The
next component is the processor. The processor determines the speed
of all the calculations that happen inside the machine, which means that
the faster your processor is, the faster your computer is. For instance,
in digital video editing, this may affect how long a special effect may
take to render. It is recommended that you buy the fastest processor that
is within your budget, but it is important to remember that different
configurations of processors result in different computer performance.
A system with dual 450Mhz processors may out perform a system with a single
500Mhz processor. We recommend Intel processors for use in video editing
systems. Intel processors are certified by all the video editing manufacturers.
There are other brands such as AMD or CYRIX, but some compatibility problems
with some video editing capture boards have been reported with these types
of processors. This doesn't mean that the AMD and CYRIX chips aren't good,
but they aren't the best choice for video editing applications.
The
next component is RAM. This is a very important part of the digital
video editing puzzle. Most consumers don't pay attention to this area,
and in the end, they pay the consequences. The amount of RAM dictates
how much work can be done by the system without having to read and write
back to the hard drive. Pulling information off the hard drives takes
time and processor resources. So, even if your machine has a fast processor,
if the machine doesn't have enough RAM, it will constantly be reading
and writing to the hard drives, resulting in low performance. It is
suggested that a video editing system have not less that 128 MB of RAM
and the capacity for at least 512 MB of RAM or more. The type of RAM
is also important. ECC RAM is recommended. This type of RAM is "self-correcting",
that is, it attempts to correct faulty information transfer when it
is detected. Due to this unique and effective feature, this type of
memory will give excellent performance.
The video display card. Caution must be exercised when choosing a video display card. You must be sure that the video display card you choose is compatible with the video editing board you want to buy. Check with your video editing board manufacturer for a list of compatible cards. Your video display card should have a minimum of 8 MB of video RAM onboard.
Next:
3. Hard Disks
1.
Beginning of Article
4.
Capture Cards