What would be the Best CPU for Video Editing

[devren]

I am about to build or buy a comp that will be used primarily for video editing. I have a maximum budget of $3,000. Which processor should I use? I was thinking of using the I7 but someone recommended that I go with a xeon. What do you guys suggest for a great video editing box? Plus what MB should I use thanks?

 

[ulysses35]

i7 9** would be ideal, however the Xeon in multi tasking and video editing would offer better performance. Dependson how deep your pockets are really.

 

[mindless728]

as long as your program can support 16 threads, i think a dual Xeon setup can be had for that price

2 x Xeon 5530 - ~$1200
2 x 3x2GB ram - ~$420
Decent Board - ~$400
Decent Case - ~$150
Decent PSU - ~$150
2 x Samsung F3 1TB - ~$180
ATI 5670 - ~$100
Linux - FREE

comes to around $2600, so room to get better parts

 

[ulysses35]

Hmm Linux ? for a Xeon based machine and video editing. Never tried but would suggest sticking with windozzz.... though some linux experts will probably correct me.

 

[vvhocare5]

Command line video editing? WOW!

My hats off to the Linux guys and gals....

It would be interesting to see a video benchmark with the new 6 core, 12 thread processor versus 2 Xeons (16 total threads). Im thinking the 2 Xeons may hold their own - depending upon the CPU speeds... With that number of threads available isnt the disk subsystem going to be a huge limiting factor? Im thinking you would need a RAID 0 x4 array to feed data to the CPU....

 

[Malovane]

A single i7 would probably be fine for most applications. I'd spend the extra on a good workstation graphics card and a raid array.

But what system you build depends on the programs you will use. Any software selected yet?

 

[singingigo]

Workstation graphics cards are the way to go. Look for a FirePro/FireGL and a QuadroFX.

 

[devren]

Thanks for the fast responces and all the input.
To give alittle more information I will need to stay with windows as I will also have to do alot of misc office tasks. For that I'm thinking that Windows 7 64 bit would be best.

I currently have Adobe CS4, Visual Studio 2008 (for Programming), and MS office includeing a large access database. We have a built in gigabit network, with 4 streaming cameras that will have the info sent to this computer and to the internet, with a possible 5th camera soon. I plan store the info from all the cameras and then edit it at a later time to create dvds. Speaking of which the buisiness manager wants me to have a version of the dvd that has all 4 cameras viewable at the same time in a split screen so if anyone knows a good program to automate that please let me know.

Let me know if you need anymore info. Again my upper limit is $3000
Thanks again
Dev

Edit- I know this question will be in the wrong section but for somereason its being ignored in the Proper section so I'll ask here.
What would be the best Video card to put in this thing and still stay under budget. I was considering an nvidia fx quadro for about $1300, but I wasnt sure if a good standard card would work just as well and I would be better off putting the money somewhere else in the system. Thanks

 

[rosenberg1979]

Honestly it doesn't sound like you are killing the computer most of the time, the most taxing thing is going to be converting the stored camera streams to dvd format, i do something similar on a old dual core, it just takes longer. Adobe can be a bit pigish at times, but I really don't see why you couldn't get away with a decent quad even with all that going on. You are not rendering. I also don't see the need for the openGL acceleration that the workstaton GPU's provide for that situation, unless you start using maya type products. Really any low end gamer GPU sounds like it would be more than enough, my 9800gtx is more than enough for photoshop and blender.

What i would focus on is reliability of everything, it already seems everyone is pushing you more to the workstation world so, maybe a nice enterprise class board, ecc ram, and esp. storage with 4 and possibly a 5th stream piped in what 10 hours a day you might want to consider back up options/RAID options/possibly enterprise class HDD's depending on how "mission critical" the data on them is.

 

[devren]

Honestly it doesn't sound like you are killing the computer most of the time, the most taxing thing is going to be converting the stored camera streams to dvd format, i do something similar on a old dual core, it just takes longer. Adobe can be a bit pigish at times, but I really don't see why you couldn't get away with a decent quad even with all that going on. You are not rendering. I also don't see the need for the openGL acceleration that the workstaton GPU's provide for that situation, unless you start using maya type products. Really any low end gamer GPU sounds like it would be more than enough, my 9800gtx is more than enough for photoshop and blender.

What i would focus on is reliability of everything, it already seems everyone is pushing you more to the workstation world so, maybe a nice enterprise class board, ecc ram, and esp. storage with 4 and possibly a 5th stream piped in what 10 hours a day you might want to consider back up options/RAID options/possibly enterprise class HDD's depending on how "mission critical" the data on them is.

OK thanks alot!
Dev

 

[bwiltse2620]

With CS5 now out, I highly recommend a quadro line graphics card. Since this machine seems like it is mainly going to be used to process several streams of video, the workstation graphics card will greatly accelerate your ability to work with video. If you're going to stay with CS4 on the other hand, then as rosenberg said, any gamer GPU will do the job. Your video processing power will be more dependent on CPU with CS4. And I agree that if your raw video data is extremely important, make sure you have high-quality hard drives. Your cost will be the ultimate factor, but I'd probably recommend a RAID 0+1 setup to gain both speed and security with your data.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey