I am planning on building my first pc. i have a new digital camera (Sony TRV-33). My current pc is not up to the task. I have compiled a list of components that sound like they should work to me. The MB i have selected has onboard sound but no video. I am concerned as to what graphics card to buy. I do not play graphic intensive games on my pc. I need to get a grapics card but i do not know if it is needed for the video editing that i want to do. i mainly want to capture video on pc and edit so i can burn to DVD. This is the main purpose of the upgrade. I really need to know if i need a graphics card w/ alot of onboard memory or if a generic card will do. Any suggestions or advice will be very welcome. Thanks....


CPU
AMD Athlon XP 2800
Interface: Socket A
CPU Model: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Barton
Speed (GHz): 2.083 GHz
Bus Speed: 333 MHz
L1 Cache: 128 KB
L2 Cache: 512 KB
Core Type: Barton / 0.13-micron
Features: 3DNOW! Professional Instruction Set
SSE SIMD Instruction Set

Motherboard
..:: Gigabyte GA-7VT600-L Specifications ::..
Processor

Socket A for AMD Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron

400/333/266/200MHz FSB
Chipset

VIA KT600 Northbridge

VIA VT8237 Southbridge

Realtek RTL8101L 10/100 Mbps LAN

Realtek ALC655 6-channel Audio CODEC

6 x USB 2.0 ports (VT8237 built-in)
Memory

3 x DDR DIMM Sockets

Max. 3GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600
Expansion Slots

1 x AGP 8X

5 x PCI

2 x UDMA/133/100/66

1 x FDD
Special Features

STR (Suspend to RAM)

Thermal Shutdown Protection

Front panel audio connector
Back Panel I/O Ports

1 x Parallel, 1 x Serial

1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 Mouse

1 x Audio I/O (Line In, Line Out, Mic In)

2 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ-45 Port
BIOS Feature

2Mb Flash ROM, Award BIOS

Q-Flash and @BIOS Update Methods

CPU/AGP/DDR Voltage Adjustments

CPU/AGP/DDR/PCI Clock Adjustments
Form Factor

ATX Form Factor (29.5cm x 20.0cm)

1x Gigabyte GA-7VT600L motherboard
1x ATA66/100/133 IDE cable
1x ATA33 cable
1x FDD cable
1x User manual
1x A3 sized quick setup guide (really useful)
1x Case sticker for dip settings
1x Case badge
2x USB bracket (Supports USB 2.0, 2 ports)
1x Driver CD (Norton Antivirus Internet Security 2003, NAV, N Personal Firewall)
1x I/O shield

The 7VT600L sports the standard Gigabyte payload, with plenty of cables and accessories to boot. The A3 sized setup guide is especially useful for beginners.

Memory ( I will get 2 of these)
Kingston Valueram 512MB DDR333 PC2700 Memory
Type: DDR333 / PC2700
Capacity: 512MB
Speed: 333MHz
Bandwidth: 2.7 GB/s
CAS Latency (CL): 2.5
Features: Lifetime Warranty
HDD
Western Digital 160GB EIDE (old pc)

FDD
Generic ( old pc )

CD-ROM
Lite-On LTR 321235 (old pc, will get DVD burner shortly)
32x12x40

Also, i have heard conflicting info rearding intel vs amd for video editing. i would appreciate any opinions on this topic as well ( based on actual experience if possible. please no amd vs intel bashing.) i just want to know if one is far superior to the other....
i am really concerned that i will be able to edit video smoothly no choppy motion. when i watch it in the digital camcorder it looks great. when i capture on my pc it is choppy. even when i burn it is choppy. i thought that the RAM would assist in this. That and the faster cpu. do u know if the video editing uses the graphics card or is it all software? as i said b4 the only reason i am doing this is to allow smooth video editing on my pc. just like home movies and stuff but i still dont want it to be choppy....



thanks for the help

First of all consider an nForce2 chipset board. The Abit NF7-S is far superior to your selection. While cheaper versions of the NF7 exist, the NF7-S has the MCP-T southbridge which contains the nForce APU (Audio Processing Unit) for top notch sound processing.

Now most venders keep the stock rotating and have the latest version of all boards, in this case the NF7-S version 2.0. And this newer revision supports "400" bus CPU's, which would allow you to use the less expensive XP2500+ and set it at 3200+ speed simply by changing the bus speed to 200MHz (DDR400, from the stock 166MHz, DDR333).

Of course if you overclock to 200MHz bus (DDR400), you'll want DDR400 RAM (called PC3200).

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Agree with Crashman

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As far as the video card goes, forget the "lots of memory". The memory you need is system stuff. You may want to look at the Ati all in wonder line, as it is good for importing and exporting video. Crashman is a fan of the AIW 9600pro though at $214. from newegg, this might be a little expensive. You might be able to get back some of your money by selling your coupon for half-life2 or you may want to play the game, just for the graphics

If the user really want's a top notch video editing machine I would go Intel or A-64. If mediocre is "ok, and you know you will never overclock then the VIA Gigabyte mobo would be fine. You really don't want to use an overlclocked machine to handle crudial data or tasks.