MSI 865PE Neo 2-FIS2R (MS-6728)
Pentium 4 3.20 GHz (3200 MHz 12-8/512 KB)

Making it a dedicated video editing computer will give you the biggest improvement regarless of which combo you choose.

John

I just ordered all the parts to put my new computer together so I’ve been staring at this stuff for the last few weeks. If you’re looking for speed I would go with the latest from Intel. (the AMD64 is also hot, but no software really takes advantage of it yet) The four top motherboard makers IMHO are Gigabyte, ASUS, ABIT, and MSI. You really can’t go wrong with any of these. I purchased the Gigabyte GA-8KNXP but the ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe would have been my second choice. I got an Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor. I felt the 3.2 GHz wasn’t worth the extra money for only 200 Mhz increase in clock speed. You also want to use memory with low latency for the best bandwidth. I got the Kingston HyperX KHX3200K2/1G, which is 1GB of PC3200 at CAS latency 2.

I bought it all from newegg.com except for the memory (because they were out of stock) and I got that from zipzoomfly.com. Both are excellent on-line retailers to get computer parts from and both offer free 2nd day shipping on most items.

I suggest you go to AnandTech.com and Tomshardware.com and check out the reviews on motherboards. They are very informative and this is how I selected one.

~jr

I have MSI K7N2 Delta.It does have firewire on board 6 USB, Raid and ATA Raid. 2400 Athalon. It is great matherboard. Keep constant track of CPU temp.
Highly configurable. Will take up to 3G CPU. I would recommend MSI type motherboard.

OK,
I am getting a lot of great info. Thanks.

I can see that I made the right decision on building this system, my road map is much improved now. One final question..I beleive it was Craftech who spoke of the difference between AMD and intel. I want SPEED..This aint NO AVID! So, the ability to render as fast as possible and build large dynamic ram preveiw is a must. As I have clients that will some times be here and need to see changes as they happen. AGAIN..THIS AINT NO AVID. ;-)

Ok, thanks fellow cutters... FINAL CUT POOOO

Vmcdee

Get a dual Xeon Dell Pecision. Don't build your own system. People who build their own systems end up with quirks nobody can explain and they sound like freight trains because the fans are all screwed up and poorly placed.

I built a pile of systems before getting a precision. It has no problems and runs silent. I have a studio apt and sleep beside it.

The key is the big green cowling dell puts over the CPUs. It takes air off the CPU and blows it directtly outside. Stupid build your own systems have heat sink fans and exhaust fans. Useless. It's the 'hope for the best' approach wich is nowhere near as good as 'build right from the ground up'.

Cheers,

Matt

Well, the difference between the different top end CPU's (AMD 3200 and Intel 3.2) won't be much. I've heard the Intel will do the render test faster then the AMD, but the AMD will render other stuff faster.

If you want to be REALLY fast, get eigther an AMD 64FX or the Intel Extream (is that what it's called). But, i'm not sure if you will see a difference between those and chips that cost 1/2 as much (AMD 3000 and Intel 3.0).

Don't forget to buy the FASTEST memory too.

I want SPEED..This aint NO AVID! So, the ability to render as fast as possible and build large dynamic ram preveiw is a must. As I have clients that will some times be here and need to see changes as they happen.
================================
Don't go overboard with your system. There will always be something bigger and better every few months and when they first come out they are way overpriced. No matter which processor and motherboard you choose Vegas will render relatively slow. Check past posts here. The more complex (Fx, transitions, etc.) the longer it will take. It is worth the wait, but don't let anyone kid you about fast render speeds. It just isn't going to happen, especially when rendering Mpeg 2.
A dedicated computer just for video editing once it is set up properly and the bugs ironed out will give you the best performance because you will tax your system less and you aren't introducing a lot of variables for trouble shooting problems if they occur.
I use a PIII 1000 Slot 1on a fast i440BX board and my rendering speed seems consistent with the rest of them here, and I'm using Windows 98SE. I have had a copy of Windows XP Pro in an unopened box for two years and although I get the business from some people here, and despite Windows 98's few limitations I am not taxing my system in the slightest in it's current configuration when rendering.
The statement..."Gigabyte, ASUS, ABIT, and MSI. You really can’t go wrong with any of these" is not quite true. The advice to check Tonshardware.com is good advice, but it will only confirm that you can go wrong with some boards by any manufacturer. Check Tom's video and audio benchmarks on various motherboards. That often rearranges your choices as opposed to his. I also think that you would be better off using a firewire card such as a Pyro rather than any onboard firewire. Fewer chances for problems.

