Needed Advice on VIDEO EDITING BUILD

For that price, spend a lot less on the RAM and get 2TB storage and put the money into a GTX970 or GTX980 graphics card. No reason to go for such a low GPU for your budget.

It might be cheaper to get 2 2x8gb ram kits, rather than 4x8gb.

+1 to mdocod ^

This is a strong platform:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($383.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($224.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($199.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 970 4GB XLR8 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-3300-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1567.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 23:49 EDT-0400

Ref. http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/products/creativesuite/production/cs6/pdfs/adobe-hardware-performance-whitepaper.pdf

I don't know why people keep telling video editors to get the 970, or some other higher-end GPU. Unless you're doing a LOT of transitions and video effects, or something more hardware demanding than video editing (like serious 3-D rendering), you won't need anything beyond what the 750 Ti or 760 will give you. This whole 970 craze, of recommending it for everything, is getting out of hand. If you're not gaming, and you'll be doing 3-D rendering, then getting a workstation card is better... not a gaming GPU.

But for video editing only: unless you plan on doing a lot of post-production effects, you won't need a crazy GPU. In fact, if you're doing mostly raw footage, you need to primarily be concerned with CPU and memory. Get whatever GPU fits into your budget, or fits your editing style; whichever is the most cost efficient for you.

turkey3_scratch- Please stop recommending overpowered GPUs to video editors, unless they genuinely need it. I've seen you do this with a number of video editing builds, and you seem to think it's a good idea. Games and consumer video editing software do not utilise the GPU in the same manner. Not every video editor will benefit from a high-end GPU.

OP- I'll edit your build a little bit, but not too much. If you plan on rendering long video clips, consider 1866 Mhz memory; that is the proverbial sweet spot for editors. Also, while 32 GB is an ideal amount, 16 GB may be plenty for your uses. If you're okay with overspending on 32 GB of RAM, then that's fine; just know you might not need it in real-world settings. With your case choice, I'd recommend a Corsair 300R at minimum. The airflow design is definitely superior to the one you picked. If you are fine with spending more, practically all of Corsair's cases have superb airflow and internal design. I seriously wish I was paid for each time I praised their designs lol. Honestly, they have more impressed me with the current case line-up than anything else; although some cases don't include certain things you wish they did. If you ever need spare intake/fan filters, or one for a spot that didn't come with a filter, I have a link for you (though they ship from South Africa, so costs will climb relatively quick). I would also knock the HDD down to a 2TB drive, until the larger drives have been around for a while longer. They aren't the most reliable drives on the market, right now, so I'd steer away from them unless you're running a mirror-style RAID configuration.

The only other component I'd recommend changing is the power supply. The EVGA 600B is okay-ish, but not recommended if you can find a better PSU within the same price range. For single GPU use, I would stick in the XFX Pro 550w 80+ Gold on the cheap end, or the XFX XTR 550w 80+ Gold if you like modular. If you plan on getting a second GPU, a 650-750w would be better. The XFX Pro 650W 80+ Bronze is a good starting point for a semi-modular unit with more power.

Practically any XFX, Seasonic, or Antec PSU will keep you safe from buying a PSU that is inferior quality for the money. With most small cases, semi-modular and modular PSUs are highly recommended for cable management, but it's up to you.

@Skyline,

You are partially correct about the GPU. It depends on what you do. Simple cuts and transitions will not stress the GPU much, but doing color correction and more edits, the GPU becomes a factor (while scrubbing and for renders). For example, my laptop has an i7 3610qm with GTX 660m and 16GB RAM. My old desktop had a Q6600 with 8GB RAM and GTX 580. The CPUs are about even, but the desktop's workflow is MUCH smoother and the Renders are a little faster.

I recently upgraded that GPU in my newer PC with an R9 280x and although I have not used it much, it seems like it is smoother still (albeit not much) but the renders are incredibly fast. I can't be certain that this is just the particular project or if it is the card that makes the difference. I will test in the future, but it at least seems about 2x faster.

