How's this for AVCHD editing??

[Matty777]

From another post trying to get some support for buying a Mac, I think I have decided to stay with a PC for my Video Editing from my Sony HDX-CX11.

How does this sound for such heavy duty tasking as above??
Aspire M7720 / 260
* Intel® Core i7-920 processor
* (2.66GHz, 8MB Cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
* 6GB DDR3 memory
* 1x 1TB and 1x 640GB hard drive
* 896MB NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 260 graphics
* Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
* Media card reader
* 8x USB ports

Tis not cheap at £1300+, but do you think the components will be quality, and just as important, is it a top spec power house??

PS Title should read AVCHD not avhcd...d'oh!

[discover]

you could also consider a studio xps from dell with almost replica spec, only difference is 3gb ddr3 and ati gfx for around £700.

[senu]

Originally Posted by discover

you could also consider a studio xps from dell with almost replica spec, only difference is 3gb ddr3 and ati gfx for around £700.

Agree

Originally Posted by Matty777

From another post trying to get some support for buying a Mac, I think I have decided to stay with a PC for my Video Editing from my Sony HDX-CX11.
Tis not cheap at £1300+, but do you think the components will be quality, and just as important, is it a top spec power house??

It is but I would have thought with all this on board a BD rewriter should come along with a 22" Monitor with HDMI input . It is top drawer but it seem aimed at gamers especially if no Facility to play and burn Blu ray ( even if you only burn a few a year)

PS Title should read AVCHD not avhcd...d'oh!

Will correct title

[Matty777]

Thanks for that, I'll take a looksie.

The Grfx card has to be reasonable but nothing OTT, I don't Game on a Pc as I have a PS3 for that. As long as it's a good card with twin DVI outs then it will be fine.

One Q about that Dell, would the the 3Gb DDR3 be enough for editing?

For the saving I could chuck a BD on it and maybe twin LG 22's!

[senu]

The Dell is definitely VFM compared
3b RAM is plenty but even if you get one more Gb from Dell for comfort , I reckon youll still have change from £1300 after adding a BD rewriter and a 22" Monitor

[cherokee1111]

agreed, Dell better quality make + 3GB DDR3 is more than enough, I'm using 3gb DDR2 which as its not in pairs due to a slot frying its running at DDR1 effectively and no issues

[twoodley]

For comparison here is the spec of my latest toy, a Dell Studio XPS

i7 920 (2.66GHz, 8MB Cache, 4.8GT/sec)
8GB 1067MHz DDR3 memory
1TB Serial ATA Hard drive
512MB ATI Radeon 4850 Graphics card
21.5" HD monitor (1920 x 1080)
6x Blu-Ray RW
DVD RW
Vista Ultimate 64Bit
McAfee 9 with 3 year updates
Plus usual bits and bobs

£1,330

[Matty777]

Some good info here....thanks.

I almost bought that XPS studio last night, with 6gb Rammage with twin 1Tb HDDs (non raid) and a Bluray RW.

It had an offer of £68 off plus free ship. I then watched a video about it, and noticed, for such a power house, that the case was a very bog standard case, looked no different from a £150 economy PC and the PSU looked very bog standard.
I know I have a very nice clear side Lian Li here and an excellent Enermax PSU here, so feel a bit spolied that way, but I wouldn't want to rebuild the new Dell to get those extra's....I'm sure the warranty would be voided to.
twoodley
Away from the sheer power this PC has, what is the case like, ease of upgrade, fans and just general quality???


Thanks again

[mmace]

I have the Dell (3Gb RAM), got it for £630 a few months ago

are you seriously saying you are going to pay double because of how the case looks?
that's pretty stupid!

[Matty777]

Originally Posted by mmace

I have the Dell (3Gb RAM), got it for £630 a few months ago

are you seriously saying you are going to pay double because of how the case looks?
that's pretty stupid!

I shall refrain from biting at the use of the word "stupid"

I fear the stick you grabbed was the wrong end....at what point have I said I'm going to pay double for a same spec PC in a different case??

For the add on's like 6 or 8 Gb ram, HD monitor, better GRFX card etc etc, it starts to go way above the base price. For the spec I want it's going to end up £1050-£1300 depending if I want a couple of extras.

.....and no case looks are not everything, but if the case quality is, with inadequate cooling then overheating etc could become an issue later.

This is what I specced up for just over a Grand.

Base Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache, 4.8GT/sec)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 64Bit - English
Memory 8192MB (4x1024,2x2048) 1067MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Keyboard Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Black - UK
Monitor 21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black UK/Irish (1920 x 1080)
Video Card 512MB ATI® Radeon® 4850 Graphics card
Hard Drive 500GB Serial ATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices 19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Mouse Dell Laser Mouse USB (6 buttons scroll) Black
Optical Devices 16X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)
Sound Cards Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Speakers No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Shipping Documents English Documentation with UK/IRL Power Cord
Gedis Bundle Reference D05SX03
Standard Warranty 1 Year Premium Warranty Support
Enhanced Service Packs 1Yr Premium Warranty Support
Order Information XPS Desktop 430 Order - UK
Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 9 - English

[senu]

Originally Posted by mmace

I have the Dell (3Gb RAM), got it for £630 a few months ago

are you seriously saying you are going to pay double because of how the case looks?
that's pretty stupid!

