Please critique a video processing build.

[college_student]

Hello folks,

Building a beefy rig. Here are the answers to the questions, as well as my attempt at a build. I've been out of the loop for a little while now, so would appreciate your input.

1. Processing 4K video, professional software, some custom code, etc. It being quiet is pretty important due to various reasons.
2. <$2000
3. USA - Florida
5. NVIDIA/Intel (see next question)
6. Already own the following: 2 x GTX 960, Several SSDs, 2 x U2412M Dell Monitors (might eventually buy one more)
7. Likely won't overclock, but maybe in the future if really necessary
8. Each monitor is 1920 x 1200
9. ASAP
10. No

Here is my attempt. Please remember that one requirement is that it be quiet.

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K ($585)
CPU Cooloer: Noctua NH-D15 ($94)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-A LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 ($240)
RAM: HyperX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 ($290)
PSU: Seasonic SS-760XP2 ($145)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ($110)
OS: Ubuntu
Total: ~$1500

 

[MongGrel]

Looks good to me, but haven't used some of the newer CPU's.

Similar to what I would do at any rate if building new these days.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[nsafreak]

Here's my alternate build, and some explanation to changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($184.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1052.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-12 13:11 EDT-0400

CPU: For your uses you're not going to notice the difference between a 5820K and a 5930K . If you had a pair of higher end GPUs I might suggest the 5930K but with just a pair of 960s I can't justify it

CPU Cooler: You're paying a lot extra for quiet there. It's quieter than the Hyper212 EVO but that can easily be remedied by purchasing a quieter fan, and it'd still be less than the D15

Motherboard: Not bad but the ASRock is just as good at $50 less

RAM: No real reason to get a 4x8 configuration when a 2x16 will serve just as well and is less expensive

PSU: Don't get me wrong, Seasonic PSUs are great. But you're paying a premium for that 80+ Plat certification. 80+ Golds are still fine and the eVGA one I have suggested is made by Seasonic.

Case: No change here, you might want to consider the S5 though if it has enough drive mounts for your storage. Since you didn't state how many drives you have though I decided to leave it as is.

 

[college_student]

Here's my alternate build, and some explanation to changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($184.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1052.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-12 13:11 EDT-0400

CPU: For your uses you're not going to notice the difference between a 5820K and a 5930K . If you had a pair of higher end GPUs I might suggest the 5930K but with just a pair of 960s I can't justify it

CPU Cooler: You're paying a lot extra for quiet there. It's quieter than the Hyper212 EVO but that can easily be remedied by purchasing a quieter fan, and it'd still be less than the D15

Motherboard: Not bad but the ASRock is just as good at $50 less

RAM: No real reason to get a 4x8 configuration when a 2x16 will serve just as well and is less expensive

PSU: Don't get me wrong, Seasonic PSUs are great. But you're paying a premium for that 80+ Plat certification. 80+ Golds are still fine and the eVGA one I have suggested is made by Seasonic.

Case: No change here, you might want to consider the S5 though if it has enough drive mounts for your storage. Since you didn't state how many drives you have though I decided to leave it as is.

Hi nsafreak,

Thank you so much for your help! Just a few follow on questions and comments.

Turns out my memory is failing me at the moment, and I'm not sure if I have ONE or TWO GTX 960. In any case, say I have one, then I'm debating whether I should purchase a second one and put it in SLI. Or would you recommend just getting a single better GPU? In the future, I'm more likely to purchase additional GPUs or better GPUs, so would having the 5930K be better in a future-prooofing sense. The 5930K also has 40 PCI-E lanes so it can do 3-way SLI, but I don't anticipate doing that, but who knows, maybe its cheaper in the long run to just buy GTX 960 to boost CUDA performance.

Regarding the cooler, I have no real experience with this, but I would really want the computer be pretty quiet; people are pretty sensitive to this type of thing unfortunately where I am, hence the R5 case too. Can you link me to the S5? I have ~4 SSDs, and no mechanical drives.

Regarding the memory, I made the original choice based on the timings, and the one you linked seem a bit higher. The Mobo is great btw, thanks. Given this choice, is there a 64GB kit with decently good timings?

Thanks again.

 

[lehtv]

PSU: Don't get me wrong, Seasonic PSUs are great. But you're paying a premium for that 80+ Plat certification. 80+ Golds are still fine and the eVGA one I have suggested is made by Seasonic.

EVGA G1 series is made by FSP. GS series is made by Seasonic. http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page2293.htm

I would buy EVGA 750 G2 for $100 after rebate and 10 year warranty. Made by Super Flower (based on the Leadex platform).

 

[nsafreak]

Hi nsafreak,

Thank you so much for your help! Just a few follow on questions and comments.

