New Build for Video Editing Workstation

[zicmaveric]

Hi all,

 

I am new to Linus Tech Tips and a person who has been running on Macs for the last 5 years. I have decided I am finally through with Apple and am in need of building a PC for one purpose: video editing. I use the Adobe Creative Cloud suite for all my work, notable Premiere Pro. I use also Da Vinci resolve and I am just beginning to learn Avid Media Composer.

 

I need a complete build, which means I need peripherals also. I prefer to work with 2 monitors, but if that's the case, I don't need huge displays of 27" and over.

 

My goal here is to build something that will be able to handle all my rendering and editing and that is also future-proof. I figure the best way to future-proof my machine is to build something that works smoothly now, but is also highly up-gradable when the need arises.

 

I've seen the video of the editing rig build from Nov. 2013

and it all sounds nice to me, but since it's a bit old, I'm wondering what you guys suggest I should get myself now.

 

I live in Canada and I'd like to stay within a $2,500 budget for the entire workstation.

 

I also don't know how to set up a RAID Array and I'm wondering if that is recommended with this kind of machine. I figure I'll have to use an SSD for my boot drive with my most heavy applications on it with maybe another SSD for my Scratch Disks (only if that'll significantly improve performance though).

 

At the moment, I need something like 5Tb of storage on the machine (I do have a lot of external media lying around) I believe, with possibility to increase later down the line.

 

Suggestions on a build?

 

Thanks guys!

 

PS: I haven't touched a PC in a while, but my room-mate and my brother are gamers with custom-built rigs of their own, so don't worry about the building process: I'm in good hands over here

[Laputacake]

Will you be gaming aswell?

[mikat]

1. Do your harddrives need to be redundant? (so if one drives fails you wont lose your data)

2. How big do you want your ssd

3. What resolution monitors do you want

[mikat]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mikat/saved/#view=GhB9TW

it is 2600$ but you could cheap out on the mouse, keyboard and headset as those are expensive and you can get cheaper, its not bad to only spend 100$ on those three things i use a 20$ mouse, 45$ headset and a 5$ keyboard i think 

[PrismaTech]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pmqyRB

Its a bit over $2600 CAD.  It gets a bit more pricey because we live in Canada.  Take note the Mikat's build is $2600 in USD which is over $3000 if you get the same parts here in Canada.  Tell me what you think of this build.  The only thing that I'm not satisfied about is the 16gb of ram.  And its was kinda hard to add a second monitor and not fallout somewhere else in the hardware.  However both those things you can add to you build in the future.

[brob]

You can use the system ssd as the principal scratch drive if it is large enough. Given the CA$ budget it really isn't possible to build a decent video editing workstation with 5+TB of storage and two quality monitors. If you have to meet the budget, drop a monitor and one of the storage drives.

 

RAID is not necessary. Good, regular backups are necessary.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($445.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.60 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($318.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($229.95 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($238.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: PNY Quadro K2200 4GB Video Card  ($531.37 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-3300-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($108.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Monitor: Asus PA238QR 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($239.99 @ Memory Express)
Monitor: Asus PA238QR 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($239.99 @ Memory Express)
Keyboard: Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($54.66 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $2799.50
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-08 22:28 EDT-0400

[zicmaveric]

Will you be gaming aswell?

 

No, no gaming for me. I'm actually one of those terrible, really annoying noobs in video games, so I think that staying away from the games is a service to the gaming community lol

[zicmaveric]

1. Do your harddrives need to be redundant? (so if one drives fails you wont lose your data)

2. How big do you want your ssd

3. What resolution monitors do you want

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll consider that and compare with the other suggestions I got too. To answer your questions:

 

1. I would prefer them to be redundant, however I am quite good with my back ups discipline

2. I don't really know how big my SSD should be... I don't think it needs to be huge, but whatever makes for a good and stable run speed of software like Adobe Creative Cloud (Premiere, After Effects, etc.), Da Vinci resolve and my OS (probably going to be Windows 7) is good for me.

3. Monitor resolution. I have no need for 4K or 5K, I edit offline proxies anyway that are in 1080p so its got to do 1080p nicely and be big enough that I don't strain my eyes (and soul) editing on a small screen (like my current 15" laptop).

