Which PC to choose for movie editing?

Question

Hi! I am planning to buy a new PC. I'm a filmmaker and someone advised me to get a computer with duo processor. Thing is, they are a bit out my range.
Can anyone tell me if that duo processor thing is essential for movie editing or if a standard PC should do the job. I'm using the latter at the moment and it's been fine.
I would appreciate any advise or tips you might have, as I don't want to invest in something which won't make much difference.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Kesa, fancy meeting you here! I can't escape from you, can I? ;-)

Answer 1

I think your issue is you've got a computer already and money to spend and you want to see an improvement in the performance of your video editing.

I agree with the first answer that a dual core processor is certainly the upgrade that you will benefit from most. However, he might be an A+ certified technician (we only have his word on that) but it's absolute rubbish that you won't get any benefit from the Intel Core 2 Duo (he doesn't even know the name) over the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor.

The Intel Core 2 Duo will provide you the best performance per £ or $ you spend on it. If you go to your local news stand/agent and pick up a computer magazine and look at the Core 2 Duo benchmarks, they'll be far far faster than the AMD processors which cost a LOT more money.

Below are some source articles on the Intel Core 2 Duo if you're interested.

The cheapest Core 2 Duo chip (just the chip) costs about £120, and the cheapest Athlon 64 X2 is about £100. For the tiny extra cost, the difference in your video editing speed will be noticable.

If you can afford a new computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, this WILL be the best option for the money for video editing. Something like this:

http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=116787

...from Mesh is £599 and has a Core 2 Duo processor and 1GB of RAM. It will chomp through videos with ease.

If you're feeling adventurous (and I don't recommend it without first doing a lot of research) you could easily overclock your Intel Core 2 Duo to be faster than the most expensive £600 AMD chip.

Nevertheless, the sentiment is there. If you can afford ANY dual core computer - get the one you can afford. The processor will make a large difference to the performance of your video editing. Next, make sure you have enough RAM.

I hope that helps. Sorry to slate other peoples answers, but the first guy (William B) obviously doesn't read many (any!?) computer magazines, and hasn't tried the Core 2 Duo. I've got two of them and they ARE cheap and the ARE amazing. Also very cool.

All the best. Good luck with your video editing!

Answer 2

Ok, first of all, you DO want a duel-core processor such as the Intel DUO 2 core processor. Video editing especially will benefit from this technology. Second, don't get the Intel duo2, instead check out any computers that support the AMD Athlon 64X2 processor. It is supported by HP, Toshiba, and even Dell now. HP Probally the best of the bunch. Intel makes a good product but it will be more expensive and you wont even get anything for the extra premium. I am in the process of building a new gaming pc with full video/tv tuner support and AMD all the way.

Answer 3

Hi, i don't really know the answer but i thought maybe this would help. They made a movie here in the Philippines and they used an ordinary computer with only 256 memory, not even have a duo processor, its a personal computer with windows movie maker installed, and according to what i have read in the newspapers that is all they used in editing the movie, and everything turn out good, and the movie was popular too. :-)

Answer 4

Are you looking for a Grrraillll?



Listen Loretta my dear: Only Mac is used by profesionals, forget about a PC and F£#%K Windows which gonna give you more troubles than pleasure!
Je débute en info mais tous mes potes dans la profession (film etc...) travaillent sur Mac! Le PC te servira simplement à être au même niveau que ceux qui n'ont pas compris (comme moi!) et puis c'est vrai qu'il y a plus de software pour PC, mais pour ton boulot, hésite pas et casse la tirelire!
Regarde sur le site de la FNAC pour avoir une idée de la différence de prix avec UK! (c'est très cher où tu es!)

Si tu insistes, un duo core est essentiel pour tavailler un peu plus vite; J'ai un pote qui fait du site web et de la 3D (Maya, pour te donner une ref.), il travaille sur PC mais bien boosté! 4,3 GHz, duo core, 4 giga mémoire vive.

Voili voilou. J'espère bien alors voir des choses interesting from you, then see you in a show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co7zuwOWz1Y

Answer 5

For movie editing..you DO NOT WANT A PC! You NEED a MAC!!

Go to www.apple.com for more details...trust me, macs will get the job done and more!