Building a 10k video editing system

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Vidder2013

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Nov 18, 2013
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Hi there,

I was hoping someone could give me some advise, when it comes to building a modern powerful video editing system.

My budget will be somewhere near $10k.

I've been struggling with a few options:

1) Intel Core i7-3970X or Intel Core i7-4960X
-- or perhaps: another (dual) cpu?

2) Which Graphics Card(s in SLi?) would be best to use? If I'm correct, Titan ain't so great, even though the price suggests otherwise.

3) I'm thinking of buying 64GB's of RAM. (keep in mind there will be edited and authored Blu-ray productions as well). What do I have to look for?

I guess a CPU, RAM and GPU are the 3 most important factors to pay attention to, right?

Besides SSD hard drives, what motherboard and power supply would be advised?

Do I need 2 CPU's and/or 2 GPU's (SLi)? 10k is big budget, so for that amount of money I would like to built the best possible (keep in mind I also have to buy 3 monitors, a printer, mouse & keyboard and stuff...

Thanks for any help!
 
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Vidder2013

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I'm looking for a step-in system. Not a 100k system right away. Built it up slowly. I'm just saying a 5k-system would be a no-go. 10k (being self-employed) is a decent budget to spend on a computer.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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I'm just saying that spending $10,000(US) provides minimal, if any, gain over spending $5,000(US).

I'm sure multiple someones will be along soon to suggest a list of parts.
 
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Vidder2013

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I can see a lot of benefits from spending another 5k over $5,000 (for example: extra hard drive space). I made this list (don't have it no more) 6 months ago to see how much a decent configuration would gonna cost (at that time). It went up to $12k.

I'm spending $8k-$10k on the system itself. $2-$3k on monitors and other external hardware. Then there's budget for software.
 
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John Bong

John Bong

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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/24eWy
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/24eWy/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/24eWy/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($576.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($224.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($599.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 470 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($344.48 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($554.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Titanium Grey) ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($106.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-14D1XT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2727.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-18 09:13 EST-0500)

this will do you fine
 
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leandrodafontoura

leandrodafontoura

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Im probably goint to get rocks trown at by saying the truth, but what you want is the Mac Pro, wich will be released in December. Its gonna be $3000. The reason for this is beause of the software, Apple own the professional editing market software, and alternatives are crap. Now, you dont have to take my advice and neither the advice of others users on this forum (who are only gamers), go talk to professional people and they will tell wich computer they use.
 
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snowctrl

snowctrl

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I'm not a gamer....
 
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Drew010

Drew010

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Here is a monster of a build with plenty of space for your periphrials and I already added a lot of storage space as well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($1049.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme EATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($429.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($589.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($255.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($255.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($699.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($699.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($699.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA Classified 1500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($449.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $6249.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-18 09:22 EST-0500)
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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Talk to me about Video Editing mate.
What kind of Editing your going to do.
are you using DVR,HDVR, Capture pro or Mac Pro/I mac,?
or you are using SD card cam for capturing and direct feed to you system.

Which Graphic Unit you want?
GTX,Quadro or Metrox?

What software your going to use for your editing,
Adobe CC,CS6,CS5 or Mac pro?

What format are you going to use as primary?
MPEG-2 ,I mac, MKV, HDV, or AVI?

What compression you want?
MPEG-4 , Mac, AVI, H.264 divx/Xvid, DVD,Blue ray, etc.

10K Professional video editing system is a Entry level system he is just right on cost.

 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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Looks heavy but mate this system is lacking many thing for professional video editing. just high end part dose not means its a demand focused system.
 
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COLGeek

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What applications are intended to run on this video rig? Also, how much storage is anticipated?

Knowing the tools/applications to be used will help to optimize the GPU configuration recommendations, BTW. Some applications can take advantage of OpenCL or CUDA to off-load some processing to the GPUs vice relying on the CPUs for some work.

leandrodafontoura and USAFRet bring up some very good points, BTW. For pro editing (my daughter is in the business and edits while attending grad school), it is hard to not go down the Apple path. Also, $10k is a lot to spend for an editing rig for just the hardware. If you include the cost of applications (Pro Tools, Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut/Sony Vegas/etc) to the hardware, to include an external RAID to store files, $10k may not be enough.

Really need some more info here to make solid recommendations.

 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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In his initial post/question, the word "professional" was never mentioned. Hence my original post about costs.

If this is a serious money-making machine, sure. But don't build to a specific price point...build to a capability.

Instead of "I want a $10k video editing machine", ask "I need a video editing machine for X, Y, and Z. My max budget is $10k."
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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Awesome points man.you know the stuff.
you made my efforts more easy. 10K for hardware to big but if everything is included then 10K....! may be its hard to complete the demand .:)
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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i had edited my post brother i was busy in 4 tasks while reading i'm extremely sorry i misread your post. your just right i was wrong .I'm sorry

When i saw the name....i just said to my self "man your wrong somewhere this guy is very well informed one..so i read post 3 times again and again, then i cam to know i'm wrong.:)
 
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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I helped my daughter put together her rig (Apple based) so I have been through this (to some extent).

