Mid to High End Turnkey Editing System – June 2007

[Baldwin Li]

hi folks,

finally got the new machine running and its flying. here's the final specs:

Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz
Antec Sonata III Silent Case w 500W Earthwatts PSU
2GB Corsair 6400 DRAM
Primary Drive 250GB Seagate Barracuda SATA II 300 7200rpm 16MB cache
2 x 500GB Seagate Barracuda SATA II 300 7200rpm 16MB cache Hard Drive set at RAID 0
NEC Optiarc AD-7170A-0S DVD burner
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P Intel P35 Express LGA775 1333 FSB Motherboard
Gigabyte 8600GT PCI-E 256MB graphics card silent pipe HDTV/DVI/VGA

Have transferred a feature film which i'm in the middle of audio dubbing from the old PC and it's editing nicely in native HDV with previews in Good or even Best without dropping frames. I can even preview with Magic Bullet Look at Good without dropping many frames.

A few things about the build: was disappointed the Antec case didnt have a front firewire port for some reason i thought it did... it is really quiet though although the CPU fan is a noisy bugger. i'll probably invest in a quieter one - any suggestions?

Gigabyte dont provide a back plate for the extra USB ports and Firewire ports which is a bit mean - there's only 1 firewire port on the standard back plate which is annoying if you have a firewire soundcard (mine's an Alesis I/O 26) and want to plug a camera. Those USB/firewire back plates are at least £10...

Apart from that very happy with it - havent done a big render yet but hope it'll breeze through.

Tried the HDTV component output to my Samsung 42" HD LCD which actually looked pretty poor - not so noticeable when playing video but you can see terrible ghosting and softness when you're looking at the desktop. however, i connected via the VGA input of the TV which was crystal clear - who needs HDMI!

Thanks to everyone who's given advice, especially Jon, it was most helpful.

Best,

Baldwin

[Baldwin Li]

just another note: ive decided to NEVER allow the new machine anywhere near the internet - a bit annoying when having to transfer latest drivers etc. from my other PC from a USB drive but i think worth it. i've therefore not ran any Windows Updates - i had to install NET framework manually for Vegas which was fine - i could have made up an Windows install CD with the updates already i guess but, question is, is it worth geting the updates anyway? i think most of them are 'security' based and since im not on the net it isnt going to be an issue. and who need windows media player 11 when there's VLC!?

baldwin

[Jon McGuffin]

Baldwin,

I think you are wise to do manual updates and I think it's absolutely spot on about all the security stuff from Microsoft. If you're not on the internet, you won't need 'em... Funny how the internet which has turned into the "lifeblood" of computing is also the greatest weakness. Simply removing that equation from your working computer nearly makes you free from any possible harm from the outside.

In regards to the case... this is another reason why I strongly recommend the P180 or P182 from Antec. Front firewire and it's design is focused around silent operation.

As for the TV. You definately wouldn't want to run the TV-Out to the HD LCD. That would give you a horrible display. The best way to go about hooking that up should be to get a DVI-HDMI connector and use that big LCD as your secondary display. Be sure to lookup the resolution of the device and configure that exact resolution with your NVidia display properties (maybe either 1280x720 or 1920x1080 <- hopefully that one). You want that display to be showing pixel perfect and that should create a crisp tight display.

Jon

[John Hewat]

Originally Posted by Baldwin Li

just another note: ive decided to NEVER allow the new machine anywhere near the internet

I've been thinking along those lines too - Is this what most people do?

Keep their editing computers isolated from the Internet?

[Jon McGuffin]

Originally Posted by John Hewat

I've been thinking along those lines too - Is this what most people do?

Keep their editing computers isolated from the Internet?

I think, personally, this might be a litte bit of hyper thinking. There really is nothing inherently more dangerous on the internet than anything else in the world. I think the balance for a editing/work type machine though is to simply only hook up the machine for software updates and maybe some very simple basic web browsing and then to disconnect the system from the internet. Occasional intermittant internet use I feel is virtually completely free from risk. I think once you eliminate any email use + visiting questionable websites, it's probably safer than sex with condoms and birthcontrol pills.

Jon

[Donal Heath]

Hi Jon

First off, thank you so much for sharing you wisdom on this topic, it has been such a big help.

