4K$ video editing rig

[Virgule]

Hey,

 

I'd like some suggestions for a friend's build.

 

1. Budget & Location

He's located in Hong Kong and has a budget of 4K$ USD.

 

2. Aim

Real-time video editing in 4K. No gaming nor any 3D applications.

 

3. Monitors

He'd like the budget to include a nice high resolution IPS monitor that has a nice color reproduction. 4K ideally.

 

4. Peripherals

None.

 

5. Other details

- 1TB SSD

- At least some 3.5'' slots for flexible storage upgrades

- Thunderbolt if possible

- Most compact possible

- Please use Newegg.com pricing for consistency and simplicity's sake

 

Regards

[AnalogCanavity]

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ZIC/saved/YBLgLk

[Zando_]

7 minutes ago, Zic05 said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ZIC/saved/YBLgLk

Noice. I'd boot off the 1TB SSD and use the NVMe drive for current projects tho. 

[Zando_]

You could always go for an iMac 5K though: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac/27-inch

 

People often think they aren't good value, but they include a powerful CPU, plenty of RAM, a good GPU for editing, and the most often overlooked features, an incredible 5K screen, with amazing colors and a great ppi count. It also has very good speakers, especially for an all in one. We have a 2013 one at work and its an amazing computer, it's actually sitting beside me rn. Also, it's about as compact as you can get a computer with the specs it has. 

 

EDIT:

 

$3700 for one with a 4.2GHz i7, RX580 (hehehe, you can mine when not working), 32GB RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD (heck, they've had those since at least the mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro I'm typing this on). Should blaze through anything you throw at it, especially if you use FCP X, which is amazingly well optimized. Also, it includes the epic screen, speakers, a good keyboard, and meh mouse (replace it with an MX Master, it's way better). Plus, it looks awesome and is super compact (lol, pretty much said all of that above).

[NoxiousOdor]

9 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

You could always go for an iMac 5K though: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac/27-inch

 

People often think they aren't good value, but they include a powerful CPU, plenty of RAM, a good GPU for editing, and the most often overlooked features, an incredible 5K screen, with amazing colors and a great ppi count. It also has very good speakers, especially for an all in one. We have a 2013 one at work and its an amazing computer, it's actually sitting beside me rn. Also, it's about as compact as you can get a computer with the specs it has. 

 

EDIT:

 

$3700 for one with a 4.2GHz i7, RX580 (hehehe, you can mine when not working), 32GB RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD (heck, they've had those since at least the mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro I'm typing this on). Should blaze through anything you throw at it, especially if you use FCP X, which is amazingly well optimized. Also, it includes the epic screen, speakers, a good keyboard, and meh mouse (replace it with an MX Master, it's way better). Plus, it looks awesome and is super compact (lol, pretty much said all of that above).

For $4,000 I would want more than a quad core

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

For $4,000 I would want more than a quad core

Eh, you get a pretty fast one, along with 32GB of RAM, an RX580 8GB, a blazing fast 1TB SSD (Apple's drives are really freaking fast), a 5K screen and great speakers, which is like $1500-2000 by itself (looking at the LG ones, I don't know of any other 5K screens with such amazing color and ppi), a full aluminum chassis (aluminum cases like the Enthoo Evolve are $200 by themselves), a keyboard, ok mouse, and then pretty epic customer service (and repair prices, XD). 

 

With a custom built PC, you get a better CPU, sure, but you can edit 4K fine on an iMac 5K even with a quad core (forgot to mention how well optimized macOS is), a better GPU, but again, an RX580 8GB is fine for editing, he explicitly stated he's not gaming. You get a nice case, but nowhere near as compact, and have to buy the keyboard, mouse, and screen separately (and there's no screens that are gonna rival the 5K panel on the iMac unless you lay down some serious dough). Oh, and no speakers come with your PC either (and the ones in the iMac are pretty awesome, our 2013 one is great, I'd assume the 2017/18 model is even better) Biggest problem though, if you're a video editor you probs don't want to be troubleshooting or anything, and Windows 10 will force you to do that, it'll update at awkward times, and all the normal PC stuff. Also, you have customer support for each individual part, all from different manufacturers with differing levels of service, so it can be a massive headache to get stuff fixed. 

[brob]

mATX build because requires a Thunderbolt addon card. .

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-7900X 3.3GHz 10-Core Processor  ($970.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($62.45 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: EVGA - X299 Micro Micro ATX LGA2066 Motherboard  ($315.28 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($368.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($259.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: AMD - Radeon Pro Duo Polaris 32GB Video Card  ($929.99 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Case: Fractal Design - Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($94.98 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus - PA328Q 32.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($996.15 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Total: $4078.80
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-02-20 17:29 EST-0500

[NoxiousOdor]

17 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Eh, you get a pretty fast one, along with 32GB of RAM, an RX580 8GB, a blazing fast 1TB SSD (Apple's drives are really freaking fast), a 5K screen and great speakers, which is like $1500-2000 by itself (looking at the LG ones, I don't know of any other 5K screens with such amazing color and ppi), a full aluminum chassis (aluminum cases like the Enthoo Evolve are $200 by themselves), a keyboard, ok mouse, and then pretty epic customer service (and repair prices, XD). 

