Building a high-end video editing PC?

BSLugnut

Junior Member
Sep 3, 2013
12
0
0
I am building a high-end video editing PC. Would like advice/recommendations from actual use, if possible.
Built on Windows 8 Pro
Primary use: Video Editing with Adobe Premier Pro CS6
Secondary use: Video Games, web development
Monitors: Support 2-3 monitors (all ready have, don't need to purchase)
Budget: $3,500

Some parts in question and or considered:
CPU: AMD FX-9370 / Intel Core i7-3930K
Motherboard (supporting 32GB RAM):
Case (looking for cool (temp) and quiet case): NZXT Phantom 530 / Corsair Carbide Series 300R / BitFenix Shinobi / Corsair Carbide Series 330R / Nanoxia NXDS1W
GPU:
Self contained liquid cooled solution: Corsair H100

I am open to any and all suggestions, not just the ones listed above.

Thank you in advance for helping a newbie out!
Cheers!
 
Last edited:

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
136
FX-9370 doesn't hold a candle to the 3930K. In fact, it is probably on par with or worse than the 4770, but only when comparing multithreaded performance.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,695
4,658
75
Is this for a work/job?
This. For a company you want a pre-built machine with support.

Also, is that Adobe CS4, CS5, or CS6? Could make a huge difference on GPU selection.
 

BSLugnut

Junior Member
Sep 3, 2013
12
0
0
T_Yamamoto - it is for my side-business

Ken g6 - This can be a pre-built machine, not set on it either way. Just if it is pre-built, I would like to see quality work on assembly, and possibly support on the hardware for a year or so.

Adobe Premier Pro CS6
 
Last edited:

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
This. For a company you want a pre-built machine with support.

Also, is that Adobe CS4, CS5, or CS6? Could make a huge difference on GPU selection.

Agree. Dell and HP workstations both come with 3 years of parts and labor. Not this mail-in crap either, a dude shows up to your place of business next day with a part in hand.

I'm personally partial to the T3600. It's an extremely well put together machine, all the way down to the server-style hotswap PSU.

When ordering from Dell, make sure to call the business sales line! Spec out the PC with the salesperson and then tell them how much you want to pay. Chances are good that they'll hit that price point in order to make the sale.
 

BSLugnut

Junior Member
Sep 3, 2013
12
0
0
mfenn - Thanks for the suggestion!

What advantages do you see for a Workstation over a High-End PC?
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
The only workstation I would buy prebuilt would be the new Mac Pro later this year, but that is because I am actually an enthusiast and very out of place in General Hardware, where PCs are thought of as little more than glorified toasters.

EDIT: I need to apologize for this insulting comment, and if I can obtain Torn Mind's cooperation, I will delete it and subsequent off-topic material. I'm truly sorry for this, and don't wish anyone to take offence at my very inappropriate lashing out.
 
Last edited:

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
136
The only workstation I would buy prebuilt would be the new Mac Pro later this year, but that is because I am actually an enthusiast and very out of place in General Hardware, where PCs are thought of as little more than glorified toasters.
Define this "enthusiast" term for me. You saying folks in this forum aren't?
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
I see the logic in advocating prebuilts under certain circumstances, like providing for customers in a business environment. But for an individual that, per the thread title, seems to be expressing a desire to build a personal workstation, specifying a boring prebuilt, even if it is a nice solid machine, is advice that only serves to kill off the PC building hobby. It's not something that I think someone who is (sufficiently) enthusiastic about PCs (by my own admittedly biased personal standards) would do.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
136
Well, in this particular case, it is for a business and while building a computer does impart some knowledge and that sense of satisfaction, there are very significant costs with regards to time and money in this particular case. There are the monetary costs and there is the risk of having to be your own support, which for most people, stinks because researching and testing problems is a tedious task.

If the potential builder does indeed wants certain custom features and/or the learning experience that much, sure, he can build himself. There is no reason to not inform him about the alternatives and potential costs of all options though, since this is about optimizing the helped's experience.

