Need to build Video Editing Computer

[Belial88]

Hi, building a video editing computer for a family member. He makes a lot of movies using Wondershare and home movies, family stuff. He doesn't play any games, other than Wondershare/Video editing, it's just general usage. I think he's gotten by on like a dualcore notebook for the last 5 years so anything would be fine. I've built a handful of computers, I do lots of overclocking, modding, companies have even sent me stuff to review. So I know about computers, just not video editing.

- Doesn't video editing need more RAM? I've never used more than 4GB of RAM for gaming/general usage (because all games are 32-bit so no reason to have more than 2x2gb for a gaming build...). I'm aware RAM is cheap, but if you don't need more than 4gb that's $20 I can pocket, or $20 higher end RAM.

- What about CPU? Is threading important, ie i7 vs i5? Would an FX chip outperform an i5/i7 for similar cost, ie 8350 vs i5? What about Phenom x4, would that work well? I could save a lot of money if I just went with a Phenom build, I know they are very good at h264 codec. Nothing beats an OC Phenom x4 + Hyper 212, cheaper than an i3 but performs just the same. But a 4.5ghz i5 would be a huge boost in performance, just wondering if it's necessary.

- Is GPU used at all? Or would the integrated graphics on the i5 be enough for video editing, ie basically video editing doesnt use gpu?

- What about storage? I'm going with a ~120gb SSD as entire storage (he uses external hard drives for file storage usually). I've never used more than 50gb of storage in the last 2 years on my gaming computer, but doesn't video editing read/write a bunch or use a ton of space or something? I mean my dad's computer only shows 80gb of 280gb used...

Thanks. I've built multiple AMD and Intel builds but just not too sure on how the needs of a video editing computer differ from a gaming computer. My dad doesn't make pro movies or anything, he just makes goofy youtube videos and takes home movies from dvds (costco takes vhs into dvd) and edits little 20 minute movies with music and some affects, it doesn't need a ton of power. I just need to know where to put the money, ie more into cpu than gpu, etc, kind of thing.

 

[Blain]

Video editing is taxing on just about everything but the graphics card.
You want lots of fast cores & threads, good quality SSD, plenty-O-Ram.
With your OS and apps loaded on the SSD, you can use a spinning platter HD for storage of finished projects.

Fast i7 or i5 wins.

 

[snoylekim]

^^ That .. You can fill out the sticky and add a budget and you'll get some more detailed responses that will save you $$ ..Off the cuff, I'd go with an I7-3770 ( not K version ..no need to over clock), 8 G of Memory ( Doesn't sound like he needs 16..regardless of how cheap Mem is) , a good SSD for the OS, Apps, etc ( Intel 330 is my personal pref) , and a spinning platter or two ( 7200 RPM ..I like WD Black) ..They'd probably recommend a H77 based motherboard ( again , no OC) .. You won't need a separate graphics card (now) ..and the processor will have Intel QuickSync which some Video software leverages for encoding ..Some software is also starting to leverage OpenGL on a graphics card, if available, but that's in infancy in the consumer/hobby video space..
What he'll get with the above is much faster rendering and conversion..plus anything else he runs should run well ..I'm not sure which I5 has 4 cores and a non-overclock version, but the IB ones would also be fine .. Look for 4 cores, HD4000 integrated graphics and Quicksync capabilities ..

 

[Blain]

For whatever reason the i7-3770K (3.5GHz), is 100MHz faster than the straight i7-3770 (3.4GHz).
With Newegg's $20 off code, the 3770K is only $9 more.
The i7-3770S is rated at 10W less than the other two but only 3.1GHz, and just $5 more than the straight 3770.

 

[snoylekim]

Good point .. the 3770K seems to go on sale a lot at Newegg and Microcenter ( versus the 3770 nK).. If the OP is in the US .. Someone in another thread has also suggested the Xeon verion of the 3770( E3-12** V3) , because it's usually about 240.00 for essentially the same processor .. I'd stick with the 377* or Xeon equivalent because of 4 cores and 8 threads, which video rendering and transcoding sdoftware will generally use .. Didn't hear a need for leaping into the 39** universe
If the sticky shows up, I'm sure we'll see the part-specific recommendation..

