Camera or new computer

[edelosh]

Hey guys, as of right now I'm debating on purchasing a camera, most likely a DVX, or a new computer.

SETUP:
P4 2.4Ghz,
ASUS P4P800 mobo,
1.5Gb DDR sdram,
ATI Radeon x1050 128mb video card,
Sound blaster Live! 5.1 audio card,
70Gb 7200rpm sataI hdd Western Digital I believe,
ASUS VH266 16:9 lcd monitor
Windows XP sp3

Current programs:
Avid Xpress Pro 5.2
After Effects CS4
Photoshop CS4
Illustrator CS4
Sorenson Squeeze 5


I have 2 500Gb WD Caviar Black hdds that I would like to setup in RAID 0 for editing, and an external WD 500Gb My Book hdd for backing up my work.

I would need to get a firewire card and more memory indefinitely to capture and edit.

Would it be worth updating my computer with a few things and buy a camera, or should I be more concered with a better system?
I figure I should get a camera since I do not have one at the moment. I would like my computer to be able to edit HD (I know the dvx is SD), but I doubt my current setup could support that regardless of what I do, although I am not against trying to make it work.

Any insight as to whether this system should be retired, or ways to keep it going until I can upgrade later on would be great.

 

[bige420]

Yeah that system is really dated and wouldnt hold up to heavy video editing very well. If you tell me what kind of budget your working with here I can suggest a system.

 

[edelosh]

Well I've configured an I Buy Power pc for a little under $1100 and it has:

intel core i7 920 (2.66ghz 8mb L3 cache)
ASUS p6t x58 SE mobo
6gb (2bg x 3) ddr3-1333 memory
500 gb sata 3gb 7200 rpm hdd
Lightscribe LG 22x dvdrw dual layer
nvidia geforce 9400gt 1gb
12 in 1 flash media reader/writer
sound blaster audigy SE
windows vista business 64 bit

I'll have to finance a camera because I only have around $3000 at the moment, especially if it's a dvx.

 

[Helloworld_98]

for about $100 more you could build a far more powerful PC than that.

 

[drunknmunkys]

If you're serious about photography and editing I'd go quad-core like you've selected, but you can definitely keep your costs down. I'll put a sample build together.

 

[edelosh]

cool, can't wait to see the suggestions. and I won't be playing videos at all either, in case that makes serious differences in hardware choices.

 

[Onus]

You would probably do a lot better if you build it yourself. There's no PSU listed there, and I'm not sure that IBuyPower uses decent ones (quality, not just size).
Do you intend to play games? The 9400GT is not suitable for games.
The sound card is probably also not needed. Onboard sound is pretty good now.

 

[drunknmunkys]

[citation][nom]Why-Me's build[/nom]D0 Stepping i7 920 w/dual gtx 275's

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006 $119.99 ($109.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P $224.99 | $209.99 after rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

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Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 Socket 8MB Cache CPU D0 Stepping

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XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

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Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

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EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

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EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
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G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

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Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151171 $24.99
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,245.91 | $1,180.91 w/mail in rebates [/citation]

All the i7 builds are the same (with the exception of brand preference), I didn't bother redoing it. If you're strictly doing photo editing you can knock the graphics cards down some, and you won't need the HDD (unless you want extra space).

 

[edelosh]

I woudn't be playing video games* I meant, whoops.

I Buy Power offers plenty of PSU's, I chose a Casegears 650 watt, they also have Corsair PSU's which are good.

I figured I should get a sound card because I use Avid and it has problems with onboard sound, at least on my computer as of now.

That build is not bad, but then I would need the OS, which is another $135 or so on top of that.

 

[drunknmunkys]

You don't need a sound card.

Use Windows 7. No reason to buy an OS right now.

You'll save 250-500$ building it yourself compared to a custom builder.

Corsair is the only reliable PSU they sell I think, but the markups are insane.

 

[edelosh]

I've read about windows 7 compatability issues with the cs4 programs and others. I don't want to have my comp crashing a lot with a beta OS you know.

 

[drunknmunkys]

I've not heard of any major program compatibility issues with Windows 7, and the RC is not a beta, its pretty much the release version minus a few polishings.

 

[sandymiss]

Thanks for your sharing



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[susanpret88]

Cheers and we look forward to your Forum Favourites selections!



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