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  #1  
03-29-2019, 05:26 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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If you were building a dedicated WinXP 32-bit desktop machine today with AGP slot for the sole purpose of SD video capture (using ATI AIW 9600 XT to capture 720x480 at 29.97fps in HuffYUV), what would be your minimum requirements? Also, what would be your IDEAL specs?

For instance:

I've read 1.5 GHz CPU is the minimum suggested speed. Is that too slow?

At a minimum, would you be comfortable with a single core processor?

How much RAM is ideal? Is 512MB RAM still considered minimum? (512MB seems not enough).

Would you prefer WinXP SP2 instead of SP3 for ATI AIW cards?

What motherboard brands are recommended? (I've read Intel works well with ATI cards).

Audio card recommendations? Turtle Beach Santa Cruz?

Any other recommendations or suggestions?

I'm interested in community feedback to meet and hopefully exceed the minimum recommendations. :-)

Again, this machine will ONLY be used for SD video capture. Nothing else. (That said, could it also be used for some basic restoration work in Avisynth and VirtualDub without compromising the capture process)?

Thanks!
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  #2  
03-30-2019, 11:16 AM
JPMedia JPMedia is offline
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The motherboard you choose will determine which other parts you pick for your build.

If you want the best motherboard for analog capture with Windows XP and an AGP slot for an ATI All in Wonder GPU you want one of these
They are all ATX form factor and are compatible with Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs. The 4CoreDual-VSTA is the most desirable as it is compatible with the higher performance Core 2 Quad CPUs and DDR2 RAM.

A complete list of Intel 775 Slot motherboards with AGP slots can be found in this VOGONS thread.

If you do choose one of these motherboards, be careful when plugging in your PSU cable. I'm embarrassed to admit the number of times I scraped my hands up against my CPU cooler during this process.

Ideally you want a processor with more than one core with the highest clock speed you can find and afford. Because of how out of date the 775 slot it, you can easily find a top of the line CPU on ebay at prices between $15 and $35.

As far as RAM is concerned, you should have 2GB.

Windows XP SP2 is preferred by users on this forum. SP3 comes loaded with unnecessary security tools and background services that can interfere with capture. These aren't necessary for your build because you won't be connecting this computer to the internet.

The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the gold standard on this forum for analog audio capture. For a detailed explanation as to why, read this thread by user jwillis84.

My other suggestions would be to make sure you're using 7200rpm SATA Hard Disc Drives. Windows XP doesn't have a feature called TRIM which is necessary to properly index and erase sectors on Solid State Drives. Also make sure to have a separate Hard Drive for you operating system and your captures.

Do not cheap out on your Power Supply. If a fry a cheap power supply, that could mean game over for your entire rig.

Because lossless AVI files are very large, and because Windows XP does not support USB 3.0, I highly recommend purchasing both an eSATA expansion card and an external hard drive that is compatible with eSATA and USB 3.0. These items will allow you to transfer files between your capture and editing PC in much less time.

Also don't forget to install an optical drive.
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  #3  
03-31-2019, 02:30 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Wow - many thanks JPMedia for so much helpful information. Your response is exactly what I was hoping for.

With that in mind, is there a trusted and qualified source out there who could build such a machine in 2019? I'm an audio/video enthusiast. I'm less than enthusiastic about attempting to build a computer.
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  #4  
03-31-2019, 03:05 PM
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I'd be willing to build it, PM me.

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  #5  
03-31-2019, 09:58 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Thanks lordsmurf. I'll PM you shortly.

A few more questions:

Given the choice between a Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 GHz) and a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.40 GHz), which is better suited for this project? I seem to recall reading that faster CPU speed trumps additional cores; or is that not correct?

Is an EVGA 500W power supply a good choice, or should I find something better?

Lastly, to clarify, is the purpose of the optical drive mainly to reboot from a back-up DVDRom in case the system goes down? I believe the ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA motherboard only has two SATA ports. So, if you use one for an optical drive you only have one left for a HDD. Or, should you simply plan to add more storage using IDE?

