Say I wanted to build a computer with the following:
I5/i7 processor or equivalent
4GB min ram, 8+ in awesome world.
2TB hard drive
Good quality graphics card
CD/DVD burner optional
Windows 7
Use: editing HD video
How much would I expect to spend, worth building instead of buying?
Well, the $1500 estimate is really making me tap the brakes. Course, I'm used to having a <$400 Wally World special.
This would probably be a project from scratch, but then again, I think I've got some old computers laying around the house that are basically junk.
Use: editing HD video
How much would I expect to spend, worth building instead of buying?
I endorse this message...The bulk of video editing is all about I/O. You're moving around a lot of data more than anything else. High end CPU and GPU really won't improve performance a whole lot unless you're doing some very complex effects work. You need to move data as quickly as possible, and that means large caches (more RAM), faster memory controller (newer and high quality motherboards), and high sustained data transfer to/from disk. SSD's are coming down in price quite a bit, so using one is pretty much a given, especially in conjunction with a motherboard sporting an NVMe socket. Then for bulk storage, a bit 7200 RPM SATA rotational drive will be fine, but keep your active project files on the SSD.
I think I've got some old computers laying around the house that are basically junk.