Input on New Video Editing Rig

[reicherb]

I'm going to be building my first PC in 5 or 6 years. I will not be gaming but will do quote a bit of video editing. Here is what I'm thinking:


case
LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$99.99

power supply
COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-650-ACAA-A1 650W ATX Form Factor 12V V2.3 / SSI Standard EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$109.99

motherboard
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$188.99

cpu
AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
$195.00

cpu fan
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$19.99

memory
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$84.00

video
SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$79.99

tv tuner
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 MCE Kit 1128 PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail
$99.99

sound
Integrated 8 Channels

lan
Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps

raid controller
Integrated SATA RAID 0/1/5/10

OS hard drive
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$119.99

storage hard drives
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
3 @ $119.99 = $359.97

dvd-rom
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
$24.99 - only a couple bucks more than a DVD-ROM

dvd-rw
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
$24.99

keyboard and mouse
reuse old ones

speakers
reuse old ones

os
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
$179.99

media reader
nMEDIAPC ZE-C128 Black Aluminum Panel 5.25"All-in-one USB x 3 / IEEE 1394 / eSATA / HD (or AC97) Audio Internal Card Reader - Retail
$24.99

thermal compound
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

Newegg Shipping
$47.72

Total $1,666.57


Wish List:
LITE-ON Black 4X BD-R 2X BD-RE 12X DVD+R 4X Blu-ray DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner 4X Blu-ray Burner Model DH-4B1S-08 - Retail
229.99

ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 12000 : 1) Built in Speakers - Retail
$199.99


What do you think? RAM, video and hard drive are the areas I'm most uncertain about. Do I need 1066 RAM? Do I need a beefier video card? Is there a better hard drive option?

Thanks.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Unless you're planning to overclock the hell out of your PhII, no you don't need 1066, get a $40 set of 4gb instead.

There are more cost effective PSUs you could get, $110 for a 650w with no rebate seems awfully steep to me, this 500w PCP&C should be more than sufficient for your system (unless 1tb Caviar Blacks draw way more power than I think). Or if you want a lot of power in case you feel like upgrading your rig for gaming+more drives, then this 750w PCP&C should do very well.

And instead of your choice of motherboard/video card I'd suggest you just get this PhII/790Gx combo and save yourself a nice wad of cash, RAID doesn't offer that much performance and most don't consider it worth the risk of pre-mature drive failure.

 

[gsellis]

You need to specify the video editing suite you are using. Otherwise, conjecture on video card, memory, and CPU are almost useless.

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
Unless you're planning to overclock the hell out of your PhII, no you don't need 1066, get a $40 set of 4gb instead.

I do plan to overclock the PC.

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
There are more cost effective PSUs you could get, $110 for a 650w with no rebate seems awfully steep to me, this 500w PCP&C should be more than sufficient for your system (unless 1tb Caviar Blacks draw way more power than I think). Or if you want a lot of power in case you feel like upgrading your rig for gaming+more drives, then this 750w PCP&C should do very well.

I want to keep the PC as quiet as possible. I don't see any info about noice level on that PSU.

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
And instead of your choice of motherboard/video card I'd suggest you just get this PhII/790Gx combo and save yourself a nice wad of cash, RAID doesn't offer that much performance and most don't consider it worth the risk of pre-mature drive failure.

I'm not a fan of Biostar. A personal preference I guess.
I plan to use RAID5 which does offer less risk of data loss with drive failures.

Originally posted by: gsellis
You need to specify the video editing suite you are using. Otherwise, conjecture on video card, memory, and CPU are almost useless.

I plan to use Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate for now and perhaps Adobe Premier down the road.



Thanks for all of the input.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Have you done research on the fsb/multi combo the PhII works off of? And there are other combos that can save you a bit of money, typically RAID 5 is avoided since you just waste storage space with not that much added security over running the drives in a non-RAID configuration.

Those are called the Silencer series for a reason, made to be quite quiet.

Nothing wrong with personal preference I suppose, there are other combos you can look into though to save a bit of cash, and if it has a 780/790 igp, all the better.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: reicherb

Originally posted by: gsellis
You need to specify the video editing suite you are using. Otherwise, conjecture on video card, memory, and CPU are almost useless.