Thanks again!
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  #6  
04-01-2019, 07:27 AM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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Either CPU is fine. You can get away with later P4 machines with capture. Personally not a fan of VIA chipset boards, but if thats what you got, it'll work. Just be aware that VIA southbridges have compatibility problems with some later SATA-3 hard drives.
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  #7  
04-01-2019, 09:57 AM
JPMedia JPMedia is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by captainvic View Post
Given the choice between a Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 GHz) and a Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.40 GHz), which is better suited for this project? I seem to recall reading that faster CPU speed trumps additional cores; or is that not correct?
Both of those CPUs should be fine for analog capture. I'm somewhat partial to the E8600. The base clock speed is fast.

Quote:
Is an EVGA 500W power supply a good choice, or should I find something better?
I have had positive experiences with EVGA power supplies. Look for a modular PSU. They are usually more expensive, but allow you only to only use the cables you need. This makes cable management much easier. 500W should be enough power for your build, but PSUs with a higher wattage may have better long-term reliability.


Quote:
Lastly, to clarify, is the purpose of the optical drive mainly to reboot from a back-up DVDRom in case the system goes down? I believe the ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA motherboard only has two SATA ports. So, if you use one for an optical drive you only have one left for a HDD. Or, should you simply plan to add more storage using IDE?
You should have an optical drive for installing your operating system, and device drivers. Also, depending on how your interest in analog capture, digital video, and optical media grows, you might want to decode files from DVDs, burn DVDs from your video capture, burn audio CDs, and a plethora of other things.

If you purchase the eSATA expansion card I linked in the previous post, you'll have 2 additional internal SATA ports. There is a diagram in the instruction manual that shows how to configure the expansion card in such a way that you can use 2 exterior eSATA ports, and 2 internal SATA ports. On the card there exist a series of two pin headers. You'll just need to move them from one position to another. They look like this:

.


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File Type: jpg 2 pin header.jpg (25.2 KB, 313 downloads)
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  #8  
04-02-2019, 12:05 AM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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NJRoadfan, thanks for your insights. Is there a motherboard you prefer other than the ASRock models listed above?

JPMedia, thanks for the additional info. I will research eSATA expansion cards. As for an optical drive, could I get by using an external optical drive connected via USB?
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  #9  
04-02-2019, 07:55 AM
JPMedia JPMedia is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by captainvic View Post
As for an optical drive, could I get by using an external optical drive connected via USB?
Internal DVD drives go for between $20 and $30 on Amazon, Newegg, B&H, and any other online electronics retailer.

Don't over think this, just buy one. It will be one of the least expensive parts of your build.

You will have problems trying to install your operating system with an external USB DVD drive.
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  #10  
04-02-2019, 11:24 AM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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For AGP Systems, I generally go with Intel i865 based boards. You get Intel stability plus SATA ports that actually work right. The vast majority are Socket 478 and 15+ years old at this point. If you find one that hasn't had capacitor failure, pair it with a late 2+Ghz Northwood Pentium 4 CPU. I avoid Prescotts mostly because of the heat they generate.

For newer Socket 775 boards go with the ASRock ConRoe865PE or the 775i65g R3.0. The latter can run Core2Duo/Quad CPUs and was still available new until very recently.
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  #11  
04-05-2019, 11:55 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Thanks to everyone for the helpful suggestions. I've come up with the following list to do this build. Are there any obvious issues that could arise from any of these working together? In other words, will they all play nice together in a 32 bit Windows XP SP2 desktop?

1. ASRock 775I65G R3.0 Motherboard

2. Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (3.33 GHz) CPU

3. ATI All in Wonder 9600XT AGP Video Card

4. Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card

5. Windows XP Pro SP2 32-bit

6. Three 7200rpm hard drives: one 128GB IDE for system and the other two 1TB SATA for video captures and final output

7. 2 to 4 GB RAM

8. Firewire IEEE 1394 card for transferring MiniDV tapes into the computer. Can anyone recommend a good make/model?

9. An optical drive

10. EVGA 550W power supply

11. Antec 302 case

12. eSATA expansion card and an external hard drive that is compatible with eSATA and USB 3.0. Can anyone recommend a good make/model for the eSATA expansion card?

