Video Card

[KnKnif]

I plan on building a new computer for my dad which he intends to use for video editing. This is not necessarily a professional business but he goes to a skydiving area which he records peoples jumps, and he has just been editing them with a standalone DVD recorder and a sound board with a CD Player connected to it for the music. I think a computer with whatever program would be much better. I was looking at different parts and this is what I have come up with:

AMD Athlon 64 AM2 X2 3800+ (2GHz x 2)
1GB DDR2-800 RAM (512 x 2, leaving two slots open for future upgrading)
GIGABYTE GA-M61PM-S2 (with firewire)
250GB SATA HDD
20X DVD Burner

I chose the AMD AM2 CPU instead of Intel (with its large cache) because it allows for faster memory speeds. I believe this is important in video editing, and along with the faster speeds and putting the sticks in dual channel mode, this will really help the video editing process.

Right now I am stuck on what video card to get, if any. What I was thinking is that since the motherboard has built in video, we could test out how it does, and if needed add a video card. My question is how much will adding a video card effect the performance of the computer along with how fast it edits/renders the videos?

If I do get a video card, what should I look for, more memory (128MB vs 256MB vs 512MB) or a faster clock and memory speed?

Also, what would be a good video editing program for someone who is new to computer based editing, but will still allow advanced usability for when they are more experienced using it?

Thanks you for your time and help.

[jaymac]

I hava an Intel dual core 3 G/byte and 1 G/byte RAM using the onboard graphics I had problems editing with Adobe premier elements and at times with Magix movie studio. With a n N-video G force 128Mb card installed probs solved. My personal choice is Adobe . Not sure about your reasoning for AMD and burning usually slower is better

[redsox_mark]

I'm not a PC hardware expert, but I know that many/most editing applications don't take advantage of the GPU in a video card. A fast processor, lots of memory and HDD (which your spec has) is enough. So I would wait, and only add a video card if you know the software will take advantage of it, and you feel you need it.

As for editing apps, I suggest either Sony Vegas 7 (Movie Studio Platinum edition), or Adobe Premiere Elements 3 - for the reason that both are based on a sister "pro" version (Sony Vegas, and Premiere Pro). The more affordable versions I suggested do 80-90% of what the big app does at a fraction of the price... and if you find you need the full version you can upgrade. I use Vegas....

[KnKnif]

My reasoning behind the AMD CPU was because it was AM2 which allows it to communicate with the RAM faster (DDR2-800). I believe this would help with editing because RAM comes into play a lot.

I was also looking at Power Director, is this any good?

[jaymac]

Afraid I misled you ref the unsure I should have said I dont know as in not into types of processors .I think I have seen issues on adobe forum with Athlon though. One thing is the best set up is 2 hard drives with one setup for your video .I think t hat would outweigh any ram advantage speedwise. As for power director dontknow mainly an adobe guy
Cheers