Secondly, as a bit of time has elapsed since you began this thread I have a couple of questions that I'd love to hear your (or anyone else's) answers to:

1. Do you think it's too early in their lifespan to be investing in the Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6 or ASUS P5K3 Deluxe? If so, is the GA P35-DS3P still the latest, safest bet?

2. Are the DDR2 boards peaking now and is it worth getting a DDR3 mobo, even if DDR3 memory (from what I read) isn't up to the same performance standard as DDR2 yet?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

[Jon McGuffin]

As a whole, the P35 chipset is fairly mature now and there doesn't seem to be really any problems with this chipset. I don't think, honestly, there is really that much variation between particular P35 motherboards within the same manufacturer or even across manufacturors for that matter. I particularly like the Gigabyte boards because they've been good to me in the past, but I've also had good success with MSI, Asus, Abit, etc. There happens to be a pretty good motherboard out on the market now by Abit the IP35 Pro that seems to be packed with features at a reasonable price as well.

I would stear clear of DDR3 for now. Too expensive, simply no real advantage and again, you are treading in new waters. Who's to say your favorite NLE app might not be absolutely 100% compatable with DDR3? I'm not saying it isn't, I'm just saying I know everything created in the last 2-3 years has had DDR2 in mind. I've even heard rumblings there may be a jump to a DDR4 standard before the DDR3 one really takes place... Who knows...

Jon

[Nathan Quattrini]

Hey Baldwin, how much did the machine run you?

[John Hewat]

Originally Posted by Jon McGuffin

I think the balance for a editing/work type machine though is to simply only hook up the machine for software updates and maybe some very simple basic web browsing and then to disconnect the system from the internet.

This would require a security program though, right? Like VET or whatever, yeah?

And I'm told that they are one of the biggest causes of system slow-downs you can find.

If you didn't go near the Internet at all, would you need one?

How about just for software updates? Would you need a security program like VET?

[Jon McGuffin]

No security software, no anti-virus, no windows firewall, nothing....

What I'm suggesting here is that you don't run any of that junk on your editing machine. Think of it like driving without a seatbelt. If you drive a lot, the odds are probably going to end up that you'll get in an accident at some point and not having it on will *probably* something you wish you had... but you could drive for years and years and it may never be a problem... Seeing as how you won't be using your editing machine to access the internet hardly at all, I personally don't think there is really a true risk in not running all that junk.

Heck, it wasn't very long ago (at least in my eyes) that none of this stuff really existed and wasn't mainstream at all...

Jon

[Jim Bucciferro]

Hey Jon,
I'm looking at the system you spec'd at the the beginning of this thread. I probably won't go RAID right away but I do want 4 drives: system, capture, render, and finalize.
What is the biggest hard drive size that XP and the BIOS on the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R can handle. I would like to get at least a full 320GB for each without having to partition.

Thanks
Jim

[Jon McGuffin]

Hey Jim,

Windows XP and the existing BIOS can read well above the 320Gb per drive so that isn't a problem. Just remember that when a drive manufacturer quotes a 320Gb drive, it's really a little less than that based on the way they calculate a "Gigabyte" versus what your computer calculates a Gigabyte.

Be sure you have a good power supply to give juice to all those drives + RAM, CPU, etc.. Probably wouldn't want to go with anything under 500.. 585 to 600 range should be good..

Jon

[Jim Bucciferro]

Jon,
I was looking at the one you mentioned:
ENERMAX EG495P-VE NOISETAKER II ATX 12V VERSION 2.2 485W

Will this be enough?

Jim

[Jon McGuffin]

What kind of Video Card and how much RAM are you plannting to go with? Also, are you getting a quad core or a dual core CPU?

Jon

[Jim Bucciferro]

Jon
Here is the system I am looking at:

XFX GEFORCE 8600 GT 256MB PCI EXPRESS DDR3 620MHZ DUAL DVI (Retail)
SEAGATE 250GB ST3250410AS SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
ENERMAX EG495P-VE NOISETAKER II ATX 12V VERSION 2.2 485W
ANTEC P182 (BLACK) ATX TOWER CASE
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR
CORE 2 DUO E6850 3.0G (1333Mhz)
CORSAIR 2GB KIT TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX
2 WD 320GB 3200KS / 3200AAKS SATA300 16MB 7200RPM

I backed out 1 320GB drive due to cost.
The 600W PS are a lot more expensive.

Will the ENERMAX do the job?

Thanks
Jim