Premiere Pro / Photoshop workstation

[relaxation]

I'm being asked to put together a workstation for an acquaintance (USA, MN), their budget is likely at or below 2,200USD for a monitor and machine total.

 

Between two monitors, LG 27UK650-W & Dell Ultrasharp U2718Q, they've chosen the LG, 2,200 - 449, leaving 1751USD for the machine and so far I've come up with

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($474.99 @ Walmart) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($47.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - Z390-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($53.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 970 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($159.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Black Video Card  ($449.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($65.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($106.99 @ Other World Computing) 
Total: $1614.70

 

They've requested the i9900K, 16GB RAM, GTX2070. Following Pugetsystems recommendations for Premiere I grabbed an SSD(OS&Apps) / NVMe (Project files) and thought a fast external drive would be good so I decided on a 970 Pro&USB 3.1 G2 enclosure. After some digging I found out getting that 3.1 G2 output has a bunch of strings attached: more expensive case and or motherboard for front panel access, the $20 USB 3.1 G2 mod costs twice as much as a cable routed from the back I/O, which is what I've decided to go with. Took awhile to track down why cables only come in short lengths, 10Gbps signaling can't go very far. I decided on the 970 pro for their price of each terabyte written, which is par with HPs ex920.

 

Since I don't have any idea on their Premiere workflow, besides "16GB is fine for what I do", I have concerns..

1) the SSD/NVMe looks like they're behind the chipset on this board, is that a problem?

2) would 1 stick of 16GB be fine now, in-case they change their mind and want 32GB for dual channel support?

3) is ram clock speed important?

4) would pro&raid1 support be important to you for project files vs a backup of project files to the OS drive?

5) I haven't really followed solid state tech since 2014 so, have I glossed over a feature that may not show up in benchmarks?

6) I haven't had an Intel system since the 366MHz Celeron (never obsolete eMachine, lol) and I'm unsure if a modest cpu overclock is in the cards with the PSU I selected, I'm unsure how much a GTX2070 pulls in that kind of workflow.

 

They'll buy the parts soon™ so time-sensitive deals aren't in the cards, I had advised to wait for Pugetsystems review of the 3900X but their response was essentially "too new, sold out".

I should probably ask if they're okay with whole 'cable routed from the back is your fastest one' approach...

 

P.S. I have that case for a requirement, requested a DVD burner

[Herman Mcpootis]

17 minutes ago, relaxation said:

Motherboard: MSI - Z390-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

that board won't be able to handle a 9900k, get a Z390 UD if you really have to go cheap on the motherboard.

20 minutes ago, relaxation said:

Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

an EX920 is cheaper and performs much better.

 

23 minutes ago, relaxation said:

Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 

get a coolermaster MWE gold instead.

[relaxation]

2 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

that board won't be able to handle a 9900k, get a Z390 UD if you really have to go cheap on the motherboard.

Last I checked the Z390 UD didn't have any 3.1 Gen 2 ports, and MSI listed the i9900K as compatible for the Z390 PRO-A. Forgive me, I'm a 65W silent computing person who has never had to worry about overclocking and VRMs. 

Quote

an EX920 is cheaper and performs much better.

4 dollars more for an OS/Apps drive which from what I've heard, negligible performance increase in that task

 

However I will admit it may do the external storage job well, according to userbenchmark the ex920 would use up 901MB/s of the available 1024MB/s bandwidth over usb 3.1 g2, where as the 1870MB/s will be bottlenecked on the 970 pro. usb 3.2 with 2GB/s bandwidth is supposed to come out some time this year however, I'll keep a look out for a pci-e card for that.

[brob]

22 minutes ago, relaxation said:

1) the SSD/NVMe looks like they're behind the chipset on this board, is that a problem?

2) would 1 stick of 16GB be fine now, in-case they change their mind and want 32GB for dual channel support?

3) is ram clock speed important?

4) would pro&raid1 support be important to you for project files vs a backup of project files to the OS drive?

5) I haven't really followed solid state tech since 2014 so, have I glossed over a feature that may not show up in benchmarks?

6) I haven't had an Intel system since the 366MHz Celeron (never obsolete eMachine, lol) and I'm unsure if a modest cpu overclock is in the cards with the PSU I selected, I'm unsure how much a GTX2070 pulls in that kind of workflow.

1. The M.2 connector is between the gpu slot and cpu area. But the board is not up to handling an i9-9900K. The cpu can draw a fair bit of power under load and the board does not have sufficient cooling for its hardly adequate power distribution area (VRM). A motherboard like the Gigabyte Aorus Elite would be a good choice. It has support for cases with a USB-C front port and USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type 1 ports on the rear i/o panel.
2. No. No. No. Get 2x8GB of at least DDR4-3000 CL15. There will be two unused memory slots so up to 32GB could be added later. Dual channel memory operation improves performance.
3. Somewhat. 
4. RAID and backup are not alternative strategies. Regular and complete backups are always necessary, RAID or no RAID. RAID only makes sense when the cost of downtime outweighs the cost of implementing the array. Given the budget, RAID would force too many compromises.
5. I don't know.
6. I doubt the cpu cooler is up to much of an overclock. The cpu emits ~95W running all cores at 3.6 GHz. If memory serves, the heat output has been measured over 150W at load using stock settings. An RTX 2070 should be fine for the described workflow. Given the budget there isn't much choice.

I'd suggest going with the 650W version of the Focus Plus Gold.

 

You might consider a case with better airflow. Fractal Design Meshify C, Meshify S2, Define C, Define R6-USB, or Define S2 are some examples.