 

[Belial88]

Video editing is taxing on just about everything but the graphics card.
You want lots of fast cores & threads, good quality SSD, plenty-O-Ram.
With your OS and apps loaded on the SSD, you can use a spinning platter HD for storage of finished projects.

Fast i7 or i5 wins.

yes, but my main question is would video editing, especially wondershare/basic home movie editing, appreciate this stuff more than a general gaming build?

If cores was important, I'd just go for an OC Phenom x4 c3 over i5 (1/3rd the cpu+mobo cost, but more than 1/2 the performance, and still more than strong enough im sure).

If threads/integer points was important, I'd go FX 8xxx.

If raw power or cache was important, then I'd go i5. See where I'm going with this? Gaming, for example, doesnt care about integer points, just FPU, so you just want raw power per core, single thread strength, and a little bit of cache, so that's why i5/intel is king in gaming.

An SSD also does a lot to speed up a general build. But is an ssd especially important in video editing? Because if it is, then I'll subtract $50 from the CPU, for example, and put that money instead towards a much better SSD. Is it about space? Or is it about performance? If it's space, I'd go for an x25-m 160gb, if it's performance I'd go with a samsung 830.

And what exactly in the ssd is important? The overwhelming majority of usage by the SSD is 4k random write, and then read. Is this still true for video editing? Because if it is, I'd just go for the cheapest SSD per GB, but if it's about the less than 1% used sequential writes, then I'd go for some SATA3 ssd like maybe an OCZ.

Then you say ram is important. Well, what is enough? Don't tell me "Ram is cheap, just buy X". Tell me how much would be used for home movie editing/wondershare. Ram might be cheap, but I'm not going to spend an extra $20 to go from 4gb of low quality ram to 8gb of low quality ram, I'd rather spend that extra $20 on higher quality 4gb of ram, or be halfway towards getting an i7 instead of i5, or a used 4850 GPU instead of an iGPU.

My dad plans to use external storage for the most part, and like I said, he hasn't even used up more than 100gb in all the video editing he's done in half a decade, so I'm pretty sure a 120+gb SSD for cheap, under $100 after some rebate/discount/used/ebay would suffice.

 

[Belial88]

^^ That .. You can fill out the sticky and add a budget and you'll get some more detailed responses that will save you $$ ..Off the cuff, I'd go with an I7-3770 ( not K version ..no need to over clock), 8 G of Memory ( Doesn't sound like he needs 16..regardless of how cheap Mem is) , a good SSD for the OS, Apps, etc ( Intel 330 is my personal pref) , and a spinning platter or two ( 7200 RPM ..I like WD Black) ..They'd probably recommend a H77 based motherboard ( again , no OC) .. You won't need a separate graphics card (now) ..and the processor will have Intel QuickSync which some Video software leverages for encoding ..Some software is also starting to leverage OpenGL on a graphics card, if available, but that's in infancy in the consumer/hobby video space..
What he'll get with the above is much faster rendering and conversion..plus anything else he runs should run well ..I'm not sure which I5 has 4 cores and a non-overclock version, but the IB ones would also be fine .. Look for 4 cores, HD4000 integrated graphics and Quicksync capabilities ..

I would never buy a non-K edition intel. There's too much value to be lost, an i5 2500k upped to a very conservative 4.5ghz would overpower a stock ivy bridge i7, in most applications (i dont know about video editing though, hence, the thread).

Why would he need 8gb of ram? 4gb is more than enough for all gaming and general usage needs, can you be specific about if or why video editing would need more than 4gb?

You say a good SSD, but unless sequential writes is especially important, there isn't going to be any noticeable performance increase from any, simple, trim-enabled, SATA2 x25-m/830/m4/hyperK/force from a SATA3 high end SSD. I'll get an SSD, and seeing as my dad has only used less than 100gb and will be using lots of external hard drives for his storage, I'll likely going with the cheapest 120gb+ ssd (barring 'bad' SSDs like patriot, first gens, no-name brands, of course).

I mean a 120gb+ x25-m g2, 330, m4, hyperx, 830, can be had for under $100, which are all very reliable and good quality, and aren't going to be noticeably worse than some sata3 high end SSD. Unless video editing uses sequential writes or something...

I'm in the US, and I'm 2 hours from Microcenter. Please don't worry about prices, don't worry about budget, these kinds of things just confuse the discussion.

