$2400 for PC for Vegas Pro - To much PC.. or Cost?

will-3 wrote on 6/7/2010, 7:04 AM

I've just been quoted $2400 for a new PC (w/o a monitor) that will be used to edit and render HD video using Vegas Pro.

1 - Would you guys please review the spec's below and tell me if you would configure the PC differently...

2 - What would you expect to pay for a computer to do this job.

3 - What vendors/sources you would sugggest we consider

4 - What connectors should we be _sure_ and get? (HDMI? What else?)

6 - What LCD monitors would you suggest we use. (Brand, specs, price?)

7 - Finally, what PC configuration are you guys using? Processor, Ram, OS, etc.

Thanks for any help. (System specs below)

System Specs:

1 - OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
2 - Processor: Intel Core i7-920 2.66G 8MB 4.8 GT/SEC
3 - Ram: 12GB ( three 4GB DDR3 PC3-10600 1333MHZ)
4 - OS Drive: WD VelociRaptor 150GB SATA II 10000 RPM
5 - Data Drive: WD 2TB 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive
6 - Mother Board: Intel Desktop Board DP55WB with...
.....GIGABIT ETHERNET CARD
.....(6) USB 2.0 PORTS
.....(1) FIREWIRE PORT
7 - Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5
8 - DVD Burnet: LG 6x Blu-Ray burner with LightScribe
9 - Card Reader: ALL IN ONE INT BLACK CARD READER
10 - Case: Antec Sonata III Quiet Mid-Tower ATX
11 - Power Supply: SPARKLE POWER SUPPLY 650W ATX
12 - Mouse: Logitech Desktop USB Keyboard/Mouse
13 - Speakers: LOGITECH MULTIMEDIA S-120 Blk Speakers

Thanks again for any help.

Comments

TheHappyFriar wrote on 6/7/2010, 7:06 AM

so $2400 is the parts + building + a warranty? IMHO anything over ~$1500 (including monitor & OS) for a near top-of-the-line system is over kill. I'm pretty sure @ your price, within 6 months it will be ~$1500. But in 18 months it will only be ~12/1300.

Laurence wrote on 6/7/2010, 7:30 AM

Any PC (including a $2400 one) is going to be out of date in a short period of time. I would never spend that much on a PC. I would rather spend less and upgrade my computer every few years.

MTuggy wrote on 6/7/2010, 8:07 AM

The RAM on your quote is a bit of overkill and probably pretty expensive. 4 GB modules are pricey and 12GB is probably more than you need. Buying four 2 GB modules and having 8 GB would be fine.

Yep, I think you can build a very good system for $1500 these days. $2400 seems like over kill.

Mike

Tom Pauncz wrote on 6/7/2010, 8:09 AM

I agree with the others.

I am in Toronto, Cda and paid around $1500 for a system last Sept with which I am very pleased editing HD.

Some of the details are in my system specs, System #1. Email me offline if you need full details.

(Price did not include the DMD Decklink Studio 2 card).
Tom

kkolbo wrote on 6/7/2010, 8:12 AM

If you are making a living with it, I say get all the power you can. Yes it will be obsolete in a year, but saving a couple of dollars costs you in this industry. You also need reliable. If you are still doing a lot of chroma key, then you need the speed and reliability.

Your OS drive is WAY too small. Since this is a computer of many functions, you will want a bigger OS drive.

You are paying a lot for a consumer PC with a 920 processor.

In a consumer PC for that price, take a look at HP's HPE190t series at HP.com. For $2,400 you can get a screamer with a three year warranty from HP. Same storage, more RAM, good backing.

I just spent about $200 more than that to build a similar machine with liquid cooling and only 12 gig RAM, but with USB 3 and SATA 3 and four hotswap bays. I can tell you that it screams!

You could also configure an HPE 180t with a 950 for about $2,000.

I would prefer a Work Station class machine, but I couldn't quite afford it. Unless I build it myself, I like to buy HP, Boxx, or a similar known company who back the machine. An Apple Pro is a good work station if you can afford it, but it ain't cheap. If I build it myself, well, then I only have myself to complain to when it fries.

I hope that helps not confuses.

musicvid10 wrote on 6/7/2010, 8:42 AM

When I upgrade, which is infrequent, I always wait until the technology turns over, and then build my "yesterday's" dream system for $700-800. Then when it's worth $100 in a couple of years, I shed fewer tears, and I've still got something that is far faster than what I had before.

PerroneFord wrote on 6/7/2010, 8:46 AM

Yes, excellent point. If the machine is for tinkering, I think this is too much to spend. If it's to make a living with, it's the wrong class of machine.

I tend to do Dell workstations, and we have HP servers here at the office. Both work just fine. I overbuy, and expect by the time it's coming to end of life, that it will just be starting to get too slow. That's worked wonderfully.

