2007 Turnkey Buyer's Guide (page 2)

It's like a never-ending fairytale - prices for most types of RAM keep coming down, and their capacities keep going up. What a world! You'll find most editing packages will list a minimum of 512MB to 1GB, with recommended amounts between 1 and 2GB. It might be an area you are tempted to save some money on at purchase time, but you won't be sorry if you double what you think you'll initially need, particularly if you have any plans to move into high definition.

RAM is also rated by how fast it will process data, measured in MHz. There is a way to calculate the speed you need, but unless you custom-order your system without any RAM at all, it's usually best to leave that choice up to the computer manufacturer.

Hard drive prices, like RAM, have also been crashing, while performance and capacity have been improving. To edit HD footage without breaking a sweat, you'll need at least two drives: one for all of your software and one dedicated to just your media. Both of these drives (but in particular the one for your media) need to rank well in four areas:

1. Disk rotation speed
2. Sustained data transfer rate
3. Bus/interface speed
4. Head seek time

If we look at just the first two areas, we'll avoid getting bogged down in too many specs and still get a good sense of overall performance. For the disk speed, both drives should be running at 7,200RPM, and, if you're an advanced user, 10K or even 15K RPM drives will give you even greater potential sustained data transfer, which is a big benefit when working with uncompressed HD footage.

As for size, be sure to look at the system's largest supported drive capacity. For many, this should approach or exceed the one-terabyte range. Also, several of the mid- to higher-priced systems offer the availability of pre-configured RAIDs. Configuring multiple less-costly drives in an array will usually give you better performance than using a single large-capacity, high-performance drive.

An important part of your search will include which software package best suits your needs. If you are just starting out, this question becomes even more important. Many of the lower-priced systems will come bundled with limited editions, or "light" versions of their software. The latest offerings from most major companies are much more capable than they were just last year and are not simply stripped-down versions of their big brothers. If you've already become accustomed to working in one editing package, the software a system builder bundles may largely determine your choice of hardware.

Nearly all major software providers now claim to handle both HD and HDV footage, but some do it in different ways that will demand more or less of your computer's processing power. A good way to find out which software may demand more horsepower is to visit the manufacturer's Web site and note both the minimum and recommended CPU requirements. And remember, "minimum" system requirements listed for many popular video editing packages, while true, will usually not provide an enjoyable experience. It's best to start with the recommended requirement and then add another 20% for safety.

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