If I need an i7, if it's seriously worth it, I'll get it. But we're talking about someone who's made do with some notebook pentium for years, a Phenom x4 or i3 would be more than enough power here. Just to give an overview, this is what my considerations are right now:

- NZXT Guardian RB (my dad likes the look, I've had a very positive experience using multiple NZXT cases over other brands, good price at $69 shipped).\

- i5 + some $60 biostar board (for the sub $100 price range, biostar is king imo. asrock has terrible VRM quality, I really can't imagine any board being worse than asrock boards in terms of VRM considering they use a 4+1 phase with a high amount of ripple and noise on their Extreme4 with d-pak mosfets - i know their extreme6 is a good board, but that's why overbudget for this build - I'd rather go with Biostar, they have half decent VRM quality in experience, and for the price point, and certainly as good or better than any Asrock under the Extreme4). I'll figure out which i5 and such on my own, dont worry, the question is mainly Phenom x4/i5/i7, not which phenom/i5/i7.

- 2x2gb RAM. I'd buy some from the overclock.net marketplace or ebay, I can find some BBSE/PSC IC RAM for under $30 easily, ie Mushkin 2000mhz CL7 1.65v, Avexir 2000mhz CL6 1.5v, etc.

- Intel X25-M G2 160gb, Samsung 830 120gb, 120gb HyperX, Crucial m4, under $90 on ebay or on some sale, for entire system storage.

- No GPU (use integrated graphics, if i go amd then i'd probably get a 4850/3870/9800gtx 512mb for under $25 used).

- Cheapest 12v@20a+ at under $30 from a quality brand, I'm not confused on this (lots of good Corsair CX's for under this price, I got my CX500 for $29). I know quite a bit about PSUs, having modded a few.

- some sub$20 heatsink, probably a used/discounted H50, maybe a hyper 212+, more worried about price than value here, just need some cheap heatsink. I've reviewed a handful of heatsinks with company support, I know my way around heatsinks.

70 + 190 + 60 + 25 + 90 + 30 + 20 = $485, $535 for i7 build. That's a good amount to spend. What I would to know is, like, if it'd be better to go with an i5 build and 8gb of ram instead of i7 with 4gb, or a phenom x4 with gpu, 8gb of ram, and a better ssd, etc. I'd do a minor overclock (4ghz on phenom x4, 4.5ghz on sandy/ivy) due to time constraints, extend life (the computer may very well last a decade).

 

[snoylekim]

Ok ..sounds like with what he's currently using and his video editing usage, he will notice an improvement with just about anything you put together .
Memory question first ... I run Win 7 Pro 64 bit, and my Video and Photo Software is also 64 bit ( Adobe Lightroom , Sony Movie Studio, HandBrake, etc) .. with very little else open on the system , I will use between 5-7 Gig of Memory during editing and transcoding simple video ( no effects, minimal titling) ..the apps will leverage the available memory for gosh-knows-what ( I/O Buffering, etc) .. IMHO , for 64 bit, 4 gig is the starting point, 8 gig is preferable .. If you'll be running 32 bit video software and/ or OS, 4 Gig would probably work ..
From a processor side ..an I5 should be more than adequate for your needs .. Most video software will leverage the additional threads the I7 provides ( 4/4 versus 4/8) , but you're already leaping ahead of the pentium being used now .
830 or Intel X-25 are great SSD choices .. I also run an 830 and and Intel 310 MSata , which I think uses the same Intel controller ..never any issues ..but the other choices you have would work as well ..

 

[Belial88]

Ok ..sounds like with what he's currently using and his video editing usage, he will notice an improvement with just about anything you put together .
Memory question first ... I run Win 7 Pro 64 bit, and my Video and Photo Software is also 64 bit ( Adobe Lightroom , Sony Movie Studio, HandBrake, etc) .. with very little else open on the system , I will use between 5-7 Gig of Memory during editing and transcoding simple video ( no effects, minimal titling) ..the apps will leverage the available memory for gosh-knows-what ( I/O Buffering, etc) .. IMHO , for 64 bit, 4 gig is the starting point, 8 gig is preferable .. If you'll be running 32 bit video software and/ or OS, 4 Gig would probably work ..
From a processor side ..an I5 should be more than adequate for your needs .. Most video software will leverage the additional threads the I7 provides ( 4/4 versus 4/8) , but you're already leaping ahead of the pentium being used now .
830 or Intel X-25 are great SSD choices .. I also run an 830 and and Intel 310 MSata , which I think uses the same Intel controller ..never any issues ..but the other choices you have would work as well ..