 

With a custom built PC, you get a better CPU, sure, but you can edit 4K fine on an iMac 5K even with a quad core (forgot to mention how well optimized macOS is), a better GPU, but again, an RX580 8GB is fine for editing, he explicitly stated he's not gaming. You get a nice case, but nowhere near as compact, and have to buy the keyboard, mouse, and screen separately (and there's no screens that are gonna rival the 5K panel on the iMac unless you lay down some serious dough). Oh, and no speakers come with your PC either (and the ones in the iMac are pretty awesome, our 2013 one is great, I'd assume the 2017/18 model is even better) Biggest problem though, if you're a video editor you probs don't want to be troubleshooting or anything, and Windows 10 will force you to do that, it'll update at awkward times, and all the normal PC stuff. Also, you have customer support for each individual part, all from different manufacturers with differing levels of service, so it can be a massive headache to get stuff fixed. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z8mdnH

 

this is $1000 cheaper and better in every way. Including but not limited to upgradability, cooling, and more screen space

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z8mdnH

 

this is $1000 cheaper and better in every way. Including but not limited to upgradability, cooling, and more screen space

It's big. Basically no central customer support if something goes wrong, you have to wrangle with individual OEMs. Still running Windows 10, which is more susceptible to performance degradation and bugs over time than macOS, at least in my experience (I have a main PC, 2 project PCs, and various Macs ranging from an OG 2006/7 PowerMac G5 to a mid-2014 MacBook Pro, the Macs are a lot more stable). It is a better value spec wise though. (But the iMac has more Thunderbolt ports, so super fast HDD banks are easily usable)

[NoxiousOdor]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

It's big. Basically no central customer support if something goes wrong, you have to wrangle with individual OEMs. Still running Windows 10, which is more susceptible to performance degradation and bugs over time than macOS, at least in my experience (I have a main PC, 2 project PCs, and various Macs ranging from an OG 2006/7 PowerMac G5 to a mid-2014 MacBook Pro, the Macs are a lot more stable). It is a better value spec wise though. (But the iMac has more Thunderbolt ports, so super fast HDD banks are easily usable)

Honestly I didn't realize the size requirement until just now. Windows is fine if you are willing to spend 20min how to learn to use it and it is compatible with more programs than macOS. The case is easily swapped out for a spaller one and with the money they would be saving from buying a pc they can get a thunderbolt adapter easily I'm sure. Also there is this requirement:

 

- At least some 3.5'' slots for flexible storage upgrades

[Zando_]

4 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

Honestly I didn't realize the size requirement until just now. Windows is fine if you are willing to spend 20min how to learn to use it and it is compatible with more programs than macOS. The case is easily swapped out for a spaller one and with the money they would be saving from buying a pc they can get a thunderbolt adapter easily I'm sure. Also there is this requirement:

 

- At least some 3.5'' slots for flexible storage upgrades

True, but with thunderbolt you can grab a RAID frame, pop some HDDs in it, and have a large chunk of fast storage, that you can even take offsite if you're worried about losing video. My Uncle does videos for a living, he always keeps a copy offsite, and edits off a thunderbolt drive on his iMac 5K, haven't heard him complain about it...

[AnalogCanavity]

5 hours ago, Zando Bob said:

You could always go for an iMac 5K though: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac/27-inch

 

People often think they aren't good value, but they include a powerful CPU, plenty of RAM, a good GPU for editing, and the most often overlooked features, an incredible 5K screen, with amazing colors and a great ppi count. It also has very good speakers, especially for an all in one. We have a 2013 one at work and its an amazing computer, it's actually sitting beside me rn. Also, it's about as compact as you can get a computer with the specs it has. 

 

EDIT:

 

$3700 for one with a 4.2GHz i7, RX580 (hehehe, you can mine when not working), 32GB RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD (heck, they've had those since at least the mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro I'm typing this on). Should blaze through anything you throw at it, especially if you use FCP X, which is amazingly well optimized. Also, it includes the epic screen, speakers, a good keyboard, and meh mouse (replace it with an MX Master, it's way better). Plus, it looks awesome and is super compact (lol, pretty much said all of that above).

But seriously, 4 vs 16 core, 32Gb vs 64Gb of RAM, better cooling, Vega Fronteir edition vs RX 580, better upgradabillty and more storage for the same price 

[Virgule]

While the Mac does have a gorgeous screen, the 10 or 12 core / double the RAM / better cooling / non throttling / upgradable / similar priced option seems like a better one to me.

 

Still on the edge about Threadripper 1920X/1950X VS i9 7900X and Vega Frontier / Pro duo VS GTX 1080ti.

 

Can anyone give me some arguments (with use case in mind) to help me choose ?

[brob]

2 hours ago, Virgule said:

While the Mac does have a gorgeous screen, the 10 or 12 core / double the RAM / better cooling / non throttling / upgradable / similar priced option seems like a better one to me.

 

Still on the edge about Threadripper 1920X/1950X VS i9 7900X and Vega Frontier / Pro duo VS GTX 1080ti.

 

Can anyone give me some arguments (with use case in mind) to help me choose ?

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Premiere-Pro-CC-2017-1-2-CPU-Performance-Core-i9-7940X-7960X-7980XE-1034/

 

Radeon Pro Duo Polaris has little independent benchmark data. AMD claims 1.53X better performance in Premiere Pro than its W7100 workstation gpu, https://pro.radeon.com/en/product/pro-series/radeon-pro-duo/. The advantages of this gpu are its large memory, 10-bit display support, and professional drivers.

 

Radeon Frontier Edition has less memory than the Pro Duo Polaris but has similar pricing.

 

GTX 1080 Ti pricing at the moment is unreasonable.