Thoughts on this value quad-core PC?

[JoeInBH]

I was planning on waiting until the holidays to upgrade my PC, but this one looks like an amazing deal:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-Desktop-PC-A6152N/sem/rpsm/oid/185479/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

It's primary weak point is the graphics card, but I've heard that the graphics card is not as important for video editing as it is for gaming. It's got the quad-core processor which should speed up rendering and 3MB of RAM, which should be enough for now, although it's upgradable to 8MB. I'm also a little skeptical about making the jump to Vista, but I could always reinstall XP if I find it intolerable.

Does anyone see any bottlenecks in the system that would make it less than ideal for home HDV editing?

[Ten Ounce]

Why not go and build your own system? You could probably have one built with better specs for around the same money, and load it with XP Pro.

[Lunchbox]

I just ordered my pc from http://CyberPowerPC.com. Everything configurable.

[JoeInBH]

Thanks for the advice. My problem is that when I start to configure my own system, I just can't seem to compromise and end up with more than I'm willing to pay for. The search goes on.

[Ten Ounce]

Thanks for the advice. My problem is that when I start to configure my own system, I just can't seem to compromise and end up with more than I'm willing to pay for. The search goes on.

That's the beauty of building it yourself. You can start out with the bare basics, and every week (or whenever) you can purchase the additional things that will turn your PC into something you can live with. I resell computers for HP, Gateway, Acer, Lenovo, and a bunch of others, and I won't buy another box from any of those companies ever again! My advice is start your project with the best mobo and processor that you can afford, and build around that. With the price drop on the new quad core processors, you should save quite a bit.

[Lunchbox]

I have been using Dell's for years. The thing I like about is no hassle. Flip the switch and is ready to use. But I hated that there're no options for me not to buy any CD/DVD rom drive. I already paid for the license of XP, I have to pay it again if I need to buy another Dell.

But then building your own computer does required a lot of work and knowledge. My new computer comes with 4GB RAM and a 512MB video card. XP can only use 4GB ram all together so the system reports 3.25GB ram. Worst, the Asus motherboard reported a problem of using XP with 4GB ram. My system beccomes very unstable until I took out 1GB ram. So much trouble.

[JoeInBH]

Thanks Ten, but I'm more of a customize-it-on-Dell than a built-it-myself computer user. I'm comfortable adding RAM, a TV tuner or video card, or swapping out the DVD burner for a BluRay (when the time comes), but I just don't want to spend the time necessary to build it myself - making sure everything is compatible, researching individual components, etc. I have no doubt that I could do it, but my time is valuable, and if I started building a PC from scratch, I'd no doubt put a lot effort into it and the time I'd spend is worth more to me than the relatively slight amount of money I'd save buying a boxed or (partially) custom-configured system.

In addition to CyberPowerPC, does anyone know of any good websites to order a customized PC?

[manbart]

Hi,

Video card is not really very important for Video editing, but that computer seems to have sharred video memory, which I don't think is good. Also it has a quad core but it's the entry level one that will run somewhat slow when only using once core, which is vast majority of the time, but as long as you realize that. Also it looks like the memory is cheap memory, but can't expect much. Also it has Windows VISTA and if your going to do video editing I'd tend to stay away from VISTA for another year or so. The price seems pretty good for what it is. I'm not sure you could do much better for a pre built PC.

[pascalbrown]

I have been using Dell's for years. The thing I like about is no hassle. Flip the switch and is ready to use. But I hated that there're no options for me not to buy any CD/DVD rom drive. I already paid for the license of XP, I have to pay it again if I need to buy another Dell.

But then building your own computer does required a lot of work and knowledge. My new computer comes with 4GB RAM and a 512MB video card. XP can only use 4GB ram all together so the system reports 3.25GB ram. Worst, the Asus motherboard reported a problem of using XP with 4GB ram. My system beccomes very unstable until I took out 1GB ram. So much trouble.

You just need a 64bit version of XP or Vista to use all that ram. 32bit O/S won't do it, it's an inbuilt shortcoming.

[SenorKaffee]

XP64 suffers from a lack of drivers, I´m not sure what the situation on Vista is.

[manbart]

Right now I wouldn't touch 64bit vista with a 10 foot pole, but within a year or so I think it will be far more practical, and will be somewhat of a boom to various types of computer performance.