[zicmaveric]

Thanks for the tips and the list. I'll post a little later what I think my final list might look like and maybe I can get some feedback? I'll also explain a bit more in detail my work and workflow so that you know more of what I might need or not need.

 

Thanks!

 

You can use the system ssd as the principal scratch drive if it is large enough. Given the CA$ budget it really isn't possible to build a decent video editing workstation with 5+TB of storage and two quality monitors. If you have to meet the budget, drop a monitor and one of the storage drives.

 

RAID is not necessary. Good, regular backups are necessary.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($445.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.60 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($318.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($229.95 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($238.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: PNY Quadro K2200 4GB Video Card  ($531.37 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-3300-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($108.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Monitor: Asus PA238QR 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($239.99 @ Memory Express)
Monitor: Asus PA238QR 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($239.99 @ Memory Express)
Keyboard: Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($54.66 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $2799.50
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-08 22:28 EDT-0400

 

[mikat]

ok, ill be going on the Canada pcpartpicker site and try again with all your requirements i like these challanges

edit: some more questions

 

1. how good do the headphones have to be?

2. do you need a mic?

3. do you need a mechanical keyboard?

4. do you need an RGB keyboard? (=with colored backlighting)

5. do you need a big mouse or a small mouse?

6. do you need extra buttons on the mouse?

7. do you want wireless or wired?

 

edit 2:

Final product: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/f3knFT

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($449.99 @ Amazon Canada) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($37.60 @ DirectCanada) 

Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($274.00 @ Amazon Canada) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($237.75 @ NCIX) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($148.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($248.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($269.99 @ NCIX) 

Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($129.99 @ NCIX) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Memory Express) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($158.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor  ($179.50 @ Vuugo) 

Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor  ($179.50 @ Vuugo) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($34.99 @ NCIX) 

Headphones: Logitech G230 Headset  ($49.99 @ DirectCanada) 

Total: $2520.23

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-12 03:22 EDT-0400

[zicmaveric]

Hi Mikat, sorry for the late reply, I was shooting some scenes for my latest project over the last 2 days. Thank you for all your help so far. I am checking out your list now. Regarding your questions, here are my answers:

 

1. I have good headphones already, but I might be in need of some "standard" speakers for the long hours I do where I don't really care about sound quality, and then when I'm actually going to monitor things, I'll use my nice Audio Technica's.

 

2. I have mics that have only XLR connections. This is somehting I was going to bring up actually. I am not a sound mixer, so I have no need for the biggest baddest sound gear out there, but for simple voice-over and quick sound work I want to do in my editing studio, finding a good and simple workflow to make use of my voice mics would be good. I have mics, cables, accessories, but no more recorder.

 

3. No need for mechanical keyboard. They are nice though...

 

4. Back-light would also be nice given that I might be working in the dark for coloring.

 

In terms of the keyboard, I'm not very picky. I've been working with the Mac wireless keyboard https://www.apple.com/ca/keyboard/for a few years now and it's been pretty okay with me. An upgrade would not be a bad thing though.

 

5. As for the mouse, though! I've been using this piece of garbage https://www.apple.com/ca/magicmouse/?cid=jmwhat a terrible design. Anyway, I would prefer a big mouse (I think) that I can have my hand on all day long.

 

6. I don't need extra buttons on the mouse. Though I've done some work with a PC set up for gaming (my brother's) and his mouse has a bunch of programmable buttons. I'm not 100% on whether I will be able to make good use of these features, but the design of the mouse was great, ergonomically speakign.

 

7. I have no preference. I guess wired would keep things cheaper and more reliable. However, I don't want to be lacking in ports on the tower.

 

 

Thanks for all the good questions.

 

ok, ill be going on the Canada pcpartpicker site and try again with all your requirements i like these challanges

edit: some more questions

 

1. how good do the headphones have to be?

2. do you need a mic?

3. do you need a mechanical keyboard?

4. do you need an RGB keyboard? (=with colored backlighting)

5. do you need a big mouse or a small mouse?

6. do you need extra buttons on the mouse?

7. do you want wireless or wired?

 

edit 2:

Final product: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/f3knFT

 

[zicmaveric]

Oups... sorry about that... see below

[brob]

Post the pcpartpicker permalink or use BBCode Markup to cut and paste.

