What should I get for my new computer?

We are purchasing a new computer soon, and I need it capable of digital video editing for the Sony TRV27 I'm going to buy. My family has other expenses at the moment (like sending my sister to college), so my father doesn't want to spend more than $1000 (maybe even less. Like $800). Here are the features I was thinking would be good:

-512Mb sdram
-2.0 GHz
-100Gb of hard drive space
-Firewire card
-DVD burner
-Intel Pentium 4 Processor
-G-Force 4 graphics card

Those were the basics. I beleive he might want to order from Dell again. Would this be good for editing and special effects? How much would this go for? How much would it go for without the moniter? Thanks for your opinions and help!

-saber holder

 

I wish my specs on my computer were that good. Im using

640 sd-ram
800 mhz AMD processor
19 gig harddrive


Thats not exactly the ideal setup for doing stuff like rendering and creating whatever.

But what you just said is about twice as good as the specs of my computer. Get it. Youll love it.

 

Make sure that you get DDR ram. Also, the AMD processors are better price for price than Intels (by quite a bit), and you don't need a high end video card like the GeForce4 for editing.

 

I love ExtremeTech

 

Thanks for the feedback. The G-Force 4 would be for gaming

-saber holder

 

Right now, I would purchase a Radeon 9700 if you can afford it. Also, buy the AMD 2.0GHZ, it is significantly faster than the Intel model.

Here is a benchmark comparison of a good bunch of processers, the AMD 2400+ is the 1.9ghz AMD model

 

get not only DDR ram but get DDR 400. And if you can try to get a Motherboard that supports TwinBank ram (speeds up your ram on your Mobo)

 

[update]
I have the 7NJL1 AP0GEE and don't have any complaints what-so-ever. clickie, somwhere at the top of the page

My bro (is a tech) suggests you might want to look into the Epox EP-8RDA click, second one on the list i think. This one has Twin Bank and you can Factory Unlock the newer Athalon XP's without modding the chip themselfs.
[/update]

 

lalal.. first of all.. i must say.. that twin bank ram (found on nForce and nForce2 boards) is not as much of a performance booster.. unless you have onboard video. This is for ONE big reason.. the athlon xp chip actually cant handle the bandwidth.. unlike the pentium 4 the athlon xp has a considerably lower bus to the ram.. thus athlons always score crappy in ram tests vs the p4.. so then if u have dual bank ram AND DDR400 you're already feeding the processor more bandwidth than it was designed to take so u wont see any more speed improvement (not alot anyway)

if i were you i'd suggest the athlon xp 2600 333fsb nForce2 with 512 megs of DDR333 (in two 256 chips if you like to get the dual channel effect.. its not as big a performance booster as u think) i say DDR333 because DDR400 doesnt have a standard yet.. and its not that amazing

with 100gig HD's in the $130 range and 512 DDR333 at about $150 the system cost should be below.. or close to $1000.. the 2600 costs in the $200s.. but wait a few days for the bartons to come out and then the 2600 will drop significantly in price i'd get a geforce4 4400 instedo f the 4600 (there's not much difference for the price) and then the rest is really up to you.. (burner case monitor.. etc)

if u do get a new computer get one with xp pro and not home.. pro (to me) seems faster.. and more stable

 

Oh Jesus..... My mom is on the phone with my sister, and apparently she just crashed my parents car... now who knows when I'll get my new computer now. I guess it depends how bad the damage is.

-saber holder

 

that sux

 

Exactly $932 in damage, but they're going to make her pay for it, and she just got a job a few weeks ago, so it might not delay anything

-saber holder

 

thats why my parents made me buy my own cars.....ok back onto subject.

Athlons have for a long time scored high than Intel chips Mhz to Mhz. But they also run extremely hot. This limites overclocking abilities but if you just pop some new/more/bigger fans in there you should be ok. Also like i said before if you plan on overclocking alot you will want to go with the DDR 400 RAM over the 333 cause it will allow you to have more multiplier options.

 

"my father doesn't want to spend more than $1000 (maybe even less. Like $800)."



Ummm, your 'puter may not be all that good with those specs, my friend.

 

Well Sithy, explain what you would have in it please...

-saber holder

 

hmm.. CAS2 DDR333 is probably better than the current batch of DDR400 chips.. (which ship in CAS2.5) either way they're going to equate to about the same ability to oc considering how XP chips cant take anything faster than a 333FSB (or a little higher if u've OC'ed)

Chiftec Case (the generic antec case..)
Alpha PAL8045U (HSF)
120 GIG Western Digital (8Mb cache)
Epox EP-8RDA (nForce2 SPP)
Athlon XP 2600 (333 FSB)
GeForce4 Ti4400
512 DDR 333 (cas 2.5)
Samsung CDRW/DVD combo drive (48x burn to cd's 24x rewrite)

$1031 $31 more than u wanted to spend.. but im sure u can cut back on something (thats with shipping )

no monitor or keyboard or mouse or speakers (but hey u prob have that already? )

anyway just proving a point u can but it for about $1000