Budget Editing Rig?

[Cubical Productions]

Fellow Tech Tippers,

I'm working on a budget editing PC for my friend. The target cost is around $900.

Here is the parts list.

 

I will likely be going to Newegg or Micro Center for all of the parts. Are there any other ways I can reduce the cost? I'm considering giving him certain parts that I already have like my SSD (I need a larger one). My goal now is cost-reduction, but I don't want to cut too many corners. I decided on a Mini-ITX form factor so my friend doesn't have trouble moving it around during his college years.

 

To clarify:

My friend is a hobbyist at this point and doesn't do major editing. This is to start him out and he needs a rig to work with. As he grows from it he can either upgrade or build a new rig entirely.

 

Ideas? I'm open for suggestions, and if there are any major compatability issues, let me know.

[Clear17Mud]

you can save on the motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157504

 

Memory (their is a rebate if you buy two)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233580&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

This AIO is on sale also

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103179&cm_sp=TrackOrder-_-Accessories-_-Pst04Descrip

[Sam Z Man]

Does he need open cl or gl

[improbablepants]

What programs will he be using? If he is using Adobe, or anything else that uses Open GL, AMD cards can kick some serious butt. I recommend the Xeon, as it has threads, and in editing threads triumph clock speed. More storage is better when editing. Micro ATX is still respectably small, and easily  portable enough for college. I put a WiFi card, because I am assuming there wont be a hardline in his college room. This will also be 10/10 for gaming.

Protip, Cubical Productions follow your topics with the button on the upper-right. It will notify you of posts.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($255.48 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($93.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($284.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($63.98 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($21.98 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($90.00 @ Newegg) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($18.00 @ Newegg) 

Total: $973.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 14:49 EDT-0400

 

Edit: Managed to get it all at Newegg. The CD ROM is 5$ cheaper at MicroCenter, but it would be much easier just to pay the extra 5 and get all your parts from one merchant.

Edited May 28, 2015 by improbablepants

[Sam Z Man]

If he needs open GL swap the 290X with a 970.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($167.99 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($55.49 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($93.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.98 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tr-X OC Video Card ($317.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($92.91 @ Mwave)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($76.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $984.29

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 14:49 EDT-0400

[Lotus]

Here is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($241.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card  ($149.20 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $843.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 15:16 EDT-0400

 

It keeps the cost very low, and keeps the focus on performance. The Xeon 1231 V3 is even better at rendering/editing than the overclocked i5-4690k due to hyper threading, and is still good at gaming. Provided the programs he uses supports OpenCL (they should), an AMD R9 280 performs about the same as the GTX 960 for much less, and has an extra 1GB of VRAM so it performs better in some games and will likely be better in the future as games demand more VRAM. You don't need an aftermarket CPU cooler with the locked Xeon, and the motherboard already has WiFi so we're good there too. The WD Black series offers better random read/write due to its dual heads, but since it's a secondary drive we don't care about that and you can just use a regular 1TB HDD. You also don't need an optical drive in this day and age, but you can always throw in another one and still come out to under $900 if you'd like. Overall, I tried to fit everything in the build for the price you wanted, and I think I succeeded.

[Cubical Productions]

Thank you guys so much for the support. This helps immensely. I'm meeting with my friend tomorrow to discuss build options. The help is really appreciated!

 

I should mention that Intel is the processor brand of choice in this particular build. He'll be using Movie Studio Platinum 12, which I plan on giving him because I use Movie Studio Platinum 13, which is essentially the same software, but a newer version.

[Sam Z Man]

Thank you guys so much for the support. This helps immensely. I'm meeting with my friend tomorrow to discuss build options. The help is really appreciated!

I should mention that Intel is the processor brand of choice in this particular build. He'll be using Movie Studio Platinum 12, which I plan on giving him because I use Movie Studio Platinum 13, which is essentially the same software, but a newer version.

Your going to want AMD GPU as it is openCL and a good card in the R9 280-290X range would be your best bet.

You should also be getting a quad core multithreaded processor.

[AliveGhost13]

The PSUs chosen are very mediocre. Get an XFX XTR, TS, EVGA B2/GS/G2, any Antec/Seasonic as the NEX, 500B and so on aren't great choices, especially for a system of these uses and calibre