I'd probably switch that ATI for an NVidia card even though Vegas won't take advantage of it. Other programs can leverage the CUDA processor if you get a nice card. I'd also look at getting a third drive (or more), probably external SATA. Rendering to the same drive your video sources are stored on is a bad idea and an unnecessary performance hit.

I'm glad I don't play this game often. Get's tedious.

will-3 wrote on 6/7/2010, 9:14 AM

Thanks for all the input. Keep it coming. Very educational.

The intent for this machine is to edit a series of specials...
- to be available for delivery over the web
- and for distribution via DVD.
- and some to be broadcast on traditional television or cable.

I'll read the responses more carefully then will surely have some follow-up questions.

Thanks again folks.

DGates wrote on 6/7/2010, 11:16 AM

I'm editing HD in Vegas on a $800 Acer desktop. No doubt it's not as powerful as top-of-the-line-systems, but it gets the job done.

Spot|DSE wrote on 6/7/2010, 12:11 PM

As a counter point to most of the posts;
if you're working this machine hard, multiple copies of Vegas open, rendering, comping, etc....
the machine you spec is about right on, maybe even a little cheap.
If you're just "hobbying around" with it, it might be overkill.

In one channel we're working, the machine you're spec'ing would barely cut it.

Steve Mann wrote on 6/7/2010, 12:40 PM

I am not in my studio right now, but does anyone recall who Sony partnered with to make Vegas systems?

will-3 wrote on 6/7/2010, 3:05 PM

Hey Spot. Been awhile.

This machine will be working hard on a series of projects. Editing and rendering a combinitation of SD & HD footage.

We don't typically run multiple copies of Vegas at once but I guess there are times when that may be possible.

And, we typically don't edit while the machine is rendering.

I am wondering about the spec's of the machine you mention you are using "in one channel we are working"

Care to tell us what is under the hood on that one?

thanks.

warriorking wrote on 6/7/2010, 3:09 PM

Specs on my Current Home build PC...

Motherboard- MSI X58Pro
i7Core 920 2.67Ghz
12Gig DDR3 OCZ
2Gig EVGA GTX295 Video Card
7.1 Auzentech Prelude Sound Card
800Watt PS Tagen
3-1TB Hard Drives 7200 32Mb Cache
2- LG Bluray Burners
Full Tower Spedo Case Thermaltake
24" Acer HDMI LCD
23" Dell HDMI LCD
Vegas Pro 9e 64Bit
Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit

Sebaz wrote on 6/7/2010, 4:26 PM

I would have to start adding up the components to see if it's justified or not, but for starters I would say that any computer at that price with an i7 920 is a rip-off. The most expensive Intel desktop CPUs are around $1000. I would advise you to lookup all the components you mentioned on Newegg.com and add them up, see how much profit are they making with your build. It's not too hard to assemble your own PC if you can dedicate several hours to it.

srode wrote on 6/7/2010, 6:00 PM

That's a lot of money for a computer that seems a bit under powered and limited HDD space. I drop to 6gb of ram, go with a GS or GT video card for $100 or less (your video card doesn't help any with editting, rendering or image quality), upgrade the power supply to a Corsair 650 (better brand) and put more HDDs in the machine. You're only using 3 of 6 SATA slots on the board, you can put 3 more drives in there - I'd put a RAID (3ware 9650SE with 4 internal ports) and add a couple back planes that hold 3 drives each - then you have enough room for a RAID array for the OS and one for your data with redudancy on both of them so you loose nothing if you have one fail. Enough room for a single disk for Back ups too in the event of a catastrophic failure. All of this is probalby about the same cost to build as the system you are looking at which is WAY overpriced IMHO.

For a monitor, I love my Dell 27 inch - very nice with tremendous flexibility.

ushere wrote on 6/7/2010, 6:04 PM

not supplied by apple is it?

will-3 wrote on 6/8/2010, 3:53 AM

Thanks again everybody for all the great info & comments.

- WarriorKing, can you share cost on your system less the monitors?
- Sebac, good suggestion about adding up cost of components on Newegg.
- Srode, I'll look at your config suggestions carefully.
- UsHere, Nope, not Apple. I'm buying a PC.

Thanks again for comments and suggestions. Very helpful to me and I'm sure to others.

ushere wrote on 6/8/2010, 5:50 AM

hi will3.

i meant it as a joke ;-) after all, they're know for over-priced, underpowered hardware....

good luck!

Dreamline wrote on 6/8/2010, 9:56 AM

$2400 withour usb 3...

It's already out of date. Get a mobo that has usb 3, you'll thank me in the future.

warriorking wrote on 6/8/2010, 6:25 PM

I believe I spent around $1700 on the PC, then throw in another $350 for both LCD's ...Ordered everything from Newegg...