Thanks so much for your clear, to the point, post, with actual experience to back it up. 2x4gb it is. Since games today are all written for 32bit OS compatbility still, you don't really see a need for more than 4gb. Games should be coming out this year like BF4 that will be 64bit exclusively but they won't be using more than 4gb system.

yea ill go with i5, that should be more than enough power then. i mean ill consider i7 (i think at mc 3570k is $189 but i7 is 209 still... or maybe it got bumped up, whatever). I'm just not confused anymore if i7 was a big deal o rnot, so thanks.

yea I believe the 310 is just an msata 330, which is basically a gen 3 x25-m. same controller, nearly same specs (slightly better in some areas, slightly slower in others, i think overall a slightly better ssd but not worth paying more than $5 over for).

I'll be able to figure everything out. Thanks a lot. I'll also just not buy a GPU and stick to IGPU.

 

[mfenn]

I'm in the US, and I'm 2 hours from Microcenter. Please don't worry about prices, don't worry about budget, these kinds of things just confuse the discussion.

This is completely wrong in my opinion. Budget IS the discussion. A component that is a needless extravagance on a $500 budget may be essential on a $2000 budget. There is such a range of possibilities for a custom video-editing PC that we don't even know where to get started if you don't at least give a ballpark budget.

Now, to get on with the rest:

I would never buy a non-K edition intel. There's too much value to be lost, an i5 2500k upped to a very conservative 4.5ghz would overpower a stock ivy bridge i7, in most applications (i dont know about video editing though, hence, the thread).

- i5 + some $60 biostar board (for the sub $100 price range, biostar is king imo. asrock has terrible VRM quality, I really can't imagine any board being worse than asrock boards in terms of VRM considering they use a 4+1 phase with a high amount of ripple and noise on their Extreme4 with d-pak mosfets

- 2x2gb RAM. I'd buy some from the overclock.net marketplace or ebay, I can find some BBSE/PSC IC RAM for under $30 easily, ie Mushkin 2000mhz CL7 1.65v, Avexir 2000mhz CL6 1.5v, etc.

I'd do a minor overclock (4ghz on phenom x4, 4.5ghz on sandy/ivy) due to time constraints, extend life (the computer may very well last a decade).

My dad plans to use external storage for the most part, and like I said, he hasn't even used up more than 100gb in all the video editing he's done in half a decade,

These are all examples of thinking like you're building gaming/overclocking machine which don't really apply for a video editing machine.

- Overclocking isn't a good idea unless you can guarantee 100% stability and low heat+noise at 100% load for extended periods of time. And I don't mean the typical overclocker definition of 100% stability.

- Since you're going to be running the machine at stock, you can get a Xeon E3 to get hyperthreading on the cheap. Also, the power delivery on the motherboard doesn't really matter because Intel CPUs draw such little power at stock.

- Quantity of RAM matters a lot more than the clock speed or what exact ASICs they have. Given the choice between X GB of DDR3 2000 and 2*X GB of DDR3 1333, you take the DDR3 1333 every time.

- External storage is suitable only for archival purposes. Editing requires fast internal disk (be it SSD or HDD RAID) for the working set because it needs to decompress your clips, apply effects, and recompress them into an intermediate format. The actual final encoding step only really cares about clock speed and floating point IPC though.

 

[Sleepingforest]

You should never tell enthusiasts of any kind that your budget is unlimited... observe the power of diminishing returns:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($1044.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme11 EATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($595.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($699.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($493.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($493.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($493.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($493.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian-Li PC-V750B (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($318.74 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 760W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($164.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($55.98 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Full (32/64-bit) ($258.95 @ Adorama)
Total: $6405.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 21:24 EST-0500)

We aren't counting a 7.1 surround system (6 speakers, subwoofer, DAC, amplifiers, surround processor, sound card, etc) and 4x7970 6GB cards and the 1300W PSU that we'll need to power them in that will be used to power a 6 monitor array... that's easily another $2300 before the speakers, which can easily go for $1,000,000+ (Wilson Alexandria XLFs are $200,000 per pair so $600,000 total, five Constellation amps for $140000, Bryston surround processor $9500, and a boxful of speaker cables for $26000 a pair and you need 4 pairs, interconnects for another $26000).

