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PC Building HELP!

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Hi everyone!

I am new to this forum, so here goes...

I have started up a YouTube channel with my friends, and we have currently uploaded 2 videos, rendered from my 3 year old Toshiba Satellite L650D laptop.

Problem is, rendering content I record off of my AverMedia capture card is EXTREMELY slow (about 4 hours for a 500-600MB file), even when reducing bitrate and other factors in my Camtasia Studio 7 render settings.

I ran Task Manager last time I rendered a project, and my RAM was almost maxed out (around 3.9GB used) and the CPU was averaging at 96%. The laptop overheats almost every render I try, unless I put it in my freezing garage!

Not only do I want to get a new computer to render faster, but also to not overheat continuously... So, as a school kid with homework burdens and YouTube dreams, I need some help to create a computer to suit both needs!

I have done some brief research, but I cannot say for sure what I want, so I have some questions:

1. What CPU/RAM/GPU is recommended for fast rendering?
2. Custom built or pre-made?
3. Which brands of CPU/RAM/GPU are most reliable/affordable/powerful compared to others?
4. Are there any other components needed for fast rendering?
5. I may use it for gaming in the future, so what is a decent graphics card needed to run Minecraft sufficiently?
6. Does a good motherboard matter for render? If so, most cost-effective?

I have a £500-650 budget to work with, but if anything that pushes slightly above it makes a dramatic improvement, please post!

Have looked at various sites, including MESH computers and CyberPower...

Also, I would like a nice HD screen to work with, so I need ideas for a cheap, but high-quality one.

Thanks for your help!


NOTE: IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A PC, IT CAN BE A REALLY GOOD LAPTOP!

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1. Depends entirely on budget, but ideally you want a Core i7 with 16GB of RAM. The GPU isn't a big factor when it comes to rendering.

2. Custom, without doubt.

3. Depends which price points your going to be hitting, its not as simple as saying one or the other.

4. A fast storage solution, you could hit a situation where the CPU is twiddling its thumbs waiting for the HDD to write everything down.

5. As you can imagine, Minecraft doesnt require much GPU grunt. Something like a 7750 or better will run it fine.

6. Motherboard doesnt impact performance, what makes you get one mobo over another is its feature set.

You might want to fill out this form, as that will give us the info needed to best help you.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgra...

manofchalk said:
1. Depends entirely on budget, but ideally you want a Core i7 with 16GB of RAM. The GPU isn't a big factor when it comes to rendering.

2. Custom, without doubt.

3. Depends which price points your going to be hitting, its not as simple as saying one or the other.

4. A fast storage solution, you could hit a situation where the CPU is twiddling its thumbs waiting for the HDD to write everything down.

5. As you can imagine, Minecraft doesnt require much GPU grunt. Something like a 7750 or better will run it fine.

6. Motherboard doesnt impact performance, what makes you get one mobo over another is its feature set.

You might want to fill out this form, as that will give us the info needed to best help you.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgra...


Hey, thanks for the quick reply!

I read somewhere that an Intel i5's performance is no difference to an i7's, unless more high-end tasks are being done - is that true? Because and i7 pushes the budget from some example I've seen.

And a fast storage solution would be...? An SSD? Or will a HDD with a high RPM do fine?

Cheers. :) 
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Approximate Purchase Date: 2-3 months.

Budget Range: £500-600.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Rendering, school work, watching videos and gaming.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes - Windows 7 or 8?

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, cyberpowersystems.co.uk, meshcomputers.com.

Location: London, UK.

Parts Preferences: None, although slighty biased towards Intel and nVidia.

Overclocking: Is it worth it for rendering?

SLI or Crossfire: Computer noob right here... Please explain.

Your Monitor Resolution: Ideally 1080p, but 720p is fine.

Additional Comments: Needs to be capable of rendering fairly quickly!

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have a 3 year old Toshiba Satellite L650D, which renders a 500MB file for 4 hours, whilst overheating on many occasions!

manofchalk said:
Theres no difference in performance for gaming, but for rendering there is.

Ideally an SSD, or at the very least two separate HDD's, one with the OS and programs and the other for a render output.


Oh, ok! So if I rendered a 100MB file on an i5, compared to an i7, what would the speed/CPU temperature difference be - if you have any vague idea?

Sorry, I am a complete computer noob!

No idea how faster it would be to be honest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£122.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£52.32 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£48.60 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card (£73.63 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.83 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £593.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-19 03:26 GMT+0000)

For the budget your on and the usage, AMD is a better option than Intel. They offer better multi-threaded performance (which is what video editing software needs) for the price, with that 8320 being just below a 3770k.

manofchalk said:
No idea how faster it would be to be honest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (£122.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£25.45 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£52.32 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£48.60 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card (£73.63 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£49.98 @ Novatech)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.83 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £593.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-19 03:26 GMT+0000)

For the budget your on and the usage, AMD is a better option than Intel. They offer better multi-threaded performance (which is what video editing software needs) for the price, with that 8320 being just below a 3770k.


Hmm... Ok...

I know I can get Windows 7 Home Premium cheaper than that, but that seems like a good set-up!

So, you're saying that it should render reasonably fast - cool!

You have any knowledge on screens?

I would actually get Windows 8, but for some reason it wasn't available on Part Picker. It should render reasonable quick, the only real bottleneck to that would be the 8GB of RAM, though its an easy upgrade to 16GB if you need it.
Will also play games decently as well, that 7750 should have you covered for Minecraft.

At your budget, chances are a 1080p TN panel is the most you can get. There isnt overly much difference between TN monitors of reputable companies, so get the cheapest one you like pretty much.
Something like this.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/215-asus-ve228tr-led-mon...
Unfortunately it does put you 100 pounds over budget, but its fairly hard to squeeze in a monitor at this budget.

manofchalk said:
I would actually get Windows 8, but for some reason it wasn't available on Part Picker. It should render reasonable quick, the only real bottleneck to that would be the 8GB of RAM, though its an easy upgrade to 16GB if you need it.
Will also play games decently as well, that 7750 should have you covered for Minecraft.

At your budget, chances are a 1080p TN panel is the most you can get. There isnt overly much difference between TN monitors of reputable companies, so get the cheapest one you like pretty much.
Something like this.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/215-asus-ve228tr-led-mon...
Unfortunately it does put you 100 pounds over budget, but its fairly hard to squeeze in a monitor at this budget.


Yeah, I see... Well I do have an old Dell moniter which is repairable... :) 

Well, cheers dude! You have given me a good set of guidelines to go by! :D 
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