I plan to use Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate for now and perhaps Adobe Premier down the road.


Thanks for all of the input.

Then you are set on memory and CPU. The fun is with your video card. Studio 12 loves ATI - there *was* an issue with DX10 cards a year ago, but the newest updates should cover it. The ATI card will hustle through all sorts of stuff, especially with HDV and GPU effects. Check the Pinnacle support forums before you pick the version of ATI drivers to download. There are occasional instances where newer drivers do not work.

Switching over to CS4, Adobe likes nVidia and OpenGL. I have not used Premiere since V5, so not much up on it. I do know that there are some interesting things with CUDA that are going. I put a post over in the Camera/Video section about it.

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
Have you done research on the fsb/multi combo the PhII works off of?

I have not and honestly don't know how.

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
typically RAID 5 is avoided since you just waste storage space with not that much added security over running the drives in a non-RAID configuration.

Another personal preference thing I guess. I'm a network admin and have seen plently of bad drives.

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
Those are called the Silencer series for a reason, made to be quite quiet.

I missed that in the name. I'll take a godo look at it.

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
Nothing wrong with personal preference I suppose, there are other combos you can look into though to save a bit of cash, and if it has a 780/790 igp, all the better.

780 would be the southbridge? Is that better than 750?

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: gsellis
Then you are set on memory and CPU. The fun is with your video card. Studio 12 loves ATI - there *was* an issue with DX10 cards a year ago, but the newest updates should cover it. The ATI card will hustle through all sorts of stuff, especially with HDV and GPU effects. Check the Pinnacle support forums before you pick the version of ATI drivers to download. There are occasional instances where newer drivers do not work.

Geat! I'll stick with Pinacle for now.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: reicherb
780 would be the southbridge? Is that better than 750?

I was referring to the integrated graphics (which is fine for everything but heavy graphic gaming), not the nForce chipset numbering system.

 

[reicherb]

Any thoughts from the evening crowd?

Thanks.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Asus M3A78-T / Phenom II 940: $338

You may want to consider Vegas over Pinnacle. I understand your desire for RAID5 but in video editing I'm not sure it's worth it except for redundancy for your data/storage .

That said I'll use Premiere as my example.

Your OS/Apps drive is wayyyy too big - Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB: $160 AR. We'll call this HD #1

Store nothing on your OS/Apps drive except your program main project file (and you could back them up to a storage/ backup drive). Project files just ain't that big.

2 scratch drives is a sweet spot to start. Use HD#2 as your capture drive. Once you have processed your raw footage and published your final output back it up to HD#4 and delete your raw footage from the capture drive. In a simple setup you may render your preview files to HD#3 and output your final product to HD#4. So ...

HD#1: OS/Apps
HD#2: Capture
HD#3: Render/Preview
HD#4: Storage/Data

If you want to mirror or RAID5 do it with HD#4 (use your 1Tb drives here) for critical backup/redundancy. As far as HD#2 & #3 a couple of 320GB drives will be fine. You've backed up your raw footage and your preview files are junk after you publish. Unless you are really lazy with drive maintenance this works great.

Premiere will utilize up to 5 scratch drives. You may segregate audio and video across 2 drives for faster rendering.

450-500w will be more than adequate for your power supply. Figure 10w per hard drive (max is probably 8-9w). I've had no problems with my Radeon HD2900pro in Pinnacle, Vegas or Premiere. At this point Premiere CS4/CUDA is limited to Quadro workstation cards in a handful of effects and graphic overlays - just ain't worth it at this point unless that is all you do.

 

[Blain]

If you're building a video editing machine, you should base the system off the Core i7 CPU/MB/DDR3.
Core i7's really shine in video editing! :thumbsup::laugh:

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Asus M3A78-T / Phenom II 940: $338

You may want to consider Vegas over Pinnacle. I understand your desire for RAID5 but in video editing I'm not sure it's worth it except for redundancy for your data/storage .

That said I'll use Premiere as my example.