And then a hardware RAID solution so we can run the SSDs and HDDs in RAID 10 (you get 1TB solid-state memory and 8TB disk space.)

 

[Torn Mind]

Yep, if performance is all that matters, then the hexacore/12 threads 3970X is the way to go, at least for HD content. Sandy Bridge is only slightly slower than Ivy. Since video editing scales beautifully with core count, those two extra cores make up for Sandy Bridge's lower instructions per clock and then some. But it sure is overkill if any semblence of budget matters, unless that budget is very big.


For under 3000 dollars, with monitor and Windows 7 Professional:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($1044.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Biostar TPOWER X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($138.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($138.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($479.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Dell S2740L 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full (32/64-bit) ($247.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $2895.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 22:46 EST-0500)


For just over $1250, with Window 7 Professional retail.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($138.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($138.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($144.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full (32/64-bit) ($247.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $1253.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-20 23:01 EST-0500)

Further savings of about 130 dollars can be achieved by getting a $15 DVD burner and getting Windows Home Premium retail for 160ish bucks.

 

[Belial88]

This is completely wrong in my opinion. Budget IS the discussion. A component that is a needless extravagance on a $500 budget may be essential on a $2000 budget. There is such a range of possibilities for a custom video-editing PC that we don't even know where to get started if you don't at least give a ballpark budget.

Now, to get on with the rest:

Yes, but this is not a build thread. It's a thread asking about how to build a video editing computer. Believe me, I've searched, but this is not a video editing + gaming build, and I'm not trying to spend $20 more on low quality 8gb ram if I only need 4gb, and there are other concerns. Would FX be better, for example.

These are all examples of thinking like you're building gaming/overclocking machine which don't really apply for a video editing machine.

- Overclocking isn't a good idea unless you can guarantee 100% stability and low heat+noise at 100% load for extended periods of time. And I don't mean the typical overclocker definition of 100% stability.

- Since you're going to be running the machine at stock, you can get a Xeon E3 to get hyperthreading on the cheap. Also, the power delivery on the motherboard doesn't really matter because Intel CPUs draw such little power at stock.

- Quantity of RAM matters a lot more than the clock speed or what exact ASICs they have. Given the choice between X GB of DDR3 2000 and 2*X GB of DDR3 1333, you take the DDR3 1333 every time.

- External storage is suitable only for archival purposes. Editing requires fast internal disk (be it SSD or HDD RAID) for the working set because it needs to decompress your clips, apply effects, and recompress them into an intermediate format. The actual final encoding step only really cares about clock speed and floating point IPC though.

I believe the value you'd get with an overclock to 4.5ghz makes it too good to pass up. I'm not pushing a high end overclock, I'd just turn it to around 4.3ghz on stock voltage and call it a day. Motherboards lower in price than the UD3H are generally crap when it comes to overclocking (limited overclocking options, no vdimm control, etc), but I don't need much for a stock voltage overclock.

I'm well aware that increasing frequency alone, increases power consumption and decreases CPU life, but Ivy bridge is a tank. Reports of ivy degradation are nearly non-existent (especially compared to sandy, and at 1.6+ vcore for 24/7 overclocks even).

i'm not asking for help on overclocking, or what i5 to get. I'm just asking if more threads is vastly more important (ie i7 vs i5), or fx vs i5, maybe if threads are very important I'll go with a Phenom x4. Overclocking changes the dynamic of what is a better buy at a price.

ie Pentium g2120 is better than the phenom x4 at stock, but introduce overclocks (and the added hsf cost, of course), the phenom x4 is a better buy than both the pentium and i3.

- Quantity of RAM matters a lot more than the clock speed or what exact ASICs they have. Given the choice between X GB of DDR3 2000 and 2*X GB of DDR3 1333, you take the DDR3 1333 every time.

To a point. As long as you have enough ram, you are good. For 99% of people out there, 4gb is enough. Gaming is all 32bit for example, so for gaming all you need is 4gb (even the 64bit games coming out this year like bf4 arent gonna max out over 4gb for system memory).