Following up with more info would help a lot. Also, you will definitely want 2 displays. Get good ones. Don't skimp on these.
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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So! you have the real time experience of this thing.Nice.
yeah atleast 2 displays LED 120 Hrz and 27" display is better for editing.
every single part worth perfection if you need quality even headset is also very very important in this thing which is not considered as a very important part on other builds .
Oh by the way i'm a official video editor for Paramount studios ;)
 
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Vidder2013

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Thank you for your answers.

Though (as a professional) I can work with all sorts of applications (Avid, FCP, Adobe, etc.), I've chosen to work with Adobe CC products. Also, I'm working with some smaller applications, which only run on Windows. I don't want to run Parallels on a Mac Pro to run these. Also, I'm not a big Mac OS fan, since it is known for it's lack of supporting some of filetypes. I should've made it clear in my first post I'm looking for a Windows 7-based system. Mac OS isn't no frontrunner no more, like it used to, back in the nineties and early zero's.

Thanks to @John Bong & @Drew010 for posting these part lists and thanks to @Alpha-Black for commenting. I'm not sure if I should go out and buy a system like these right away, but like I said before, I'm really more interested in the parts being recommanded. Would 3 GTX 780's really be that more powerful?

And to Jong Bong: would a $500 graphics card and cpu really do the job? In the list I made a half year ago, these came down to $1000 each. Same as for RAM. Are these products really the finest to get?

@snowctrl: I think Quadro cards are too expensive for me. I checked out the K5000, but compared to the GTX 780 (for example) it won't stand up against some specifics (like memory speed etc.).

@Alpha-Black: Most of the footage will be recorded on P2-cards. The footages will (most likely) be put on the system with a reader. Like I said, I'll be using Adobe CC, so best I'll be aiming for NVIDIA GTX (CUDA). There ain't just 1 format I'll be working in. Mostly MPEG-2. Same goes for compression. All kinds.

@COLGeek: Storage depends on how much money I've got left. SSD drives will be updated each 3 or 4 months, I think. But at least 300-400GB to start with (I do own some external drives for a starter). And I was actually looking at using a RAID-1 (for cloning). But like I said; the amount of hard drives arent my first priority.
 
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Vidder2013

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Nov 18, 2013
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I didn't feel the urge to mention I'm a professional videoproducer (being a cameraman + editor). This being a hardware forum, and me asking this specific question, I thought that was enough already ;)

In fact it is a serious money-making machine. I'm spending a lot of money on other products as well. Total amount will be around 40k.

I'm not building to the price of 10k. If I were building towards a price, it would cost me 15k. That's why I ran in here to ask for some advise on the parts that needs attention (cpu, gpu and ram). Any other advise is highly appreciated, since I don't want a system that has letdowns because of some parts not being able to work together (or something like that).
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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We see many, many posts in here about "ultimate video editing machine!", when in reality he just wants to edit some Minecraft screencaps.

A pro rig, incl. the software stack, would be utterly different than the 14 year old gamer in mom's basement.

But as others have said, the software you are comfortable with and your workflow is the starting point. Build to that.
CUDA, Quadro, whatever...

Sorry if I sounded condescending, but the 'pro' aspect was not readily apparent initially.
 
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Vidder2013

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I'm clearly not a 14-year old wanting 'the best of the best'. Well, I do want the best, but within my range.

I've been filming and editing all my life. Did studies in them. Worked in them professionally these last 6 years and now starting a small business on my own. :)
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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I don't know brother you like it as a suggestion or not but i'm using this NLE personally.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($1049.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($117.14 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme11 EATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($599.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator GT 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($368.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator GT 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($368.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($484.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($331.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($331.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($683.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($683.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($683.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($161.67 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser A71 ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($299.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Dell U3014 60Hz 30.0" Monitor ($989.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Dell U3014 60Hz 30.0" Monitor ($989.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Dell U3014 60Hz 30.0" Monitor ($989.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $9704.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-18 12:40 EST-0500)

i can't find my Key board on pc part picker so i'm pasting a Ebay link.
Its a very fine one very quick response very nice build for finger grip.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/video-editing-keyboard
I'm using a normal optical Dell Mouse.

and why not a titan or 780 ti and why 3 way SLI 780s??
it really don't give you a edge more then 3 to 4 percent if you use TI one.
These links will tell you the whole story :D
http://www.nvidia.com/gtx-700-graphics-cards/gtx-780/
http://www.nvidia.com/gtx-700-graphics-cards/gtx-780ti/

Oh sorry don't use these monitors for 3D work,for 3D i'm using a different monitor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $259.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-18 12:56 EST-0500)
 
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Alpha-Black

Alpha-Black

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Best of luck specially for your new start...i was at this place once i can understand your dream. Best of luck again :)
 
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