Recommendation on upgrading PC

[bgsnmky]

Ok..some of you were helping me out during my last DVD and I was having some major problems with the system shutting down and running out of space. So I have done a little research and it looks like I can upgrade my current computer, but I wanted to get some opinons on upgrading vs buying etc.

Kills me I just bought my compuater two years ago for 1900.00 and I just saw one with 1gb more ram and wice as much hard drive for $600.00. UGH.

My use is a novice video maker. Mostly family stuff and vacations. And I would like to increase and do more as time permits. Love to someday make videos for all the family and their kids etc.
I take tons of pictures tho..example 9 day trip to yellowstone was over 2000 pictures. Mexico for a week with the family another 2000+ pictures.


Anyway...here is what I have right now:
1st computer (mine - the newest computer and plan on using for video editing and main network computer)
HP Pavillion D4100e Series
AMD Athion 64x2 3800 + Dual Core 2.0 Ghz (is this good???)
2GB DDR 400 MHz Dual Channel SDRAM (2x1GB) --- I have two slots and can expand to 4 GB
250GB 7200 rpm SATA Hard Drive
Lightscribe Double Layer 16x Max DVD+/-R/RW Drive
16X Max DVD-ROM Drive
25MB DDR NVIDIA GEForce 6600. TV0Out and DVI
Windows XP Media Edition
2 USB 2.0
1 FireWire
TV Tuner

I have one 160 GB External Hard drive

My initial thought with the LITTLE that I know is to expand to 4gb of memory as I think I can do it for about 120.00.

Then I need a hard drive. It was suggested that I get annother internal hard drive and point my Premiere Elements to use the different hard drive instead of the C:drive that I have currently.
Question is - should I get an internal hard drive or another external hard drive. and what size.

During my last video editing, I ended up moving all my pictures to my current 160gb hard drive to get more space as my c drive is completely full.
I am wondering if my 160gb hard drive is going to get full and I should get a larger external hard drive for all my pictures and avi video files. If I do this do I use the 160 gb drive for the prel elements video editing etc etc etc....

2nd computer in the house (just listing in case suggestions on using it - the plan was to buy a new one to replace this one for the spouse as it is 5 years old... - but I can't suggest getting me a new one as I just got mine 2 years ago if you know what I mean I already tried that!) This old computer would either be used for parts or kids or sell.
HP
80 GB hard drive
1.69 GHz
512 MB Ram
Processor 1700MHZ


By the way - I saw where people use two monitors - curoius how they use this?
Thanks for any feedback.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

To start off this discussion here are a couple of suggestions to think about.

Upgrading RAM is generally a good way to boost system performance but WinXP will only see about 3.2Gb. Still this might help.

Second suggestion. I recently added a 150Gb Raptor and made it my system (C:) drive. This made a noticable difference to my systems performance.

HTH.

[bgsnmky]

so you made the 150 gb the system drive and kept all your documents on your old drive.

Just asking as the 150 is less than my 160....

Is the raptor something different or just a brand.

[VernonRobinson]

Yes, the Raptor is different and a brand (Western Digital). It uses the typical SATA connector and sounds like a jet engine on take-off. A typical hard drive spins at 7200 rpm. The Raptor spins at 10,000 rpm. This faster spin rate helps improve the data flow rate from the drive. Cost of a 150 GB Raptor from NewEgg is approx $175 U.S.

Looking at your system specs they look pretty good. I would recommend an internal drive over a USB external. It will be a bit more responsive. Also, you do not say whether you have a SATA or a SATA II connection. If SATA II, then great, if not, then you may want to consider getting a SATA II card. Rated data transfer rate is twice the old spec. If your case is rather small, then you could get a SATA II card with an external connector. This would allow you to get an external housing for your drive and it will perform as if it was an internal drive.

Another possibility is to get an external storage device that has a RAID controller. A RAID 0 configuration will allow you to have a lot of throughput speed from the drive. Just make sure to back up your projects/data. There are RAID configurations that are more fault tolerant, but most people are not willing to spend the money on the extra drives required.

HTH,
-Vernon

[jackfalbey]

First of all, having the operating system and editing software on one drive and the raw video and picture files on a separate drive is vital to getting faster performance. I would definitely suggest a 2nd internal HDD, either SATA I or II (your 4100e has SATA I connectors, but you can connect a SATA II HDD, and they are sometimes cheaper on sale) check newegg.com for prices, and stay away from Maxtor units.

