New video editing system build

[inept]

This is where I am on a new system. It will be used for surfing the web, spreadsheets, and the new endeavor of video editing. The video editing will be mainly transfering VHS to DVD with quite a bit of editing to trim the unwanted segments.

Here are the selected components and my thoughts. Please feel free to critique, advise, or bring any other thoughts to this list. You cannot hurt my feelings. I am so numb after looking for components for six months that I do not think I have any feelings left.

Case: Antec Sonata III
Thoughts: Has plenty of expandability
500W Earthwatts PSU should be more than adequate
Do not like the front door, but can remove
(1) 120mm fan + another 120mm fan should keep it cool
Front eSATA port
Washable filter requires pulling case out to remove filter
The price for the case with PSU is much lower than any other
combination

Case cooling fan: Antec 3-speed 120mm

Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E / WIFI-AP LGA 775 P35 ATX Intel
Thoughts: Has plenty of SATA ports
Do not know where the Sonata front eSATA plugs into the
motherboard

CPU: Intel E6750 1333 FBS 2.66Ghz 4MB Cache HS/Fan

RAM: Super Talents DDR2 1GB 667
Thoughts: This is an area where I understand the CPU and RAM are performance points to consider for the video editing.
Will this perform okay?

Optical Drive-1: Lite-On 20X SATA with Lightscribe
Thoughts: Includes an abridged version of Nero

Optical Drive-2: Lite-On 20X SATA without Lightscribe
Thoughts: I have read the suggestion to buy different DVD drives to
get (2) different softwares.
I probably will not spend the extra $ for the Lightscribe
discs.
Everyone has their favorites. For the $ this seems a good
choice.

Video Card: EVGA 8600GT 256MB
Thoughts: My understanding is that for video editing the video card
is not a major consideration.
My original pick was the 8800GTS, but was told that was
overkill for editing.

Video Capture/Input Card: Win TV HVR 1800
Thoughts: It has the audio and video line-in inputs in addition to
coaxial input.
I might want to record over-the-air digital programming in
the future.

Monitor: Undecided
Thoughts: My understanding is that whatever the "native" resolution of
the monitor, the video card should support it. I do not like
round images to not be round.
I would like more desk space, but I like the clear text image
of the CRT.

Harddrives: I already have (2) Seagate 320 GB drives recieved as a
Christmas present from my kids.

If I have left anything out, or you have suggestions, please let me know. This has been much more difficult that the last build in 2000.

Thank you very much for any and all comments.

[Dave21]

For the ram, super talent is good. But I also recommend you looking at the corsair xms2 DDR2- 800 2 gb ram. For video editing and media, you definitely need more than 1 gb of ram. So go for 2 gb of ram.

The new 9600 video card is up for sale now on newegg for $190. Have you considered this? It's a really good medium end graphics card.

As for the monitor, you should try taking a look at the 22" samsung lcd (226BW) with 2 ms response time. It's a really good monitor. What size monitor were you looking at?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Dave21 For the ram, super talent is good. But I also recommend you looking at the corsair xms2 DDR2- 800 2 gb ram. For video editing and media, you definitely need more than 1 gb of ram. So go for 2 gb of ram. The new 9600 video card is up for sale now on newegg for $190. Have you considered this? It's a really good medium end graphics card. As for the monitor, you should try taking a look at the 22" samsung lcd (226BW) with 2 ms response time. It's a really good monitor. What size monitor were you looking at?

I would take a look at the HD3870 instead since it has better performance, better video decoding and is actually a little bit cheaper ($184.99 for Sapphire version, thanks to recent price cuts).

[glc]

1. If you are getting a 1333 FSB processor, get DDR2-800 ram. The Corsair XMS C5 1.9 volt kits are dirt cheap right now and are KNOWN to work well in the P5K's.

2. For video editing, ATI video cards are superior to anything Nvidia makes. Nvidia cards are primarily gaming cards. The only Nvidia cards you will see graphics professionals even look twice at are the Quadro workstation cards. You also can save some $$$, you don't need a $200 card unless you also plan on gaming. Spend your money on more ram - you might even want to think about getting 4gb. If you do get 4gb, get a 2x2 kit, not 4 modules.

3. The Sonata eSATA cable plugs into SATA 6 on the motherboard. This is controlled by the JMicron JMB controller, not the Intel ICH9R.

4. My best suggestion for the opticals is this - if you want dual burners, get one retail box and one OEM. The Nero that comes with the retail box will work with both drives. If you don't need Lightscribe, don't get it - but if you DO want it, get the retail box Lightscribe and the regular OEM.

[SonicVanguard]

I will second GLC on the video card - if your doing serious video editing, nVidia is not a good choice. Their idea of RGB and what you'll see on a traditional television are two very different things (it's far worse with CYMK). Now that does change with the Quadro cards, but they're overkill. I'd seriously suggest on of the ATI HD cards - you never know when you might want to get into HDV editing and the fact they offer hardware HD acceleration along with their superior color makes them a very good choice in cards.

Also - get as much RAM as your motherboard will allow. You'll be working with analog video and without the help of a DV codec video processing will be very intensive. 4Gig (2x2) is the way to go - you'll be surprised at how much time will be taken in rendering analog video.