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Building a Video Editing Workstation

AdamNF
By AdamNF
in New Builds and Planning
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I was going to pull the trigger on a 6 core Mac Pro but after checking out the Linus Tech Tips youtube channel I feel a 6 core PC would be much more affordable and useful.  The majority of my time (90%) will be spent in the Adobe Creative Suite, with a small bit in Avid MC, FC7, and FCX when I have no other choice as well as Pro Tools. I'm mainly a camera operator (DP) and photographer but I also do some editing and colouring.  I edit a lot of my own work.  I edit short web based pieces as well as a few one hour TV documentaries a year.

 

For the past few years I have been editing on a 2011 17" Macbook Pro and honestly it's been ok, I love this machine.  Editing 1080p ProRes footage is easy until I add any effects or try to render which is where its age really shows.  Render times are a bit of a nightmare and having to do a timeline render after I add any effects so the footage will play smooth is a pain.  Also 4k footage will be coming my way sooner than later (my next camera will be 4k) so id like to be ready for that too.  

 

I haven't built a PC in 15 years (Been on Mac lately) so i'm a little rusty. 

 

Here is what I'm looking at:

 

CPU -   Intel Core i7 5820K

MB   -   MSI X99s SLI Plus

GPU -   GTX 960 4GB

RAM -   32gb G.Skill DDR4 2400

PSU  -  Corsair CSM Series 650w

CASE - NZXT H440 

COOLER - Kraken X61

 

Storage

4x 2tb HHDs (Raid 10)

2x 120gb SSD (Raid 1)

 

A few things that confuse me are the power supply and GPU.  I checked out the PSU calculators so a 80 plus gold 650 seems fine, but I'm pretty PC ignorant and the GPU.  The last graphics card I bought was the Radeon 9800 Pro so I'm a little out of loop with current tech.  For GPU I'm only really looking for Cuda performance.  I'm not looking at getting a 4k monitor anytime soon though i plan to run two 1440p monitors.   

 

I have been trying to keep the build at or below $2500 (besides monitors) but I'm wiling to spend a little more if necessary.

 

This is my first post so be kind and thanks for the help.  

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The Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Case, and Cooler are all good. The PSU isn't bad, but you could do better. The GPU is where we run into some issues. For ray-traced work, the 900 series cards do not work. However, they "do" function with the Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe Premiere. For ray-tracing, you'll have to look at something like the 780 Ti, or a NVIDIA Quadro card.

 

Could you convert your list to a pcpartpicker list? It would make this much easier to manage. 

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I was going to pull the trigger on a 6 core Mac Pro but after checking out the Linus Tech Tips youtube channel I feel a 6 core PC would be much more affordable and useful.  The majority of my time (90%) will be spent in the Adobe Creative Suite, with a small bit in Avid MC, FC7, and FCX when I have no other choice as well as Pro Tools. I'm mainly a camera operator (DP) and photographer but I also do some editing and colouring.  I edit a lot of my own work.  I edit short web based pieces as well as a few one hour TV documentaries a year.

 

For the past few years I have been editing on a 2011 17" Macbook Pro and honestly it's been ok, I love this machine.  Editing 1080p ProRes footage is easy until I add any effects or try to render which is where its age really shows.  Render times are a bit of a nightmare and having to do a timeline render after I add any effects so the footage will play smooth is a pain.  Also 4k footage will be coming my way sooner than later (my next camera will be 4k) so id like to be ready for that too.  

 

I haven't built a PC in 15 years (Been on Mac lately) so i'm a little rusty. 

 

CPU -   Intel Core i7 5820K

MB   -   MSI X99s SLI Plus

GPU -   GTX 960 4GB

RAM -   32gb G.Skill DDR4 2400

PSU  -  Corsair CSM Series 650w

CASE - NZXT H440 

COOLER - Kraken X61

 

Storage

4x 2tb HHDs (Raid 10)

2x 120gb SSD (Raid 1)

 

A few things that confuse me are the power supply and GPU.  I checked out the PSU calculators so a 80 plus gold 650 seems fine, but I'm pretty PC ignorant and the GPU.  The last graphics card I bought was the Radeon 9800 Pro so I'm a little out of loop with current tech.  For GPU I'm only really looking for Cuda performance.  I'm not looking at getting a 4k monitor anytime soon though i plan to run two 1440p monitors.   

