New Computer, Video edititing.

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($59.95)

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($69.99 + Free Shipping)

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($199.99 + Free Shipping)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($139.99 + Free Shipping)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($94.99 + Free Shipping)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($54.99)

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($89.99 w/ $10 MIR + Free Shipping)

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($30.99)

Total: $740.88

If he doesn't game at all, then you could go with something minimal like a 9600 or HD4650, which would get you under the $700 mark.

Edit: Do you need an OS? If you or your friend is a student, you can get Windows 7 for $30, otherwise your going to need this;

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($99.99 + Free Shipping)

This however puts you over, if you drop down the GPU to something like this;

XFX HD-465X-YAF2 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... ($49.99)

Then your sitting at about $800, there is not much room to slim down the build unless you go with a cheaper case and mATX motherboard.

Your next option would be an AMD Phenom II X4 build, or if you want to save a little more, an Athlon II X4, though for his needs the i5 build is the most beneficial.

i5 is better than the phenom II 955 or 965 quad? also, since it is a video editing computer, wouldn't that also mean that we'd need to get more ram? From my understanding, video editing requires a lot of ram, and cpu usage.

Just looking to compare the build i've have saved.

Yes i5 will perform better in that role, ideally he would want an i7 920, but that is out of the budget. The CPU will be the biggest focus of a video editing computer, lots of RAM is generally needed by CAD programs moreso than video editing.

CPU Comparison (Video Editing) i7 920 > i7 860 > i5 750

With some good deals on newegg, you could probably get an i7 920 system for close to the same price as the i7 860, I think for more basic video editing use the i5 is great, however if this is something where performance and efficiency matters, then tell him to bite the bullet and go with an i7 920 build.

What editing software does your friend plan to use? This would have a big effect on the build.

My friend is going to be using CS4 adobe suite. Also he'll probably get the 30$ win 7 for students.. So that'll bring the price down. Also, would it be a good idea to wait till around the christmas time where i hear prices are much better.. Just wondering, because i dont' want my friend to get all these parts and 2 months later the same build is 200 cheaper..


Thanks a lot btw.

This is just out of your friend's price range, but if he really wants to make that Adobe software sing he needs an i7 system, 12GBs of ram and a Quadro card with the new Elemental Accelerator, which is optimized for Adobe applications. A Quadro FX 1800 would be good and a FX 3800 would really cook. Unfortunately, the 3800 is your friend's total budget.

What you're proposing would run a video editing system if your friend sticks to SD editing and light effects work. HD or many layers would be a problem. If your friend intends to use this system professionally, he'll have to revise his budget. If he's just learning and using it for personal projects, he should be alright.