[zicmaveric]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/zicmaveric/saved/#savedbuild_2117498

 

Any omissions and/or overkills you think?

[brob]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/zicmaveric/saved/#savedbuild_2117498

 

Any omissions and/or overkills you think?

 

A 750W psu is more than enough. XFX P1-750B-BEFX, Rosewill CAPSTONE-750-M, SeaSonic SSR-750RM, and EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR are all excellent psu.

 

If not gaming, I would go with a good quality wireless keyboard and mouse. Microsoft Wireless Desktop 2000 is good. If one wants forward and back buttons on the mouse Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000.

[zicmaveric]

Hey all! Here's what I have for my build right now.

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/zf8tqs

 

Considering the monitor, I have at home an old Dell monitor that I might use to put up editing notes while I use the Asus for the actual work (and also watching films/tv).

 

I don't have a mouse or keyboard or headphones in this build because those are really minor things for me right now. I'll probably find something online that's at a good price and if I can find it somewhere like Best Buy or Future Shop, I'll go try it. If I like it, I'll get them to beat the online price haha. Thanks, brob for the peripherals suggestions.

 

Again, any feedback on this latest build update?

 

Specifcally, I have here 4 1Tb Seagate drives in order to configure a RAID 1+0 totalling 2Tb of usable space. I already have a 2Tb drive lying around I can use as an archive drive in order to remove old work files from the RAID to keep it running at optimal speed. What do you think?

[brob]

Hey all! Here's what I have for my build right now.

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/zf8tqs

 

Considering the monitor, I have at home an old Dell monitor that I might use to put up editing notes while I use the Asus for the actual work (and also watching films/tv).

 

I don't have a mouse or keyboard or headphones in this build because those are really minor things for me right now. I'll probably find something online that's at a good price and if I can find it somewhere like Best Buy or Future Shop, I'll go try it. If I like it, I'll get them to beat the online price haha. Thanks, brob for the peripherals suggestions.

 

Again, any feedback on this latest build update?

 

Specifcally, I have here 4 1Tb Seagate drives in order to configure a RAID 1+0 totalling 2Tb of usable space. I already have a 2Tb drive lying around I can use as an archive drive in order to remove old work files from the RAID to keep it running at optimal speed. What do you think?

Other than the psu it looks fine.

 

Corsair does not build a single psu. They market units made by other companies. The CSM series is far from the best in its price range.

 

The XFX 750W model I linked is built by Seasonic is superior. It is currently the same price at NCIX with a mail in rebate - http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-xtr-750w-gold-single-ac-78946-1088.htm.

[zicmaveric]

Other than the psu it looks fine.

 

Corsair does not build a single psu. They market units made by other companies. The CSM series is far from the best in its price range.

 

The XFX 750W model I linked is built by Seasonic is superior. It is currently the same price at NCIX with a mail in rebate - http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-xtr-750w-gold-single-ac-78946-1088.htm.

 

Cool! Thanks, brob!

 

Also, do you know where I could get my hands on a ThunderboltEX II Dual by Asus? It's the only Thunderbolt enabling card for my build and I can't seem to find anywhere but shopd in the UK that sell it.

 

I'm trying to keep my machine as versatile and future-proofed as possible. I will undoubtedly deal with Thunderbolt users in my industry and probably even moreso in the future.

 

Thoughts on this kind of purchase?

[zicmaveric]

Another question: what is the main difference between the Corsair 750W psu I have in my list and the ones that you suggested here? I see there are some that are semi and some that are full modular, they are all between 119 and 130 dollars... the specs seem the same to me. What is it that makes the XFX better? Build quality?

[brob]

Cool! Thanks, brob!

 

Also, do you know where I could get my hands on a ThunderboltEX II Dual by Asus? It's the only Thunderbolt enabling card for my build and I can't seem to find anywhere but shopd in the UK that sell it.

 

I'm trying to keep my machine as versatile and future-proofed as possible. I will undoubtedly deal with Thunderbolt users in my industry and probably even moreso in the future.

 

Thoughts on this kind of purchase?

 

The card is a special order from NCIX, http://search.ncix.com/products/?sku=DH8888122238.

