A PC for video editing

It is well known that programs for video editing, retouch or motion graphics consume a lot of resources. Therefore, if we use our programs with ease and speed we need to invest some money in buying a good PC optimized for video editing. In addition, if our intention is not to toil away a fortune, we must choose carefully where best to spend our precious money. Then I will make an overview of the different components that make up a PC and its relationship with our video work:

1. PROCESSOR

It is the most important element of your computer as it is who is responsible for processing all information that comes into our computer. It is very easy to choose which processor I should choose: the best you can afford. The processor should be much better, we will work faster with our videos, apply effects and, ultimately, our entire workflow will be accelerated if we have a good processor. The first big decision to make is whether we want our computer to run INTEL or AMD processors.
INTEL or AMD

There are big disputes over which is better and, broadly speaking we can say that Intel is better, but AMD has better price / quality ratio. If you have doubts about what processor you can check http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ buy where you can see the performance of each model years. From personal experience, a high-end AMD gives very good performance, although it is true that sometimes take a little longer to respond than Intels.

HD video editing smoothly and working with programs like After Effects we buy a processor of at least 4 cores and from 2.8 GH clocked. From here, all depends on the money you want to spend.

2. MEMORY RAM

It is another great workhorse of our PC for video editing. The RAM memory is “working” on our computer. The RAM is like the ability to have our immediate response team. Obviously, the more RAM it will have fewer problems when editing HD video and processing.
For the low price of RAM and high performance, it would be a good place to spend all the money we have. This is one of the most influential components when working fluidly and, therefore, interested in going more than enough to keep “working time”. To measure the quality we look RAM capacity (1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB). It is best to have two RAM slots occupied instead of 4., I.e. RAM memory of our PC run better with two 4 GB memory with 4 2GB.

And without going into technical details, the RAM is differentiated by DDR1, DDR 2 or DDR3 according to the generation to which they belong. The 3 is the latest and, if we can afford it, will be an asset for the performance of your computer for video editing. Moreover, the name of the RAM memory will accompany the letters CL plus a number. These refer to the latency / delay of each RAM.

3. THE BASE PLATE

The motherboard is like the backbone of our computer. It will be connected and the other elements, even if they are not relevant when measuring the final performance of our PC, we must not underestimate its value. In this case, the most important thing is to buy a motherboard line with the other components that we install.

Choosing motherboard will depend greatly on the processor you want to install. The motherboards are specifically designed to work with Intel or AMD processors and you can not install a processor of a mark on the other plate. To properly choose a motherboard for video editing has to look at the amount of RAM Slots you have and the processor.

Finally, other relevant aspects of the motherboard if we dedicate ourselves to the video editing is that we need to have integrated (you have to add an external) and ensure you have a minimum of two graphics card USB 3.0 (very useful for working with external hard drives 3.0) ports.

4 – THE GRAPHICS CARD

The graphics card is the component of your PC that is responsible for processing information and the CPU to make it visible on our monitors. In our case, also serve to help our processor to do calculations in our work. Currently, medium-high range cards have a processor architecture optimized for work with specific video codes. The two major brands of graphics cards are NVIDIA and ATI. These brands are responsible for making graphics chips, but other manufacturers can use these chips to create cards with your own brand. The most important aspects to choose a graphics card is the number of microprocessors and memory (1 GB minimum). NVIDIA CUDA has called their processors and ATI has called them “stream processors”. It is a similar concept and the more you can provide the better.

At this point, if you are using Adobe Premiere software (both PC and MAC) Worth acquires a NVIDIA graphics card. This and other programs use CUDA ADOBE to significantly improve the performance of our team. This translates into the ability to edit HD fluently and be able to apply effects without slowing down your computer. It also speeds up the exports and video conversions to do with Adobe Media Encoder. So if you edit with ADOBE is much recommended to buy an NVIDIA card. And it’s not a question of marketing.

5. THE HARD DRIVE

Although it is a less important component level of performance is necessary to purchase one or two large-capacity hard drives. Video files take up much space and quickly could have a hard drive full of normal capacity. I recommend at least 2GB of disk space to install hard. To speed up your work, and if your wallet permits you, you can install a hard solid state disk that will accelerate your programs load. In this case, you must purchase a hard drive for data storage, leaving the solid state hard drive for programs only.

6. POWER SUPPLY

Depending on the number of hard drives and graphics card you want to install, you will need more energy input. This should ask the manufacturer once you have determined the other components that form your computer. Generally, a source and 600W power is sufficient.

7. BOX

Depends what you’re fashion you can buy very striking boxes. Performance-wise, try to choose a box big enough to fit the graphics card and other components you want to install. Pay special attention to the ventilation of the box and places adapted for the fans.

8. COOLING

It is advisable to have a few fans that try to counteract the heat generated by the video editing. You will be very demanding on the performance of your computer, so you do not get off; your computer must be at a temperature of between 35º and 45º.