Getting a New Compter- What Should I Request?

[AngelOfTheDark]

Here's the deal: My mom's computer is dying, so my dad has plans to give her mine and to get me a new one as soon as Microsoft comes out with the new version of Windows in a couple months. So my question is this:
What should I request for my new computer? Keep in mind I have to keep it a reasonable price, but I can still get a decent upgrade. So, here's what I use my computer for and what programs I plan on using, I just want to know your recommendations for things like hard drive space, processors, etc.




Uses:

Internet
Word processing (mostly for school stuff)
Listening to music
Making AMVs (Of course)
That's about all I use my computer for


Programs:

Windows Media Player
Imtoo DVD Ripper (which I probably won't use as much once I have enough space to use the DVD Decriptor regularly)
The AMVApp package
(Possibly) Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus (Haven't bought it yet, but the non-plus version is among the few editors at a reasonable price that my computer seems to like.)
Ruckus Player (a "free" music downloading program sponsored by my school. Don't worry, it's legal. Basically, I pay for the music by paying for attending my college. Can't use the songs for the AMVs, anyway, because of the protections on them.)
Word
Internet Explorer
Maybe a few random programs installed for classes




I definitely want a desktop. I already have a DVD-ROM and CD-RW, so those are covered. And I'm definitely keeping my speakers and all, it's just the internal components I'd like some help on. Basically I want a computer strong enough and with enough room to handle the high-quality footage I want to use, not to mention the Ulead program which I hear has a tendency to crash. (Though the trial version was a godsend compared to that horrid WMM program. WMM crashed after fifteen seconds if I tried to use clips in any other format than *.wmv.)

So, if anyone has any recommendations for a certain size hard drive, a particular speed processor, etc, I appreciate your suggestions.

[Willen]

I'm assuming this computer is going to be a boxed unit from the usual suspects: Dell, HP/Compaq, Gateway/eMachines, etc.

Hardware suggestions:
CPU - if possible, get a dual-core system. It may give your editing software a performance boost and definitely help in encoding video. AMD Athlon64 X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo are the best bet, especially the Core 2 Duo.
Memory - the very minimum I would suggest today is 1GB, 2GB is preferred.
Hard Drive - get the biggest you can or buy a second HDD and add it in right away. SATA is preferred over the older IDE/PATA drives.
Video Card - this is less important unless you are intending to play 3D games. It can sometimes help with video editing and playback so you may want to get something decent like a mid-line nVidia (7600/7800 series) or ATI (X1600/X1800) card.
Sound Card - optional. On board audio is pretty good nowadays, and it's rare to see a boxed system with a discrete sound card unless it's from a high-end computer manufacturer.
Also, a DVD-RW drive is nice. Saving AMVs to 1 DVD instead of 7 CDs is convenient. Not to mention saving other video files...

[Keeper of Hellfire]

Keep in mind I have to keep it a reasonable price, but I can still get a decent upgrade.

What is a reasonable price? Without knowing this it's hard to make recommendations.


For internet, word processing and listening to music even a basic actual system is good enough. For making AMV the most powerfull system you can get for your money will be good enough.

If it's in your budget, get an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. The price/value relationship in the moment is better than for AMD CPU's.
Have at least 1 GB RAM, better are 2 (or more).
Ulead Video Studio doesn't seem to use the graphics card for rendering tasks, so it doesn't matter much which actual model you use. But don't use an onboard graphic of the motherboard if available. The graphic card should have 256 MB RAM.
If it's within your budget, get 2 harddrives. One for system and programs, the other for the data. I would suggest to make 2 partitions at your system drive and to install windows twice. At one you install internet, wordprocessing and so on, the other is reserved for AMV-making (or video-editing in generell), so install only the programs which are necessary fo this. That way the stability will be improved.

[Scintilla]

Here's the deal: My mom's computer is dying, so my dad has plans to give her mine and to get me a new one as soon as Microsoft comes out with the new version of Windows in a couple months. So my question is this:
What should I request for my new computer?

Something that doesn't have the new version of Windows.

No, really. In addition to the reports of Windows Vista being a bloated resource hog, we don't know how compatible a lot of the most commonly used video editing programs will be with Vista. I'm sure other people who have tried the betas can come up with even more reasons to avoid the switch and stick with WinXP.

[AngelOfTheDark]

As far as a reasonable price goes, I'd have to get back to you and ask my dad what he had in mind. It actually probably won't be a box set. My dad usually buys various pieces at whatever he can find for the best price and put it together himself. As far as the new version of windows goes, thanks for the warning. I'll probably end up wih the new version at least at first, but I don't mind going through the trouble of switching back if I must. Actually, I may use that argument so I might be able to get a computer sooner, so thanks. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll get back to you on the price as soon as I talk to my dad.

[Digitalmaster3605]

Here's the deal: My mom's computer is dying, so my dad has plans to give her mine and to get me a new one as soon as Microsoft comes out with the new version of Windows in a couple months. So my question is this:
What should I request for my new computer?

Something that doesn't have the new version of Windows.

No, really. In addition to the reports of Windows Vista being a bloated resource hog, we don't know how compatible a lot of the most commonly used video editing programs will be with Vista. I'm sure other people who have tried the betas can come up with even more reasons to avoid the switch and stick with WinXP.

Not to...support Vista? But 90% of the reports of it being a "bloated resource hog" were because all of the debugging code was still in place. With that taken out, it's sped up considerably. And for anyone that doesn't know, Vista got leaked a few days ago.
I won't switch from XP to Vista for a long time coming. I'll only keep Vista around so I can play DX10 games. Other than that, Im' keeping with XP.

[oldwrench]

Another reason to skip Vista. They slipped into the EULA a little clause that says the purchaser can only reinstall the software one time on a different machine. For those who like to build their own or upgrade often this could be a problem.

exact wording "The first user of the software may reassign the licence to another device one time."

Even the microsquash people can't specify what determines the difference between a hardware upgrade and a new machine. Upgraders beware, I really don't want to shell out 200+ bucks every other time I build a new machine or make major upgrades to mine.

[Jnzk]

Another reason to skip Vista. They slipped into the EULA a little clause that says the purchaser can only reinstall the software one time on a different machine.

That was changed recently.

Linky