RAM wise, After Effects actually will use the RAM. Not while editing, but while rendering. I had 16GB of RAM on my new build (while my quad kit was being shipped from Amazon) and the CPU would not utilize past 40%. After installing the quad kit, it was consistently utilizing 95%+. AE generally needs 3GB per thread to render efficiently. The actual workflow will not change much just the rendering.

To further add to the validity of your claim however, I was able to edit in After Effects and Vegas using the Q6600 with the old HD 4850 and 4GB RAM! I upgraded the GPU first (DDR2 RAM is so expensive) and then the RAM. The GPU made the workflow smoother, but the extra RAM made a bigger difference.

I find that it is best to edit using lower resolution (1/2 vs full) for making cuts and changing it to full for color correction. This makes scrubbing fast without your fans firing up too much and even when adding effects, your scrubbing is not affected much.

Technically speaking, Heinrich17, you never addressed me... I say that because it seems like few people care any more about addressing someone correctly lol. I won't hold it against you, just saying...

I'm kind of wondering if you might have taken some of what I said out of context, or if maybe I'm taking what you said out of context. It seems like either you're correcting something different than what I said, or I'm reading what you said in a different way than you intended. I'm a little confused with what you said.

Phorc- I am wondering what you mean by cutting back on the PSU. If you mean wattage, 550w is going to be the lowest output available for a good price; and it's also going to power everything just fine, without having too little of a load to remain efficient. If you mean in cost, the only way to do that without sacrificing quality would be to go non-modular; and in smaller cases, it's much better to go semi-modular at the least.

here's the perfect video editing+super gaming 2100$ build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H90 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($230.30 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($194.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($364.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N600 Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Monitor: LG 29UB65-P 60Hz 29.0" Monitor ($391.61 @ B&H)
Total: $2065.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 07:50 EDT-0400

The build isn't bad, but I just find it funny you are using a $90 case to house $2,000 of hardware... it's comical to me. Whatever works, though. HDD choices are overkill, as you will see no real benefit from the HDDs you've picked; you'd be using the SSD for all the rapid access needs as it is. Make it dual 2 TB drives, or save some money and make it the Blue series HDDs. Also, OC'ing the CPU would be required to run 2400 Mhz memory, and for very minimal gains with what's being done. It just isn't worth the extra cost, thanks to the law of diminishing returns.


Yes. Basically, faster memory speeds do not equate to more memory; faster speeds means... faster RAM access speeds. More RAM means more memory available to the CPU at once. While faster access speeds to the memory is important, it only helps to a certain point. In any case, faster memory isn't a replacement for more memory, and the same can be said for the other way around (to a degree).

@Skyline: I am assuming he is not going to be doing amateur text rendering on videos. If he has to do a lot of CGI rendering effects he will need a better GPU.

@Phorc: Will you be doing CGI and rendering intense effects? If so you would want a better GPU.

Only spend the extra on a 970 if you really think you'll be needing it. Otherwise, I wouldn't see anything potentially wrong with that build. Consider what mdocod said about the MoBo, but the decision comes down to you, and what you think you will get more use out of. My only real tweak would be to get 1866 Mhz RAM over 1600 Mhz, but that's a personal preference.

Oh yeah... make sure you get a nice tower. Don't get a cheap one to save money, as it will likely run hotter than you'd prefer. Better to overspend a little for a tower that will keep everything cool, than to cheap out. Extra heat is one of the leading causes for HDD failure, kills PSU lifespan, and shortens all your other components' lifespans; so get a tower that will let your hardware breathe. It's pretty important.

Which I mentioned early on; however, you recommended it from the beginning, without knowing what the OP's needs were.

And who is this Skyline jerk I keep seeing pop up in replies on this forum? Is there an evil twin brother of mine running around on here? I never see his posts in the same threads as mine, but everyone is directing comments to him... in relation to what I said. Very strange happenings, here on Tom's Hardware.

" I do have a 3000$ Camera, and work professionally"

CPU: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=E3-1231V3B

MOBO: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-C226WSP

RAM: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=D38GRE160S (X2)

If you do this professionally, you should do it on a professional workstation, not some re-purposed gaming hardware.