John

I don't know ANYONE who has a "quirky" and "freight train" sounding computers who've built their own. My own computer sounds louse because i screwed up the fan. Every computer i've built has been stable, relialable, fast, and cheap. Infact, I've had to fix pre-bought comps and bild new ones to replace the pre-built ones that fell out of warranty and broke soon after (like my sisters).

The only computer i've ever heard that sounded like a train was some SUN servers.

Duel processors won't help with Vegas. Neigther wil HT. For that extra $$ buy a seperate computer with a monitor/mouse/keyboard switch. Use gigibit ethernet to connect them.

I've built every computer i've owned. They've all run 24/7. From the P200 MMX back in the mid 90's (which still runs) to the AMD I have now. None of them have died. The only part that has died was a power supply fan on the P200MMX. That was after running it 2 years solid. I've even made simple duct systems for some of my systems, I've never had a problem with heat (even when it gets above 90f in here!)'

Of course if you have a hard time building your comp's, and want to send lots of extra $$$ on stuff that can't be upgraded, then go ahead and buy the Dell. I've worked with one at my weekend job. They paid about $2500 for it a couple years ago. I built my own comp a couple years ago that was comparible for $500 (i alread had the HD, monitor, OS). My computer out performed theirs, and cost less.
I've had the same experiences with people who've bought from Gateway and HP.

Yeah, I agree on the
build your own theory", my programmer and several friends have all built their own. My current system has been upgraded and reconfigured to the point that I should have built the damn thing in the first place. And $500 bucks does get you a $2500 system at least.

Now as to the dual processor, I will be running one so that I can open and run my graphics program while rendering video. I feel the dual processor works for those of us that need to open other applications and continue working.

Just like an old car, or new import, I am a P.C. because I can get my hands dirty. I can learn to configure, add on and upgrade. I am not to fond of having a sysytem that says,"this is all you get until we come out with the next model:. DRAB, DROLE.

Over build, get outdated and do it again, my idea of fun...Plus in the mean time I am working on some kick ass video!

V

Again,
Thanks!

V

Matt, I gotta to disagree with ya’ on this one. ;-)

> People who build their own systems end up with quirks nobody can explain

Funny, I have a Dell Demension 8100 that fits that description to a tee. Dell help was useless. In fact eventually they refused to answer my questions because I put Windows XP on the system and it originally came with WinMe. They told me that they couldn’t support me unless I put WinMe back on even though their web site has instructions on how to upgrade the Dell 8100 to Windows XP and they will even sell you the copy of XP to do it. I will NEVER buy from Dell again. It’s a non-upgradable dead end!

> The key is the big green cowling dell puts over the CPUs.

Actually, that turned out to be the problem. I have to run my Dell with the cover off now because I added a faster video card and a larger hard drive that added heat to the system and there are NO FANS other than the one under the big green cowling! So while the processor was getting cooled the rest of the case was heating up. Like I said, I will NEVER buy a Dell computer again.

I understand that you might be happy with your Dell and that’s great. I just don’t like the idea that if you buy a Dell you have to plan to throw it away and buy a new one when it gets too slow because all the major parts (power supply, mother board, case, etc.) are non-standard and you can’t upgrade them. If you don’t believe me just browse to Dell Community Forums for people looking to upgrade and finding out they can’t.

I agree with you that building your own system is not for everybody. If you don’t feel comfortable building you own system then at least buy one from a company that uses standard parts so you can upgrade it’s core components in the future.

