how does this computer measure up at DVinfo.net

Dylan Couper · August 29th, 2002, 12:28 AM

Hey computer guys!
I went to get some computer price quotes today. Just wondering if you guys can tell me what you think of this system. The price is $1600cdn, which is a little over $1000us. I can get a bit cheaper price, I just want to know if the components are all worthy. It's going to be used for video editing and nothing else really.
I plan on running W2k and Vegas Video or Premiere, but I'd like to be able to run Avid XDV3 in the future (when I can afford it).

Intel P4 2.0ghz (512k) Socket478 CPU retail
ASUS P4B533 S478 1845 6PCI AGP 3DDR Motherboard
512MB PC2100 266mhz DDR RAM
1.44mb floppy drive
2 Western Digital 80GB ATA100 7200rpm/8.9ms/8MB hard drives
Matrox G550 32MB DDR AGP video card
PYRO DV 1394 Capture card
18" case / 350w power supply
16bit integrated sound
LiteOn 48x12x40 IDE CD-R-W drive
Extra cooling fan for case.

There is room in my budget for more. If there is something that sucks, or could be cheaply upgraded to something better, please let me know.

I'm thinking of adding a Sound Blaster card, and maybe a DVD-ROM drive. I'm not sure if the RAM is considered "fast" or not. Definitely cheap. Would I be better to have a Gig of the above RAM, or 512MB of faster RAM?
The HD's are not ATA133, how much does this affect their speed? They do have an 8MB buffer though, which I hear rocks.

Also the monitor they suggested (not included in the above price) is the Samsung 19" 955DF SVGA flat screen.

That's it!
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice!

Jason Wood · August 29th, 2002, 12:45 AM

Everything sounds cool except the mobo's PCI chipset (Atleast for XpressDV).

You might consider adding a 30 gig drive for your OS only, and dedicate the two 80 gig drives for video storage. As long as the drives run at 7200RPM you should be A-OK!

The more RAM the better. If you can afford a gig, than get a gig.

SB Live is only $40 bucks U.S., you might as well go ahead and get it.

Also, a 400w to 450w power supply might be a better idea.

I would run atleast five fans, and try to keep that box running at around 35-40 degrees.

Other than that, Premiere and Vegas will work like a charm.

My 2 cents...

Good luck,
Jason

Keith Loh · August 29th, 2002, 12:48 AM

Ummm...

http://hwreviews.netscape.com/hardware/0-7073-405-7029828.html?tag=dir-rev

Jason Wood · August 29th, 2002, 12:52 AM

One more note...

The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000.

*I happen to prefer 2000, but what are you going to do?*

Regards,
Jason

Dylan Couper · August 29th, 2002, 08:16 PM

Yep, I only plan on gettin XDV 3.0 and run Win 2000. The mojority of people here prefer W2k, and XDV will probably be cheaper, I hope.
For now I'm probably just going to run Vegas Video though.

I think I will get a gig of RAM and an SB card as well.

Keith the SB Audigy in that article is pretty pimp, but will blow my budget.

August 30th, 2002, 03:53 PM

I've just built a 2.4 system with this motherboard and you dont need a pyro firewire card as this board has 2 firewire connectors already you can use if you connect them. As you know you dont need a sound card as this board a built in very good sound chip/codec with analog in and out and PCI in and out. It also has 2 built in IDE raid ports with a Promise controller in addition to the regular IDE's although I dont use those because of potential problems with raid. I use a PCI/IDE card to hool up my Vid drives.

Dylan Couper · August 30th, 2002, 10:13 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by RedeyeRob : I've just built a 2.4 system with this motherboard and you dont need a pyro firewire card as this board has 2 firewire connectors already you can use if you connect them. -->>>

Really? What do you have to do to connect them? I haven't bought it yet, but it would have been nice if the guy at the shop told me that!

Zac Stein · September 3rd, 2002, 11:10 PM

Depending on your use...
i wouldn't really touch that video card,
Most if not all video cards out today offer pretty much spot on 2d performance, to give you a little more freedom i would be looking at a twin vga output either via 2 db15 plugs or twin DVI output then using little $2 adapters and getting an NVIDIA ti4200 which is part of the Geforce 4 range.

Reasons for this are 2, one the 3d performance will give you freedom to play a game, or simply have more grunt when certain applications that call for 3d performance are needed.

And, the nvidia drivers are rock solid and continually updating, i have had nightmares with matrox cards, and quite franky are overpriced hunks of junk with no 3d or video acceleration at all.

kermie

Andrew Petrie · September 17th, 2002, 02:33 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Fstop_Elvis : One more note...

The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000.-->>>

Is this a permenant restriction? I don't want to upgrade to XP, I'm very happy with 2k. Does anyone know if Avid's taking measures to make it work with 2k in a future patch? XP and 2k are very similar... Dammit.

Dylan Couper · September 18th, 2002, 10:31 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by SyneticDV : <<<-- Originally posted by Fstop_Elvis : One more note...

The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000.-->>>

Is this a permenant restriction? I don't want to upgrade to XP, I'm very happy with 2k. Does anyone know if Avid's taking measures to make it work with 2k in a future patch? XP and 2k are very similar... Dammit. -->>>

I haven't heard anything that says otherwise, so I'd assume it will not be changed.

Marc Betz · September 21st, 2002, 09:49 AM

From everything I have heard, Avid will not support win2k on xpress dv 3.5 and has no plans of doing so. You either have to get someone to sell you thier old software 3.0 or upgrade to xp.

They will both run on either operating system I have heard but can only capture on the correct OS.