You could go with a 10,000 RPM Raptor for your C: drive and make the 250 into your video drive, as Twosheds suggested, although 10k drives are expensive. You could go with external RAID0 on a SATA II card as Vernon suggested, but unless you're doing High-Def video it's not really important. Also, HDD performance suffers when the drive gets more than half full, so this should be a consideration in what size you buy.

My recommendation would be to keep the 250 as the C: and get at least a 500GB 7200RPM as a dedicated video drive. External drives don't give sufficient data transfer rates, so I would just use the external for backup and extra storage.

Now, to address the other options:

1) 2GB of RAM is considered optimal for Premiere Elements. Some users have reported problems with more RAM, although I have 4GB in my system and have had no problems. You probably won't see much of a performance boost, though.

2) Your HP 4100e's motherboard has the AMD Socket 939 CPU, but after a quick internet search it seems to be hard to find faster processors available. Most suppliers are out of stock. And the performance boost from your 3800 to a 4400 would again probably be minimal.

3) Your video card is more than capable for video editing. Don't spend money on a better one unless you need it for gaming.

4) 2 monitors is a nice setup. Your video card has to have 2 video outputs, either 2 DVI or 1 DVI and 1 VGA.

Finally, if you are considering the possibility of replacing the older computer, Dell has a heck of a great deal right now:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... WDB2&s=dhs
you can select the 2.4GHz Quad-core and still get it for $638!

Hope this helps!

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Just to come back to your question on my drive config. My (video and photo editing) original system C: drive contained only the opsys and programm files plus some stuff that Windows decides to put there whether you like it or not (Thanks Bill)

I installed the 150Gb Raptor (Wester Digital as Vernon described) and used Acronis to copy across the content of the 'old' C drive. That left my disc config as:

150Gb Raptor - operating system and programs only
250Gb - data files documents photos etc
500Gb - video files

I also plan to upgrade the system disc in Mrs twosheds machine to a Raptor in the next week or so.

Mrs twosheds (who is a website developer) and I are also planning to go down the Windows Home Server (WHS) route using an old P4 2.4Ghz basd PC as the WHS machine - it will also have a tape streamer attached.

[bgsnmky]

I was gone for a few days...so am now getting back to reading all of these.

Jackfalbey:

First of all, having the operating system and editing software on one drive and the raw video and picture files on a separate drive is vital to getting faster performance. I would definitely suggest a 2nd internal HDD, either SATA I or II (your 4100e has SATA I connectors, but you can connect a SATA II HDD, and they are sometimes cheaper on sale) check newegg.com for prices, and stay away from Maxtor units. !

When you say having the raw video and pictures on a separate drive...you mean like the external storage right?

My recommendation would be to keep the 250 as the C: and get at least a 500GB 7200RPM as a dedicated video drive. External drives don't give sufficient data transfer rates, so I would just use the external for backup and extra storage.!

This would mean keeping the 250 I have now with the operating system, add a 500 gb interanl drive - and when you say a dedicated video drive..does that mean making it so that Premeier Elements uses this drive when processing etc. There is a way to state which drive it uses correct? Would I also make Photoshop Elements use it for editing photos?

Then I would keep my current 160 gb as the external hard drive for photo storage/video storage etc. I am debating on upgrading this to 500 gb tho depending on responses to other thread on photo organizer. I don't want to have to move all the pictures etc to another drive in a year or two. I would like to have a size that will last at least 3 to 5 years!

Now, to address the other options:

Your HP 4100e's motherboard has the AMD Socket 939 CPU, but after a quick internet search it seems to be hard to find faster processors available. Most suppliers are out of stock. And the performance boost from your 3800 to a 4400 would again probably be minimal..!

I think you are saying the 4400 may have been better, but since it is hard to find it, that I shouldn't be concerned as it may not have improved my pc that much.

2 monitors is a nice setup. Your video card has to have 2 video outputs, either 2 DVI or 1 DVI and 1 VGA.
how do people use the two monitors???

Finally, if you are considering the possibility of replacing the older computer, Dell has a heck of a great deal right now:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... WDB2&s=dhs
you can select the 2.4GHz Quad-core and still get it for $638!

Definately will be looking at this.

Hope this helps!

[jackfalbey]

Video files contain a lot of data. You want to be able to access that data quickly, which means an internal HDD. External drives just don't transfer data fast enough (unless you use an eSATA drive, but that requiresmore work to attach and is more expensive than an internal one.) And you definitely want to have that drive dedicated to just your videos and pictures; no software to get in the way.

