Recommended Computer Spec's For Video - Emc-10

[itobor]

Greetings Roxio mavens (alternative designation for gurus )

 

This posting is to request some assistance with the specifications of a planned new computer. I am aware of the Roxio published minimum specifications, but my current laptop system is hopelessly overwhelmed by EMC-10:

 

Toshiba Tecra M3 Laptop, OS XP sp2

1.87 GH Intel Pentium M, Bus 133 MH

1024 MB memory, 64KB primary cache, 2048KB secondary

NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200 TE 64M/6600 TE 128M Video

Matshita Multi Drive DVD-RAM UJ-830s

Toshiba MK6026GAX Hard Drive (60GB)

WD 1 TB USB/Firewire 400 external drive

 

So I am considering keeping that laptop for just travel, and for home getting a tower/desktop with more oomph. The laptop was fine for word processing, excel, etc, but EMC-10, video editing, and the constant addition of new software with fancy "services" attached is sucking the life out of it.

 

I do not have a local computer guru to go to for advice, and the friendly sales-person at the computer store (or Dell or wherever), while possibly honest and well-meaning, often lacks true expertise, and often wants to sell the box on the shelf rather than what I might actually need. I just want to know the appropriate questions and specifications to put to my friendly local computer sales-person - or maybe develop enough confidence to order directly from Dell.

 

This is a bit off the Roxio topic, so I picked the general discussion forum.

 

I'm not a gamer - mostly just internet, email, excel, but the use of EMC10 for video necessitates a step up (my system, when I used EMC-8, seemed fine for photo and audio editing and burning). HOWEVER, if I am going to the expense and time of buying and setting up a new system, it should be something SIGNIFICANTLY better spec'ed than my present laptop. In other words, the utility of the new system is of more relevance to me than the price - but stopping short of conspicuous consumption and just throwing away money on the biggest and latest technology when it is far beyond what I reasonably require.

 

I have looked at the specs in the signature area of various Roxio gurus, but lack understanding of what much of it means.

 

What minimum speed processor? (mostly work with word-processing, excel, email and internet - which is all fine on present computer - but now moving into EMC-10 and photo, audio conversion from analogue, and video. Video seems to be the only place I am under-powered, though it would be nice to speed up computer workings generally - such as when trying to do more than one project at a time, using 2 or more different applications)

 

How important is duo core or quad core processor (I assume not relevant for EMC-10, but might be for speeding up computer generally when working on several applications at the same time)

 

What minimum RAM? do these things still have "buses", or are they called something else now...and if so what minimum on that. And do I need a 4GB Dual channel DDRAM... and I see some people go up to 8GB RAM... or was that 8GB of something else (confused!)

 

What primary cache, secondary cache capacities, and the relevant controllers/drivers (I'm just saying the words here without any significant understanding of these elements and how the specifications inter-relate)

 

Video card/graphic minimums? (not a "gamer", but need something that will work well with my video editing in EMC-10)

 

Any other things I should be considering?

 

I assume go to VISTA 32 (not the 64 where might run into compatibility problems)

 

And what else should I keep in mind? Norton Ghost for backups? etc

 

Any advice you folks have the time and patience to impart would be most appreciated (without recourse....meaning if some of the advice doesn't work out, I will not be coming back at you with whinging)

[Beerman]

You're likely to get a different opinion from each person who posts. Get the most you can afford. Most of the systems today should be able to handle EMC10 as most are likely to be at least duo core. Don't pass over AMD either. The newer procs from AMD are very nice and usually less expensive than Intel.

For video work, you'll do much better with 2gb of ram and while 4 is nice, it's not necessary and you can always add more later if you plan right and make sure you have room for more. And a nice large hard drive is needed for video work. Don't get the 5400rpm hard drives as they'll slow things down. You'll probably want at least a 320GB drive but 500GB are very cheap now.

Let us know how you get on.

[The Highlander]

biggist you can spend on one, allways

[Guest ml]

I'm not a gamer - mostly just internet, email, excel, but the use of EMC10 for video necessitates a step up (my system, when I used EMC-8, seemed fine for photo and audio editing and burning). HOWEVER, if I am going to the expense and time of buying and setting up a new system, it should be something SIGNIFICANTLY better spec'ed than my present laptop. In other words, the utility of the new system is of more relevance to me than the price - but stopping short of conspicuous consumption and just throwing away money on the biggest and latest technology when it is far beyond what I reasonably require.

 

Actually, a lot of the 'off the shelf' gaming computers have the necessary components for video editing. They have fast processors, lots of RAM, and excellent video cards. The main reason laptops won't work with MOST video editing software is the required video card .

 

My opinion on your questions.... and 'simple' explanations. What the components actually do is much to complicated to discuss in this forum.

 

What minimum speed processor? The fastest you can afford. Look on this page, under System Requirements, but you really need to exceed these requirements http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/creator/...rtrack=C10newHP ( You'd also have difficulty buying a computer with these requirements because the new ones being sold are much faster.)

 

How important is duo core or quad core processor I have a duo which speeds up my ability to do more than one task at once, but I haven't noticed any difference in video editing.

 

What minimum RAM? 2GB - more if possible or at least the ability to add more in the future.

 

Do these things still have "buses" Yes, but trying to find out how fast the 'bus' is can be a challenge. The theory is that the faster the bus, the faster the information is sent within the computer.

 

And do I need a 4GB Dual channel DDRAM... The type of DDRAM ( RAM) depends on what kind of RAM the computer uses.

 

What primary cache, secondary cache capacities, and the relevant controllers/drivers Cache is where the computer holds information to be processed. More cache is generally good but most of the computers built today have the cache already built in.

 

Video card/graphic minimums? Check the minimum specs for EMC10, but ask for one that is used for video editing. This is a key component and you need to get one that does 3D, encoding to mpeg, etc.

 

Any other things I should be considering? A large hard drive or two, an IEEE 1394 port, a good sound card, a DVD+-RW drive ( the ability to write to dual layer DVDs is a plus), a PCI expansion slot or two, RAM expansion slots, the ability to add more internal hard drives and hopefully a good users manual which mine didn't have. Also, if you're going to want to import from a VCR, a graphics card with inputs and outputs for a VCR.

 

I assume go to VISTA 32 Yup. I've got the Vista Home Premium. The business edition doesn't have a lot of the features that home users expect.

 

And what else should I keep in mind? Norton Ghost for backups? That's a matter of personal preference.

 

 

 

 

[gi7omy]

Ine thing I'd recommend before getting a CPU is to check on how big the Level 2 Cache is - the Intel e series have 8 MB and that does make a big difference in rendering

 

Think of memory this way

 

Hard drive - your filing cabinet away from the desk

RAM - what you have in the desk drawer

L2 Cache - what is right in front of you on the desk

 

Just an analogy as to how quickly each can be accessed

 

 

[itobor]

Thanks to all for the input (including those offline) - That has given me enough of a baseline to complete my research and establish the parameters for the specificiations.

 

Much appreciated

 

(watch my signature line for the outcome in a week or two )