Hard Disk Drives
The most important factors in a nonlinear video system are the speed and capacity of the hard drive. Video files are extremely large and the hard drives used to store them must have large capacity with high-sustained transfer rates. For NTSC video at a frame size of 640 x 480, at 30 frames per second, each second of uncompressed video equals approximately 18.6 MB of data. In order to bring the video into the PC and fit it on the hard disk the amount of data per second (data rate) must be reduced. This can be done be reducing the frame size and/or by compressing the data. The more the video is compressed the lower the data rate will be. The trade off is that the more compression I use the lower the video quality will be. Here is another reason why I chose the Iwill DVD266, because the component critical to deciding the maximum data transfer rate a system is capable of is the motherboard. The DVD266 supports a data rate up to the UATA/100 standard, which is 100 MB per second, so of course I chose a hard drive capable of performing at that standard. I chose a 40 GB Maxtor, because it met these specifications and it was economically priced at $109.99 at Best Buy. Hard drive capacity is not really an issue, due also to the fact that I chose the Iwill DVD26. As it has an onboard RAID controller, I can add as many IDE devices as I need. Up to six hard drives and four other IDE devices.
Other IDE Devices
Whether the idea is to record your home videos on DVD or to save data gigs at a time, DVD-RW is the way to go. The CD-RW and the DVD-RW functions can be included in a single drive. This will save money and will use only one of the systems IDE connections. I found the Pioneer Internal DVD-RW Drive Model DVR-A03 at Best Buy.
Integrated Components
Usually, components integrated into the motherboard are considered to be a drawback for a system. This is due to the fact that they are permanently incorporated into the system and do not allow for system upgrade, but I feel that the components that the Iwill DVD266u-RN includes in it’s design are quality components that I will not need to upgrade.
HighPoint Technologies HPT370A
HPT370A PCI Dual Channel Ultra DMA/ATA 100 RAID Controller supports up to 4 Ultra DMA/ATA 100 disk devices with a burst transfer rate of up to 100MB/Sec. The HPT370A is fully backward-compatible with all hard devices including Ultra DMA/ATA 66, 33 and EIDE Fast ATA-2. HPT 370A co-exists with motherboard IDE ports, adding two additional IDE ports to PCI 2.0 or higher systems. With the inclusion of Hot Swap capabilities, user will have the ability to remove IDE devices from the system without shutting the system down. Another important feature is RAID 0, 1 and 0+1 support, which allows users to connect multiple hard drives for data mirroring and striping applications for performance and data-redundancy concern. The HPT 370A will integrate in high performance motherboards, IDE controllers and also the network subsystems for the use of 3D Graphics, Video Editing, CAD Development, entry-level servers, NAS (Network Attach Storage) and other areas that require the accelerated performance and fault tolerance features.
C-Media CMI8738 MX sound chip
This onboard sound device will enable my system to mix, play and record audio data from CD, midi, wave, microphone, auxiliary and line inputs to digital or analog output. With the video capture and editing, I will be able to add soundtracks and samples from any of these sources, to any video footage. I would also like to utilize the multiple channel HRTF-3D output capability of the C-Media CMI8738 sound chip by incorporating an amplified multi-speaker 200-watt sound system as the audio playback components of the multimedia entertainment function of this system.
10/100 Base-T LAN controller
Base-T Ethernet is a networking standard that uses twisted pair cable for it’s connections between computers. The 10/100 designation refers to the amount of, or speed at which data is transferred on the network in Megabytes per second. The base-T and RJ45 connector is the most common form of network connection used today, due to it’s advantage in data transfer capability over coaxial cable and it’s cost advantage over fiber optics. It is the standard for compatibility with portable computers and it is effective with up to 15 PCs, in a 300 foot radius network.
Modem
A modem is a necessary component in computers today. In order to obtain and share information in the internet society a modem must be incorporated in a non-networked computer. If a computer is connected to a network it can share a modem with another computer. There are many different kinds of modem technology and standards, but dial-up modems of the 56K/V.90 standard are the most common. I purchased an Internal U.S. Robotics 56K/V.90 faxmodem from Best Buy for $39.99 plus tax.
Power Supply Unit
A high quality power supply contributes to the safety and stability of the system. It is very important to get the right type of power supply for a system. Do not assume that just any PSU will work with a system, especially if the system incorporates the newer components such as the Pentium IV processor and DDR memory. Motherboards require power connectors that can be specific to the make and model. It is always a good idea to purchase the chassis and power supply from the same vendor the motherboard is purchased from, to be sure you are getting compatible components. It is possible to buy them separately, but if you do, be sure to research them thoroughly. You will save yourself a lot of trouble. Also make sure to get a PSU with a high enough wattage rating for the system. A 250 watt power output rating is standard, and enough for most systems, but systems with multiple hard drives, fans, and other IDE components can require more. I purchased a 350 watt ATX 12V 2.03 compliant Antec PSU with dual fan-forced exhaust for ensuring system temperature stability.
System Cooling
System cooling is a very important aspect of modern computer systems. Continuous high speed data processing requires stable operating temperatures for reliable operation. Fan placement and direction is important to consider for efficient heat displacement. The PSU should always be the exhaust fan. This a standard function for power supplies and most efficient, because power supplies generally produce the most heat in a system. Processors require special consideration in the high powered systems of today. They operate at such high speeds and close tolerances that they will not operate for long without proper cooling methods. This means not only fans, but heat sinks, to conduct and dissipate the heat they generate away as quickly as possible. For some systems it is even necessary to have intake fans to forcibly draw cool external air into the system chassis. These should be positioned at the bottom of the case so that the air flow through the system is maintained as the heated air rises and is exhausted at the top of the chassis. My system incorporates all of these cooling methods with Antec components. The Antec PSU dual fan-forced exhaust, an Antec intake fan, and two Antec heat sinks, constructed of aluminum radial fins wrapped around a copper core that operate at 4700 RPM with a thermal resistance of 0.53 C/W.
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