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Thread ID: 113617 2010-10-28 07:36:00 AVCHD editing/playback - required specs? wratterus (105) Press F1
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1148335 2010-10-28 07:36:00 Got a friend with a 5yr old PC with a P4 3GHz HT processor, which isn't quite handling the AVCHD editing and playback that's being asked of it.

We're looking at a new motherboard, processor and RAM, and probably a graphics card. PSU etc is all good.

I'm not 100% up with the play on what's required for smooth AVCHD playback, and was wondering if there was anyone whose got some first hand expreience with it.

The main issue here is budget - $700 max, the less the better. If it was possible to get away with on board graphics that would be awesome, but I don't expect that's the case.

At this stage I'm looking at something like an i5 760, an Asus P7H55-m and 4GB of Kingston or OCZ RAM, but it's really not cheap enough. Perhaps AMD?:p

Thoughs? Cheers!
wratterus (105)
1148336 2010-10-28 19:54:00 ... wratterus (105)
1148337 2010-10-28 20:13:00 I currently have an i7 930 with 6GB of RAM and it is fine for editing AVCHD clips. I don't tend to do any long movies though.
Previously, my Core2Duo was also able to handle AVCHD ok.

Basically, get the most RAM & fastest CPU you can afford. If you need smooth playback as well, make sure your Graphics card supports hardware acceleration. I'm not sure if onboard chips do this, but plenty of low-end AMD & nVidia cards do.
autechre (266)
1148338 2010-10-28 20:39:00 Yeah not specifically just fastest CPU / RAM, but I'd place some emphasis on ensuring you have a dedicated GPU that can handle h.264 offloading.

Basically if you're spending ~$100+ on a GPU, there's a darn good chance it'll be able to do that.

From there, if you've got yourself a solid 3GB+ RAM, you may as well go with a round 4 and use a 64-bit OS.

Then, as autechre mentioned, spend it all on the CPU ;)

So personally I'd:
$100+ GPU
4GB RAM
Rest on CPU :)
Chilling_Silence (9)
1148339 2010-10-28 20:41:00 If you're using a Nvidia card that support CUDA, this will also speed things up considerably.

There are also programs that convert to different video formats (that support CUDA).
Speedy Gonzales (78)
1148340 2010-10-28 21:12:00 Cool, thanks guys, that's pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. (Always good). h.264 GPU offloading is a good call - I'll certainly make sure that happens. :)

I'm going to have to go AMD, I just cant get grunty Intel stuff cheap enough.

At this stage...

AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE @ 3.2GHz (maybe a mild OC too?)
Asus M4A88TD-M
OCZ AMD Black Edition 2x2GB DDR3-1600 - $559.00 incl GST

And the graphics card... I was looking at an Asus HD5450 for $129..1024MB obviously..but after looking around a few review sites it looks like ATI's awesome drivers are still having issues with h.264, absolute max for a grahpics card is $149...thats top top dollar. Would really prefer around $130.

5450 is going to be the best I can do for that price, yeah?
wratterus (105)
1148341 2010-10-28 22:18:00 Righto, after some searching...

CPU AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H
RAM OCZ AMD BE 2x2GB DDR3-1600 CL8
Graphics Card Asus ATI Radeon HD5450 1GB

$629.00 incl GST. I'm pretty happy with that... :punk Thanks for the help!
wratterus (105)
1148342 2010-10-28 23:45:00 I have the fanless version of that GPU and find it excellent and good value too gary67 (56)
1148343 2010-10-29 00:03:00 Cool, you don't happen to know how warm it gets under load do you Gary? The Gigabyte fanless card is cheaper than the Asus, but I've always been a bit hesitant in recommending fanless cards, the few I've tested seem to get frighteningly hot. wratterus (105)
1148344 2010-10-29 02:37:00 No idea without taking the side off, I only have one case fan at the rear and then the CPU fan and so far. It is idling at 50C watching youtube videos according to CCC gary67 (56)
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