Great reference for hardware buyers

Leee wrote on 3/2/2012, 7:00 AM

I've been looking into getting some new hardware to possibly help make Vegas 11 run better. I've been thinking about getting everything from a new graphics card to a complete new system. And I found the following website's guide tremendously helpful in making some decisions. It has some specific recommendations for NLE's in general, as well as Sony Vegas Pro.

http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+System+recommendations+for+Video+Editing/0x4aebb06ba071d2b6a2cd784ce243a6c6.aspx

Comments

Steve Mann wrote on 3/2/2012, 8:43 AM

The Videoguys site has been recommended here from time to time, but a reminder is appropriate. The system described in their DIY9 article should be good for editing Vegas.

NicolSD wrote on 3/2/2012, 10:45 AM

My computer is basically the same as their DIY9 except for a few differences in brand names for the SSD drive, power supply, case and blu-ray for example. I have the exact same motherboard and cpu. The same gpu (but they do not mention any brand name) and ram.

riredale wrote on 3/4/2012, 2:50 PM

Geez, I did a quick read and came away with the impression that these guys are in the business of selling stuff!

Article was full of generalities like "make sure you have plenty of cooling!" Compared to what? How is the person to know? They say that XP needs 2GB to run efficiently. Boy, I guess I should have shown that to my old system with 512MB. It's a miracle it was able to do all those 2-hour video projects at all, eh?

So again my takeaway is that these guys are trying to sell you something new. As such, they greatly exaggerate the situation. I'll go further: a newbie will gain far better and much more honest information by surfing here.

Steve Mann wrote on 3/4/2012, 3:59 PM

Yes, Videoguys are in the business of selling stuff. That's how they stay in business. But they not only build and test these DIY projects, they also freely provide the buy list. You can either buy from them or go to Frys or NewEgg or Amazon to buy the parts. But their advice is dead on. No exaggeration.

farss wrote on 3/4/2012, 5:17 PM

"So again my takeaway is that these guys are trying to sell you something new"

Yes, the Videoguys are in the business of selling stuff however as far as I can find they are not in the business of selling any computer parts at all. They don't even sell turnkey solutions, they do provide links to the turnkey vendors sites.

I'd also point out that what they recommend as their DIY9 systems is somewhat underspec'ed compared to the turnkey solutions that were being recommended by SCS themselves. Personally I'm quite averse to the whole beginners don't need good kit line of reasoning. In everything I've turned my hand to, from carpentry to target shooting, exactly the opposite has been the case. The craftsman with years of experience is the one who can wrangle amazing results from anything. The beginner needs all the help he can get.

Bob.

amendegw wrote on 3/4/2012, 5:28 PM

Ahhh, the Videoguys. Pardon me for taking this off-topic, but I remember buying a Fast Video Machine from them. Never could get it to work, they returned my $$$ no questions asked. When was that? Had to be the mid 1990's.

Also, this was where I bought my first copy of Vegas. I was frustrated with Pinnacle and the Videoguys had a combo deal for Vegas 4 and a Canopus Acedvio card.

...Jerry

riredale wrote on 3/5/2012, 11:15 AM

Bob, I see your point, and agree in general, but my own limited experience with Vegas in particular is that it ran great on any system I threw it on. The only real difference I noticed was how fast it did the final render.

If this is true, then it is the PRO who would really appreciate getting the final product in tens of minutes rather than hours--after all, time is money. The newbie is probably just thrilled to be able to create a quality product at all, and doesn't care if the final render happens while he sleeps.

It could also be that most other NLEs are not at all as forgiving as Vegas, and demand certain hardware specs to run at all. I have no experience with anything other than Vegas and PinnacleStudio, used for my first big project back in 2001.