Advice for video edit system - under $1000

[tampamark]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Immdiate

BUDGET RANGE: Under $1000, the less money the better

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Surfing, video and sound file editing (HD video conversion), NO GAMING

PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
Case - already have a Thermaltake Armor case - http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1277&ID=1405
Power Supply - Case has Thermaltake Toughpower 550NP, 550 watt power supply
Hard Drive - I have 4 Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 320-GB Hard Drives currently, no RAID (on purpose)
*note: I am considering a SSD for use as the OS and program drive only, documents and files on SATA drives
Mouse and keyboard
Monitor - already have 22" viewsonic
OS - I can use my XP license...but would consider Win 7
GPU - Currently have Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT, since I am a gamer do I need a new card??? http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_7950.html
*note: I would be OK with new GPU if this one is just too outdated

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: n/a for now

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference

OVERCLOCKING: No / Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920 x 1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Currently system:
ASUS M2N32 WS Pro
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core (4200 +)
3.5 gig of ram
Nvidia Gforce 7950 GT
4 barracuda sata drives listed above

I do not game so that is completely out of the consideration. I am not intent on getting the latest and greatest best of class components. But I do quite a bit of video conversion and it takes a bunch of hours to convert a 12gb MKV file to other formats. I hate to wait. I figure with all I really need is a MB, CPU, and Ram and I should be off and running?

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[vanekl]

Sorry, your XP license is of little value if you want your workstation to use more than 4 GB memory. It's time to upgrade.


$193 MSI X58 Pro-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130226


$11 LOGISYS AD202 12V Molex to 8pin P8 Adapter - Retail
Use this only if your psu doesn't already have an 8-pin connector.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812887002


$289 Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202


$160 CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8 G - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145236


$112 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116713&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Software+-+Operating+Systems-_-Microsoft-_-32116713


$765 TOTAL

 

[Silvune]

CPU: Intel I7 860 $290 Not enough money to get i7 870 and the i7 860 is at worst the same performance as the i7 920 and you don't have to pay as much for the platform. The cheapest x58 motherboard is around $160.
Mobo: ASUS P7P55D-E $145 I believe this is one of the cheapest motherboards that has USB 3 and importantly for the SSD, Sata 6Gbps ports.
SSD: Intel X-25M 80GB $300 One of the best consumer level SSDs.
RAM:
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) 1600mhz CAS 8 1.65V $100
OR
G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 1600mhz CAS 7 1.65V $115
OR
G.Skill Eco 4GB (2x2GB) 1600mhz CAS 7 1.35V $126 (including shipping)


Total: $835 - $861
This leaves enough room in the budget to either get another set of RAM to make the total 8GB, which is the sort of thing you want to do when video editing. Or get Windows 7. Or possibly something else that would be beneficial, not sure what that would be tho...
If 60GB would be enough space for you as a boot drive, then you can save a little and get one of these:
Crucial CT64M225 64GB $223
OCZ Vertex Turbo OCZSSD2-1VTXT60G 60GB $240
OCZ Vertex OCZSSD2-1VTXA60G 60GB $260
Which might give you enough extra money to do even more good for your new build.
I don't really see the need for a new video card.

 

[tampamark]

Thanks guys!

These look really good, perhaps this is a question for another forum, but should I be concerned with the SSD trim issues, or are those resolved with the new ones?

The reason I am not hip on the Win 7 is that I have so much software invested in the old XP system. But perhaps I will give it a shot anyway.

 

[vanekl]

My opinion is SSD durability is as yet unproven. Adding fast RAM gives you some of the advantages of SSDs. I think it's prudent to wait for the technology to mature and become more affordable before recommending it for home use. That's why I specified 6 GB in the above build instead of a SSD.

 

[Silvune]

I think the second generation second firmware has solved a lot of the TRIM issues.
Don't you have the install CDs/DVDs/files for those programs? I thought you would easily enough be able to reinstall them. PITA getting all the settings right again, but c'est la vie eh?
Edit: I agree with vanekl a bit, even by the end of this year SSDs will be much better than they are now.

 

[tampamark]

I do have install disks for all the programs. I am just concerned about the compatibility issues with Win 7 operating programs designed for XP. I know that the option to run them in compatibility mode but that does not guarantee operation. But the advantages of Win 7 may outweigh that issue.

 

[vanekl]

I would go to each vendor of all of my most important software packages that I use every day and make sure they have a win7 version before doing any upgrading.

 

[builderbobftw]

Get a p55 setup with i5-750 and only 4gb of ram. That way you can use ur Xp pro COA, and not lose RAm. And save some cash. If you're determined to waste money, get an i7-870 and piss away some cash. Or get an SSD.

 

[tampamark]

Talk to me, what P55 mobo would you recommend that would provide the most bang for the buck? While the SSD is up for grabs at this point I would like to know what mobo would support the SSD speed.

 

[builderbobftw]

Get a EVGA p55 SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188055 --- 180$

For ssd- http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167015

It's that or nothing. That is the best ssd out there. Nothing else comes close. Don't get a crap budget ssd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115215 200$ i5-750 cpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263&cm_re=ddr3_4gb-_-20-145-263-_-Product

Good 100$ 4gb DDr3 1600 ram.

The total comes out to just about 1000$, Awesome grade A+ system. If you realy want to stay under 750$, you could try buying used off Ebay, if you're comfrotable with that kind of thing. Keep ur Xp pro COA, Keep ur GPU.