New Computer Build for Video Editing – Part 1
Recently at PatentHome, fellow patent attorney Vincent LoTempio and I have begun posting videos geared towards helping inventors with some of the basic questions they have about how to best protect their ideas through patent, trademark, and copyright law. Without a large production budget, we have been doing most of the work ourselves, using our own camera and video editing software. Our initial feedback from viewers has been great, and our goal is to continuously add fresh content that answers inventor’s questions. However, we quickly realized that the task of editing even short videos is a very time consuming process, largely thanks to our (relatively) slow lineup of computers.
With that in mind, we have decided to invest in a new computer system geared specifically towards video editing, mainly using the Adobe CS5.5 Suite, particularly Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, and Soundbooth. We also make much use of Sony SoundForge Pro 10, Camtasia, and MS Powerpoint for our video presentations. Our camcorder is the Canon XA10, which we recently acquired and absolutely love the quality & features. The XA10 exports AVCHD video in 1080p resolution.
When we started looking into systems, we quickly decided that a custom-built machine was the way to go, both in terms of cost-savings in addition to ensuring that our specific needs are being met (i.e. most bang for the buck). Our starting budget for this build is $1500, which puts us in the “economical” or “budget” category as far as video editing machines go. At the same time, however, our goal is to have a machine that will work relatively fast, last us a good three years, and has the ability to be upgraded in the future.
The major computer components we will be researching for our build are the main processor (CPU), motherboard (mobo), graphics processor and card (GPU), main memory (RAM), multiple hard disks, power supply, fan/cooler, and case. We will also be adding peripheral components such as a keyboard, mouse, DVD/Blu-ray burner (maybe), and dual monitors. When it comes to video editing, the name of the game is BALANCE across all components. It makes little sense to have a machine with 32GB RAM if less than half of it is ever going be allocated. It serves no purpose to have a 6-core, 5Ghz overclocked processor if you are simultaneously reading and writing to a single hard disk. Adobe has put together a nice introduction related to optimizing hardware systems for its software that you can access here. Adobe’s forums are also a great resource for information, where you can learn about what others have tried in the past, as well as what their in-house experts are currently recommending.
Stay tuned for updates in the near future, I will be posting our selection of components along with the rationale behind each decision, a breakdown of final costs, as well as documenting the physical build process. Also, while we have experience with previous computer builds, this is our first one geared solely towards video editing, so any comments or suggestions are more than welcome!
New Computer Build For Video Editing – Part 2 (Component Selection)
