4 replies to this topic

[ralittle2]

I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade my PC or simply increase my RAM.  I realize that there is a substantial price difference between the two, but price aside I need some input as to what parameters will affect video editing the most.  My old PC would still be used but passed down to my children.

First, the PC I currently have is a Dell Dimension 8300 Pentium 4 2.8Ghz w/ 512 RAM.  I've also got two hard drives: a 75G drive that is basically a system drive, and a 120G drive that serves as a data drive.  The video car is a NVidia GeForce FX5200.

If I were to upgrade I was considering the following specs.  How do these sound and please comment.

Dell XPS 410, XPS 410 Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6300 (1.86GHz, 1066 FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD
Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
Keyboard Dell USB Keyboard
Monitor 19 inch Ultrasharp™ 1907FP Digital Flat Panel
Video Card 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Hard Drive 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Floppy Drive and Media Reader 13 in 1 Media Card Reader
Mouse Dell Optical USB Mouse
Modem No Modem Requested
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable

Currently, I feel that my pc is struggling a bit to keep up with the editing of video, so would an increase in processing speed with updated hardware be the best route, or would an increase to 1G of ram help out dramatically? I don't know the specs on the video card, and am not sure how much of an impact that part has on video editing and authoring.

[tbrewst]

Video editing is CPU intensive.So,a CPU upgrade helps the most.The video card needs to be complete DirectX 9 compatible,which that card should be.Make sure you have the latest DirectX updates,video card drivers and close down as many running apps as possible when you do video work.

[Beerman]

You shouldn't have any problems with the system you have posted.  It's pretty much the latest Dell has to offer. Personally, I find manufactured pc's have the worst dvd burners and suggest you purchase the system without one and buy one separately and install it yourself.  They're not expensive and most likely will give you less trouble.  That's just my opinion having purchased many Dells for my home and office.

[JC]

In addition to what was said earlier, checking for spyware and defraging your HD can go a long way too.

Edited by jcoleman, 30 October 2006 - 08:45 AM.

[ralittle2]

Thanks for your recommendations.