On Sat, 26 Aug 2000 20:03:19 +0100, Paul wrote:

>I have a celeron 300A and 256MB RAM and running Win98. Is this OK for
>DV editing? Is the editing just going to be slower on slower machines
>or is there a spec below which it just won't work? Also what size/spec
>HD is needed? I have an 8GB IDE which is fine for normal use. I also
>have an external 4GB Ultra SCSI HD. Is the best thing to just put a
>bigger SCSI drive into the external box and use that for the video
>data? Is Win98 or Win2000 better for DV? I was thinking of moving from
>98 to 2000 and getting a PIII 550. Is this a better setup? As my
>motherboard doesn't like Coppermine PIIIs I'll be getting a Katmai
>version (512K cache). Are these better or worse for DV editing or
>isn't their much difference? Thanks for any advice.

The 300MHz with Win98 is OK - if you can overclock the
CPU to 450MHZ, you have a cheap, fast computer. You
will need PC100 or 133 RAM, though, and a MB that can
set multipliers and CPU core voltages easily (the
Abit MBs work well for this, though I am currently
using an Asus P2B. If your CPU will run reliably at
450MHz at 1.7 volts or less, it is nearly as fast as
the PIII 550, and CHEAP. (If you need a MB, I may be
selling mine soon to get one that will run a C-566 at
850 - and I can sell a reliable-at-450 C300A with sink
and fan with it at a good price...) Take care with
case and CPU cooling, though. As for drives, keep
the 8-gig IDE for programs and preview files,
skip the SCSI and get one or two Maxtor 60-gig IDE
drives (at local Staples, $280, no RAID/SCSI needed...
[and Mini-DV occupies about 13-gigs/hour]), a cheap
ATI PCI video card and used 15/17" monitor (to run
along with your current monitor, for the preview
window - you will need the extra screen area with
good editing software), and the Raptor card with
Premiere. Not cheap in total, but this makes a very
good editing system. (BTW, in Premiere, get rid of
the half-size screen-realestate-eating dual preview
window and go for the 720x480 full-size window and
timeline-editing - it is more intuitive and easier
to use, for me, at least...)