great. Take a look in my system specs for an idea of what to buy.


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## Thrall (Jan 1, 2009)

Wasley said:


> I built my machine for video editing and it does it great. Take a look in my system specs for an idea of what to buy.



Hmm...what kinds of video do you edit and what do you use?


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 1, 2009)

Thrall said:


> Hmm...what kinds of video do you edit and what do you use?



Im interested as well.


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## Thrall (Jan 2, 2009)

So I think I convinced him to try overclocking his processor-so now I'm wondering if it'd be worth getting a arctic freezer 7 cooler for it or if the motherboard would crap out before heat got to hurting the overclock. In addition how much more of an overclock would i get from a server quad core than a desktop? Also does the q8200 overclock more than the q6600?


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 2, 2009)

Ahhh, overclock does come into play now. Go with Intel and a server grade quad definitely. They just can withstand higher temps for a longer period of time. Why an AC Freezer 7? Why not a Xigmatek S1283?


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## lollerskater69 (Jan 2, 2009)

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?BundleExist=N&ID=8390765&ChangeQty=0


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## Thrall (Jan 2, 2009)

Oops i meant the Alpine 7 Pro-will it be a good deal?


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## Thrall (Jan 2, 2009)

Can you guys recommend a good overclocking for the xeon X3220 for under $100?


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 2, 2009)

Thrall said:


> Can you guys recommend a good overclocking for the xeon X3220 for under $100?



Very very close to your price range. Awesome board!!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038


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## Thrall (Jan 2, 2009)

Awesome board, but how do i tell if a mobo can take a xeon proc?


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 2, 2009)

Thrall said:


> Awesome board, but how do i tell if a mobo can take a xeon proc?



99.99% of the time if a board supports the comparable desktop counterpart, the server counterpart will also work just not get recognized by bios.


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## Wozzer (Jan 2, 2009)

Thrall said:


> Hmm...what kinds of video do you edit and what do you use?



I do alot of video editing. I usually remix videos from youtube such as topgear, but the latest I have done;

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HfaN1okR63s

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KnJ2kUnz0r8


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## niko084 (Jan 2, 2009)

Nero Recode isn't even dual core supported... It's some of the trashiest software available.

As for the AMD/Intel on the stock clock, doesn't matter really.
My e6750 was faster in recode then my x3210 at the same clocks...


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 2, 2009)

JrRacinFan said:


> Very very close to your price range. Awesome board!!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038



I would always recommend a Blood iron Board, best mobo ive ever bought.



Thrall said:


> Awesome board, but how do i tell if a mobo can take a xeon proc?



Im currently running an Xeon X3220 in that Blood Iron Board, so i can tell you it works, even the BIOS recognizes it. I have falled in love with the BI board, ive had alot of nvida motherboards, and they killed my first CPU, but my BI is as solid as a rock. 



niko084 said:


> Nero Recode isn't even dual core supported... It's some of the trashiest software available.
> 
> As for the AMD/Intel on the stock clock, doesn't matter really.
> My e6750 was faster in recode then my x3210 at the same clocks...



Interesting, what stepping revision did you have for the X3210.



EDIT::If you are going Quad Core, i would recommend a bigger heatsink. My Xigmatec S1284 (not S1283) works like a charm, nd i bought the backing plate for it so it makes it rock stable. The S1284 has 4 heat pipes instead of 3 and i think make a difference in cooling.


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## niko084 (Jan 2, 2009)

pepsi71ocean said:


> Interesting, what stepping revision did you have for the X3210.



It's a G0, why do you say interesting?
The stepping on the chips doesn't make a difference in performance...


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 2, 2009)

niko084 said:


> It's a G0, why do you say interesting?
> The stepping on the chips doesn't make a difference in performance...



it makes a difference when clocking up, ive never edited any movies at stock, i always upped the bus speed and lowered the multiplier, 8x400, edits videos better then 9x355 does. Ive always done that.


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## OzzmanFloyd120 (Jan 2, 2009)

I know I'm late, but I have no problems editing 720p in real-time on my PC when using Sony Vegas 8.0b, so I don't see why you wouldn't have a problem with a phenom chip.


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## niko084 (Jan 2, 2009)

pepsi71ocean said:


> it makes a difference when clocking up, ive never edited any movies at stock, i always upped the bus speed and lowered the multiplier, 8x400, edits videos better then 9x355 does. Ive always done that.



Yes a higher bus speed would help from faster ram.

I said same clocks 3.2/3.2, 400x8.
I also did it at 3.4 and ran one at 3.8 on my e6750 and it wasn't much quicker.

Recode just sucks....


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 2, 2009)

niko084 said:


> Yes a higher bus speed would help from faster ram.
> 
> I said same clocks 3.2/3.2, 400x8.
> I also did it at 3.4 and ran one at 3.8 on my e6750 and it wasn't much quicker.
> ...



ahh, i normally run 8x400, but if the video is longer then 35mins, i bump it to 8x425, i run the ram above 1000, all i know is the quad core is great, compared to a duallie, but i have never rendered on a dullie so i wouldn't know.   I use Movie Edit Pro 12 from MAGIX, great program, but nothing like the Casablanca's i used in hs.


