Proposed System for Editting Video

[rostron1]

To date ... my proposed non-linear video editting system ... main kit!

CPU Athalon XP 1800
MoBo Abit KG7
Memory 512 Mb PC 2100
Hard Drives 3X 60 Gb Seagate Barracuda IVs

N.B. 1 to boot, 2 in RAID config. for video storage

RAID Controller Adaptec 1200A
Video Capture Card Canopus DVStorm
Graphics Card Elsa Synergy III Quadro 2MX3
Sound Card CL SB Audigy Player!
Monitors 2X Iiyama Pro 452s

Not sure about the advantages of the disk config. (including PCI controller). Perhaps someone has some comments?

Naturally, the proposed kit could change (developments?) between now and the dreaded day when I've got to kiss goodbye to me lolly!!! :xcry:

[nitan]

u may want to think about replacing the KG7 with the KR7A, just a thot....the via chipset has very high performance....also the kr7a comes in a raid version with an inbuilt raid controller..and also u may wanna think about getting a santa cruz sound card instead of the creative....just my opinion

nitan :)

[blitz]

umm, is it common to have a seperate HS out of the RAID for booting? or is that just incase one of the raid HDs messes up?

I would just think 2 HD raid0 would be fine (as long as the data isn't extremely important.. if it is important, and you dont want to back up all the time.. a raid 0 + 1 would be a very good idea, if you feel like buying 4 HDs)

[mackerel]

Having a seperate drive (raid or not) for video is not a bad idea, less chance of fragmentation.

Might have to question the video card though. Seems Elsa in financial trouble... http://www.tomshardware.com/technews/technews-20020211.html#0710

Also, does the Quadro give you something you need over a more regular Nvidia chipset card? Could be a saving there...

[Tasuke [H]]

He will not be wanting a via chipset if he is going to be loading the PCI bus like that. Via chipsets have numerous flaws with their implementation of PCI that severely hampers the High bandwidth PCI cards(RAID, AUDIGY, Video capture/encode.) Use an amd or sis chipset. Performance not the same as reliability,(I do not mean stability) And the patches just try to hide the flaw, they do not get rid of it, when you have more than just the raid controller on your system, some of the problems will crop back up as chirp in the sound or sync problems.

[sptw]

Hi rostron1.

Don't use a Seagate Barracuda IV on Raid0 configuration.It has a serious issues.Take a look <a href="http://forums.storagereview.net/viewtopic.php?t=430">here</a>

[dicki]

you asked about this before didn't you rostron? looks like your firming up that system spec nicely.

definatly go for the kg7 at the moment as tasuke says the amd chipset is more reliable and thats what you need, the audigy is excellent, are you going for the one with the live drive thing? i take it you need all those connections

i think that looks like an excellent system... more memory would make it better but 512 should be plenty

oh and what os are you going to run?

dicki

[nitan]

opps sorry....:o i didnt know the via chipset had such major issues

nitan:)

[moonraker]

Hi rostron, didn't go for the duallie option in the end then :D
Sounds like an awesome system though.
Just a question mark for me around the Abit mobo. Some people swear by these, some at them. My BP6 has never let me down but I know that some have had problems with capacitors blowing on later boards.
I have just got a gigabyte GA-7DXR here and it seems like a nice board, has built in promise raid controller, agp pro slot (might be useful for future upgrades) and on board creative CT5880 sound which (apparently) supports 4 speaker and SPDIF. I've not tried out any of these options yet, I just know that they are there and they may save you buying a card or two.

Graphics card. The Quadro is nvidia's 'professional' chipset and is aimed at users who are more concerned with accuracy of image on screen and manipulating large wireframe models or models comprised of a great many polygons, as opposed to gamers who are more concerned with texture fill rate. I would say that the synergy is a great choice but that news is a bit of a nightmare. I assume that means that driver development will cease which means that, assuming the drivers that come with the cards are not 100%, you could be left with a card for which there will be no more drivers coming along. Although the nvidia detonator drivers will always work on it because it's an nvidia chipset, they are not always the best for CAD/professional work. Having said that, you may have no choice because you need a card with 2 monitor capability and those are a little thin on the ground. You could take a look at
www.3dlabs.com
although thier stuff is generally very pricey and is probably well outside your budget, with thier top end stuff costing more than most peoples PC's. If I come across a nice card with 2 monitor capability I'll let you know.

It's also a nightmare because I just got one of thier usb modems and I need a driver to make it work in win2k/XP, and thier driver pages are not accessible. Looks like I'll be returning that one.