And yes, ram in general doesn't matter, but there will be a significant difference in 1866 CL9 1.65v and 2400 CL6 1.65v ram. It won't be much, but 5-10fps in-game, or streaming, for less than $10 price difference, that's quite a bit.

Your equation also isn't the choice I'm facing, and I'm not really confused on RAM, and someone told me that 8gb is needed for video editing anyways. It's also not X 2000mhz vs 2x1333... it's more like, there are about 5-6 types of RAM, really, because it's not about RAM, it's about what the RAM is made with, the integrated circuits.

PSC > BBSE, capable of 2400mhz CL6 1.65v, bbse bins more wildly and needs more volts.
Hynix, not great
HCH9/Samsungs, great ram that runs really low voltage, but a bit expensive imo.
MicronD9, only half decent on AMD because they tighten well with little voltage, but otherwise they can't do much more than 1866 on loose timings.

When it's PSC/BBSE for $10 more, vs Micron D9s, yea, it's quite a difference. It's worth paying $10+ more for some PSC/BBSEs listed on ebay or used, than buying micron D9s used or discounted somewhere.

Also, buying 2x is ridiculous. I'd rather have X of 1333mhz than X of 2000mhz if it's significantly cheaper. Just get X ram, what you need, and that's that. If you can find high quality ICs for maybe $10-20 more, that might be worth it.

The problem is people don't know what ICs their ram is, or run them at stock specs, or dont understand RAM overclocking, so yea, mushkin blacklines at 2000mhz really won't be much better than some ripjaws at 1600. But 2000mhz will be a significant jump from 1333mhz, that's for sure (maybe worth paying $20-30 for, not much though ofc). You really want 1600, maybe 1866, for ivy, but 2000, 2400, is still a jump up, especially if you can maintain tight timings.

- External storage is suitable only for archival purposes. Editing requires fast internal disk (be it SSD or HDD RAID) for the working set because it needs to decompress your clips, apply effects, and recompress them into an intermediate format. The actual final encoding step only really cares about clock speed and floating point IPC though.

interesting, I didn't know that. I think I'll go with some sub $100 ssd like 830, x25-m, hyperk, m4.

Please don't derail the thread. This is not a build thread, it's asking what's important for a video editing computer. I've learned that:

- Unlike general usage/gaming, video editing will use 8gb of RAM.
- A fast SSD is important for video editing (what type of read/writes is it? Is it just random 4k write/reads like general usage?)
- threads are appreciated

I'll go with an i5, but I'm curious if FX is better for video editing still.

 

[Blain]

I'll go with an i5, but I'm curious if FX is better for video editing still.

The FX loses.

 

[mfenn]

Please don't derail the thread. This is not a build thread, it's asking what's important for a video editing computer.

Are you being serious dude?

I explained where your thinking is going off the rails for a video editing machine (i.e. the answer to your exact question). You're the one going on about irrelevant topics like what particular ASICs are in a memory and how long Ivy Bridge can hold a given clock speed. And then you say I'm derailing the thread?

 

[mfenn]

The FX loses.

Correct. Video editing and encoding is all floating point math, which means that 1/2 the "cores" in an FX are useless. Core for core, Intel is just better at floating point than AMD.

 

[Belial88]

Thanks.

The more I look, the more it looks like there's no reason to go FX over i5 3570k even for video editing. Build as it is now:

NZXT Guardian RB (i know, dont ask)
i5 3570k $189@mc
Asrock Extreme4 $64 MC (i know, a terrible motherboard, but for $40 less than the ud3h...if I can get a biostar tz77a or ds3h for similar price i'll get those instead)
$35 2x4gb RAM (ebay, ocn or th trading forum, I've seen 2x4gb at $25 before though, though they are micron d9 patriot g2's you can't beat that price).
$19 CX 430 after $20 rebate and $5 promo code, just bought this since it was a deal ending tonight
No video card, use IGPU
$90 SSD, as explained above. Maybe the x25-m 160gb for it's price/gb.
$20 heatsink. The hyper 212. I might go with the H50 for $29, the hyper 212 is such a terrible heatsink, I dont think it's a good value at $20. Maybe if I can find a better heatsink at $20, sometimes H50's go for $20 shipped if they are missing something like a mount (which corsair sends you for free) or fan (the fan it comes with is crap anyways, as all fans on heatsinks below $70 are).