August 29th, 2002, 12:28 AM	#1
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	how does this computer measure up Hey computer guys! I went to get some computer price quotes today. Just wondering if you guys can tell me what you think of this system. The price is $1600cdn, which is a little over $1000us. I can get a bit cheaper price, I just want to know if the components are all worthy. It's going to be used for video editing and nothing else really. I plan on running W2k and Vegas Video or Premiere, but I'd like to be able to run Avid XDV3 in the future (when I can afford it). Intel P4 2.0ghz (512k) Socket478 CPU retail ASUS P4B533 S478 1845 6PCI AGP 3DDR Motherboard 512MB PC2100 266mhz DDR RAM 1.44mb floppy drive 2 Western Digital 80GB ATA100 7200rpm/8.9ms/8MB hard drives Matrox G550 32MB DDR AGP video card PYRO DV 1394 Capture card 18" case / 350w power supply 16bit integrated sound LiteOn 48x12x40 IDE CD-R-W drive Extra cooling fan for case. There is room in my budget for more. If there is something that sucks, or could be cheaply upgraded to something better, please let me know. I'm thinking of adding a Sound Blaster card, and maybe a DVD-ROM drive. I'm not sure if the RAM is considered "fast" or not. Definitely cheap. Would I be better to have a Gig of the above RAM, or 512MB of faster RAM? The HD's are not ATA133, how much does this affect their speed? They do have an 8MB buffer though, which I hear rocks. Also the monitor they suggested (not included in the above price) is the Samsung 19" 955DF SVGA flat screen. That's it! Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice!

August 29th, 2002, 12:48 AM	#3
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Audigy? Ummm... http://hwreviews.netscape.com/hardware/0-7073-405-7029828.html?tag=dir-rev __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

September 17th, 2002, 02:33 PM	#9
Andrew Petrie Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 484	<<<-- Originally posted by Fstop_Elvis : One more note... The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000.-->>> Is this a permenant restriction? I don't want to upgrade to XP, I'm very happy with 2k. Does anyone know if Avid's taking measures to make it work with 2k in a future patch? XP and 2k are very similar... Dammit. __________________ Andrew \| Canon XL1s, ME66, Vinten Vision 3, GlideCam V16 (for sale!)

September 21st, 2002, 09:49 AM	#11
Marc Betz Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: NH Posts: 95	Win xp 2000 From everything I have heard, Avid will not support win2k on xpress dv 3.5 and has no plans of doing so. You either have to get someone to sell you thier old software 3.0 or upgrade to xp. They will both run on either operating system I have heard but can only capture on the correct OS. __________________ Marc Betz

August 29th, 2002, 12:45 AM	#2
Jason Wood Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 87	Everything sounds cool except the mobo's PCI chipset (Atleast for XpressDV). You might consider adding a 30 gig drive for your OS only, and dedicate the two 80 gig drives for video storage. As long as the drives run at 7200RPM you should be A-OK! The more RAM the better. If you can afford a gig, than get a gig. SB Live is only $40 bucks U.S., you might as well go ahead and get it. Also, a 400w to 450w power supply might be a better idea. I would run atleast five fans, and try to keep that box running at around 35-40 degrees. Other than that, Premiere and Vegas will work like a charm. My 2 cents... Good luck, Jason

August 29th, 2002, 12:52 AM	#4
Jason Wood Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 87	One more note... The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000. I happen to prefer 2000, but what are you going to do? Regards, Jason

August 29th, 2002, 08:16 PM	#5
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Yep, I only plan on gettin XDV 3.0 and run Win 2000. The mojority of people here prefer W2k, and XDV will probably be cheaper, I hope. For now I'm probably just going to run Vegas Video though. I think I will get a gig of RAM and an SB card as well. Keith the SB Audigy in that article is pretty pimp, but will blow my budget.

August 30th, 2002, 03:53 PM	#6
RedeyeRob Posts: n/a	I've just built a 2.4 system with this motherboard and you dont need a pyro firewire card as this board has 2 firewire connectors already you can use if you connect them. As you know you dont need a sound card as this board a built in very good sound chip/codec with analog in and out and PCI in and out. It also has 2 built in IDE raid ports with a Promise controller in addition to the regular IDE's although I dont use those because of potential problems with raid. I use a PCI/IDE card to hool up my Vid drives.

August 30th, 2002, 10:13 PM	#7
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	<<<-- Originally posted by RedeyeRob : I've just built a 2.4 system with this motherboard and you dont need a pyro firewire card as this board has 2 firewire connectors already you can use if you connect them. -->>> Really? What do you have to do to connect them? I haven't bought it yet, but it would have been nice if the guy at the shop told me that!

September 3rd, 2002, 11:10 PM	#8
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	Depending on your use... i wouldn't really touch that video card, Most if not all video cards out today offer pretty much spot on 2d performance, to give you a little more freedom i would be looking at a twin vga output either via 2 db15 plugs or twin DVI output then using little $2 adapters and getting an NVIDIA ti4200 which is part of the Geforce 4 range. Reasons for this are 2, one the 3d performance will give you freedom to play a game, or simply have more grunt when certain applications that call for 3d performance are needed. And, the nvidia drivers are rock solid and continually updating, i have had nightmares with matrox cards, and quite franky are overpriced hunks of junk with no 3d or video acceleration at all. kermie

September 18th, 2002, 10:31 AM	#10
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	<<<-- Originally posted by SyneticDV : <<<-- Originally posted by Fstop_Elvis : One more note... The latest version of XpressDV (3.5) will only run on WinXP and NOT Win2000.-->>> Is this a permenant restriction? I don't want to upgrade to XP, I'm very happy with 2k. Does anyone know if Avid's taking measures to make it work with 2k in a future patch? XP and 2k are very similar... Dammit. -->>> I haven't heard anything that says otherwise, so I'd assume it will not be changed.