Backup. Yes, boring stuff but oh so nice when you have it to fall back on. Your problem is that to back up the type of work you will be doing requires a hefty tape drive or a recordable DVD, or another HDD which is probably the cheapest option with WD 120Gb available for around £250 these days. You have to balance how important it is for you to have a backup with how much it will cost. If you are undertaking work for paying customers then I would rate it quite highly. After all, they won't be customers for very long if you let them down and they won't be sympathetic to any hardware problems you have, they'll just end up going elsewhere. I have heard some good reports about netstore, which backs up across the net and is supposed to work very well. Could be a lengthy operation with video files over a 56k modem though :eek:

[mdzcpa]

System looks pretty good Rostron1. I would second the opinion of considering looking at the TBSC soundcard. The Audigy should not cause trouble on the KG7, but it does load the PCI more than other cards (hence the trouble with VIA chipsets at times). If getting maximum performance from RAID, and therfore the PCI bus, is of maximum importance, I would consider a card that requires less resources. Just my opinion though.

Also, as someone else montioned, reconsider the Seagates. They are great drives but can be troublesome in a RAID set up. Check that link sptw provided.

Nitan:

I don't think the VIA "issues" are a big deal. Most users do not even notice the PCI bus limitations. This is why you haven't heard much about it. Only because Rostron1 has indicated that the best in Video Editing and RAID performance is of primary concern that he may want to avoid VIA at this point.

[nitan]

cool...thanks for that mike...once again my knowledge base has been expaned my ninja...:D

nitan :)

[rostron1]

Thanks for the opinions folks ... got a fair bit to chew over here.

To dicki:

The OS will be either Win 2000 Pro or (preferably) Win XP (lots more support for XP now)

To mackerel:

Elsa in financial trouble? That's all I need. :( Perhaps the new team will carry on B.A.U. ... or a takeover?

The only other suitable graphics card (with dual heads) that I can think of is the Matrox G550/G450. But I beleive they're weak on 3D.

To sptw:

Good tip on the Barracudas ... I can always go with the equivalent Western Digital or IBM.

To Moonraker:

Dualie ... expensive MoBos, 2 CPUs to buy, AMD dualies still in their infancy, lack of choice with AMD dualies, problems fitting CPU Coolers ...

Also to get the most out of the system the software really needs to be able to take advantage of a 2 CPU system. 3D Studio Max and Maya can do this and offer great advantages. Adobe Premiere doesn't quite cut the mustard with 2 CPUs ...

Backup will be Plextor Plexwriter (also for making Video-CDs) and Pioneer DVR-A03 (for making DVDs) ... the Pioneers are coming down nicely in price. Compare them to domestic DVD writers (Philips DVDR 1000 @ £949 here in the UK!)

To nitan and mdzcpa:

Will check out the Santa Cruz cards. Will also check out the TBSC mdzcpa ... I do need to take it easy on the PCI!

To all;

I'm little bit shakey on this RAID business but my thinking was for the OSs hard drive to work completely seperately from the Video Storage Hard Drives. And for these hard drives to have their own RAID controller. The OS could not then place any demands on these drives when large files were being written on them. I would also have 2 full drives dedicated to storing only large video files.

Is my thinking sound? Am I becoming enlightened?

Anyway folks ... I've had a taxing day so I'm off to the Off-License to buy me some beer. Later ... :xbeerchg:

[Mattsky]

All sounds groovy. I've been pondering the same issues too.
What software will you be running matey?
Final Cut? Avid Xpress DV like me?

Oh, get us a beer next time you're down the Offie.......

[rostron1]

Mattsky -

Video Editing Software:

Adobe Premiere 6.0, Adobe AfterEffects 5.0, Holywood FX Gold, Boris FX Pro 6.0, Terran Cleaner 5.0 ... I've also had a look at Vegas Video 2.0 ...

I like them all ... but then I'm used to them.

Avid Xpress DV is supposed to be good but I've never used it. And Final Cut Pro is supposed to be the BIZ but again never used it ... isn't it just for Apples?

Have you compared them with the Adobe stuff?

I WILL get you some beer ... and I WILL drink it!!!

eeezy ...

[Mattsky]

Adobe, oh, right. Don't know nuffink about that. Final Cut IS only for Macs, you're right. I'm conffosed, since I've a Mac at work and a PC at home.......AVID Xpress DV is very good...AVID has been the top boy from day one really, so you can't go wrong, guv. Well, have fun with it. And enjoy me beer.