 

I have been trying to keep the build at or below $2500 (besides monitors) but I'm wiling to spend a little more if necessary.

 

This is my first post so be kind and thanks for the help.  

 

Your VRAM on that GPU seems a tad low for what you'll be doing.

Intel Core i7-6700K | Corsair H105 | Asus Z170I PRO GAMING | G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB | 950 PRO 512GB M.2

 

Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX OC | BitFenix Prodigy (Black/Red) | XFX PRO Black Edition 850W

 

 

My Build | PCPartPicker | CoC

 

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Your VRAM on that GPU seems a tad low for what you'll be doing.

GPUs with over 1GB of VRAM are not even officially supported by Adobe. So for video editing, it's not going to matter quite as much. Especially since the CPU always does the heavy lifting. That being said, the 960 isn't a good card for a workstation. 

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GPUs with over 1GB of VRAM are not even officially supported by Adobe. So for video editing, it's not going to matter quite as much. Especially since the CPU always does the heavy lifting. That being said, the 960 isn't a good card for a workstation. 

 

Well, he said CC apps aren't all he's working with, so... I'd recommend a Quadro.

Intel Core i7-6700K | Corsair H105 | Asus Z170I PRO GAMING | G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB | 950 PRO 512GB M.2

 

Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX OC | BitFenix Prodigy (Black/Red) | XFX PRO Black Edition 850W

 

 

My Build | PCPartPicker | CoC

 

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Sure, sure. Even Quadro / FirePro cards don't go past 4GB of VRAM before breaking into the 4-digit area though.

 

True, but they handle workloads way more easily than consumer based cards.

Intel Core i7-6700K | Corsair H105 | Asus Z170I PRO GAMING | G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB | 950 PRO 512GB M.2

 

Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX OC | BitFenix Prodigy (Black/Red) | XFX PRO Black Edition 850W

 

 

My Build | PCPartPicker | CoC

 

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True, but they handle workloads way more easily than consumer based cards.

Right, right. However, to get a Quadro with 8GB of VRAM, you're looking at $2,300. Meanwhile, the Quadro K4200 has 4GB, and goes for about $780. He wants to try and keep it under $2,500, and putting in an 8GB Quadro is going to eat all of that up on its own. :P The only other option would be the W8100 from AMD, for $1,000. That alone is already five times the cost of a 960. So until we have some budget numbers to work with, we'll just need to wait.

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Right, right. However, to get a Quadro with 8GB of VRAM, you're looking at $2,300. Meanwhile, the Quadro K4200 has 4GB, and goes for about $780. He wants to try and keep it under $2,500, and putting in an 8GB Quadro is going to eat all of that up on its own. :P The only other option would be the W8100 from AMD, for $1,000. That alone is already five times the cost of a 960. So until we have some budget numbers to work with, we'll just need to wait.

 

@AdamNF give us some budget numbers, man!

Intel Core i7-6700K | Corsair H105 | Asus Z170I PRO GAMING | G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB | 950 PRO 512GB M.2

 

Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX OC | BitFenix Prodigy (Black/Red) | XFX PRO Black Edition 850W

 

 

My Build | PCPartPicker | CoC

 

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Budget is there... 2500

 

@AdamNF follow your topic for notifications of all replies.

 

Can save $100 if your near a microcentre just by walking in to buy the CPU!!

 

 
CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($999.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Antec KUHLER H2O 1250 98.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($253.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Value 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($259.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $2558.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-26 20:09 EDT-0400
 
 
Or with a 4gb quadro

I don'T PreSS caPs.. I juST Hit THe keYboARd so HarD iT CriTs :P

 

Quote or @dzzope to get my attention..

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I should also mention I'm In Canada, so prices are a little different.  

 

As for the GPU, I'm honestly willing to go with something mid to lower range as I feel the CPU will be doing the heavy lifting and the GPU will just be a bonus.  

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I should also mention I'm In Canada, so prices are a little different.  

 

As for the GPU, I'm honestly willing to go with something mid to lower range as I feel the CPU will be doing the heavy lifting and the GPU will just be a bonus.  

