I have reached the limit with my old computer...Its time for a new one...problem is I have NO idea what I actually need...heres what I want to do

Edit video
Burn DVD's
Play games
I have a "few" mp3's and they seem to take up a ton of space...do I need as ton of memory? Or do I just burn them to a cd?
I am not scared to pay for what I'm getting...but I hate not getting what I thought I was

 

Dude, your gettin a dell.


Dell is the cheapest bestest I see right now for doing what your doing. I just got a 2600 and its pretty damn good.

 

What was the price?

 

I think MAC's are the best when it comes to editing video....I had an old Mac with AVID media composer and it never gave me any problems...it was awesome, I also used pro-tools and final cut pro..they were both awesome!

 

for fairly cheap you could get an all-in-wonder video card, I think it's a 128 mb card, that can record tv, and other crap. If you're not a super computer geek, that's looking to sink a couple hundred bucks into a video card, it would fit you perfect. Available at almost all circuit citys etc. On most factory assembled pc's they give you sh!tty motherboard, heatsink and fan, and power supply(stuff average people don't know how big of a difference it makes), so make sure you get good ones. Make sure you're power supply is at least 400 watts, if you're gonna have nice crap in it. A good 768mb of ram, helps speed things up. Make sure processor is a good 2ghz or higher if you get like an amd xp or something, and 2.2 or so if it's a pentium 4, it isn't absolutely necassary but will REALLY help because video editing takes up all of your computer resources. I can't stress a good heat sink and fan enough, they can literally double or triple your cpu's lifetime. Or if you're looking to spend lots of money you could get liquid cooling but that sounds a little out of you're league. What program are you using for your video editing? I'm not sure exactly how experienced you are with computers so I don't know if this was greek to you, or if those parts sounded like crap, if you're a hard-core geek.

 

I think I got it WITH monitor shipped for $700 or something after the rebate. Looks like they have the one below mine priced at $550 after rebate.

Im sure I could edit video if I wanted to or knew how, mine came with a dvd-rw (you gotta get that!)

 

oh and I forgot to mention video editing takes up CRAZY amounts of hard drive space, I would recommend a 180gb hard drive, that would last you a long time. But remember anything over 120 gb's could be unstable if you dont set up controller cards right, etc. It all depends on how much you really are into video editing. If you just do stuff here and there a 120gb hard drive would be sufficient. But if you're really hard core into video editing like my brother, you might want to do what he did and get two 180gb hard drives, but I highly doubt it by the title of your thread.

 

you probably could get away with a dell, they're cheap. Yet again, I wasn't sure how much you want out of your pc. And yes dvd writable drives rule.

 

I didn't even know that they had sinks in computers...is that for washing out old files?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
OK...I'll spend 15 hundred for computer/programs/assosciated bs

Ohhhh maan....I have that lost stare on my face I can tell

Whats a controller card?

 

Here is what I use for video, DVD, and everything else. I'm due for an upgrade soon, but it still does well.

Antec SX1040 server case
Tyan Tiger S2460 dual cpu mobo
2x 1.4ghz AMD XP cpu's
ATI Radeon 7200 video card
1 GB DDR Ram
Tekram DC390U3W SCSI Adapter
1 x Seagate 15k 15GB SCSI HD
2x 36gb Atlas 10KIII SCSI HD's
3x 120GB Western Digital SE HD's
Plextor SCSI CDRW
Pioneer DVRA04 DVDRW

I can never have enough hard drive space.

For every hour of video, you need around 20+GB of space. Although, it depends on what you work with . I capture raw DV-AVI via firewire, edit in Adobe Premiere, export to AVI, convert to DVD format, assemble in Sonic ReelDVD and burn with Stomp RecordNowMAX.

There are all-in-one programs for capturing, editing, and burning to DVD that are good to start with. Intervideo WinDVD Creator is one that comes to mind. I like more control over the process and resulting quality though. The WINDVD one does pretty good.

With even a basic system, you can make some cool clips to share on the web. You can use Microsofts Movie Maker. Or better yet, learn how to make DIVX clips. There is a simple tool out by DIVX networks called DrDIVX that makes the process very easy. If you can't figure out the geeky process for doing it for free, then the $49 they charge for the app is worth it.

There is good info at www.doom9.net and http://www.dvdrhelp.com/

Games on a computer are okay. But, I prefer a console like the Gamecube, XBOX, or PS2.

More memory is good. Except, don't pay the manufacturer's ridiculous rates for adding on. Get the system with the standard amount and buy some for a fraction at a place like
http://www.crucial.com/.

If you want a cutting edge gaming system then expect to pay big bucks for the video card. $300+ is not unreasonable for a recent one. How much are those gaming consoles?

Avoid anything "integrated" unless you know what you are getting and you realize it's limitations. Even if you got an "expandable" system it will likely be outdated as they usually change standards the next year anyway. So, don't get hung up on the marketing.

Good luck. Any brand name company will do.

DWB