Recommendations on a new system

[Zitch]

Hey guys, I'm looking in building a new system in a few months. I really didn't know where to place this post but I figured this would be as good a place as any because one of the main functions of this system is for video capture/editing. All of the parts are coming from www.outpost.com except for memory, which is from www.crucial.com. Here are the details of what I'm looking at:


Case: Antec SX1030 Performance Series ATX Tower Chasis.
$99.95

Yes, I know this is for a file server, but it is the only case they have that has a 300W powersupply (Besides, with the 2 included fans and the 2 more I'm getting, there should be plenty of cooling here...)


Motherboard: Tyan Tiger ATX 440BX Motherboard.
$189.95

Processor: Two Intel P-III 850 MHz processors.
2 * 219.95

Yes, I know the 440BX board is an old chipset, and this board only runs a 100 MHz Front Side Bus, but I do want dual processors, and this was the only dual motherboard outpost.com has that's under $400.00.


Hard Drive: 60 GB IBM DeskStar 60GXP 7200RPM IDE
$224.95

Controller Card: Promise Ultra66 PCI Controller Card
$29.95

For any kind of video editing, you need HD space. So I figured 60GB would be plenty for now. If I find I need more, I'll get a SCSI card and hard drive later. Got the controller card because the built-in IDE on the motherboard is only UltraDMA/33.


Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 32MB AGP
$244.95

I know there are issues with this card, especially in win2k. I do have a spare TNT2 32MB AGP card but it has no video out, and capturing video from SVHS and VHS composite and ouputing to SVHS and VHS composite is important to me. This is not going to be my <i>primary</i> gaming machine, but any gaming ability would be a nice bonus.


CD/DVD-ROM: Creative PC-DVD Ovation 12X DVD Drive.
$94.95

I just might get a regular CD-ROM drive, or scrounge one of the 4X drives I have lying around.

Networking: 3com 3C905C-TX-M nic
$59.95

Sound Card: Creative Ensoniq AudioPCI.
$29.95

Power Backup: APC BackUPS Office 500
$99.95

Keyboard: Logitech Delux Access 104 Keyboard
$14.95

Mouse: Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical (USB/PS2)
$27.95

Floppy: Some floppy drive scrounged off one of my old systems...
$0.00

The Bare Essentials. I would consider a MicroSoft Natural Elite or Pro later. I just want to save <i>some</i> money...

Monitor: ViewSonic Optiquest Q95-2 19-inch Monitor.
$289.95

I would consider a 17-inch flat screen if it is the same price.


Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
$279.95

I wonder why the second most expensive component is also the least reliable... Seriously, I can't budge from this too much. I could use the (ahem) copy I already have...


Memory: 256 MB PC100 CASE 2 ECC SDRAM from crucial.com
$87.29

If I skimp $90+ from the rest of the system I might get another 256 DIMM.

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So there it is. Total cost (with some accessories and shipping) about $2251.29. What do ya'll think? One of the main purposes for this system is for my girlfriend in her computer animation classes. See needs to used software such as PhotoShop, After Effects, and Maya. I also will probably do software development on it, and further along in the future, it become a file server also (with scsi drives). I would also consider going to a different place for the case/mb/processors (and other hardware), but I do not like buying from several different places, and outpost.com has treated me well in the past.

And is the AIW Radeon good for video capture from and dumping to tape? This is fairly important. As I said, I would consider alternatives that are cost effective.

Thanks,
zitch




Bah that was long....

 

[Guest]

Have a look at the MSI 694D Master S. 133Mhz...well priced...scsi onboard etc. I have a 694D Pro board with the 686a southbridge and its more stable than my Asus P2B-DS. Plug in the best 133Mhz cpu you can afford. The 10k Seagate cheetahs are a solid and quick drive, much cheaper than the 15k ones. If not an Ultra 100 drive. The Ultra 100 controller is also on this board and an intergrated audio chip (if you don't require surround or need midi input its ok). Get a dual monitor card..like the Geforce 2 Mx Dual Head and buy 2 17 inch monitors. You'll need it for timelines and hierachy's in max or maya. As for the raedon, try to find a better capture card second hand, same with the software too. Good luck.

"Cock-a-doodle-do" is what I say to my girl when I wake her UP in the morning!!

 

[Zitch]

Well, if money and space were no object, then I would go the dual monitor card route with two monitors, but I don't have that much real estate on the desk it's going on. But I might be able to get the card if it can do tv-out onto composite or s-vhs into a vcr/tv. Any recommendations on any good Geforce 2 MX Dual Head Cards? Also, any recommendations on good capture cards?

As for the motherboard+harddrive recommendations, I would consider it if it wasn't too much more expensive the the current setup. Does anyone know what other (reputable) online stores would have these AND the video and capture cards I would be looking for?

Oh yeah, the above questions do apply to any one else willing to help.

Thanks,
Zitch

 

[Guest]

Me too!
I'm waiting for AMD to release the 760MP chipset. Thought it would be out buy now. Oh well, I don't have the time to sit down and do video editing now anyway.
Not sure if a new dual AMD will be in your buget.
Good luck.



Take Care.
What the heck was that all about!

 

[Guest]

Ok first of all... I would strongly consider a firewire card
for video capture... The Pinnacle DV500 can capture both
MiniDV and VHS. This way u can get any good video card that
has planty of 3d,openGL power for both Photoshop and Maya.
I'm not sure why you would go with a slower dual CPU setup when you can get a 1.4G Athlon or P4 for less and this way
take advantage of the new DDR ram memory. this will save you
money for a good motherboard with on-board raid100 controller and I would strongly suggest 2 40G ATA100 IBM Hard drives. Just a thought... but trust me, I do a lot
of video and graphic work.

 

[lakedude]

Pioneer 16x DVD is like $55 from: <A HREF="http/www.miradex.com/" target="_new">http/www.miradex.com/</A>

AIW is what I have and it is ok but it was a real pain to get running on WinMe and it needs a high quality signal to record at all. If you feed it a low quality signal (like from an old vcr tape) it will lock up and quit recording. It records fine from a HQ source. WinMe sucks for video because of the stupid 4G limit. 4G is about 10 minutes short of a 90 minute movie. 2000 pro/nt is a better choice.

I bought a samsung 17' flat screen 700ift for about the same as you are spending. It is really high quality with super high refresh rates. It is heavy because the front glass is thick.

A lot of software will not make use of dual processers, look at a single 1G+ CPU.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lakedude on 06/20/01 07:25 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Zitch]

Well, Thanks for the recommendation, but $699.99 for the DV500 is (*ahem*) slightly out of my price range. Not that I wouldn't want it though.

I thought of firewire, but as of now I just don't need *that much* for video capture and dumping.

Also, I did end up dumping the dual configuration. I'll probably spend my money on a 3ware raid controller and some hard drives instead....

Thanks everyone,
Zitch

 

[Brada]

you don't have to buy escalade controller - itis a fine piece of hardware, but you can use promise 100 and with two resistors make it a raid controller. you can find instructions for that on a plenty of places on the web. also, if you take epox d3va mobo, you will have everything. next thing, try to use a simple creative 128 pci - ct4810 - because it will take less pci bandwidth. a cheap dv editing card, and very good, ic canopus ezdv, but has no analog connectors, just 1394.