Turns out my memory is failing me at the moment, and I'm not sure if I have ONE or TWO GTX 960. In any case, say I have one, then I'm debating whether I should purchase a second one and put it in SLI. Or would you recommend just getting a single better GPU? In the future, I'm more likely to purchase additional GPUs or better GPUs, so would having the 5930K be better in a future-prooofing sense. The 5930K also has 40 PCI-E lanes so it can do 3-way SLI, but I don't anticipate doing that, but who knows, maybe its cheaper in the long run to just buy GTX 960 to boost CUDA performance.

Regarding the cooler, I have no real experience with this, but I would really want the computer be pretty quiet; people are pretty sensitive to this type of thing unfortunately where I am, hence the R5 case too. Can you link me to the S5? I have ~4 SSDs, and no mechanical drives.

Regarding the memory, I made the original choice based on the timings, and the one you linked seem a bit higher. The Mobo is great btw, thanks. Given this choice, is there a 64GB kit with decently good timings?

Thanks again.

Going SLI versus a single card is always a bit tricky. Gaming support for SLI has almost always been a tossup and it's not always implemented from release. Image editing software is a whole different kettle of fish and without knowing what software you intend to use it's hard to make a firm recommendation. If the software you intend to use supports SLI and does a good job of using it then I would go ahead and stick with the 5930K and get another 960. However if the software is a bit of a mixed bag then I would stick with the 5820K and upgrade to a 980 Ti. I will say it's more typical to have good single GPU support than SLI whether in Linux or Windows.

On the cooler. Your cooler has a max DB output of 24.5 db, the EVO has one of 36.5. The reason for the difference is fans included. I personally have a EVO in both of the systems in my sig. When these systems are idle I honestly can not hear any noise, aside from some air movement. If they kick into full gear they're slightly noisier but in all honesty I could easily fall asleep beside them. If you want to be extra careful you could just use quieter fans. I tend to recommend the Cougar Vortex PWM fans for this duty, they're even quieter than the ones included with the Noctua and all of $14. On the case I thought it had been released for general purchase but it looks like it's only available to system integrators currently. If you want to read about it here's a link on Fractal Design's website. Haven't seen a release date for it yet unfortunately, hopefully it's soon.

Regarding the memory, oddly enough while it's not too hard to find a good 32GB kit finding a good 64GB kit is a good deal harder. I've found a few kits but they're worse timings than the 32GB kit I recommended, for now it looks like the best route is to buy a pair of those kits.

I also agree with lehtv on the PSU change, I forgot that the G1s were not Seasonic but FSP and would definitely go with the G2 series.

 

[MongGrel]

Going SLI versus a single card is always a bit tricky. Gaming support for SLI has almost always been a tossup and it's not always implemented from release. Image editing software is a whole different kettle of fish and without knowing what software you intend to use it's hard to make a firm recommendation. If the software you intend to use supports SLI and does a good job of using it then I would go ahead and stick with the 5930K and get another 960. However if the software is a bit of a mixed bag then I would stick with the 5820K and upgrade to a 980 Ti. I will say it's more typical to have good single GPU support than SLI whether in Linux or Windows.

On the cooler. Your cooler has a max DB output of 24.5 db, the EVO has one of 36.5. The reason for the difference is fans included. I personally have a EVO in both of the systems in my sig. When these systems are idle I honestly can not hear any noise, aside from some air movement. If they kick into full gear they're slightly noisier but in all honesty I could easily fall asleep beside them. If you want to be extra careful you could just use quieter fans. I tend to recommend the Cougar Vortex PWM fans for this duty, they're even quieter than the ones included with the Noctua and all of $14. On the case I thought it had been released for general purchase but it looks like it's only available to system integrators currently. If you want to read about it here's a link on Fractal Design's website. Haven't seen a release date for it yet unfortunately, hopefully it's soon.

Regarding the memory, oddly enough while it's not too hard to find a good 32GB kit finding a good 64GB kit is a good deal harder. I've found a few kits but they're worse timings than the 32GB kit I recommended, for now it looks like the best route is to buy a pair of those kits.

I also agree with lehtv on the PSU change, I forgot that the G1s were not Seasonic but FSP and would definitely go with the G2 series.

I missed the not OCing part, my bad.

Yeah, an EVO 212 would work great there then.

I figured more would show up anyways for recommendations.

I still have never used an AsRock, but as I'm an ASUS fanboi and have only heard good things about them, sounds good.

I'm a GSkill fanboi for RAM too, but have always heard the Hyper X picked are good also.

Personally I just stay away from Corsair RAM these days, but just my two cents.

 

[MongGrel]

Yeah, I know it's only 16.

Just a thought.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231851&cm_re=GSkill-_-20-231-851-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-231-894

 

[college_student]

Yeah, I know it's only 16.

Just a thought.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231851&cm_re=GSkill-_-20-231-851-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-231-894

Thanks for the input. However, I think I need at least 32GB of ram, and I will likely just get 2 kits as proposed above and make it 64GB. I also like that fact that the 64GB only take up half the DIMMs on the Mobo; this will allows for a potential 128GB in the future.

 

[college_student]

Edit: found the answer. Thanks.