My First Video Production Rig - Need Feedback

T

Traphic

New Member
Hey everyone

So I'm looking to build a powerful editing rig. I'm trying to build something powerful enough that can run large files in After Effects/Premiere and Animation software (ToonBoom Animate Pro) flawlessly. This is my first time building a computer. My only previous experience was small RAM upgrades. I selected all these parts using guides and other information online. And now I want some personal opinions before I go dropping money into it. I'm trying to keep the rig itself under $1500. As of this set up, it is under that mark. Most of the listed prices were taken from Amazon.

Any feedback is appreciated! Thank you!

-Traphic


Motherboard:
ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard – $304.99

Processor:
Intel Core i7-3820 Quad-Core Processor 3.6 GHz 10 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73820 - $279.99

GPU:
EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD 1280 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/HDMI/Display Port - $264.99

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 - $169.88

Hard Drive:
Hitachi Deskstar 3.5" 1TB 7200RPM SATA II 32MB Cache – $72.58

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $95.35

Power Supply:
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750 Watt – $105.98

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit – $79.90

Disk Drive/Writer:
Pioneer Electronics Blu-Ray Internal BD Writer - $73.36

Monitors:
ViewSonic LED 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor – 2X $149.99 = $299.98
 
I had heard kind of mixed opinions about it. I have several external hard drives for really important stuff, but I get what you're saying. I don't really have the cash to shell out for a SSD at least for the volume of memory you get with an SSD. Is there anything in particular you would recommend?
 
So...

Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Internal Desktop Hard Drive Bulk/OEM - WD1002FAEX - $97.87

And I think I'll try and squeeze in either a Crucial 256 GB m4 or 128GB for boot up and applications if I can make up the cost.


Anyone think the 32GB of RAM is too much? It wasn't a much more than the 16GB so I figured why not?
 
I may be wrong, but I do not think you need that beefy of a video card for the applications you are using. You'd be better off getting a CAD card.

http://www.newegg.com/Professional-Graphics-Cards/SubCategory/ID-449

Again, not that knowledgeable on these kinds of graphics cards, but I'd just search for ones within your budget.

For the RAM, I think you really should buy these right now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231569

32GB, 1600mhz, fast timings, really really cheap.
 
I'd save and go for a Z77 board and an i7 3770K, then put the money towards a better graphics card - GTX 670 would be nice for editing.

Bad choice in case too. The Antec 900 is old and has no cable management features. For the same sort of cost you could get an NZXT Phantom 410 or if you spent a bit more the full-sized Phantom.
 
Video editing and computer aided design are very different, thus a graphics card make no difference whatsoever in video editing. Buy the most amount of RAM, fastest CPU (with most cores) and largest storage you can manage.
 
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I think the x79 platform would offer more growth for video editing than a 1155, especially with ivy-bridge e around the corner. also grab a different case, the 1100 would be better for cable management than the 900.
 
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Alright here is my updated list. I'm still debating on the additional SSD. Anyone have any input on that? Also, there seems to be mixed opinions on the graphics card and processor.
Also, as a note, I wouldn't mind for this set up to be good with gaming, but that is definitely not the goal and purpose of the rig. As the goal is advanced animation and editing.

Motherboard:
ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard – $304.99

Processor:
Intel Core i7-3820 Quad-Core Processor 3.6 GHz 10 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73820 - $279.99

GPU:
EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD 1280 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/HDMI/Display Port - $264.99

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 - $130.98

Hard Drives:
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Internal Desktop Hard Drive Bulk/OEM - WD1002FAEX - $97.87

Crucial 256 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s - $186.62

Case:
NZXT Crafted Series ATX Full Tower Steel Chassis $119.99

Power Supply:
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750 Watt – $105.98

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit – 79.90

Disk Drive/Writer:

Pioneer Electronics Blu-Ray Internal BD Writer - $73.36

Monitors:
ViewSonic LED 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor – 2X $149.99 = $299.98
 
The 570 will smash games at high to ultra setttings even still and overclocks nicely if you want it too. It will also have no impact whatsoever on your video editing ability. What will have the best impact is the CPU, RAM and HDD throughput. When rendering, the applications you have listed will use as many cores as you can give them, and as much RAM, and clearly video editing takes many gigabytes generally. Thats all you should worry about. Stick with the 6 core Intel CPU, go for the highest clock speed CPU you can afford and the rest looks fine.
 
Like bigfella says, go with an i7 3930K if you want to do real heavy editing. (12 threads that can be used, 8 is also ok, but if it's especially for that heavy stuff I'd go for an Intel 6core)
Spend a little less on the gpu and get a corsair TX650 IF you want to spare the money to get a 6core.
 
I would also invest in a quality 2011 socket aftermarket cooler. Trust me, you will want to (and should) overclock this chip to 4GHz. It will pants your encoding...
 
bigfellla said:
I would also invest in a quality 2011 socket aftermarket cooler. Trust me, you will want to (and should) overclock this chip to 4GHz. It will pants your encoding...
Click to expand...

+1. If you're going to get a 3930K - overclock it! You'll get better results once it's overclocked!
 
^ Yep, in fact it beats the Extreme part which is nearly 1000 bucks. BUT it wont come with a cooler, you need to get an aftermarket one regardless of clock speed ;)
 
I would (and did) go for the ripjaws. Lower timings and latency with slightly lower clock speeds. Just ensure you manually set the voltages to 1.5V in the bios.
 
BIGFELLA....you are absolutly wrong in telling the OP that a graphics card will do nothing for him. he is using adobe aftereffects as well as premeire, which both allow usage od cusa tech. having an 570 like he is choosong, is perfect for those programs that he will be using. i use the same programs, and what would take 20 min on my 3770k, only takes 3 min on the gpu. now, not all rendering can be done by the gpu. some are forced to be ran on the cpu. in adobe software, where you can select the effects you want to use for the video, there are icons next to the effect that let you know which will do the rendering, be it cpu, or gpu. all you got to do is google "adobe software and cuda tech" and you will get all this info that i am telling you. to the OP.....32 gigs will be good for your editing machine. i have 16, and many times wish i would have gotton 32. socket 2011 is a good platform since it will provide quad channel ram, which will also aid in the rendering time. be sure to get an ssd, as well as a standard hd, as an ssd for the work folder will aid in the rendering time as well.
 
Does anyone know a good place to get Windows 7 (preferably Ultimate) for a decent legal price. I'm a student, but microsoft took down most of their Windows 7 products to make room for 8.
 
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