I'm planning on purchasing a Dell XPS computer this week, but before I do
would some of you look over my customized specs that I'm planning on ordering, and
then answer a few last minute questions? Keep in mind my two purposes that
this PC must meet:
a. It must provide me with Real Time video editing/authoring of feature-length (long) video productions, utilizing professional software, and it must meet that need for years to come. Eventually, I will be using a Panasonic dvx100 camera as my camera.
b. I must be able to take a 104-minute video production shot on 3/4-inch SP video
and make a dvd out of it using menus, a commentary track, etc. The 3/4-inch video
deck has composite outputs only.
P4 at 3.2 GHz with 800 MHz front side bus/hyperthreading
Windows XP Pro
2 GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400 MHz
256 MB DDR ATI RADEON 9800 XT
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 w/dvd audio and dolby Digital 5.1 capability
250GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200RPM)
120GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200RPM), RAID is not desired
4x dvd+R+RW drive CD-RW
48x CD-RW drive
3.5 inch floppy drive and 64 mb USB memory key
56K PCI data/fax modem
19 inch Dell M992 CRT flatscreen monitor, LCD is not desired
DVI-VGA Adapter
Altec Lansing ADA995 speakers
Quietkey keyboard, optical USB mouse
Dell Movie Studio Plus, including IEEE 1394 card
1) Am I missing any hardware to accomplish what I want to?
2) Is my two hard drive setup good enough? I'd rather not spend more money but if the 36GB 10000 RPM drive would be
beneficial as a third drive....
3) I eventually plan on getting a NTSC monitor to complement the M992 monitor. Is the M992 a good CRT?
4) Is Dell Movie Studio Plus which includes the IEEE card something I really need since I'm going to be using other editing/authoring software? I'll need the 1394 card though to capture my 104 minute video, correct?
I don't see any problems but if you can afford it (I know I can't) I would recomend getting more hard disk space, it might not be necessary now but you say you want it to run well for a few more years and Hard Drives give yor comp a suprising boost. other than that your computer seems a machine to envy.
Make Love Not War!
Make Love Not War!
Without going into major detail (sorry pushed for time), a couple of things...
1) the glaringly absent bit of hardware is an analogue capture card to allow you to capture your 3/4 inch footage. You can't do this with firewire, you need a video capture card with the right connectors for your deck.
2) If you can afford it, go for a RAID-5 drive configuration of smaller drives to deliver you the 250 gig of space. Configuring it this way will introduce redundancy (if one drive fails you won't lose your stuff) and will significantly increase read/write speeds. Also, go SCSI if you can afford it.
3) Real-time... this is a very nebulous concept. NLEs like Final Cut, Premiere Pro, and Avid Xpress all do some real-time stuff, but all of which is based on processor power. If you want true real-time, you need to have dedicated hardware to achieve this (ie. products from companies like Avid, Pinnacle, Matrox, or Canopus).
Ben C
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filmmaking.net
(Incorporating the Internet Filmmaker's FAQ)
Please note the opinions expressed here are those of the author only and do not constitute legal advice. The author cannot accept and liability whatsoever for inaccurate or outdated information contained within.
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Benjamin Craig
Editor-in-Chief, filmmaking.net