Do note that it can be perceived as rather insulting to say you're an enthusiast, especially if some of the targeted readers have dedicated quite a bit of time doing their own personal research into these components. It is statement this is very well false in my personal case, as I've been on a component research binge ever since last August. Nor do I think of computers as glorified toasters. Rather, they are complex electrical devices that people are ignorant of and need to be informed with proper information.
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
The OP is someone wanting to build a machine for side-work, not an overly enthusiastic, green IT guy mistakenly thinking he can single-handedly provide his boss with mission-critical hardware. So the rationale for ignoring self-built and directly advocating prebuilt is just not very strong. A custom built machine can easily provide a more enriching experience in more ways than one, providing more pride in ownership and being easily tailored to the task at hand. Of course there are risks associated with building one's own, but the OP's mere presence on this forum, and the tone of the post indicate a cursory weight of these risks has been performed, and it could be construed as condescending to tacitly tell him he probably doesn't have what it takes to support his own PC, as has been done in this thread.

My earlier comment was more tongue in cheek than anything, but if you want to be insulted by it, don't let me stop you.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
136
The OP is someone wanting to build a machine for side-work, not an overly enthusiastic, green IT guy mistakenly thinking he can single-handedly provide his boss with mission-critical hardware
1. He didn't say side work. He said "side business". Work and business are not synonyms. Until the poster further details--if he does--what he means by that phrase, it is assumed he means side business in the typical sense. That is, he works a full-time job and uses some of the remaining time to run his own business. Or in others, take the words literally and don't change them. I am assuming his choice of words is not sloppy.

If his "side business" is in line with the typical sense of the phrase, I think it quite clear you are trivializing the scope of what he is doing. More on this later.

2. Well, I would like to meet the posters who thought that, because nothing in his two posts implied anything to the effect. Hence, they have no rational basis to think that. Care to give me their location? Also, I'm aware you could have been referring to me. But since I have given my analysis, I would have condemned myself adequately and accepted it were it actually true.

So the rationale for ignoring self-built and directly advocating prebuilt is just not very strong.
It is one thing to merely assess and advise, another to advocate; the latter implies sticking to the same "side" consistently a limited and biased scope of information that is typical in politics. An example of the former is "from these data, we conclude this is the best option". An example of the latter is "buy this" with little or biased backing.

The informationso far favors a pre-built in this particular case because it will provide him with the most benefit. Benefits include lowered risk of lost time, monetary savings, and the potential ability to dedicate those preserved resources to an actual self-built computer, thus negating the "losses" of doing the whole process of "building" a computer, from research all the way down to getting it set up and working. Or in other words, he can get all of the good without the bad. The subsequent paragraphs will provide support to these statements. However, should sufficient information come forward and show that he benefits more with building his own, then he should go build himself.

A custom built machine can easily provide a more enriching experience in more ways than one, providing more pride in ownership and being easily tailored to the task at hand.
I distinctly recall saying something to that effect in my post. I have no reason to feel guilt nor question my own objectivity. Why did you bother to repeat the same things I said, I don't know. Oh, perhaps you didn't know I said because your brain automatically assumed that by antagonizing you, I antagonize everything represent. I've grown beyond that childish level of thinking.
If the potential builder does indeed wants certain custom features and/or the learning experience that much, sure, he can build himself.
I said those things prior to you; note that.

Of course there are risks associated with building one's own, but the OP's mere presence on this forum, and the tone of the post indicate a cursory weight of these risks has been performed,
Cursory?

Time is very limited if he already works 40 hrs a week and has a wife and kids, or even just a wife. And no, it is just my speculation. In this article from moneycrashers, the article writer specifies what any interested party should expect to deal with so they can make their side business successful. If there are lessons to be learned from that advice. One, it takes time. Two, it can be stressful. Three, it isn't something that is just short term or something to take lightly.

What was this so-called cursory analysis has suddenly become rather detailed.

and it could be construed as condescending to tacitly tell him he probably doesn't have what it takes to support his own PC, as has been done in this thread.
Who attacked the person's abilities? Quote the exact sentence. Read it out loud. Look up the words in a dictionary. That person doesn't exist because it is not me. Disagree? You have the text to read sentence-by-sentence.