Your OS/Apps drive is wayyyy too big - Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB: $160 AR. We'll call this HD #1

Store nothing on your OS/Apps drive except your program main project file (and you could back them up to a storage/ backup drive). Project files just ain't that big.

2 scratch drives is a sweet spot to start. Use HD#2 as your capture drive. Once you have processed your raw footage and published your final output back it up to HD#4 and delete your raw footage from the capture drive. In a simple setup you may render your preview files to HD#3 and output your final product to HD#4. So ...

HD#1: OS/Apps
HD#2: Capture
HD#3: Render/Preview
HD#4: Storage/Data

If you want to mirror or RAID5 do it with HD#4 (use your 1Tb drives here) for critical backup/redundancy. As far as HD#2 & #3 a couple of 320GB drives will be fine. You've backed up your raw footage and your preview files are junk after you publish. Unless you are really lazy with drive maintenance this works great.

Premiere will utilize up to 5 scratch drives. You may segregate audio and video across 2 drives for faster rendering.

450-500w will be more than adequate for your power supply. Figure 10w per hard drive (max is probably 8-9w). I've had no problems with my Radeon HD2900pro in Pinnacle, Vegas or Premiere. At this point Premiere CS4/CUDA is limited to Quadro workstation cards in a handful of effects and graphic overlays - just ain't worth it at this point unless that is all you do.

I agree that the OS app drive to bigger than it needs to be but will that hurt? I thought having identical drives might be valuable. I like the idea of the drive setup you suggested and will probably abandon the RAID setup and just backup to another location regualrly.

Thanks.

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: Blain

If you're building a video editing machine, you should base the system off the Core i7 CPU/MB/DDR3.
Core i7's really shine in video editing! :thumbsup::laugh:

Sorry, I'm loyal (maybe to a fault) to AMD.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: reicherb

Originally posted by: Blain

If you're building a video editing machine, you should base the system off the Core i7 CPU/MB/DDR3.
Core i7's really shine in video editing! :thumbsup::laugh:

Sorry, I'm loyal (maybe to a fault) to AMD.

As am I. I just built an HTPC, used a low power Athlon X2, a snappy office workstation, used a Phenom X3 I got for $75, etc. But Phenom (1) sucked ass, and when I built my Premiere DESTROYER I went with a Xeon X3360 (C2Q Q9550) because it fit the bill.

If you're set on the Phenom, I'm going to also suggest going with the PC Power and Cooling power supplies as well. They're quiet, believe me, they're called "Silencer"s for a reason

The RAM is ridiculous, even if you're overclocking. I bought some DDR2800 Crucial (4-4-4-12) for like $35 when I built my computer, and wasn't expecting to overclock it. I did, and it runs just happy at 850 MHz, stock timings, undervolted. That $77 Corsair RAM isn't ANY faster than this $37.99 Corsair RAM : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145215 . You're paying $40 for a silly fan. Here's the same stuff without the fan, but with the nice heatsink : http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145214

Holy crap, can't believe I didn't notice this! Ditch the silly AC Freezer, get this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...35233003&Tpk=HDT-S1283

Also seconding a VelociRaptor for OS drive.

Also going to suggest the PCP&C power supplies, again. PCP&C >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CoolerMaster, for sure. Or a Corsair, or an Enermax, or anything. Not Coolermaster.

 

[swbsam]

Get a mac.. Seriously. I was a pc editor for years and my career prospects increased dramatically after I took a FCP editing workshop and switched platforms. A imac on clearance will work fine. Actually, a mac mini would work for most tasks

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: swbsam
Get a mac.. Seriously. I was a pc editor for years and my career prospects increased dramatically after I took a FCP editing workshop and switched platforms. A imac on clearance will work fine. Actually, a mac mini would work for most tasks

 

[reicherb]

Here is an updated system with some ofthe suggestions. I'm still willing to make adjustments.

case
LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$99.99

power supply
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$69.99
$20 rebate

motherboard
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$188.99
The only thing stopping me from going with the Asus M3A78-T / Phenom II 940 is the lack of a firewire port and 1 less SATA port

cpu
AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
$195.00

cpu fan
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$19.99
I'm willing to change this but the reviews are pretty good and the noise level is low.

