http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ Videomaker Forums » Topic: Newbie needs help double-checking my system en Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:46:08 +0000 http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42210 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:36:58 +0000 NormanWillis 42210@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hi John.</p> <p>Also, what is the output speed of the rendered product as compared to the OS (C) and Data (D) drives?</p> <p>If C and D are in RAID 0, should the target drive also be in RAID 0 for maximum efficiency?  Or would a simple 7200 RPM drive probably keep up just fine?</p> <p>Thanks.</p> <p>Norman</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42205 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:38:33 +0000 NormanWillis 42205@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <blockquote><p>Vegas renders are strictly motherboard processor only.  The GPU is not utilized when rendering. Rendering speed depends mostly on how much effects or color correction you add to your clips. a "naked clip" will render much faster that a clip that has been color corrected or has added effects or fades... if you have good ram in your system you will render a bit faster, the other thing, and this may not apply, but I always render to a drive that does not contain my video source files or any system files.  the processor will be fine, just don't expect to preview the footage while editing it at full frame rates and resolution. John</p></blockquote> <p>Wow.  OK.  Thanks.  That clarifies things a lot.</p> <p>So if I understand correctly, you would recommend not rendering either to C: (OS) or to D: (Data), but to a different hard drive (or array) altogether (which in my case would have to be external)?</p> <p>Thanks.</p> <p>Norman</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42204 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:31:48 +0000 NormanWillis 42204@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <blockquote><p>Vegas renders are strictly motherboard processor only.  The GPU is not utilized when rendering. Rendering speed depends mostly on how much effects or color correction you add to your clips. a "naked clip" will render much faster that a clip that has been color corrected or has added effects or fades... if you have good ram in your system you will render a bit faster, the other thing, and this may not apply, but I always render to a drive that does not contain my video source files or any system files.  the processor will be fine, just don't expect to preview the footage while editing it at full frame rates and resolution. John</p></blockquote> <p>Wow.  OK.  Thanks.  That helps a lot.</p> <p>So if I understand correctly, you would recommend not rendering to c: (os) or d: (data), but to a different hard drive (or array), which in my case would have to be external?</p> <p>Thanks.</p> <p>Norman</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42166 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:41:44 +0000 Johnboy 42166@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Vegas renders are strictly motherboard processor only.  The GPU is not utilized when rendering. Rendering speed depends mostly on how much effects or color correction you add to your clips. a "naked clip" will render much faster that a clip that has been color corrected or has added effects or fades... if you have good ram in your system you will render a bit faster, the other thing, and this may not apply, but I always render to a drive that does not contain my video source files or any system files.  the processor will be fine, just don't expect to preview the footage while editing it at full frame rates and resolution.</p> <p>John</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42152 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:10:48 +0000 NormanWillis 42152@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks. </p> <p>I thought maybe I would render two hours' worth of 1080i at a shot (i.e., one BluRay's worth).  So if an hour of 720p takes maybe 7-10 hours, two hours of 1080i might take a day?</p> <p>Does the video card make any difference in rendering?  Or does it just power the monitors when editing?</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42085 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:40:59 +0000 NewBirthProductions 42085@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>rendering a 6 hour HD clip :)  you want this done when?</p> <p>Don't know if you started to render yet but it's going to take a very very very long time to render 6 hours of hd no matter how fast your computer is.  So i would refrain from rendering until you are ready for bed, then only render 1 hour at a time.  on that setup rendering 1 hour of 720P will take about 7 to 10 hours.</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42069 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:44:16 +0000 NormanWillis 42069@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks Chris.  I appreciate the good thoughts.  People are helping.</p> <p>May the Creator bless you.</p> <p>Norman</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42035 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:03:50 +0000 chrisColorado 42035@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>A six hour film??? WOW! With all this work you're putting into it, I sure hope you find people who really enjoy it!