Picking a PC for Sony Vegas HD Platinum 10

1. Kelly Slade
   Member

   

    Hi all, any advice here would be greatly appriciated! I want to make videos of my band using 2 cameras. The advice I got was Vegas because of it's ease of dropping 2 cameras into a single timeline. The way they snap together really looks easy. I've tried it on a mac system using imovie and it was labor intensive. So, for Vegas I need a new pc. The direction I was pointed into was this: quad core with i7, 4 gigs ram, 3 hardrives for os, render, storage. Blu ray burner also. Also Windows 7 64 bit.

    Now here is the other thing, Vegas platinum will only run 32 bit so any ram past 4 gigs is unused. However if I get inspired to go Vegas pro I can run 64 bit and add more ram. I read though that vegas platinum has problems with running long hd movies smoothly. Am I on the right track? Should I buy a pc from one of those builders on ebay or maybe spend more and get something like a dell workstation? Oh yeah, Im using a new Sony HD camera, cx-160.

   Thanks

   Posted 8 months ago #

2. doublehamm
   Member

   

   If you cannot build one yourself (the best route, and it is not as difficult as it sounds), then just about any trusted builder out there can build something more stable and to your specifications than any "big name" brand out there.  If possible I would hop straight into Vegas Pro just for the 64-bit support alone - there is a night and day difference in render speeds.  I have never used Vegas Platinum, so I do not know how the multi-camera works in that NLE, but Pro is definitely not an issue and you can add unlimited tracks. 

   Posted 8 months ago #

3. Kelly Slade
   Member

   

    I just watched part of a video on youtube from a guy who takes you step by step building a pc intended for video editing. Your right, it's not that hard. It's almost like building a model kit when I was a kid, only more exspensive. Some of the things I'm considering is whether I should get an i7 quad or six core. Should I get a solid state hard drive for the os and how much ram I should start off with, maybe 6 gigs?

   Posted 8 months ago #

4. doublehamm
   Member

   

   I use a 6 core 980x - I like it - but it is not necessary.  I believe there are more "common" 6 core i7s out there now so the price gap may not be so large.   I also use a solid state HD for my OS, but that will have very little effect on your editing - just speeds up the opening of programs that are installed on your main drive.  I would say 6-8GB minimum RAM if you want the PC to last you a while.  If it was within your budget then update all the slots to at least 2GB sticks (4GB gets a little insane in price) so you would typically have 8GB or 12GB ram (4 or 6 slots).  Again, this is all about your budget - what you are describing is a pretty decent editing machine so far. 

    

   The toughest - or most delicate part - of building a PC is installing the CPU.  They are starting to become more and more pinless, but still a delicate process.  It is very likely though that if you go to a component store like Microcenter or some "Ma and Pop's" outlet - they will install this for you (a lot of time free if you are buying most of your components there) and test out your board to make sure everything is running correctly before you bring it home.  Then you just leave it in place and finish at home.  It is not really that difficult, but if something goes wrong during this part of the install, usually it voids warranty.  If you are great at following instructions, it is still a breeze. 

    

   The best part of a home built PC is when you install the OS - you get ONLY the OS and not all the BS proprietary or adware that comes pre-installed on a big name brand PC - thus greatly speeding up your PC from day 1.  YOU have full control of what gets installed, or what does not get installed on your PC

   Posted 8 months ago #

5. tyboulder
   Member

   

    

    

   I've built several computers in the last year and a half, and let me tell you, unless you've done it before, it's not easy.  In theory, yes- but having gone through it (built both AMD 6-core and i7 machines), I'll probably just pay for my next machine.  I see deals on techbargains.com all the time for i7-2600 computers with everything you'd need for Vegas Movie Studio selling for $600-$650 (no monitor).  It'd be hard to build a computer for that price, esp. figuring in the cost of the OS.  You wouldn't need a better graphics card or more RAM unless you jumped to Vegas Pro.

   Posted 8 months ago #

6. Kelly Slade
   Member

   

    Thanks guys. I'm getting a better idea of where I think I want to go. I seems its going to be worth starting with vegas pro so as to take advantage of the faster rendering speeds with the 64 bit. I'll do the i7 quad core with 8 gigs ram. That leaves the video card to pick which I'll need to study more to match my set up.

   Thanks again yall!!!

   Posted 8 months ago #

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