€1200 Video Editor

JrdanB

1. What is your budget?

€1000 - €1500

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

Video Editing on Adobe suite

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

No, I don't think so - my old PC had windows 7 home pre-installed and I have the product code, so presumably I can transfer that over?

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?

2 x 3TB Hard Drives, keyboard and mouse, DVD drive (I also have 2 X 8 GB of the cheapest available ddr3 ram I got from komplett a few years ago - willing to upgrade if the price to speed increase justifies it)

5. Do you need a monitor?

ideally yes, 2 of them.

5a. If yes, what size do you need?

2 X 27"

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

21" or 23" can't remember! - I do want to upgrade though

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?
wireless card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?
yes

8. How can you pay?
visa debit, paypal, cash

9. When are you purchasing?
whenever

10. If you need help building it, where are you based?
Greystones, Wicklow

Hey, thanks everyone! I'll be editing on the adobe suite, so a compatible graphics card would presumably be recommended? I'd also be willing to get a new Hard drive to boot from - those SSD's seem good!

I used to be kind of into PCs, but I've been out of the loop for a good while now, so I'd guess I'd be able to partially assemble it myself, but I'd have to see how it arrives.

ED E

If the current PC is OEM (Dell, HP etc) then you wont be able to transfer the windows licence, its liked to the board. That said you can use the reddit software swap to get 7 for ~€15.

The monitors will cut deep enough into 1200, especially i you need want reasonable colour accuracy.

dannyd20

as mentioned, buying 2 monitors will take a fair chunk of your budget. Check out the korean brands from ebay Qnix, Yamasaki, Catleap, X-Star, etc for best value. There is a thread here with more details

they will probably run you close to 300 apiece. If you're coming from a single 21/23inch, you will find you have a lot more screen real estate on a single 27", maybe you could run with your smaller screen alongside just one new 27".

JrdanB

I felt that the monitors would be an issue - The problem is, I'm currently working full time in film production and have gotten very comfortable with my 2 x 27" monitors here - going home to my single 21" is like looking through a submarine window!

Say if we take the monitors out of the budget for now with a view to upgrading in the future, what kind of build would I get?

Also windows would have been OEM - so not transferable

Thanks again!

Gehad_JoyRider

http://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/PA246Q/overview/

these are great for the money Ive got one, and its such a nice setup make looking at a laptop like looking at a stamp :P

TerrorFirmer

Are you current work monitors 1440p though? They're likely just 1080p, and two 27" 1080p monitors can be had for a lot less than 300 apiece. I think people just automatically equate 27" with 1440p.

If that's the case, you would probably find a single 1440p 27" display more than enough as you'd have much more screen place. Ultrawide 21:9 monitors are also good for editing work.

Either way you still have 800 left in the budget after a single 1440p 27", two 27" 1080ps, or a 29" ultrawide. That'll cover an i7 and 16GB ram easily.

JrdanB

Yeah, they are 1080p in work, I'd be fairly confident they were quite cheap too!

frozenfrozen

If you got a 27" 1440p monitor and used your current monitor as a secondary you'd be in good shape. I do something similar, it's nice to have somewhere to have all your bins open and full sized scopes, but I'd feel wasteful if I had a second 1440p monitor just for what I use my second monitor to do.

JrdanB

Ok, that makes sense - if I get one 27" 1440p monitor, would I have enough left to afford a solid pc that doesn't have any issues working with complicated, multi layered timelines. I'm not much of a motion graphics guy, but even basic colour correction and effects can be quite demanding.

The PCs in work probably cost about €1000 and they seem grand not amazing, but definitely fine for 90% of the stuff I do - they were bought by someone who wouldn't know the finer details in what's required in an editing pc though so would probably have some inefficiencies.

frozenfrozen

What kind of footage are you working with? DSLR stuff or heavier?

JrdanB

Just DSLR, Canon 550D