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## kuroikenshi (Jan 3, 2009)

I don't mean to thread jack but I have pretty much the same question as the OP.  I thought it would be better to post in here since its pretty on topic. My friend uses an older version of Premiere but i think what I have below is more then adequate

I have a little higher budget and this is what I have come up with.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11934368

If it's best I can always start a new thread so that I don't derail this one.


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 3, 2009)

i would recommend an IDE burner, ive had issues with my SATA Brner, but then maybe its windows.


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## Thrall (Jan 3, 2009)

I've never had problems with my sata burner-i would prefer to give him a sata one to reduce cable clutter and not to have to worry about jumpers.

As for the phenom-I have no problems with it it's just than phenoms tend to run slower than intel quads and the guy i'm building this for would rather have integrated video at the moment than a slower cpu. I have seriously thought about a quad core phenom but think a quad core intel would better fit the performance i'm looking for.


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 3, 2009)

quad core intel would give better performance, and intergrated gfx?  iui, that will make a bear out of everything i think.


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## Thrall (Jan 4, 2009)

pepsi71ocean said:


> quad core intel would give better performance, and intergrated gfx?  iui, that will make a bear out of everything i think.



Agreed-the gpu's significance in a video machine is drastically increasing with video encoding, accelerated video a editing, and special effects...erm i was going to post the new system specs i'm looking at but newegg shows it's outta stock on every component in it's store...get back to you guys later!


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## Thrall (Jan 4, 2009)

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=7740254

$696 with rebate + shipping


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 4, 2009)

Please dont get the GTS.

Either down to this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814260057

Maybe this ....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161262

If you dont mind Open Box go the extra $10 up front for this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134040R


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 4, 2009)

i though i would post this but i finally did some overclocking, and im currently 3.150GHz stable on stock voltages with my X3220, running 1050MHz on the ram at 2.0v. With my Q6600 i had to add voltage around 3Ghz. Im still testing stability, but so far its looking good. 

I am actually going to upgrade my GPU when the GTX 295's come out. i'll then i'll wait till the price drops and buy a GTX 280.  One big thing about your gfx card is go for bigger RAM, ie the 1GB edition instead of the 512MB. makes a difference. So i would say go with a 9xxx series card and then overlcock the bus speed on the pci to around 105, my Blood Iron has been up to 107 without loosing ethernet so you can use the 9xxx series clocking ability to your advantage.

i would recommed MX-2 for your tim, its slightly more expensive but you don't have to worry about setting time, and more importantly its non conductive, Ive used both AS5 and MX-2 and i like them both, 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

I would ditch any 8400 card, if possible grab a 8800 GTS or a 9xxx card if you can, something that has a little more in the ball department. 

i would say this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130360

it has a good cooler, and ive never had issues with evga. in fact the cooler is derived form the 8 series of coolers, so your good. your well covered between gpu and mem on the gfx card, its clock able as well for extra balls. 

i would be a little leary about that OCZ stuff, but then again ive never used OCZ ram before.  the blood iron should handle your ram good. if its cheaper go for ddr2 800 instead of 1066 ram.  good ram can and will clock up. 

How far do you intend to overclock the CPU?

thats all i can think of.


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 4, 2009)

@pepsi

The DFI boards love OCZ ram.


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 4, 2009)

JrRacinFan said:


> @pepsi
> 
> The DFI boards love OCZ ram.



ahh, i never knew that. then i would say go for the OCZ stuff then.


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## Thrall (Jan 4, 2009)

As for overclocking it-3ghz has a certain ring to it doesn't it? I guess however high we can get it to go stably. I figured that if I got ram that i knew was rated for 1066 then it would make overclocking better with fsb ratios because i've been trying to overclock my computer with 667 ram and limited p5nsli ratios so i don't want to ram limiting the OC.


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 5, 2009)

Ahh, interesting pov. I'm still testing out my rig, currently stable at 3.15Ghz.  I would say for a video rig 3.2-3.4GHz is max effective. i would go towards 3.2Ghz for longevity or 3.4Ghz for performance.  

In a few days i'll up my oc to 3.2GHz and then tighten my ram timings. and with that Xeon and DFI you should fly up to 3.2 without a problem. Just burn your components in first, IMO. I believe you should let your components burn in, like a break-in period.


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## Thrall (Jan 5, 2009)

I agree about a burn-in period, let's you know if you have something faulty on the mobo/ram/cpu and helps the TIM make a good connection between the cooler and the cpu imho.


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 6, 2009)

well 3.2Ghz stable with 1 click on the special add for the cpu.   i'll test for a higher number tonight,


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## Thrall (Jan 6, 2009)

We're thinking that using a arctic cooling freezer 7 pro and mx-2 TIM that we'll reach a heat barrier before a cpu/mobo barrier in overclocking--seem logical?


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## pepsi71ocean (Jan 6, 2009)

ive never used an ACfreezer 7, i went from a Zalman 9700 to a Xigmatek S1284. I have the S1284 lapped, and i also have the back brace, and i was running 3.6Ghz with my Q6600. I was about 60c under 100 load, and idled around 38-45ish something like that.

the Xeon runs alot cooler then my Q6600 did. I lapped the Q6600 and the S1284, and the S1284 i lapped only because it had some minor imperfections that i noticed only with a q-tip, so i just used 2000 grit sandpaper, on tip of a laminated kitchen counter and ran it 3 passes on it, fixed that all the way. It came out nice. I think the Direct Heat pipe technology came out better then the old fashion version for a heatsink.


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