 

[relaxation]

1 hour ago, brob said:

RAID and backup are not alternative strategies. Regular and complete backups are always necessary, RAID or no RAID. RAID only makes sense when the cost of downtime outweighs the cost of implementing the array. Given the budget, RAID would force too many compromises.

As a freelance person, I don't know if they'll keep the clients work after it's delivered, or how long projects may take requiring 'regular backups'. I guess that's what the external storage is for, backup and delivery.

 

Quote

1. I doubt the cpu cooler is up to much of an overclock. The cpu emits ~95W running all cores at 3.6 GHz. If memory serves, the heat output has been measured over 150W at load using stock settings.

I just finished watching an hardware unboxed video on the LTTs i9-9900K numbers are wrong?, I've updated the motherboard, Mugen 5 seems to be between dark rock pro 4 and NH-D15 on an overclocked 6700K (tweaktown), and an overclocked 7700K (youtube) should be analogous to the 9900K and the NH-D15 seemed fine there.

 

Quote

You might consider a case with better airflow. Fractal Design Meshify C, Meshify S2, Define C, Define R6-USB, or Define S2 are some examples.

Hmm, only the Define R6 has 5.25 drive bays.

 

Thanks for all the input so far!

P.S. I didn't explicitly say it but there's (2) 970 pros, one for secondary drive (project files), another for external storage.

[brob]

7 hours ago, relaxation said:

I just finished watching an hardware unboxed video on the LTTs i9-9900K numbers are wrong?, I've updated the motherboard, Mugen 5 seems to be between dark rock pro 4 and NH-D15 on an overclocked 6700K (tweaktown), and an overclocked 7700K (youtube) should be analogous to the 9900K and the NH-D15 seemed fine there.

Do you have a link to the LTT i9-9900K Mugen 5 numbers?

 

One has to be careful extrapolating cooling benchmarks. Thermal curves are quite different between 4 and 8 core cpus as loads ramp up.

 

7 hours ago, relaxation said:

Hmm, only the Define R6 has 5.25 drive bays.

Yes. It was not clear to me that there is a need for an optical (?) drive.

 

7 hours ago, relaxation said:

P.S. I didn't explicitly say it but there's (2) 970 pros, one for secondary drive (project files), another for external storage.

Why use an M.2 NVMe drive for external storage? The USB connection will throttle the transfer. Consider using USB flash drives, (I think the current max is 1TB), or USB connected external 2.5" ssd?

[Bearmann]

The Mugen 5 is an excellent choice for a nice overclock. For a maximum overclock, you may need a NH-D15. The 9900K has trouble getting the heat from the CPU to the CPU heat spreader, not from the heat spreader to the aftermarket heatsink. The only solution for that is delidding the cpu.

 

External storage for back-up doesn't need to be fast. If he needs quick access to videos for deliveries though, that's different.

 

Stick with those Samsung drives for reliability.

 

Get 3000 DDR4. Is he editing 4K videos? If so, he needs 32GB minimum.

 

Get a better MB, Aorus Pro is nice. (Elite is almost as good)

 

The EVGA Ultra is constructed a bit better and maybe quieter, but that one is fine.

 

Get a newer case. The R6 is excellent.

 

Get the MWE or RMx.

[relaxation]

4 hours ago, brob said:

Do you have a link to the LTT i9-9900K Mugen 5 numbers?

One has to be careful extrapolating cooling benchmarks. Thermal curves are quite different between 4 and 8 core cpus as loads ramp up.

After checking various sources and watching Der8auer OC a 9900K, I've switched to the NH-D15S, inside a Define R6.

 

4 hours ago, brob said:

Why use an M.2 NVMe drive for external storage? The USB connection will throttle the transfer. Consider using USB flash drives, (I think the current max is 1TB), or USB connected external 2.5" ssd?

USB 3.1 g2 should be ~1GB/s, sometime later this/next year they could replace the enclosure and add card for ~1.87GB/s over USB 3.2 with that drive.

 

I decided on the ex920 for os/apps, would function much quicker than the 860 evo in backup situations for $4 extra.

Aorus Elite vs Pro, neither have a 3.1 g2 front port to pair with the R6 so went with the Ultra bundle at microcenter for $5 extra over a cable.

Around $2,280 for the machine&monitor currently so I think I'm done with part selection, now to make sure there's cables included to hookup the monitor, and burner!

 

I could grab the MPY-7501-ACAAG MWE Gold 750 for $39 less than the seasonic unit... after the 29th once they're in-stock on amazon.. if they don't correct the price.

[brob]

1 hour ago, relaxation said:

USB 3.1 g2 should be ~1GB/s, sometime later this/next year they could replace the enclosure and add card for ~1.87GB/s over USB 3.2 with that drive.

The Samsung 970 Pro has a write speed up to 2.7GB/s so it is still going to get throttled by the USB connection. There could be a savings without losing performance by going with an M.2 SATA III drive instead.

 

The build looks good. Is there a need for Windows 10 Pro features like Bitlocker and domain join?

[relaxation]

49 minutes ago, brob said:

The Samsung 970 Pro has a write speed up to 2.7GB/s so it is still going to get throttled by the USB connection. There could be a savings without losing performance by going with an M.2 SATA III drive instead.

advertised as 2.3GB/s for the 500GB model, went by the average speed on ssd.benchmark, I'm curious what the bottleneck is for most folks using it. Was their choice to have the "fastest" option for $37 more, caution was given about potential clients not having these fast ports atm.

 

49 minutes ago, brob said:

The build looks good. Is there a need for Windows 10 Pro features like Bitlocker and domain join?

unlikely, if they did want encryption I'm uncertain if Samsung addressed their issues on a hardware level, and could suggest veracrypt for software encryption as a free alternative.