I did not say he was unable to do his own support; not one of my statements was in reference to his personal abilities. All of my statements were in reference to extrinsic(outside) variables (money, time) affecting the the person negatively.

there are very significant costs with regards to time and money in this particular case.
There are the monetary costs and there is the risk of having to be your own support, which for most people, stinks because researching and testing problems is a tedious task.
The subordinating conjunction makes it clear that being your own support stinks because you will be bored and annoyed(definition of the word tedious).

I said that it is a massive drain on time to support computer issues because I personally had to maintain and troubleshoot various items around the house. Troubleshooting is a time killer, but I don't mind troubleshooting and actually do have the time to kill; others do mind and/or simply don't have the time to do it. In this case, it is almost certain that the committing to troubleshooting would result in some tangible loss regardless of whether or not the OP likes to do and is capable of troubleshooting

And yes, if the guy negotiates a good price(~$2000) on a hexacore workstation, he comes out with $500 to burn on a dedicated computing box for building experience and pleasure.
 
Last edited:

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
You're clearly far more invested in this than I am. The OP is in good hands if you decide to participate here further.

My continued presence here could only be more unhelpful. Thanks for the semantics lesson, though, and I mean that sincerely.

Apologies to the OP for the digression. The Dell Precision series are fine machines, should you decide to go that way.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
136
You're clearly far more invested in this than I am. The OP is in good hands if you decide to participate here further.

My continued presence here could only be more unhelpful. Thanks for the semantics lesson, though, and I mean that sincerely.

Apologies to the OP for the digression. The Dell Precision series are fine machines, should you decide to go that way.
Is that another attack on my character? Investment? Before my discourse with you, the only thing I mentioned was to avoid the FX-9370.

I do not do well with the mischaracterization of people, yes, even if they are complete strangers, and since the folks you directed your so-called tounge-in-cheek comments to aren't exactly guys who are the hard-core prebuilt advocates you're imagining them to be.


Nothing wrong with wanting more builders. What is wrong is the means you took to justify it, with was laden with strawmans and veiled personal attacks that are borderline defamation, and based only on two threads.

Typically, this section has seen MUCH more custom builds completed than pre-builts suggested, and sometimes the help that was given extended for many pages, as in the case of Splenyi's build.
 
Last edited:

BSLugnut

Junior Member
Sep 3, 2013
12
0
0
Okay, let me provide some additional information to assist in clarifying a few things.

Not to take a defensive stance, but I have personally built all of mine and family computers in the past. Having said that, they were either for word processing and or high-end gaming systems. And I had the time to stay up to date with what was the latest-n-greatest devices.

Now this machine is for video editing, which is not the same type of hardware used for gaming and word processing. Hence the reason for this post, not sure what is the current best gear is available and has been tested by gurus like the members of this forum! :)

First, when I stated "Building" that could me building it as I purchase the parts, could be a Velocity Micro, HP, Dell or a local shop builder. As mentioned there is always a cost associated with projects.

I have a online outdoor business and a social media business. The social media business has a set portion of this where we create online video content, content for DVDs and local viewership.

So any and all recommendations on hardware, companies (hp, Velocity and the like) or smaller companies will be welcomed.
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
Okay, let me provide some additional information to assist in clarifying a few things.

Not to take a defensive stance, but I have personally built all of mine and family computers in the past. Having said that, they were either for word processing and or high-end gaming systems. And I had the time to stay up to date with what was the latest-n-greatest devices.

Now this machine is for video editing, which is not the same type of hardware used for gaming and word processing. Hence the reason for this post, not sure what is the current best gear is available and has been tested by gurus like the members of this forum! :)

First, when I stated "Building" that could me building it as I purchase the parts, could be a Velocity Micro, HP, Dell or a local shop builder. As mentioned there is always a cost associated with projects.

I have a online outdoor business and a social media business. The social media business has a set portion of this where we create online video content, content for DVDs and local viewership.

So any and all recommendations on hardware, companies (hp, Velocity and the like) or smaller companies will be welcomed.

