CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 overcloked to 3.20 GHz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
RAM: 2x1GB of G.Skill PC6400 DDR2 RAM (2GBHZ kit)
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP2 (32-bit)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCIx16
Hard Drive #1: WD 160GB WD1600YS 7200 rpm for OS & software apps
Hard Drive #2: WD 160GB WD1600YS 7200 rpm for Windows page file and Photoshop scratch disc
Hard Drive #3: WD 500GB WD5000ABYS 7200 rpm for data files
Hard Drive #4: WD 500GB WD5000ABYS 7200 rpm for data backup (external)

My plan is to get a 1TB hard drive strictly to store my video on, and back it up with an identical 1TB drive in an external enclosure.

Will this be enough to edit AVCHD properly? If not, where is my bottleneck? CPU? RAM? Video Card?

I'm planning to buy either the Canon HF11, Canon HG20, or Sony SR11 camcorder, but need to factor in any computer upgrades into the overall investment.

Thanks in advance.

Jason

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 overcloked to 3.20 GHz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
RAM: 2x1GB of G.Skill PC6400 DDR2 RAM (2GBHZ kit)
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP2 (32-bit)
...

Will this be enough to edit AVCHD properly? If not, where is my bottleneck? CPU? RAM? Video Card?
...
Jason
Unless you'll only be editing very short clips, definitely plan on more RAM (4GB would be much better than 2). Also, it depends on your patience, but I would plan on moving to a quad core CPU as well, replacing your current dual core. What you've got will work, but it won't be that snappy.

Aside from that you seem to be in pretty good shape, but upgrading CPU and RAM translates to a new computer to me, or at least a new motherboard.

bob

Unless you'll only be editing very short clips, definitely plan on more RAM (4GB would be much better than 2).

My motherboard has room for 2 more sticks of RAM, but with a 32-bit operating system, how does having more than 2GB of RAM help? It's my understanding the computer won't be able to "see" and take advantage of the extra RAM unless you enable the infamous "3GB switch" which I am not really looking to mess with.

Also, it depends on your patience, but I would plan on moving to a quad core CPU as well, replacing your current dual core. What you've got will work, but it won't be that snappy.

My motherboard accepts quad-core chips no problem, including the new 45nm chips. But how do I know which one to get? I'd love to get the Q9400 and overclock it to 3.20 GHz, but it's $270 that I have to add to the price of the camcorder.

I can be patient, but I guess i'm worried about playback as well as editing. I will also be down-converting a lot of the video to SD for viewing on any DVD player, as my out-of-town family are not in the HD world yet.

Thanks for your offerings Bob. It's much appreciated. Anyone else care to chime in?

your question sounds like repost? it's nearly the exact same computer that i have.

download the hf11 sample vids from dvinfo.net, and explore different editing software before buying the camcorder.

the single most effective thing that you can do for editing native avchd is to get a quad-core... you probably won't even be able to preview avchd natively without a media player like nero showtime, or by using the coreavc codec in a free media player... experimenting with the clips beforehand will help you determine where you are.

the way i do it with my 6750 system is to re-encode everything to an intermediate codec, which takes up a lot more hdd space, but it allows me to edit it at full framerate playback speed in sony vegas... native 24Mbps avchd does not play back real well in vegas, but it's doable if you don't mind watching the video play back at diminished resolution while editing.

your question sounds like repost? it's nearly the exact same computer that i have.

download the hf11 sample vids from dvinfo.net, and explore different editing software before buying the camcorder.

Where on the dvinfo.net website can I find the HF11 sample vids?

hf11 review with sample clips:
http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/camcorders/canonhf11overview.php

also read the avchd section of the dvinfo.net forum for some discussion of it all.