~jr

Now as to the dual processor, I will be running one so that I can open and run my graphics program while rendering video. I feel the dual processor works for those of us that need to open other applications and continue working.
=======================
I would not recommend that when rendering using Vegas or any other video editing program.

John

I run a dual processor so I can run another copy of Vegas.

There is a certain satisfaction when you build your own machine. And it is cheaper. But unless you really know what you're doing, you can screw it up.

You may know what your doing. I know what I'm doing when I build my own system too. But the way you get there is by making mistakes. So if you want to avoid that... get a Dell.

BTW, dual procs in Vegas rock when rendering DV avi to Mpg2. I get about 85% cpu load when doing that. My mpg2 renders are about 1.5x real time.

There is a very strong argument to be made for a single P4... primarily because of the 533 Mhz system bus. The new P4s have 800 Mhz which I think will make a large difference. Video is all about pumping between the cpu and the ram - esp when adding effects and RAM previewing (all HDs being equal).

Matt

I believe in addition to mpeg and rendering to windows media will efficiently utilize dual processors if you ever do web stuff. However, you do not need dual processors to run multiple versions of Vegas.

I believe hyperthreading does help Vegas. It's a small bump but it helps. I believe someone on this board measured it at about 10% faster. It's also useful if you multitask on your video machine. It decreases the chance of a slowdown.

craftech, why do you not recommend running a second instance of Vegas? I do this all the time. Vegas is designed to allow multiple instances. I could see if you are doing a print to tape, you don't want anything else going on, but for rendering I haven't had any problems.

craftech, why do you not recommend running a second instance of Vegas? I do this all the time. Vegas is designed to allow multiple instances. I could see if you are doing a print to tape, you don't want anything else going on, but for rendering I haven't had any problems.
==================

I run multiple instances of Vegas all the time when I am editing, but when rendering I always try to reduce variables when so that if troubleshooting becomes necessary the task is easier. I also just don't think it is a good idea to take a chance since you have to wait so long for renders to complete, then view the entire video to check it and then start trying to figure out why there was a problem if it occurs, and doing it all over if there is a mistake. Why would you want to take a chance?

John

Okay...I've been looking into building my own system, too.
From a couple of comments on this thread, I want to know how you're building a system for around $500. I'm finding my components to come to about $1200. And I'm using newegg.com as a source for the components.

John

Could you list the components? It is hard to judge what you are asking without knowing what your computer will contain

I just had a computer custom built for me for less than $600.00. Intel Pentium IV, 512 megs of RAM, 40 gig hard drive, ASUS motherboard, case, fans, power supply. I added a Plextor CD Burner (USB2) and two 120 Gig IDE drives myself. The computer runs at 2.4 gigs and runs VEGAS + DVD with no problems. The ASUS board has built in support for SPDIF digital out and burns up the network with its internal 100BASE - T NIC.

The place I got my computer from has since gone out of business (due to the three partners dissolving the corporation after fighting over current business practices) or I would really recommend them to you.

Hope this helps.

-TOM-

This component list totals around $2000. Even if I modify my choices (ie. single processor, or cheaper A/D converter) my total is still around $1200.


Motherboard
(Dual) ASUS A7m266-D $180.00

CPU
AMD 2400 MP (2) $245.00

Hard Drives
80 GB West. Digital SE $75.00
120 GB West. Digital SE $95.00
120 GB West. Digital SE $95.00

Case
Enlight Mid Tower $50.00
450w Power Supply $50.00

Optical Drive
DVD/CDRW $50.00

RAM
Kingston Tech 512 MB (2) $150.00

Network Interface
Intel $40.00

Operating System
Windows XP Pro $140.00

Floppy Drive $10.00
Sony DRU510 DVD Burner $200.00

ACEDvio A/D Converter $330.00

Audio
Audiophile 2496 $150.00

Video Card
Matrox G550 $100.00
Total $1,960

John