memory
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$77.99
$40 rebate

video
SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$79.99

tv tuner
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 MCE Kit 1128 PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail
$99.99

sound
Integrated 8 Channels

lan
Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps

raid controller
Integrated SATA RAID 0/1/5/10

OS hard drive
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$119.99
I could change this to a smaller drive but why? The cost per GB isn't any better.

storage hard drives
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
3 @ $119.99 = $359.97

dvd-rom
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model GH22LP20 - OEM
$23.99 - only a couple bucks more than a DVD-ROM
changed to IDE to free up SATA ports for HDs.

dvd-rw
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model GH22LP20 - OEM
$23.99
changed to IDE to free up SATA ports for HDs.

keyboard and mouse
reuse old ones

speakers
reuse old ones

os
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
$179.99

media reader
nMEDIAPC ZE-C128 Black Aluminum Panel 5.25"All-in-one USB x 3 / IEEE 1394 / eSATA / HD (or AC97) Audio Internal Card Reader - Retail
$24.99

thermal compound
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

Newegg Shipping
$47.72

Total $1,618.56

 

[reicherb]

Actually the M3A78-T does have a firewire port. Will I notice much difference between the Radeon HD 3300 and the Radeon HD 4670?

Thanks.

 

[reicherb]

I guess the big question left is what to do about the hard drives. I'm going to use the drives as suggested above (outlines above).

HD#1: OS/Apps
HD#2: Capture
HD#3: Render/Preview
HD#4: Storage/Data

Why wouldn't I just use the 1TB drives for everything? This would give me additional storage space down the road if storage assigned drives start to get full. Are the smaller drives faster?

 

[reicherb]

Here is what I beleive is my final revision. Please share your thought before I order tomorrow.

Thanks.



case
LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$99.99

power supply
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$69.99
$20 rebate

motherboard
ASUS M3A78-T AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$337.99

cpu
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail
combo

cpu fan
stock retail cooler

memory
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$77.99
$40 rebate

video
Integrated ATI Radeon HD 3300

tv tuner
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 MCE Kit 1128 PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail
$99.99

sound
Integrated 8 Channels

lan
Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps

raid controller
Integrated SATA RAID 0/1/5/10

OS hard drive
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM
$179.99
$20 rebate

scratch hard drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54.99

storage hard drives
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM
2 @ $129.99 = $259.98

dvd-rom
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model GH22LP20 - OEM
$23.99 - only a couple bucks more than a DVD-ROM
changed to IDE to free up SATA ports for HDs.

dvd-rw
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model GH22LP20 - OEM
$23.99
changed to IDE to free up SATA ports for HDs.

keyboard and mouse
reuse old ones

speakers
reuse old ones

os
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
$179.99

media reader
nMEDIAPC ZE-C128 Black Aluminum Panel 5.25"All-in-one USB x 3 / IEEE 1394 / eSATA / HD (or AC97) Audio Internal Card Reader - Retail
$24.99

thermal compound
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
$5.99

Newegg Shipping
$47.72

Total $1,487.59

 

[mrSHEiK124]

I would avoid Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 drives at all costs, firmware bugs that turn your drives into door stops. Go with the WD Caviar Black drives.

Everything else looks good. Try and see if you can do the Microsoft "Ultimate Steal" deal either as a student or through a college student friend, Vista Ultimate is only like $70 that way.

 

[reicherb]

Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
I would avoid Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 drives at all costs, firmware bugs that turn your drives into door stops. Go with the WD Caviar Black drives.

Everything else looks good. Try and see if you can do the Microsoft "Ultimate Steal" deal either as a student or through a college student friend, Vista Ultimate is only like $70 that way.

Toms Hardware seems to like the 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11. The 1TB WD Caviar Black drive also costs more and is OOS at newegg. Do others agree with mrSHEiK124? If so I can find it elsewhere.

 

[reicherb]

nm

 

[reicherb]

one bump before I order. Any other input?

Thanks.