Â**4th Quarter, 2010**
Okay, here's the scoop on what you should expect to get for the $$$ when buying or building a video & photo editing PC. Each system is intended to represent the most “bang for the buck” at a given price point (approximately $500, $750, $1000 & $1500) and CPU manufacturer (AMD vs Intel). If you are buying a pre-assembled PC, remember to add the cost of paying someone to assemble it for you. If you are building your own, feel free to substitute different components based on your needs, budget and personal preferences. There are literally millions of possible combinations of components you can choose when building a PC; the examples below are just my opinion based on experience.
This page over at Videoguys.com is a good starting guide to building an editing PC.
If you really want to read up on the technical details of NLE parts specifications, this article by Harm Millaard over at the Adobe forums is quite informative.
The criteria:
- All systems use Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. (Add $40 if you want Professional instead)
- All systems have a minimum of 4GB of RAM.
- All systems have at least 2 separate hard drives: 1 for the OS & programs and 1 for Media files.
- SSDs were used when possible for the OS drive (with Sandforce memory controllers only)
- All systems are configured with a DVD burner. (Add $100 for a Blu-Ray burner instead)
- All systems use a basic case & PSU to mimic what you'd get with an off-the-shelf PC. Feel free to upgrade to a fancy gaming case with flashy neon if you prefer
- All systems include everything except keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
The disclaimers:
- The components were selected based on value, performance, and positive user reviews.
- The components were selected to give balanced systemwide performance.
- The prices are valid as of December 2010 and may change depending on sales and availability.
- While there are “hacks” to enable non-approved video cards like the Nvidia GTX260 to work with the Adobe CS5 Mercury Playback Engine, the least expensive “officially-approved” video card is the GTX 470 at $249, so adjust prices accordingly if you need that capability.
- These systems are not necessarily suited for gaming or overclocking. These PCs are specifically intended for the needs of video & photo editing.
** Intel is releasing their new “Sandy Bridge” CPUs on January 5, 2011. They will replace the current line-up of Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs and motherboards at similar price points. Preliminary testing shows significant performance improvement for video editing as well as other tasks, so if you can wait a month or two before buying or building a new PC, it should be worth it.
I'll have new lists up after the release.
AMD: $500
CPU: 3.0GHz Athlon II X4 (Quad-core)
RAM: 4GB DDR2
OS HDD: 160GB 7200RPM
Media HDD: 1TB 7200RPM
GPU: ATI Radeon 2100 onboard graphics
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=18194367
Intel: $500
CPU: 2.93GHz Core i3-530 (Dual-core w/Hyper-Threading)
RAM: 4GB DDR3
OS HDD: 160GB 7200RPM
Media HDD: 1TB 7200RM
GPU: Intel Integrated graphics
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19561888
AMD: $750
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 2.8GHz Phenom II X6 (Six-core)
RAM: 8GB DDR3
OS HDD: 160GB 7200RPM
Media HDD: 2TB RAID0
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=18194507
Intel: $750
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 2.66GHz Core i5-750 (Quad-core)
RAM: 8GB DDR3
OS HDD: 160GB 7200RPM
Media HDD: 1TB 7200RPM
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19625988
AMD: $1000
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 3.2 GHz Phenom II X6 (Six-core)
RAM: 16GB DDR3
OS HDD: 60GB SSD
Media HDD: 2TB RAID0
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19562268
Intel: $1000
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 3.06GHz Core i7-950 (Quad-core)
RAM: 6GB DDR3
OS HDD: 160GB 7200RPM
Media HDD: 2TB RAID0
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=11988271
AMD: $1500
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 3.2GHz Phenom II X6 (Six-core)
RAM: 16GB DDR3
OS HDD: 120GB SSD
Media HDD: 2TB RAID0
Storage HDD: 1TB 7200RPM
GPU: Nvidia GTX 470 Video Card (*Adobe CS5 Mercury Engine capable)
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19562528
Intel: $1500
-SATA III & USB 3.0
CPU: 3.06GHz Core i7-950 (Quad-core)
RAM: 12GB DDR3 RAM
OS HDD: 120GB SSD
Media HDD: 2TB RAID0
GPU: Nvidia GTX 470 Video Card (*Adobe CS5 Mercury Engine capable)
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19625148