Video editing build

[johndh]

Looking to do some video editing. Basically to just copy pieces of footage from my library of home video DVDs to DVD and maybe add a few effects but nothing fancy. My video camera(D8) has firewire,so I would also like to copy those tapes to DVD as well. Looking to spend about $1800.
I Bought the Cool Master HAF923 case for $109.00 and the Antec Earthwatts 650 pwr sup. for $69.00 from TigerDirect in Mississauga,Ontario
I’am going to pickup the I7-920 but what would be a good motherboard and ram for this system?
I get different opinions on what graphics card I should get and how much of a role it plays in the whole process. Would like to start the build between Xmas and New years.

[ayah]

Are you gonna be overclocking? You can get an intense increase in bang for the buck if you do.

[mckchun]

If you are just doing video editing and not gaming, a low end video card is more than enough which can be had for 30-40, nvidia 8400gs or ati 4350. An i7 is also overkill for what you are doing, i5 can do the job very fast. If you want faster speed, a SSD upgrade instead of i7 will benefit more.

[johndh]

Yes, I considered the i5 but what about upgradeability? The reason I went for the i7-920 was it is Lga1366 and some people are saying that 1366 will be easier to upgrade to a future processor than 1156.What do you think?
Also in regards to ram, what should I be looking for in ddr3 that will not be under or overkill for the system that I want.
Overclocking…maybe later but I am still taking baby steps at this point(this is my first build).

[FiXT]

Depending on what program you are using for video editing you may be able to utilize the benefits of CUDA and high amounts of ram.

I have found that many video editing programs do not overly benefit from from more than 4GB even when used with a 64bit OS, however I found and there are a few reviews around the web supporting this - that when switching to Adobe Premiere and AE CS4, that these programs were finally able to take advantage of more than 4GB, and there was a noticeable improvement when running on 8GB total, some nearly doubling in speed.

Also with the advancements in CUDA and synergy with many popular video editing suits such as the Adobe and Sony programs - The choice to go with some NVIDIA like an GTS 250 or even a GTX 260 will likely wind up being very well worth the money in the future when they fully implement CUDA into the Adobe suite and it will greatly reduce time when doing things like transcoding or applying effects. Make sure it has at least OpenGL 2.0.

What formats do you see yourself using? If AVCHD is going to be your thing, then definitely stick with i7 920 or higher. The virtual 8 cores are incredibly beneficial

You may also want to consider looking into an SSD or Raid array for your primary drive and scratch disks - S iSD's especially will result in some very nice performance benefits.

[ayah]

LGA1366 will be more upgradable, but to upgrade, you're going to need to fork over mucho money.

But with a budget of 1800$, you could easily grab an i7 920 and overclock that puppy to 3.8-4.0GHz+.
Running an LGA1366 system will also let you take advantage of "cheap" 6GB kits. I paid 110$ for my 6GB DDR3-1600 kit after rebate.
Won't win an overclocking competition but, it's cheap and it's runs well.
X58 boards also seem to be more robust than their P55 counterparts, probably due to the price premium.

Board-wise, I think it's personal preference. Many choose gigabyte UD3Rs due to their good quality at a low price.
I grabbed an eVGA board because I wanted eleet (their customized CPU-Z) and a lifetime warranty (certain models only) in case I ever had to RMA.

[johndh]

First,Thanks a lot guys for the responses,It has helped me a lot.
When looking at all the different varieties of ram say for example ddr3 tri channel 6 GB total, how important are all the other specs that go with them in regards to noticeable speed differences. Is it worth the price difference say for Patriot Viper Tri Channel 6GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz versus Patriot Viper Tri Channel 6GB PC12800 DDR3 Memory - 1600MHz.This is almost a $100 price difference at Tiger Direct. I am using this example assuming a CPU and motherboard that can accommodate them and for video editing.
Also basically same question in regards to hard drives, buffer memory and spindle speed?