OK, so this is my first post on here but I've been doing a lot of reading and research into file encoding and cd/dvd making. I've got a mini dvd camera and I've transferred video to my pc a few times in the past... edited them with movie maker... and played around with them. Thats about the extent of what I've done. I'm ready to take the next step and start making dvd's. I am about to buy the hardware that I think I need to be able to successfully create dvd's and I was wondering if I could get some opinions on them. I must mention now that I am a full time college student and getting this stuff cheap is a must!!! First off let me tell you what I have NOW, and then tell you what I'm currently planning to buy. I have: Dell dimension 4500 XP home ed. 1.8 ghz P4 256mb ram (two slots, one filled with the 256) 40 gig HD, 26 gigs free space Internal Firewire port (added for the mini dv camera) I plan to buy: 512 more ram extra 80 gig HD (added internally) dvd burner (dual layer, all formats) I have currently decided on the following items at newegg: Maxtor HD http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-205&depa=1 Rosewill Ram http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-223-025&depa=1 NEC dvd burner http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-152-035&DEPA=1 Rather than type all of the specs I figured I would just include a link to newegg for each of them. There are quite a few to choose from for each of the three items I'm looking at (esp the burner). Is there anything I should do different. I plan on using the extra HD for dvd making only. No other ops on it since the one I have is perfectly fine. Is 80 gigs enough? more than I need? not enough? I'd really like some feedback on how this setup seems to those that have "been there, done that" Are there any extra cables/ hardware that I'll need? How about slots... Should I have room to add everything? Will I need to remove my current cd rom to add the new burner... Will removing the old burner simplify things to keep programs from deciding which drive to use? I know I have a lot of questions but I figured you guys had lots of answers! hehe Thanks in advance! Brent
one more thing... I was also considering this burner too: Lite-On http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=27-106-966&DEPA=0
i'll drop in a quick reply; has to be quick as i need another x-files fix before an early night. i burn a LOT of films, a few a week, and all i have for space is a lowly 20GB disc. there's always 2 lots of 5 or 6GB free at all times so i have room for 2 ripped films at any one time; they get burnt to dvd and i rip the next one or two. and on it goes as don't watch 'em on my pc. I will however have a proper look at your post at work 2moro, at least this way when you reply i'll remember to look at post again
hi you seem pretty clued up so far! yes get as much ram as poss! 80 gig spare hd seems good to start with! but on the nec i would go for lite-on all the way! also keep the other drive in is it a dvdrom aswell? always handy to keep another reader due to firmware not likeing some media discs... not heard of rosewill ram though? but mat be very good? tell me what format does your camera save files as?
i was just being stingy there, the OP wanted to keep costs down ok i admit, i want a bigger hard drive myself, you busted me
hi i got 2x raid mirror 160gigSATA for system and 1x160 for films (its full with 2 gig left) on my new system i am buidling i am geting 2x raptor SATA RAID 74gig for system and 2x 300 SATA RAID for backup... so really new system will only see 1 of each drive, but its built for safty if one drive goes bang i can fire up on the other and install a new drive to get mirror raid again! i alredy had one HD go bang on my old system it saved my life mirror raid i lost nothing! hehehe...
Wow, thanks for the quick response! I forgot to mention that I want the ability to backup my home dvd’s as well. I’m not certain what format my mini dv cam saves as. I just assumed “mini dv” was the format??? I know when I go to upload it to my pc I get the option to save it as several file types. If I upload it in raw format (best quality.) I think it takes up 16 gigs for each hour of playtime. Then if I turn around and encode it to a format that will burn to dvd it uses another 16 gigs/hour. That’s why I wanted the 80 gig HD… in case I want save and encode 1-2 hours of home movies all at once. I may be totally misled about these disk space estimates but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a little bigger HD. Rotary, You say “80 gig spare Hd seems good to start with!”[i/] Is there a reason this is a “start with” volume? I will spend the extra $20-$30 to get a 120 if I can find a reason. I want this upgrade to be semi-permanent. I’d never heard of Rosewill either. They are fairly new, but they get very good reviews and are very cheap!
I,ve got a Dell 4500 as well.took out the 256RAM stuck in 2 x 512,it only came with 40GB HD so I ghosted that to an 80GB and stuck in a 120GB a few months later.then added another External 120GB HD and an External Sony 510a burner.then took out the Dell DVDROM and CDRW and put in a Pioneer 108 1.18 Gradius FW 12x rip+RPC1 and 3 weeks ago put in a Pioneer 109 with A09 1.4 FW to burn.Sony burner was my 1st burner,a bit slow but 18 months old now,then I got the 108D to burn and the Dell DVDRom was used to rip.108 is Slave the 109 is Master
hi i say about HD size as i have had a computer for 6 years and now and again i find i keep needing more space! i got a cardboard box of new drives that are smaller, its becomeing a bit of a collection, so to save this - THINK BIG!
I agree,I keep a spare 120Gb on the shelf with my whole system ghosted to,just in case of a crash.So I can just plug that in and fire up within minutes.
Rotary, I just noticed that you asked if my current disk drive is a dvd-rom as well. No, it's a 40x cd burner that was pretty standard with Dells a couple years back. Thanks!
hi i have seen here and come across myself that 1, sometimes dvdrom rip quicker than burners! 2, some disc dont show up in burners, thats dvdr, i dont mean originals, and this has saved me before now!
*moved from dvd-r for newbies* I would make sure you can use pc2700. According to Dell the 4550 uses pc2700 and 4500 uses pc2100. Also if you could swing it, upgrade your cpu. Anything 2.26GHz or higher will increase your FSB. http://support.jp.dell.com/docs/systems/dim4500/specs.htm#1103227
will the 2700 not be "backwards compatible" and only work at the speed of the 2100? I came across a few sites that when I plugged in my PC info it listed 2100 and 2700 as compatible. I guess I was under the impression that you could get higher but it would only work at speeds up to the lesser (ie. 2100) The reason I wanted the 2700 is if I ever (errr when) I get a new PC I'll have some faster Ram to pull out of this machine. Anyone know if this is correct or not??? Thanks!
the faster ram will only go as fast as the slowest ram so the 2700 will run as a 2100 until the 2100 is replaced with 2700
good deal! that's what I thought. The 2700 and 2100 are the same price so there's no reason for me not to buy the 2700. Thanks!
