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General discussion

Video Editing: Help with upgrades

Nov 1, 2005 11:59PM PST

I've been editing video on my PC for a while, but now that I'm going to be working with longer projects and larger files, I need to crack open the box and put some new stuff in there.

I have three PCI slots. One has my capture card with analog and Firewire capture. One has my modem, which I'm taking out.

I need to add a combo Firewire/USB 2.0 card in one, and a good graphics card in the other. I remember reading somewhere that you have to put them in certain order in the PCI slots or something based on power consumption. Can someone clarify this for me?

Thanks,
Christa

Dell 2350
Pentium 4 1.8GHz
1G RAM
Stock 200W power supply

Discussion is locked

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Video Editing: Help with upgrades
Nov 2, 2005 3:07AM PST

First, what size HD do you have??? This is important for large projects.
Video editting does not require a highend video card. Onboard is usualy ok for this.
Does your PC have an AGP slot???
Adding USB 2.0 is good if you don't have any.
Usualy the top PCI is shared with the on board Graphics so you sould not use that one. John

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More about my system
Nov 2, 2005 8:56AM PST

My internal HD is 120G, with 78G free. For USB drives, I have an 80G LaCie (which is a rock-solid workhorse and 2.0-ready) and a 40G CMS (used for Ghost b/up files only). I'm going to add a 300G LaCie for starters. I'm using a DV cam, so I'll have the video on tape and can take the captures off the HD once a project is finished. I can always pull them off the tape again later if I need them.

I don't have an AGP slot, just the PCI.

The onboard (Intel 82845G) does seem to be doing fine with what I've done so far, so maybe I'll just work with that for now.

Thanks for your reply!

Christa

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More about my system
Nov 3, 2005 2:22AM PST

The rendering part of video editting is what takes a long time and it is a processor and memory intensive task.
You seem to have sufficent HD space to start with.
With only a 200w PSU it does limit how many internal HDs you can put in your PC.
My first fast PC for video was a dual PIII 1.2gh with 1gb of memory and onboard video that shared 8mb of memory. It still works great.
Save up you money for a Dual processor PC. Video rendering is where a dual processors REALY shine.
John

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Hardware
Nov 3, 2005 9:15AM PST

I'm glad to hear that your first editing PC is still working great, because that gives me more confidence in mine. Happy My onboard shares 64mb.

Based on your advice, I'm just going to get the 2.0 card for right now, and put the money I'd spend on a graphics card in the "LaCie savings account". I really want to go ahead and get the external drives set up so I have one just for backup, one just for video, and one for my gajillion mp3s and photos/scans.

If I decide to get a dual processor, I'll probably build the machine myself since it would be a dedicated editing system.

Thanks for your help!

Christa