</p> <p>I understand the do-or-die time you are in since I'm there also in my own project. I'd love to be able to answer all your questions, but I only can guess at number 5.</p> <p>I think that 1394 firewire is OK as far as I know. I haven't used firewire at all ever, but many people use it and from what little I know, it sounds like it could handle the footage.</p> <p>Someone have a problem with that? This guy needs help.</p> <p>Good luck sir, you're working way out of my league.</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-42034 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:49:56 +0000 NormanWillis 42034@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Someone wrote me and said that D:\ needs to be in RAID 0 more than C:\.  So I am doing that.</p> <p>Vegas wrote me back and said that 3.0 is fine for all codecs.  But someone else said not to listen to that, that I needed a minimum of 3.2 GHz, so I dropped the $120.00 for the 3.4 GHz chip.</p> <p>Apparently Topaz Enhance or Red Giant Magic Bullet plug-ins for After Effects are the way to go for raising resolution, so if Yahweh wills, I will do that also.</p> <p>Norman</p> http://videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/newbie-needs-help-double-checking-my-system#post-41987 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:07:06 +0000 NormanWillis 41987@http://videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hi. It is a long story, but basically the video editing got dumped in my lap.  Now I am blessed with the opportunity to sort everything out, and get up to speed as fast as possible.  I still have a lot to learn, but I have some questions, and am hoping some of you old pros would please be so kind as to help me finish figuring out how to configure the computer.  I appreciate your patience and help.</p> <p>I need to make 2-6 hour documentaries, with the base footage shot in an indoor studio with three point lighting.  I will be editing on a three year old Dell Precision 380 workstation with a Pentium D 930 at 3.0 GHz.  I have 4GB RAM on Windows XP SP3, with the Control Panel preferences set to 'performance'.  NLE is Vegas 8.  Hard Drive C is twin 250GB 7200 RPM HDD's in RAID 0 that back up externally to a 1TB Seagate via Symantec BESR 8.0.  Hard Drive D is twin 1TB Seagate 7200 RPM HDD's in RAID 1.  The video card is a Palit (NVidia) GeForce 8600 Super +1GB.  The primary filming camera is a Sony HDR-FX1, but I will use an HDR-HC1 to feed the tape into the computer via firewire.</p> <p>Here are the questions I have identified so far.  I would very much appreciate any help or assistance you could give me in fine-tuning my machine.  Thank you very much for your help.</p> <p>1. My main concern is the processor.  Is a Pentium D 930 at 3.0 GHz capable of handling and rendering 2-6 hour films with Sony Vegas?  The Sony website (<a href="http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro/sysreq">http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro/sysreq</a>) gives the minimum system requirement for HDV in Vegas at 2.8 GHz, but I read somehwere that this is only the minimum system requirement, and that it is much better if your processor is significantly stronger than that, especially once the machine gets warm.  I can upgrade to a 3.4 GHz processor (Pentium D 950) for about $120.00, or to a 3.6 (Pentium D 960) for about $240.00, plus grease, but my question is: is this upgrade worth the cost?  Would upgrading to 3.4 or 3.6 GHz processor make the editing/rendering process more stable, and more reliable on long renders?  Or is a 3.0 GHz Pentium D 'plenty' of processor even for long HDV rendering?  And what are my rendering times likely to be for a 2-6 hour film?</p> <p>2. A related concern is the codec.  I am told that Cineform NeoHD can convert the HDV codec to HD.  It is expensive, but I am told that processors can handle HD much easier than they can handle HDV.  (I am also told that it gives greater fidelity).  Does anyone have experience with this?  If I purchase Cineform NeoHD, would I still need/be well advised to upgrade the processor to 3.4 or 3.6 GHz?  Or is a 3.0 GHz Pentium D 'lots' of processor, especially with HD (not HDV)?  </p> <p>3.  My second main concern is the HDD arrays.  Instead of having C: in RAID 0 and D: in RAID 1, would it be better to put C: in RAID 1 and D: in RAID 0, and then back up the D drive externally?  Either I would have to find a 2TB external drive, or else with the standard compression I could probably back up to a 1.5 TB Seagate Free Agent drive.  Alternately, I could leave C: in RAID 0, and put D: in RAID 0 without too much trouble.</p> <p>I should probably say that there are four internal drive bays, and I have not considered RAID 5 because I do not know how it works.  I just want to make sure I have enough speed and capacity to handle HD/HDV.</p> <p>4. Is the video card adequate? </p> <p>5. Do I need any kind of a video capture card?  I have just been feeding things in to the motherboard via the 1394 Firewire port.  Is that good enough?</p> <p>Thank you very much for your help.  We used to have a budget, but not any longer.  Still, it is do-or-die time, and this is my life, and I love what I do.  If there is something that will make a difference, I will find a way to do it.</p> <p>Norman</p>