It is The mans money though .. Best to spend it and be happy
but
Keeping on track with AVCHD editing capability
A nice case is definitely wife friendly, and Power supply can be changed before you purchase if the OP feels it to be inferior
6Gb of RAM will not gve 200% the performace of 3Gb especially as the Editing is heavily prosessor lnked ut overall system performance will be improved( not a bad thing)
And for playback , the GPU will do 80% of the Job but even so Entry level Quad core like Q6600 with an Nvidia card with Puevideo HD will suffice.
If you are not a Gamer and dont intend to do CGI animations, it makes sense to spend the money on tangible benefits. I am however of the very subjective opinion that more is better with AVCHD, just that we all have to know where to draw the line. as long as we get more than the minimum

But. hey . Life is for the living and if you get a thrill from your purchase.. that is not stupid at all .. its called " living" as opposed to existing

PS: I was posting as you wrote your reply : that is a power house and seems well worth the money.. Where is the BD-RW though?
Retail it costs about £130, but should be cheaper if Dell bundle it
Even though you have a PS3 , ad can make AVCHD discs from DVD, it would still be nice with all this firepower to be able to burn the odd BD-ROM video or 2
Even with my £399 Q 6600 I find the presence of a BD player DVD-RW ( £70) a worthy addition although I have a Sony BD 350 and Panasonic BD.
The Graphics card having an HDMI/component output was an incentive to gettting the BD drive, too

[senu]

Originally Posted by Matty777

I shall refrain from biting at the use of the word "stupid"

Thanks for that.
I would like to think it wasnt meant in a derogatory way
As I stated above you do have what seem to be a far better use of cash than the Aspire, even if in absolute terms it is way more than adequate
( but no BD drive..)

[Matty777]

Decisions decisions

Okay then, added a few more goodies including an extra matching monitor, so how is this looking??

SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Studio XPS™ -(D05SX03) Qty 1

Base Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache, 4.8GT/sec)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 64Bit - English
Memory 6144MB (6x1024) 1067MHz DDR3 Tri Channel
Keyboard Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Black - UK
Monitor X 2 21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black UK/Irish (1920 x 1080)
Video Card 512MB ATI® Radeon® 4850 Graphics card
Hard Drive 500GB Serial ATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices 19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Mouse Dell Laser Mouse USB (6 buttons scroll) Black
Optical Devices Blu-Ray RW (Blu-ray, DVD, CD read & write) & DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read/write)
Sound Cards Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Speakers No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Wireless Networking Internal Enhanced Wireless 802.11n PCIe Card - Europe
Shipping Documents English Documentation with UK/IRL Power Cord
Gedis Bundle Reference D05SX03
Standard Warranty 1 Year Premium Warranty Support
Enhanced Service Packs 1Yr Premium Warranty Support

Though best to have a 6gb rather than 3 for future applications.
The Blu-ray writer was an additional £200
Strangley they wanted £230 for 2 x 1Tb drive non raid, so 500gb would be fine as I have a 250gb for video and photos plus an external drive

That lot divies up to £1448 all inc

[senu]

It does seem a little costly to me I have to say

An LG BD /DVD-RW costs £70 and 500Gb is a bit mean given the overall cost

I think it is down to you how comfortable you are to part with the cash. Certainly the kit from this outlay will more than edit AVCHD well and comfortably but is it not the case that in a few months the i7 systems would have come down in cost?.. as is the case with most PC related hardware
I know the £700 kit had a bit less but it might be argued that it has the " essentials" over a mid to top range Quad core system
Im just a little wary about letting Dell relive me of £1.5K for wanting cutting edge or being an " early adopter" when you could spend a little less and still get benefits
Seems a bit like buying an "09" car in PC terms
Good luck

[Matty777]

Good points Senu, and no I'm not "that" comfortable parting with so much cash, so that said I'm going to be shopping around quite a bit. Dell seem to have a long delivery time and waiting is just something I just cant' do!

I don't think there's ever a right time to by a PC, new today, old technology tomorrow. i7 920 toward top of range at moment at about £240 but when that's £100 there will be something bigger and faster!

For configuring a Dell yesterday and today, their savings are all a bit, well I shall not say what i really think but best be up on what sells for what price and when!
Yesterday when the sale was only £68 off, extras like the dual 1tbs HDD were just £100 or so extra today it's £200+, yesterday the BW was £160 extra today £200. So where as the base unit may look £120 cheaper on todays offer, strangely the "extras" have gone up massively!