 

In many modern editing software packages the gpu does a lot of the heavy lifting. Adobe CS uses the gpu to accelerate many editing functions as well as "rendering".

 

If you are dealing with raw footage/images look for an ssd that has good non-compressible data performance.

 

Not sure why you see a need to RAID 1 the system drive. I would suggest getting a larger ssd in any case.

 

RAID 10 is a bit of overkill IMO. It really does not take the place of good daily backups. Rebuilding terabyte arrays takes a fair bit of time.

 

There are much better psu than the Corsair CSM.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($474.98 @ DirectCanada)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($84.50 @ Vuugo)

Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($309.99 @ NCIX)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($299.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($119.99 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($369.99 @ NCIX)

Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Memory Express)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($109.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $2489.32

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-26 21:30 EDT-0400

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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In many modern editing software packages the gpu does a lot of the heavy lifting. Adobe CS uses the gpu to accelerate many editing functions as well as "rendering".

 

If you are dealing with raw footage/images look for an ssd that has good non-compressible data performance.

 

Not sure why you see a need to RAID 1 the system drive. I would suggest getting a larger ssd in any case.

 

RAID 10 is a bit of overkill IMO. It really does not take the place of good daily backups. Rebuilding terabyte arrays takes a fair bit of time.

 

There are much better psu than the Corsair CSM.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($474.98 @ DirectCanada)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($84.50 @ Vuugo)

Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($309.99 @ NCIX)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($299.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($119.99 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290X 4GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($369.99 @ NCIX)

Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Memory Express)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($109.99 @ NCIX)

Total: $2489.32

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-26 21:30 EDT-0400

 

Oh I'm well aware of GPU acceleration in Adobe CC through the MPE however the benchmarks I have seen for mid/lower cards seem to show a great price to performance.  Law of diminishing returns and all that.  also I would want a Nvidia card for cuda cores.  As for the 960 being the main weak link in the system.  Im aware, I have been considering the gtx 970 instead.   

 

As for raid 10.  I plan on working from the internal storage and I want 4tb of fast safe storage.  I also have an external raid I use for in house backup.  As for the ssd raid, i just wanted redundancy.  

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Oh I'm well aware of GPU acceleration in Adobe CC through the MPE however the benchmarks I have seen for mid/lower cards seem to show a great price to performance.  Law of diminishing returns and all that.  also I would want a Nvidia card for cuda cores.  As for the 960 being the main weak link in the system.  Im aware, I have been considering the gtx 970 instead.   

 

As for raid 10.  I plan on working from the internal storage and I want 4tb of fast safe storage.  I also have an external raid I use for in house backup.  As for the ssd raid, i just wanted redundancy.  

 

CUDA used to be important with Adobe products. It no longer is. Adobe has moved to OpenCL, http://www.cgchannel.com/2014/06/adobe-rolls-out-photoshop-cc-2014/. But the GTX 970 and R9 290X are roughly equivalent in this arena. Although I wonder about the impact of its odd memory organization when working with higher resolution material.

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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CUDA used to be important with Adobe products. It no longer is. Adobe has moved to OpenCL, http://www.cgchannel.com/2014/06/adobe-rolls-out-photoshop-cc-2014/. But the GTX 970 and R9 290X are roughly equivalent in this arena. Although I wonder about the impact of its odd memory organization when working with higher resolution material.

 

I'm not sure I would agree Adobe is moving away from Cuda, did they not just make both platforms compatible.  

 

I have updated my build a little, adding peripherals and a small GPU bump.  

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZrxYK8

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I'm not sure I would agree Adobe is moving away from Cuda, did they not just make both platforms compatible.  

 

I have updated my build a little, adding peripherals and a small GPU bump.  

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZrxYK8

 

I was trying to highlight the fact that the Adobe no longer favors CUDA gpu.

 

EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/SuperNOVA_G2_750/11.html, http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=380

 

Corsair RM750, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/RM750/11.html, http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/13/corsair_rm750_750w_power_supply_review/9#.VZP__kbD8_E

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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Yeah I mean. the graphics card is the one things I'm having the hardest time with.  Been doing a little reading up on the R9 390.

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