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I thank you for the well-rounded answer, but I guess I'm just pretty dense when it comes to understanding that kind of technics involved in computers.



It's like this. "SATA" is a standard specifying how you connect the disk to the computer. Configuring the operating system so that the disk is in a "RAID array" is something you can do with the disk, after it's connected to the computer.

You have to have at least 2 disks to make a RAID array.

There are various different types of RAID arrays. Of the kinds of RAID arrays you can make, RAID 0 makes accessing the disks really fast. But, if you lose one disk, you lose all the data on both disks. RAID 1 is no faster than a single disk, but each disk contains all the data the other one has. So, if you lose one disk, the other disk is right there and it's still got all your data. You've lost nothing.

RAID 1 is just like a real time backup. You don't have to burn CD's or keep switching tapes to make a backup. It's just right there in your computer being backed up every time you change anything.

But, whatever backup strategy you need is pretty user proclivity dependent. RAID 1 is just one choice among many you have for making backups. Another choice, that's more common than RAID 1, is an external hard drive that plugs into your computer via USB...

With an external hard disk, the backup won't happen in real time. You'll have to set it up so that in the middle of the night your backup software takes a snapshot and backs up whatever you tell it to.

But really, it's becoming apparent your not comfortable making these decisions yourself. While Bishop may not do everything like you would if you were as informed as he, just find someone else who's been doing it and doing it the way he does is not a bad way to start to learn at all.

But, like if he tells you to get an external hard disk and not worry about the extra expense of RAID 1. You can check prices on RAID 1 and an external hard drive. If a RAID 1 array is no more expensive than an external disk, you can come back and ask about that.

It is interesting that a 2nd disk for a RAID 1 array in those options is only an extra $150. However, that RAID 1 array only gives you 500 GB of space. I don't know if that's enough or not to store plenty of video when you're editing HD video like you said before.

I've never done any video editing work so am not really comfortable telling you what you need.

I use an external hard disk to backup my computers, but that's mainly because I have more than one that needs backing up. So, rather than have RAID 1 arrays on all of them, I just back up my computers to that one external hard disk. Plus I feel a little more safe having my backup on a separate device than the computer itself. If the computer gets zapped, the external hard disk is in the other room. But, if the house burns down? I don't want to have to pay for internet storage of my backups, so I just keep them in the same house.

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That's an interesting & worthy concept, but I'm not so tach saavy to do so myself, nor do I have the artistic motivation to even try. I guess that's the reason I'm looking for something pre, or at least custom built (by someone else) that will suit my needs.



That's smart. You get into those hacky projects and if anything goes wrong, the project takes so much longer than anyone would have ever told you.

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I prefer to use Intel, but I'm told that AMD makes some great hardware for video projects. Discuss, please.



Do not worry about Intel vs. AMD. That is a detail only geeks like me have an opinion on. You're more interested in who puts the processor in the box. HP vs. Dell is a much more important argument than Intel vs. AMD.

And really, the only main, initial thing you should really care about is what movie editing software you want to use. While there are differences between Mac OS and Windows, the operating system isn't where you're going to spend 90% of your time. It's in the movie editing software.

Then after you know about the differences in the movie software, you can get an idea of how much the hardware to run that software is going to cost. So, if you choose Final Cut, and the hardware is enough to make you wince, now that you're fully informed about the differences in the movie editing software, you can go back and look at how much it would cost to get hardware to run Vegas. But, only after you know what you're giving up as far as the movie software is concerned.

I would not under-estimate the importance of software that's better designed. Because, making something easier to use isn't just a pretty-boy thing that you can click on and brag about. When you make something easier to use, people actually use it.

As a general, obvious example, VCR's could do everything Tivo's can do. But, no one ever used VCR's to record all their shows. With Tivo's, you don't have to keep switching tapes and that made it easy enough to do it that people actually do do it. If Final Cut makes it easier to apply movie effects (or whatever movie software does), then you are much more like to actually use them. And hopefully you use them well, making your movies better.

And, I would not underestimate the need for support. While you're learning this new software, where are you going to get help? If it's Final Cut, apparently there are a lot more places to get help than if it's Vegas. Just like it's a bitch figuring out what to buy, it's going to be a bitch figuring out how to use it. This is what Bishop is talking about.

I'm typing so damn much because it's not clear what you need to know. I really think you need to start with reading about the movie editing software. Those reviews will discuss not only usability, but what hardware you need to run the software. Then you can start pricing hardware, getting an idea of what it's going to cost, maybe revisiting your decision as to what movie software you're going to get as you narrow things down.

But, the answers to all the other questions is going to come out of what movie editing software you want to use. That's where you start.

Back to the Intel vs. AMD thing. What gbv wrote about Quad-Core vs. Dual Core is interesting. But, read the movie editing software reviews to get an idea of how much you need that. I don't know myself.