Help me beef up my PC at DVinfo.net

Jason McDonald · December 1st, 2009, 05:04 AM

Here's what I have:

Windows XP (Sp2)
AMD 8450 Triple Core 2.0 Ghz
2GB RAM

250GB Hard-drive
200GB Hard-drive
External 300GB Hard-drive

ETA: I'm looking at speeding up the editing process/rendering process with mostly 7D files converted with Neoscene.

Nvidia Gforce 9600 GT

I work with Vegas 9/Premier CS3/After Effects CS3 and none of these will run Magic Bullet Looks (Which is bugging me but I can't get an answer from Red Giant). Mojo works, but not even Quick Looks works. Finesse is fine, but I would like to work out of Vegas (It's a bit easier right now than CS3 and AE) I'd be happy to invest in a new NLE if there's a trial on one before purchase.

I am thinking of buying my wife a Mac JUST so I can use Final Cut Pro on it. She's not that tech savvy and I'm constantly having to clean up her computer. I'm very much a Windows person but new to the NLE and HD video industry. I know what I need and don't need for photography, but not cinematography. Hope someone can help a bit.

Harm Millaard · December 1st, 2009, 05:15 AM

Maybe this will help: Adobe Forums: How to get the best from a PC? Some...

Robert M Wright · December 1st, 2009, 09:10 PM

The most cost effective way to boost performance considerably, will be to drop a 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 in your computer (or a 3.0GHz Phenom II X4, if your motherboard will only support a 95 watt CPU). You can get them for under $200 nowadays, from Newegg.

It would probably be a good idea to bump ram up to 4GB also.

Jason McDonald · December 1st, 2009, 11:13 PM

I thought that XP only recognized up to 2GB of RAM...anything else gets lost?

Anyone using Windows 7 yet?

Bill Koehler · December 2nd, 2009, 12:08 AM

Microsoft Windows XP 32 bit will recognize up to 3,668,396 KB or 3.6 GB for short.
I know because my machine has 8 GB installed, but XP 32 bit sees only the first 3.6 GB.

I have disk images of both 32 bit and 64 bit OS's.
That's why I have as much memory as I do.

Harm Millaard · December 2nd, 2009, 04:53 AM

Actually, XP sees the first 4 GB, but can only use 3.x GB of that space, because some is needed for internal use and housekeeping. That is why it reports seeing only 3.6 GB.

If you can not reuse the existing mobo and memory, I would stay far away from anything AMD and only choose Intel. Much better performance.

Jason McDonald · December 2nd, 2009, 08:36 AM

I bought 2 more GB of RAM now it shows up as
Physical Memory
Total 3326 MB

I also bought the AMD X4 945 Quad-core 3.0GHz...speedy

December 1st, 2009, 05:04 AM	#1
Jason McDonald Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Japan Posts: 295	Help me beef up my PC Here's what I have: Windows XP (Sp2) AMD 8450 Triple Core 2.0 Ghz 2GB RAM 250GB Hard-drive 200GB Hard-drive External 300GB Hard-drive ETA: I'm looking at speeding up the editing process/rendering process with mostly 7D files converted with Neoscene. Nvidia Gforce 9600 GT I work with Vegas 9/Premier CS3/After Effects CS3 and none of these will run Magic Bullet Looks (Which is bugging me but I can't get an answer from Red Giant). Mojo works, but not even Quick Looks works. Finesse is fine, but I would like to work out of Vegas (It's a bit easier right now than CS3 and AE) I'd be happy to invest in a new NLE if there's a trial on one before purchase. I am thinking of buying my wife a Mac JUST so I can use Final Cut Pro on it. She's not that tech savvy and I'm constantly having to clean up her computer. I'm very much a Windows person but new to the NLE and HD video industry. I know what I need and don't need for photography, but not cinematography. Hope someone can help a bit.

December 1st, 2009, 05:15 AM	#2
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	Maybe this will help: Adobe Forums: How to get the best from a PC? Some...

December 1st, 2009, 09:10 PM	#3
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	The most cost effective way to boost performance considerably, will be to drop a 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 in your computer (or a 3.0GHz Phenom II X4, if your motherboard will only support a 95 watt CPU). You can get them for under $200 nowadays, from Newegg. It would probably be a good idea to bump ram up to 4GB also.

December 1st, 2009, 11:13 PM	#4
Jason McDonald Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Japan Posts: 295	I thought that XP only recognized up to 2GB of RAM...anything else gets lost? Anyone using Windows 7 yet?

December 2nd, 2009, 12:08 AM	#5
Bill Koehler Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia, USA Posts: 760	Microsoft Windows XP 32 bit will recognize up to 3,668,396 KB or 3.6 GB for short. I know because my machine has 8 GB installed, but XP 32 bit sees only the first 3.6 GB. I have disk images of both 32 bit and 64 bit OS's. That's why I have as much memory as I do.

December 2nd, 2009, 04:53 AM	#6
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	Actually, XP sees the first 4 GB, but can only use 3.x GB of that space, because some is needed for internal use and housekeeping. That is why it reports seeing only 3.6 GB. If you can not reuse the existing mobo and memory, I would stay far away from anything AMD and only choose Intel. Much better performance.

December 2nd, 2009, 08:36 AM	#7
Jason McDonald Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Japan Posts: 295	I bought 2 more GB of RAM now it shows up as Physical Memory Total 3326 MB I also bought the AMD X4 945 Quad-core 3.0GHz...speedy