I'm curious if 16gb would do anything over 8gb. But with 16gb you gotta go with 4x sticks, so i'll worry about that after the computer is built.

$492. If it was -$10 for 4gb of ram, -$63 on the case, you would have a gtx 460 for a great gaming rig. Given that an i7 is 2x performance over i5 for only $50, i might go with that instead, too. maybe a 2600k can be had for cheap than a $229 3570k or something.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Actually, the motherboard and heatsink you got is pretty highly recommended here, as the former has an excellent feature set for it's price and the latter provides adequate cooleing for overclocks to around 4.2 GHz. You can definitely find 2x4GB RAM for $35 before taxes; there is a set of 2x8GB Corsair RAM on Newegg for $70 or so.

 

[DSF]

I thought this wasn't a build thread. I'm totally confused.

Anyway, the Extreme4 isn't a terrible motherboard, and I'm not convinced you actually believe that either. If you did you wouldn't buy it.

I'm also not sure why you say you need four sticks for 16GB. Newegg (and everyone else) has tons of 2x8GB kits.

Edit: I didn't even notice the bit about the Hyper212 being a terrible heatsink and a bad value at $20. It's becoming clear you either don't know what you're talking about, or are trying to evaluate a $500 build against the standards of a $2000 build. (Or you just like to rag on solid if unspectacular midrange parts to sound cool, I dunno.)

 

[snoylekim]

For a real world example w/ the Hyper 212 and Video Transcoding.. I run a Hyper 212 w/ a 3770K processor .. Some transcoding runs all 8 threads flat out at between 90-100% for 35-40 minutes, sometimes much longer if I have batch to run ...my cpu and core temps stay between 65 and 69 C during that processing ... normal load temps are in the mid -high 30s ... IMHO, that's not a bad heatsink ..

 

[Torn Mind]

I thought this wasn't a build thread. I'm totally confused.

Anyway, the Extreme4 isn't a terrible motherboard, and I'm not convinced you actually believe that either. If you did you wouldn't buy it.

I'm also not sure why you say you need four sticks for 16GB. Newegg (and everyone else) has tons of 2x8GB kits.

Edit: I didn't even notice the bit about the Hyper212 being a terrible heatsink and a bad value at $20. It's becoming clear you either don't know what you're talking about, or are trying to evaluate a $500 build against the standards of a $2000 build. (Or you just like to rag on solid if unspectacular midrange parts to sound cool, I dunno.)

Sarcasm from him, no doubt. He probably thinks we're gamers or gamer huggers who dig suggesting expensive parts like the 3970X for shits and giggles and we're ignorant of everything else. Not my fault so many people ask for gaming builds here. Oh, and I the one time a 3970X has ever been seriously suggested here is precisely because the guy said money was not an issue.

 

[Belial88]

Actually, the motherboard and heatsink you got is pretty highly recommended here, as the former has an excellent feature set for it's price and the latter provides adequate cooleing for overclocks to around 4.2 GHz. You can definitely find 2x4GB RAM for $35 before taxes; there is a set of 2x8GB Corsair RAM on Newegg for $70 or so.

The extreme4 is a terrible motherboard for the price. It has a 4+1 phase, with D-Pak mosfets, the worst you can use (except maybe nikos from a few years ago). It's also got terribly ripple. The Asus p8z77-lk is a much better board for the price, and the UD3h is far ahead of both. Frankly, there are many boards (biostar tz77e4, msi gd65) that are better than the extreme4. Or more appropriately, there is nothing worse than the extreme4.

For $64, it's more in-line with other $60 boards like the tz77a and feature locked ds3h, pro3, etc.

Hyper 212+ is maybe one of the best coolers at $20, but it's a terrible value. A dual tower like the nh-d14, k2/assassin, phanteks, at $60 or cheaper, is a better value. There are also better low end coolers, but right now at $15 the hyper 212+ is okay. It's really not worth much, at $30 it was overpriced.

Anyway, the Extreme4 isn't a terrible motherboard, and I'm not convinced you actually believe that either. If you did you wouldn't buy it.

For $64, I'd consider it. I'd probably look at the Biostar TZ77A, MSI series, DS3H, and maybe even the asrock pro series of boards. It's not that these boards are better, it's that you can't really get worse than the extreme4. For $64 though, any Z77 that has voltage control is a good deal (since most $60 boards you cannot change vcore, even ds3h locks ram voltages, biostar never locks features and are good at budget range but not as much at high range).