Did I forget anything? Thanks again!
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  #12  
04-06-2019, 12:32 AM
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Why 1tb SATA? Go for 2tb drives.

You can sometimes get with SATA for the OS, but depends on drivers. You'll need an XP installer disc pre-loaded with external drivers. Avoid IDE when possible, live with it when you cannot.
Use DriversPacks BASE: http://driverpacks.net/applications#2k-xp-2k3
Good guide for usage: https://www.raymond.cc/blog/how-to-i...ndows-xp-cd/2/

Seagate best for 120gb IDE and 2tb SATA, quietest, don't use any HDD, if seeking new drives. Only use something else if already available. But even then, may be worth the investment.

For the eSATA card, I use SYBA SD-SATA2-2E2I
http://www.sybausa.com/index.php?rou...product_id=859

All of my parts come from Amazon, eBay, and Newegg.

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  #13  
04-06-2019, 06:02 AM
colony colony is offline
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The CPU you are looking at doesn't appear in Asrock's list of supported CPUs for that board:
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/775i65G%20R3.0/#CPU
I have that board and use the Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe at 2.93 Ghz. It is working very well. Also, you are limited to 2 GB RAM. Good luck!
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  #14  
04-07-2019, 05:36 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Thanks lordsmurf for the info on drivers and drives.

Great catch colony on the CPU. I will research the Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a Firewire IEEE 1394 card for transferring MiniDV tapes into the computer?
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  #15  
04-07-2019, 06:36 PM
sanlyn sanlyn is offline
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All Firewire cards are not created equal. The ones to look for will have Texas Instrument processing chips, which will be mentioned in the card's specs. Newegg.com has been a good source.
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  #16  
04-08-2019, 04:51 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Does anyone have experience with the Pentium D 950 Presler (3.40GHz)? Specially, how does it compare to the Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe (2.93GHz)? While the clock speed is higher, the D 950 has a front side bus of 800MHz (compared to 1066MHz on the X6800). Is it better to have higher clock speed or higher front side bus speed?
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  #17  
04-08-2019, 04:54 PM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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Any Core2 CPU is going to blow a Pentium D out of the water, plus they run alot cooler. When running the i865 chipset, FSBs above 800Mhz aren't officially supported, so faster DDR RAM is needed to make things work right (1066+Mhz FSBs require DDR2 natively). The most stable Core2s are the 800Mhz FSB models (E5000 series I believe, check the CPU compatibility tables on the boards support webpage).
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  #18  
04-08-2019, 10:21 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Thanks again NJRoadfan for another great reply. I missed the additional requirements for 1066MHz FSB.

It appears the Core 2 Duo 800MHz FSB models are the E4000 series. So, if using an ASRock 775I65G R3.0 motherboard, would you choose the Core 2 Duo E4700 Conroe (2.6GHz, 800MHz FSB) over the Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe (2.93GHz, 1066MHz FSB)?

Quote:
Originally Posted by NJRoadfan View Post
Any Core2 CPU is going to blow a Pentium D out of the water, plus they run alot cooler. When running the i865 chipset, FSBs above 800Mhz aren't officially supported, so faster DDR RAM is needed to make things work right (1066+Mhz FSBs require DDR2 natively). The most stable Core2s are the 800Mhz FSB models (E5000 series I believe, check the CPU compatibility tables on the boards support webpage).
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  #19  
04-08-2019, 10:24 PM
NJRoadfan NJRoadfan is offline
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The E4700 should be more than enough for capturing standard definition video real time. The Core2Extreme is overkill for the application.
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  #20  
04-08-2019, 10:42 PM
captainvic captainvic is offline
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Thanks - I thought you would choose the E4700.

This leads me back to the last question in my original post above: Could this desktop build (ASRock 775I65G R3.0 motherboard and Core 2 Duo E4700 Conroe 2.6GHz) be used for double duty of both capturing video *AND* basic restoration work in VirtualDub & Avisynth? Or should I use this desktop as a dedicated capture device and move all restoration to another machine?

Quote:
Originally Posted by NJRoadfan View Post
The E4700 should be more than enough for capturing standard definition video real time. The Core2Extreme is overkill for the application.
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