Beef it Up: Basic Hardware Requirements for Editing (page 2)

Ideally, a video-editing computer should have the biggest, fastest and most reliable hard drives you can get your hands on for video storage and playback. The best systems keep the storage drives (for large audio and video files) separate from the main drive used to store the software that runs the machine. It's possible, however, to do everything on one big drive. Just make sure that the drive you're using is fast enough to handle the work you plan to give it and large enough so your video files don't fill it up too quickly. For DV users, this means a good 80GB (or larger) 7,200 rpm drive. This is pretty common for most modern drives, but be warned to steer clear of 5,400 rpm models. For HD users and other high-definition projects, a RAID is a must.

A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a way of combining two or more hard drives in a way that enhances reliability or performance or both. There are many types of RAIDs, but the type that video editors use most are RAID 0 (zero) arrays, which "stripe" information across multiple drives for maximum performance. When building a system from scratch, you should consider purchasing a motherboard with built-in RAID functionality, which allows you to construct your own RAID from a pair of identical hard drives. RAID 0 arrays are risky, since if you lose one drive, you'll lose both. If you are careful to store your project files on another drive and keep careful batch capture lists, you can reconstruct projects in a few hours if a drive ever does fail. For DV users, a RAID might be overkill, but for those who do serious 3D animation, HD or film work, a RAID is a necessity.

The simple answers to these questions for video editors are: "a lot," and "the fastest available." In today's machines, RAM speed can influence performance as much as a few hundred MHz in CPU speed. Older or bargain computers often make use of slower RAM, which can greatly hinder render and playback performance. Most brand-new video editing machines should have DDR or DDR2 RAM. As for quantity, 512 MB should be considered a minimum, with 2GB being a good place to maximize render speeds. Newer, next-generation machines boast 4GB capacities, but, once again, this is probably overkill except for the most demanding graphics applications.

Your case is more than just a box that holds all your hardware together, the computer's case can make a big difference, especially for media production types who like access to front-mounted FireWire, audio and USB2 jacks. Some cases offer a nice hinged, flip-open construction to provide easy access to the motherboard when you're installing or removing a card, a drive or a RAM module. Cheaper cases have lots of sharp edges to cut yourself on and sometimes have inadequate fans or power supplies.

If you're building a system from the ground up, be sure to get a case that can handle the wattage of your motherboard: newer Pentium 4 systems, for example, require a 400 watt power supply to operate properly. Of course with a Mac, you automatically get a beautiful and almost silent case by default.

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