I'm also not sure why you say you need four sticks for 16GB. Newegg (and everyone else) has tons of 2x8GB kits.

Edit: I didn't even notice the bit about the Hyper212 being a terrible heatsink and a bad value at $20. It's becoming clear you either don't know what you're talking about, or are trying to evaluate a $500 build against the standards of a $2000 build. (Or you just like to rag on solid if unspectacular midrange parts to sound cool, I dunno.)

http://www.overclock.net/t/1346069/...eviews-hyper-212-h50-nh-d14-pk-1-pk-2-pk-3/10

I've owned the Hyper 212 and many other heatsinks. I know what I am talking about. People chalk up the hyper 212 because it comes, stock, with a terribly loud and powerful fan. Apples to apples, it's not that great.

HDT design is good for cheap and lower range overclocks. But you can find much better heatsinks around $30-40. The reason I'd go hyper on this build is simply flat price, at $15-20 the hyper 212 is okay. Not a great value, but a good price.

The thread is more about what does a video editing build need. I simply listed what I planned to use for a build, based on what I understand of video editing (8gb, i5 still being the best cpu to get, video card not needed).

 

[DSF]

Your statements aren't even logically consistent within a single post.

Value is not a static thing. It's a comparison of price and quality. The statement that $20 is a good enough price to justify buying the Hyper212 and yet it's not a good value at that price makes no sense. If it weren't a good value you would purchase something else.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The extreme4 is a terrible motherboard for the price. It has a 4+1 phase, with D-Pak mosfets, the worst you can use (except maybe nikos from a few years ago). It's also got terribly ripple. The Asus p8z77-lk is a much better board for the price, and the UD3h is far ahead of both. Frankly, there are many boards (biostar tz77e4, msi gd65) that are better than the extreme4. Or more appropriately, there is nothing worse than the extreme4.

That's actually not true. If you look at Asrock's product page, you'll see that it's an 8+4 power phase (They do actually have awful D-Pak mosfets, but popular belief holds that the lower TDP of Ivy Bridge makes this less significant). I can't prove it, of course, but go ahead and make your own part to seem worse, if you want. Furthermore, the Extreme4 has many ports that those other boards do not, and generally a more polished UEFI (subjective, of course, but many agree with me).

The CM 212+ is not even audible in my case, with the default fans. I really have no idea what you're complaining about. In an Xbitlab review (these guys are very professional and excellent objective reviewers on par with Anandtech) the CM 212 Evo:

The new Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO doesn’t set any performance records, but it is not actually supposed to. Considering its price, it is only meant for moderately overclocked CPUs. And the Hyper 212 EVO meets this purpose well enough, coping with our six-core CPU overclocked to 4.3 GHz, even though turning out to be inferior to the cheaper Thermalright True Spirit. Anyway, if you don't find the latter product in shops, the Hyper 212 EVO can make a worthy alternative.

Besides its good performance, the new cooler features broad compatibility, has a simple and reliable fastening mechanism, does not block memory slots and has no conflicts with large heatsinks on a mainboard’s powercircuit components. It comes with a pretty fan and allows installing a second one. So, it's a good, although not exceptional, cooler which might have come at a lower price.

So yes, you could have gotten better performance for roughly the same price, but the Thermalright True Spirit they compare it to was $40 on Amazon (33% more, rather than cheaper, as may have been at the time), and if you actually look at the page, it's OOS now.

 

[Torn Mind]

Your statements aren't even logically consistent within a single post.

Value is not a static thing. It's a comparison of price and quality. The statement that $20 is a good enough price to justify buying the Hyper212 and yet it's not a good value at that price makes no sense. If it weren't a good value you would purchase something else.

The word "value" can have ambiguous meaning. I see two definitions that could apply in the context of his post.

1. relative worth, merit, or importance: the value of a college education; the value of a queen in chess.

2. the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange.

In terms of definition #2, the Hyper 212's cooling performance/dollar is excellent. In terms of definition #1, the Hyper 212 has less value than a higher tier cooler.

Although, even under definition #1, using the word "terrible" does seem to imply cooling performance is much worse than a more expensive cooler.