 

Another question: what is the main difference between the Corsair 750W psu I have in my list and the ones that you suggested here? I see there are some that are semi and some that are full modular, they are all between 119 and 130 dollars... the specs seem the same to me. What is it that makes the XFX better? Build quality?

 

PSU differences boil down to design, component quality, and build quality. Design directly affects cost and the quality of power that will be delivered. Better quality components are more expensive, but tend to last longer and do a better job staying within tolerances. Even if good quality components are used, sloppy assembly shortens lifespan and may lead to higher failure rates.

 

The XFX XTR model I suggested typically has excellent build quality, a good and proven design, and uses very good components. The CSM unit uses lesser quality components and has average build quality. 

[zicmaveric]

Updated list:

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/bCgMK8

 

With $100 put aside for the Thunderbolt adapter (should I decide to get it in the future) and $50 for the Microsoft mouse/keyboard I will get at the store. I have Windows 7 Ultimate already.

 

Boom!

 

Thanks so much guys, especially brob, for all your help.

[zicmaveric]

Hey 3 more questions:

 

1 - Should I order all these parts online at the same time, or get a case at a bricks/mortar store once I receive all the internal components?

 

2 - Do you think it's advisable to go one notch lower with my Mother Board / CPU / GPU to save a bit of cash without lowering performance really? Or is that actually not possible due to some compatibility issues I might be unaware of or maybe due to future-proofing...?

 

Specifically, I'm wondering whether the Asus X99-Pro is worth the premium from Asus X99-A

but by the same token, I wonder whether getting the new Gygabyte X99-UD7 might be a better choice given that I was already looking at Thunderbolt expansions for the Asus X99.

 

Same concerns (minus the model names of course) apply to the CPU & GPU choice.

 

3 - I'm still flip-flopping between creating an internal RAID 10 (1+0) with 4 x 1Tb drives or using the following configuration:

 

2Tb Seagate Barracuda 72000RPM (6Gbps connect.) as the dedicated "Media" drive

1Tb Seagate Barracuda 72000RPM (6Gbps connect.) as the dedicated "Scratch" drive

1Tb Seagate Barracuda 72000RPM (6Gbps connect.) as the dedicated "Export" drive

 

Regardless of RAID or not, the OS and Apps would be installed on that Crucial 256Gb SSD

 

Let me know what you think!

(I'm getting pretty excited to order all this stuff... plus my new editing project is coming in soon, so I gotta get this build DONE!)

 

Current list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/4KHyRB

[brob]

1. Really depends on what you feel comfortable doing and where you live. If you are in a major urban area going to a store with your part list and online pricing might allow you to get everything price matched. It also lets you look at different cases to decide which you like best.

The Asus X99-A is a good motherboard. If it has the features you want, go for it. The Gigabyte does not have Thunderbolt, like the Asus X99 motherboards a Thunderbolt card can be added.

To answer the question of using RAID 10 or not, consider the impact of a drive failure at the worst possible time. If the loss of a few hours work (presuming good backups) because of an hdd hardware failure is more than can be borne, then an array may make sense. Personally I would go with separate volumes and use a good automated backup package to frequently backup critical work and less frequently other stuff.

[zicmaveric]

 

1. Really depends on what you feel comfortable doing and where you live. If you are in a major urban area going to a store with your part list and online pricing might allow you to get everything price matched. It also lets you look at different cases to decide which you like best.
2. The Asus X99-A is a good motherboard. If it has the features you want, go for it. The Gigabyte does not have Thunderbolt, like the Asus X99 motherboards a Thunderbolt card can be added.
3. To answer the question of using RAID 10 or not, consider the impact of a drive failure at the worst possible time. If the loss of a few hours work (presuming good backups) because of an hdd hardware failure is more than can be borne, then an array may make sense. Personally I would go with separate volumes and use a good automated backup package to frequently backup critical work and less frequently other stuff.

 

 

1. Okay that's not a bad idea. I'll print my list, see if any of its components are available at a few stores that have a matching policy here. Everything else, I'll jus get online after that little shopping trip.

 

2. I've been checking benchmarks and real application tests and I think my newest list (with i7-4970K, DDR3, and Gigabyte UD7) will actually be good enough and helps shave off a few hundred bucks.

 

3. Thanks for the RAID advice. I think that the separate volumes is what I'll go for. Question now would be 2 SSD or 1 SSD...