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My PC good enough to edit HD video?

I was getting ready to buy a new HD camcorder (never edited high definition video before). I can edit footage from MiniDV on my PC completely smoothly. I also have the necessary software (both Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS3). But can my computer handle HD footage editing? System Specs: - Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz - 3GB DDR Ram - nVidia Geforce 8600M GS 512 MB - 250GB SATA HD (I plan to get an external HD for footage anyways) Thanks!

Public Comments

1. Yes, but it also depends on what your operating system is. It will be a bit slower on Vista than it would in XP. Also depends on the amount of processes being used, and programs that are open. But by your specs you should be fine.
2. If you go with the PC option you will need a MINIMUM of 3GB of RAM - preferably 4GB or more. You can never have to much RAM for HD video. Also use XP - Vista doesn't do HD video editing very well. I would also get a Quad Core as this IS one time where you WILL use ALL 4 cores. or - You could just get a Mac - they are designed for HD video editing. http://www.apple.com/macpro/ HD video editing on a Mac Pro reviewed here. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9067899&source=rss_news50l
3. If you are getting an external HD make sure it's a firewire one and a large one. It seems from your specs you have a laptop! Most specs for HD editing specify a P4 3 Ghz as a minimum but some software does allow for proxy HD editing like Videostudio 11.5 plus not sure about CS3 or Vegas.