In Premiere Elements under "Preferences" then "Scratch Disks" set them all to Same As Project. Then, when you capture video, capture it to the video drive. When you start a new project, start it and save it on the video drive. Basically you want to have Windows, Elements and all other programs on one drive, and video/audio/pictures & Elements Project and Save files on the other. The external is a good place to keep backups.

The 4400 would have been a faster choice, but not enough to be worthwhile to upgrade it now. Adding another 500GB internal as a dedicated video drive is your cheapest and best way to improve performance.

[bgsnmky]

Saw this on NewEgg.....

Is this what you talking about for 99.99 --- think I should order it...

Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Is an SATA the same as SATA 1 or does it need to say SATA 1.
Also what is the 3.0 bg/s on the hard drive

They also have this one for 20.00 more $119.00
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Not that you need to go check this out...but there is a local mom and pop computer store that has a list of hard drives and I was curious as I am looking at them...there may be the WD 500 GB 7200 RPM with 8M by it and then 16M. Not sure what the difference is. I was going to ask them, but thought I would check here to see what you guys think.

I might as them for a cost to install...although I am contemplating trying it myself.

http://www.bluecandle.com/hdd.html

[VernonRobinson]

Not that you need to go check this out...but there is a local mom and pop computer store that has a list of hard drives and I was curious as I am looking at them...there may be the WD 500 GB 7200 RPM with 8M by it and then 16M. Not sure what the difference is. I was going to ask them, but thought I would check here to see what you guys think.

I might as them for a cost to install...although I am contemplating trying it myself.

http://www.bluecandle.com/hdd.html

The 8M and 16M are likely referring to the amount of internal cache memory the drive has. When the operating system requests a file, the drive will store that info in its memory so that if it is requested again, it can send it out of memory instead of going out to read the drive again. This is much faster.

Putting in your first drive can be a bit hair raising due to the fear factor. But a Sata drive is about as easy as it gets. First check to see if you have a spot open in the case to accept another drive. If so then you are almost home. Newer cases may have a slide mechanism to hold the drive in place once you place it inside the case. However, most cases have slots and you put four screws in to secure the drive. After that, it is time to plug in the power cable. Then plug in the Sata cable. You are now done. Close the case and have a good time with your additional 500 gigs. Time from start to finish approximately 15 minutes. Allowing for the fear factor 1 hour.

Regards,
-Vernon

[Bob]

I agree with Vernon, installing a Sata drive is a snap. You already have one Sata drive, so you already have a sata driver (you would have had to install one otherwise). Check to make sure you have a spare Sata power connector. If you don't, you'll need to pick up an adapter to convert a standard power connector to Sata. Be careful with the screws, long screws can cause problems. If the drive came with screws, use them. Otherwise, use the shortest ones that will do the job and don't overtighten. Take a look at the screws on the other drive if you are uncertain.

You won't see anything labeled SATA 1, there was no need to differentiate until SATA II came out.

[Ken Jarstad]

Several years ago, about the time PrEl v1 came out, the amount of cache memory in a HDD really made a difference for video editing. Most drives at that time had 2 MB cache and those of us that paid a slight premium for the 8 MB cache saw a marked improvement in performance. It took the greater performance demands of video editing in order to see these performaance gains.

It is hard to say whether we would notice the same type of performance gains going from 8 to 16 or 16 to 32 GB cache but, generally, I would be in favor of getting the drive with the largest cache strickly for video editing performance.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

If you are going to fit the drive yourself, don't forget to touch the PC's metal chassis/casing BEFORE you touch anything else. This will ensure that any static electricty is safely dissipated. Static can be lethal to electronics. Whilst working inside the PC case regularly touch the metal chassis.

If you decide to let the store fit the drive, you might ask them if you can watch what they do so that you know what to do next time.

[bgsnmky]

Great idea's and tips..thanks.

so the difference in the two below is the 32 MB vs teh 8MB right? of course the brand is different.

It is 19.00 more for the 32MB. for 20.00 should I go for the Seagate. NOt sure about the brands.

Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM


Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

[Chuck Engels]

My choice would be the Seagate drive, I love WD but the 32mb cache for almost the same price is too tempting
Don't spend more than around $120 on a 500gb drive, if either of these drives is more than that let us know