New PC for editing HD camcorder films

[newuser123]

I am looking to buy new PC to edit my HD camcorder films.

I would like to have at least 8GB RAM memory (for my other computing uses). I am not too fussed about hard drive space because I can always get it externally.

Problem is what else should I be looking for? Processor speed, graphics card, sound card?

What is i3, i5 and i7?

For example, is an i3 with 8GB RAM better than an i5 with 4GB RAM?

What about cores? Obviously the more the better but again, is an i5 eight core better than an i7 quad core?

My intended budget (PC only, no monitor required) is around £600. Is that reasonable?

Thanks

 

[TriplexDread]

Hard drive is important!

The price of memory is really low. Get the fastest matched pair you can. It all helps

Video editing while CPU and memory hungry, it also needs a fast hard drive for encoding, decoding, splicing, rendering as well

The CPUs all have different Cache sizes and speeds, thats why they are named differently

I recommend getting a decent SSD drive. They have dropped in price now so very affordable
a 120GB - 160GB should be enough for you

Just use that for the editing. Normal SATA HDD for your OS

For the best speeds you need to make sure the motherboard supports 6GBps for the SSD

My answer is very basic..I'm sure someone else will advise aswell

 

[floppybootstomp]

This'll do ya, less than £600 inc next day postage. Add another 35-40 if you want 16Gb memory. The CPU's graphics are more than adequate for video editing but will stumble if you intend playing any newish games.

This system not written in blood, just a loose suggestion to give you an idea or two.

This is without software of course. You'll need an operating system and some video editing software. Windows movie maker comes bundled with Win 7 and probably Win 8 and will perform all the basic functions you need.

To view pic click on thumbnail below:

PS: It would also be worth adding one of these coolers to the budget for £16.00, well worth the money. Opt for free shipping (5 day delivery) and that would cover the cost of the cooler. I have one of these on my i5 in my media machine, it's good Cooler

 

[TriplexDread]

Nice selection Flopps

Although its his/her choice maybe AMD should have been an option aswell?

ya pays ya money

 

[floppybootstomp]

Thanks TXD. I went the Intel route as the guy had mentioned Intel CPU's, they are within the specified budget and generally speaking are better than the current crop of AMD CPU's. And also, from experience I can vouch that the Intel graphics are very good indeed.

 

[V_R]

nice choice Flops.

I know the OP said 600 quid, but if he could stretch to an i7 it would be good. The multi threading advantage would be good for video editing. Thats kind of where their for.

 

[newuser123]

Hard drive is important!

The price of memory is really low. Get the fastest matched pair you can. It all helps

Video editing while CPU and memory hungry, it also needs a fast hard drive for encoding, decoding, splicing, rendering as well

The CPUs all have different Cache sizes and speeds, thats why they are named differently

I recommend getting a decent SSD drive. They have dropped in price now so very affordable
a 120GB - 160GB should be enough for you

Just use that for the editing. Normal SATA HDD for your OS

For the best speeds you need to make sure the motherboard supports 6GBps for the SSD

My answer is very basic..I'm sure someone else will advise aswell

Your answer may be basic but it went way over my head!

What's an SSD drive? Most PCs come with 500GB or 1TB hard drive space so I won't have to worry about that.

No idea what SATA HDD is.

Even if I were to look for a PC with the spec you defined, how easy is it to find one ready built on the high street or must I get it over the internet, custom built? Not too keen on custom as I've heard it's possible the different parts, once assembled are not that compatible, owing to different manufacturers.

If you can find an example of one already, eg Dell, HP, etc. that'll be great.

 

[TriplexDread]

SSD drives are many many times faster than standard drives

The have no mechanical parts just chips

SATA is a standard format compared to the Very very old IDE

A simple search in google would explain all of this

I meant 120 - 160 SSD for editing!!

Pre bulilt systems are not upgradeble (limited) compared to a custom system

If you want a DELL simply go to their website and build your own for a premium

 

[muckshifter]

If you can find an example of one already, eg Dell, HP, etc. that'll be great.

They are a bit behind the times compared to our Sir Floppicus. Even if they could match the specs, they would Shirley charge a lot more.

 

[newuser123]

Thanks to all for the tips.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Your answer may be basic but it went way over my head!

What's an SSD drive? Most PCs come with 500GB or 1TB hard drive space so I won't have to worry about that.

SSD stands for solid state device. These hard drives are made from memory chips only and therefore run silent, cooler and a lot faster than a standard (SATA) hard drive. The larger disks you mention are fine for storage but the trend now is to have the operating system on an SSD and in your case carry out the video editing within software on the SSD. Why? Cos it's faster.

No idea what SATA HDD is.

It stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment Hard Disk Drive but all you're concerned about here is the letter 'S' - it stands for 'Serial' and denotes the way the data is transferred to and from the hard drive. Older hard drive technology was PATA (also known as 'IDE') where the P stood for Paralell. They were slower than SATA drives.

Even if I were to look for a PC with the spec you defined, how easy is it to find one ready built on the high street or must I get it over the internet, custom built? Not too keen on custom as I've heard it's possible the different parts, once assembled are not that compatible, owing to different manufacturers.

Try a local dealer for a quote to put one together for you. Print out the text of this thread and show them and ask for comments, you should soon be able to determine whether they are trustworthy or not.

It's a much better option, usually, than buying from the big boys. A company called Novatech are good for ready-made machines, look 'em up, have a browse. Incompatibility between parts is rare and it's a myth to think otherwise. Providing the CPU matches the motherboard socket and also the RAM (Memory) matches (it's almost universally DDR3 memory right now) then there should be no probs.

Do not be talked into buying a seperate graphics card (except for gaming) there will be no advantage for video editing or, indeed, video playback, the i series of Intel CPU's have all the graphics capability you need.

If you can find an example of one already, eg Dell, HP, etc. that'll be great.

You're free to go down that path if you wish of course but mostly the likes of Dell, HP etc are greatly overpriced. And oddly enough when you talk of incompatibility these are the worst culprits, if you want to upgrade one of these machines in the future the parts will have to be Dell or whatever compatible or they may not work with that machine. And guess what? Dell or whatever compatible parts cost more.

Hope that clears up any confusion.