Hi BSLugnut,

The big question is whether or not you are willing to bear the cost in parts, labor and downtime that a problem with a new self-built PC would entail. The prebuilts in the price range you are considering often come with a pretty good service plan as standard or at a nominal fee. Once this is out of the way, more recommendations will certainly be forthcoming.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
The OP is someone wanting to build a machine for side-work, not an overly enthusiastic, green IT guy mistakenly thinking he can single-handedly provide his boss with mission-critical hardware.

I find this comment particularly hilarious because it is usually the other way around. It's usually the green IT guy who has built a few machines and then thinks that he can be a hero by saving a few bucks on self-built machines. And then the whole thing becomes a massive boondoggle because it didn't work out like he planed. It's the grognards who insist on Tier 1 OEM machines.
 
Last edited:

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Okay, let me provide some additional information to assist in clarifying a few things.

Not to take a defensive stance, but I have personally built all of mine and family computers in the past. Having said that, they were either for word processing and or high-end gaming systems. And I had the time to stay up to date with what was the latest-n-greatest devices.

Now this machine is for video editing, which is not the same type of hardware used for gaming and word processing. Hence the reason for this post, not sure what is the current best gear is available and has been tested by gurus like the members of this forum! :)

First, when I stated "Building" that could me building it as I purchase the parts, could be a Velocity Micro, HP, Dell or a local shop builder. As mentioned there is always a cost associated with projects.

I have a online outdoor business and a social media business. The social media business has a set portion of this where we create online video content, content for DVDs and local viewership.

So any and all recommendations on hardware, companies (hp, Velocity and the like) or smaller companies will be welcomed.

I think the real question is: can you afford to be down for a week or so while you troubleshoot and wait for the typical component vendor RMA? If so, then the machine is not "mission critical" (whatever that means to you) and you can afford to save a few bucks by going with a custom built machine. If not, then you need something with a good support contract.
 

BSLugnut

Junior Member
Sep 3, 2013
12
0
0
crashtech - Personally, for me it does not matter if I build this or someone else builds it. I am looking to identify hardware that performs as it is stated and for the use that I need. Cost is cost and parts are parts, as I and Torn Mind mentioned.

I am more than capable of troubleshooting computer issues, so the only support I need is the warranty! :)

I am willing to sacrifice "support" cost for upgrades in improved hardware, if it is warranted.

What is your suggestion on the parts in question? Those same parts will need to be installed by myself or a computer builder, so the parts would remain the same.

mfenn - you're judging without knowing what my background is... The only reason I would be down a week, assuming I wasn't on travel.. would be the part needed to be replaced was on back-order.

Skott - Thanks for the input, I am looking at 16 or 32GB Ram, dependent upon budget as I can always upgrade from 16GB to 32GB later, as long as the mobo supports 32GB.

Moving on...

I am merely looking for recommendations on core components for my new video editing computer. It doesn't matter if it built by a mass production company, a guru from this forum or myself. The component would be the same. Let me decide if I need "customer support". Which I have not used in the last 14 years in the IT business.

Some parts in question and or considered:

CPU: AMD FX-9370 / Intel Core i7-3930K or another suggestion

Motherboard (supporting 32GB RAM):

Case (looking for cool (temp) and quiet case): NZXT Phantom 530 / Corsair Carbide Series 300R / BitFenix Shinobi / Corsair Carbide Series 330R / Nanoxia NXDS1W or another suggestion

GPU:

Self contained liquid cooled solution: Corsair H100 or another suggestion

Looking forward to receiving the recommendations!
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,695
2,293
146
@BSLugnut, how much storage space do you require for your output files?

Edit: Also, how important is the gaming aspect of the build? Adobe only supports Quadros with CS6, afaik.
 
Last edited:

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($298.83 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($78.54 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($149.24 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1602.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 10:53 EDT-0400)

You can always switch out the 770 for a Titan.

I would probably switch the i7 to a Xeon. I don't think you need to go x79, to be honest.

I feel this set up would be pretty good for you.
 
Last edited: