$2800 Video Editing PC

[Edwin95]

Hi,

This is my first post, even if i follow Linus for 2years now.

 

I'm working as a Freelance on Premiere/AvidMediaComposer, After Effects, DavinciResolve and learning 3D stuffs atm. I'll blow my economies in this build for approximately $2800 - 2400€ maximum.

 

The budget is not really big for what i do, so I know I have to make choice...

I know my needs, but i hesitate between things :

 

-Video Card : GTX or Quadro ? i'm working on 8bits so Quadro is not the obvious choice. Color correction is a part of my job, graphic card can be revelent. Especially when i can't afford both GTX and Quadro. The CUDA cores matters too.

-CPU : Xeon or i7 ? low prices xeons are worth enough on mono-cpu ?

-RAM : which 32GB ram ? i'm so lost.

-SSD : 1 system, 1 scratch/cache files, which one to get ?

-HDD : WD REDx2 (raid0) or single BLACK for storage and some video stuffs thats require speed ?

 

I do records video games sometimes for clients so I need to play... I feel strangled !

I don't need optical drives and i can keep my actual case (HAF 922)

 

Also, i work with 3x 24" monitors.

 

if you have an answer for a single question, i will be grateful !

English is not my native language, I hope I have been understandable guys. Thank you for reading me.

 

 

 

[dadasmithywinkle]

This is a decent build - if you need the 2011-v3 Xeons, or any other changes, let me know. This is what I'd advise for a decent WS. The 970 has a good amount of cuda cores as well as decent gaming performance and the 1231-v3 has the power of a 4770K but the price tag of a 4670K, since it doesnt have integrated graphics. I went with 32GB of non-ecc, but ecc may be preffered. 

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KVZjgs

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KVZjgs/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($25.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-WS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($279.30 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($319.99 @ B&H) 

Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($85.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($29.99 @ Mwave) 

Total: $1544.19

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-12 00:47 EST-0500

[stconquest]

I know you are starting to work with 3D modeling, but I am unfamiliar with what your programs can use.

 

I simply spent your full budget to maximize performance and left room for a second GPU (the PSU is good enough):

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  (€601.71 @ Home of Hardware DE)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€65.69 @ Pixmania DE)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€195.89 @ Home of Hardware DE)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (€501.41 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Patriot Pyro 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€62.90 @ Caseking)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€188.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Toshiba  3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€92.90 @ Caseking)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  (€590.52 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€119.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €2418.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-12 06:55 CET+0100

[brob]

Depending on the gpu you can likely look at an X99 system. An i7-5820K is not much more expensive than an i7-4790K. While DDR4 is a little pricier than DDR3, prices are coming down.

 

If you decide to stick with Z97, go with the i7-4790K. It has the highest clock and will outperform any Xenon on that platform.

 

You might consider a 1TB ssd and use it for both system and scratch.

 

I distrust RAID 0 for storing important files.

 

I suspect a GTX 980 will be the optimal gpu choice. Depends though on the type and quantity of work done in Resolve.

[Edwin95]

Thanks for those answers ! It give me some precisions.

 

About RAM, for exemple if i choose 32GB DDR4. Should i take 2666MHz CAS16 (XMP profile i guess?) or 2133 CAS13 ? As I know, the difference would not be really noticeable in gaming/desktop. But what about video. The difference looks huge.

A friend told me you can know by this simple calculation : 2666/16= 166  ---  2133/13= 164  (higher is better).

 

However Brob, i think i'll win performances and money with 256+512GO SSD. I don't need the extra 250GO from a single SSD.

[stconquest]

Thanks for those answers ! It give me some precisions.

 

About RAM, for exemple if i choose 32GB DDR4. Should i take 2666MHz CAS16 (XMP profile i guess?) or 2133 CAS13 ? As I know, the difference would not be really noticeable in gaming/desktop. But what about video. The difference looks huge.

A friend told me you can know by this simple calculation : 2666/16= 166  ---  2133/13= 164  (higher is better).

 

However Brob, i think i'll win performances and money with 256+512GO SSD. I don't need the extra 250GO from a single SSD.

 

The other way around... 16/2666 gives you the average request response time:  0.006 seconds.

 

So, 13/2133 is the same at 0.006 seconds.

[Edwin95]

Well, I'll go for the X99 at the first throught. 

There is the final question now. Which motherboard should I take ? the X99 Deluxe looks very interesting, the technology is very advanced at the moment, especially if i OC.

[stconquest]

Well, I'll go for the X99 at the first throught. 

There is the final question now. Which motherboard should I take ? the X99 Deluxe looks very interesting, the technology is very advanced at the moment, especially if i OC.

 

Any of the X99 boards is high-end.  Base performance is the same.  The features (not performance) of more expensive boards are the only thing you are paying for.  Overclocking properly has no real relavence in board selection.  Truth is, if you spent $400 for a X99 motherboard, the chances of it dying or failing are the same as the $200 board.  Don't waste money on expensive boards at this level of tech.

[Edwin95]

Thank you stconquest !

My problems are solved in addition of my personnal researchs.

[stconquest]

Thank you stconquest !

My problems are solved in addition of my personnal researchs.

Please share, what did you research/learn?

 

You have a better idea of what you need the PC for than me.  Are the extra 2 cores a benefit to your workload?  Is the 980 enough or too much?  The more you learn, the more you can teach me (us). 

 

[brob]

Thanks for those answers ! It give me some precisions.

 

About RAM, for exemple if i choose 32GB DDR4. Should i take 2666MHz CAS16 (XMP profile i guess?) or 2133 CAS13 ? As I know, the difference would not be really noticeable in gaming/desktop. But what about video. The difference looks huge.

A friend told me you can know by this simple calculation : 2666/16= 166  ---  2133/13= 164  (higher is better).

 

However Brob, i think i'll win performances and money with 256+512GO SSD. I don't need the extra 250GO from a single SSD.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8959/ddr4-haswell-e-scaling-review-2133-to-3200-with-gskill-corsair-adata-and-crucial provides some good data on the subject of memory speeds.

 

In my experience smaller storage units are quickly outgrown. It is why I would sacrifice a small amount of performance for a larger unit. Regardless of the path you choose, make sure you get units that have very good incompressible read/write performance. The Samsung 850 Pro and EVO models would be good.

[Edwin95]

 

Please share, what did you research/learn?

 

You have a better idea of what you need the PC for than me.  Are the extra 2 cores a benefit to your workload?  Is the 980 enough or too much?  The more you learn, the more you can teach me (us). 

 

 

Well, i'll keep this computer for a long time, i guess having the next technology will be better for softwares and overall. With Windows 10 coming, maybe i'll see even more changes ?

First, compositing programs can use multiples cores and hyperthreading (like After Effects). Each core can use 2GB RAM or more (12*2=24GB RAM for a single program). This speed up a lot the render time. (at least ~25%). And I still can do something else on the computer, even if its slow as hell.

In Editing, more core I have, the best i can read 2K or 4K videos with some simple effects without shuttering (with SSD of course). This can help in multi-camera setup too. We are in a workflow where rendering the timeline every change you make is way too long for the customer next to your side. Even if I don't care when i'm alone.

GTX980 has way much more CUDA cores, its the main reason. SLI GTX970 is a little bit expensive and the i7-5820K is shitty in SLI. I can't afford the 5930k with my budget.

About RAM, i'll probably get CAS13 so i can OC the Frequency in the future ?

 

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8959/ddr4-haswell-e-scaling-review-2133-to-3200-with-gskill-corsair-adata-and-crucial provides some good data on the subject of memory speeds.

 

In my experience smaller storage units are quickly outgrown. It is why I would sacrifice a small amount of performance for a larger unit. Regardless of the path you choose, make sure you get units that have very good incompressible read/write performance. The Samsung 850 Pro and EVO models would be good.

 

Yeah i can understand that, but to be honest its not necessary for me. Even if my job can be needy in storage, its not a problem with the correct workflow

About the EVO, 840 has issues performances over time, i'm afraid to have the same problem with 850 serie. I'll just get the 850PRO as system ! And probably MX100 500GB.

 

I'm at the limit of my budget, it looks like I can't have better performances. (America has better price than my country, sad story).

[stconquest]

 

 

 

Well, i'll keep this computer for a long time, i guess having the next technology will be better for softwares and overall. With Windows 10 coming, maybe i'll see even more changes ?

First, compositing programs can use multiples cores and hyperthreading (like After Effects). Each core can use 2GB RAM or more (12*2=24GB RAM for a single program). This speed up a lot the render time. (at least ~25%). And I still can do something else on the computer, even if its slow as hell.

In Editing, more core I have, the best i can read 2K or 4K videos with some simple effects without shuttering (with SSD of course). This can help in multi-camera setup too. We are in a workflow where rendering the timeline every change you make is way too long for the customer next to your side. Even if I don't care when i'm alone.

GTX980 has way much more CUDA cores, its the main reason. SLI GTX970 is a little bit expensive and the i7-5820K is shitty in SLI. I can't afford the 5930k with my budget.

About RAM, i'll probably get CAS13 so i can OC the Frequency in the future ?

 

 

Thank you... any information is helpful.

 

RAM overclocking is tricky.  It can severely cause issues unless you have safe guards(cooling, knowledge)... trsut me, I have burned up RAM.  Assess what kind of time you are really going to save by overclocking. 

 

...AAAND, you can change timings for RAM too.  Just because you buy CAS 16 RAM, does not mean you have to use it at CAS 16... it is just rated for that timing, just like clock speeds.